Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 25

Cafe Adriatico did not invent "chocolate eh."

Cafe Adriatico did not invent "chocolate eh."
Rizal did, in Chapter 11 of the Noli me tangere where it is a secret code between friar and servant, on what kind of chocolate to be served to a particular kind of guest. Important people were given chocolate "eh" meaning espeso (thick), while not so important ones were served chocolate "ah" meaning aguado (watered down or diluted).
Cafe Adriatico references Rizal while other places differentiate watery milk "hot chocolate" (from a sachet/can) ...

Photos from Ambeth R. Ocampo's post

My Inquirer column today dates me just as much as my column photos the past three decades.





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Tracing Rizal's Footsteps in Hong Kong

Tracing Rizal's Footsteps in Hong Kong.
Rizal practiced eye medicine in Hong Kong in three places: his home on Rednaxela Terrace (that’s Alexander spelled backwards), in today’s Mid-Levels. And two clinics in what is now Central: one on D’Aguilar Street, another on Duddell Street. Both Rednaxela and D’Aguilar sites are identified by historical markers.



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From Topside, to Mansion House, to the Mansion

From Topside, to Mansion House, to the Mansion.
I once thought that "Mansion House" (the President's Summer Residence in Baguio) was redundant. Aba, Mansion na house pa? "The Mansion" may be grammatically correct, euphonic even, but William Cameron Forbes vacation home in the U.S. was, believe it or not, called "Mansion House."
To complicate matters I found this 1907 photograph of "Mansion House Baguio" a year before its completion, and it was known as 'Topside." It was situated on ...

Self-explanatory

Self-explanatory



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What is it like to be a local executive insisting on good governance?

What is it like to be a local executive insisting on good governance?
Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong asked me to try out his office desk. As I got up he asked,”naramdaman mo ba ang stress?” I replied, “alam ko po, nakita ko ang bolsa de hielo.”
You can tell a lot about a person from his bookshelves or the clutter
on his desk. I saw the ice pack on his laptop.



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My Inquirer column today is on Jose Rizal's sculpture "Josephine [Bracken] Sleeping" that I used to think was "priceless" until ...

My Inquirer column today is on Jose Rizal's sculpture "Josephine [Bracken] Sleeping" that I used to think was "priceless" until it sold at auction last week for over 31 million pesos. Everyone and everything, including history, has its price.



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Met my UP Baguio graduate students face to face for the first time over pizza and pasta

Met my UP Baguio graduate students face to face for the first time over pizza and pasta. [Top] We conversed for almost four hours not as professor and students but as friends following the path of Clio. The past semester, even on Zoom, was a joy. Next day I had lunch [Bottom] to thank Drs Chat and Nela for the honor of being UPB Visiting Professor and teaching their bright promising students. Junior faculty member Joao sat in class and chose the resto so I could sample Cordillera cuisine.



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Photos from Ambeth R. Ocampo's post

My Inquirer column today on the loan of important paintings from the Lopez Museum and Library to UP Visayas Iloilo. Luna painted this faintly erotic portrait of his ill-fated wife in bed. This was believed to have been painted during their honeymoon.





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Photos from Ambeth R. Ocampo's post

Manuel Luis Quezon was on the 20-peso bill for the longest time until it was recently replaced by a coin. Quezon would have been on the 1,5, and 10-peso bills but the war intervened and these notes were not printed and circulated.
Edward de Los Santos Coll. Seen yesterday at the Bayanihan Collectors Club





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