Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 69

Two of my favorite poems by Jose Garcia Villa that need no explanation.

Two of my favorite poems by Jose Garcia Villa that need no explanation.



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Re-enacting an experience of terror during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines.

Re-enacting an experience of terror during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines.



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Flooding in Manila is not new. It is documented in this charming engraving from the 1857 Illustrated London News. My column tod...

Flooding in Manila is not new. It is documented in this charming engraving from the 1857 Illustrated London News.
My column today is on natural calamities classified in archival documents from the Spanish period as "Calamidades Publicas."
https://opinion.inquirer.net/164745/c...



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My undergrad Philippine History students at the University of Michigan, in the Reading Room of the Clements Library. I was happy...

My undergrad Philippine History students at the University of Michigan, in the Reading Room of the Clements Library. I was happy to see them using primary sources for their final papers. They had history, literally, at their fingertips.
A pity that most Filipino students do not have the same opportunities. Having the rare books and manuscripts is only the first step in the journey of discovery, the real secret is access.
My Inquirer column on the primary sources on Philippine histor...

This photograph of Marcelo H. del Pilar inscribed to Jose Rizal in Barcelona on January 29,1889 has been in my files for years. ...

This photograph of Marcelo H. del Pilar inscribed to Jose Rizal in Barcelona on January 29,1889 has been in my files for years. Original, preserved in the National Library of the Philippines, is almost useless because it is very faded. But adjusting color on my laptop have it new life. Now I have to learn how to colorize the historical photos in my files.



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Insect chorus as I trod the red brick road today. Do you still hear cicadas where you live or work?

Insect chorus as I trod the red brick road today. Do you still hear cicadas where you live or work?



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Can you guess where I was researching today? Following Teodoro Agoncillo’s advice to visit (and revisit!) historic sites, museu...

Can you guess where I was researching today?
Following Teodoro Agoncillo’s advice to visit (and revisit!) historic sites, museums, and archives to discern traces of the past is belittled as antiquarianism not history. Ano daw?
Me-ma. :(
Constipated critic should acquaint himself with the OED to improve his aptitude for English usage.
Thanks to Emil Maranon for the candid photo.



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Luna-tics and Sharonians@ Ayala Museum

Luna-tics and Sharonians@ Ayala Museum



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Displayed in the Rizal Shrine Fort Santiago is a piece of Rizal's backbone. Family lore states that the piece of vertebra is chi...

Displayed in the Rizal Shrine Fort Santiago is a piece of Rizal's backbone. Family lore states that the piece of vertebra is chipped on the side where the bullet hit the hero on December 30, 1896. The photo is from my documentation in the mid-1980s.
My Inquirer column today is on the debates on the ethical issues concerning human remains in museums and other cultural institutions. How do we balance research and education with respect for the dead?
https://opinion.inquirer.net/164531/i......

Fragments of Jose Rizal’s brain. Most of Rizal’s mortal remains are buried under the monument in Luneta. Except a bit of...

Fragments of Jose Rizal’s brain.
Most of Rizal’s mortal remains are buried under the monument in Luneta. Except a bit of his backbone preserved in Fort Santiago. The chipped bone is believed to be the spot where the bullet hit him on December 30,1896. I did not know till recently that Rizal’s eldest sister Saturnina kept fragments of the hero’s brain in a bottle. I presume the fragments were formerly preserved in alcohol that has since dried up.
Still researching the story and context...