Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 22

If we have Jollibee mascots today, a century ago there were mascots advertising Philippine Cigars

If we have Jollibee mascots today, a century ago there were mascots advertising Philippine Cigars. These "walking cigars" must have been an amusing sight in prewar Manila.
This photograph is preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris.



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My Inquirer column today is on a new translation of a Song Chinese text that describes the Philippines and the Filipinos 800 yea...

My Inquirer column today is on a new translation of a Song Chinese text that describes the Philippines and the Filipinos 800 years ago.



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My Inquirer column today is on theft of items from the luggage of passengers arriving at NAIA

My Inquirer column today is on theft of items from the luggage of passengers arriving at NAIA. Authorities are looking into the matter, and I hope the issue gets resolved.



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Sorry for the late posting

Sorry for the late posting. Was down with flu last week.
My column last Friday on learning Spanish



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Preserved in the Biblioteca Nacional de España is an album of watercolors by Jose Honorato Lozano that depicts views and scenes ...

Preserved in the Biblioteca Nacional de España is an album of watercolors by Jose Honorato Lozano that depicts views and scenes of the Philippines. Album is dated 1847 and one of the plates depicts the traslacion of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo.
Descriptive text in the album states that this image, "of the church and Plaza [of Quiapo] as the procession of the Holy Jesus is passing by...aside from the mass and procession there is a lot of music and fanfare. Naturally, the cockpits are open bec...

Following an ancient German Benedictine tradition I write these symbols on our doors on January 6, Feast of the Three Kings, or ...

Following an ancient German Benedictine tradition I write these symbols on our doors on January 6, Feast of the Three Kings, or on the Feast of the Epiphany yesterday.
Between the present year 2025 are crosses and the first letters of the names: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. Remember the heroine Tandang Sora was born on Tres Reyes and was christened Melchora.
People stay clear of our doors thinking I am a mangkukulam, not knowing that the letters also mean, “Christus Benedicat Mans...

My Inquirer column today on the back stories of our banknotes

My Inquirer column today on the back stories of our banknotes



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Sturdy desks in Philippine hardwood, like narra, were manufactured for prewar government offices or for sale to the public from ...

Sturdy desks in Philippine hardwood, like narra, were manufactured for prewar government offices or for sale to the public from Bilibid prison. Prisoners made desks, chairs, even walking canes in a program that gave them vocational skills rather than just sitting their sentences out in their cells.
This photograph from 1916 is from an album of the Bureau of Prisons that features Bilibid and Iwahig. These and a lot more are preserved in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.



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My first column for 2025

My first column for 2025.
Remembering my father who told me that most of what I complained about was nothing compared to his experience of surviving World War II.
If you can't read the screenshot here is the link
https://opinion.inquirer.net/179646/w...



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Looking forward to 2025!

The view from our bedroom.



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