Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 196

Rizal once suspected he was illegitimate because his brother and sisters carried...

Rizal once suspected he was illegitimate because his brother and sisters carried the surname Mercado. Textbook history says he used Rizal so he would not be associated with Paciano Mercado but his school records, and even this student notebook, prove that: he sometimes used Mercado, sometimes Rizal, sometimes both surnames.


Autographs

My Inquirer column today on developing an appreciation for useless information....

My Inquirer column today on developing an appreciation for useless information.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/58441/making-useless-information-useful


Making useless information useful
opinion.inquirer.net
Someone once asked why I always open a book starting from the back rather than the title page. He presumed that I picked up this odd habit from many extended stays in Japan, where people start reading from what appears to us as the back or end of the book.

National Artist Arturo Luz has an ongoing show of sculptures in steel and wood a...

National Artist Arturo Luz has an ongoing show of sculptures in steel and wood at Finale Art File on Pasong Tamo. Ten years ago I tracked down his early works and curated a landmark show for the Ateneo Gallery to show he did more than paintings. My favorite works were these hand-made pieces modeled from bent paper clips to form black lines drawn in three dimensional space.

My Inquirer column today.http://opinion.inquirer.net/58269/was......

My Inquirer column today.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/58269/was-heneral-goyo-a-mason


Was Heneral Goyo a mason?
opinion.inquirer.net
To devout Filipino Catholics, a scapular consists of two rectangular pieces of brown cloth or plastic attached to a string worn around the neck, with one piece hanging down the chest and the other down the back. Often scapulars are associated with the Virgin of Carmel (or in Spanish, Nuestra Señora…

This charming 19th century watercolor attributed to Jose Honorato Lozano documen...

This charming 19th century watercolor attributed to Jose Honorato Lozano documents a scene from daily life--a party where guests enjoy the feast with their hands, long before the Kamayan restaurant was born. They eat from a low table or "dulang" seated in a particularly Filipino way which makes me wonder when chairs and higher tables became the norm. No banana leaf on the table, everyone has their own plates and bowls so when this spoons and forks become the norm?

Found this photo in my file and cannot find the caption nor my notes. Its a rall...

Found this photo in my file and cannot find the caption nor my notes. Its a rally by women and children but I cant remember what for---we can read "panahon na!" but ask ourselves "ang alin?" The only legible text above the stars and stripes reads "_ _HON NA! _ _TOONG PAGPAPATALSIK NG _ _ _ _AT LIWALIWAN__ _IAN & KABINAT_ _ _"

My Inquirer column today on learning history from monuments.http://opinion.inqu...

My Inquirer column today on learning history from monuments.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/57905/why-is-gregorio-del-pilars-hand-in-his-coat


Why is Gregorio del Pilar’s hand in his coat?
opinion.inquirer.net
History is usually delivered in school through: textbooks, teachers’ lectures, assignments, quizzes, and exams.

One of the services I have never tried from the menus of high-end spas today is...

One of the services I have never tried from the menus of high-end spas today is ear candle treatment. I wonder how similar it is to Chinese ear cleaners that were common in the streets of Spanish Manila.

My Inquirer column today.http://opinion.inquirer.net/57767/bat......

My Inquirer column today.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/57767/baths-in-16th-century-philippines


Baths in 16th-century Philippines
opinion.inquirer.net
In another place and time, I was a Benedictine known as Dom Ignacio Maria. Those years are long gone but each year on July 31 I still celebrate my feast day together with Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuits under whom I was educated, and in whose universities, Ateneo de Manila and Sophia University (Tok...

In another time, another place, my nickname was "Nacho" not for the corn chips b...

In another time, another place, my nickname was "Nacho" not for the corn chips but for my namesake Ignacio de Loyola whose feast day we share and celebrate each year on July 31. A cousin who left the Benedictines that run St. Scholastica's to get married said in jest that my lack of perseverance was the second disappointment in our family. Some people enter religious life and stay for life, some join for a short time, either way appreciating the love for learning and the search for the Divine remains and cannot but be a blessing.