Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 8

Photos from Ambeth R. Ocampo's post

Michigan Men and Malcolm Boys.
While browsing in the Bentley Historical Library in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, I encountered George A. Malcolm (1881-1961) in his papers and photographs. Malcolm Hall in U.P. Diliman was named after him. He was one of the founding fathers of the UP College of Law, served as Dean for six years from 1911, after which he became Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court from 1917-1936.
In attendance at his despedida in 1939 were his stud...

Home - Repatriating a Lost Library of the Spanish Pacific

In 1762 the British looted the library of San Agustin in Intramuros. Primary Source documents from that library once believed lost ,have been found , digitized (some transcribed and translated), and put online in a website that reconstructs and digitally repatriates part of the once lost library of San Agustin in 1762.
This is an exciting site. check it out


Reclaiming the Lost Archive of the Convento de San Agustin Skip Go 761 Manuscripts Collected from The Lilly Library The Lopez Library San...

Photos from Ambeth R. Ocampo's post

One of the old books that caught my eye in San Agustin was one that had the signature of Vicente Sepulveda [Left], murdered by fellow friars in 1617 according to a footnote in Blair and Robertson [Right].
Read my Inquirer column today for the whole story.
https://opinion.inquirer.net/184332/m...







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Before reels, tik-tok, and YouTube people had to make do with a stereoscope

Before reels, tik-tok, and YouTube people had to make do with a stereoscope.
Primitive to GenZ the steroscope gave an illusion of depth to a pair of photos.
I didn't consider sore eyes or other communicable diseases from using this public hand-held stereoscope in the National Gallery Singapore. A quick peek revealed these two 19th century Filipinas frozen in time.



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In 1762 the British looted the library of San Agustin, Intramuros

In 1762 the British looted the library of San Agustin, Intramuros. People thought nothing was left, but then some things were hiding in plain sight. Some of the books in the San Agustin library today date back to the late 16th century.
Some of the books have book plates attached that not only assert ownership, some indicate their physical location in the library as shown in this late 19th century photograph. To find a book in the old library, you looked for the "estante" literally "shelf" b...

"Banderitas" literally "little flags" are the buntings that contribute to the festive atmosphere in Philippine fiestas

"Banderitas" literally "little flags" are the buntings that contribute to the festive atmosphere in Philippine fiestas. These used to be made of paper or cloth but today are from non-biodegradable plastic. On the narrow roads of Sulipan, Apalit towards the "camarin" of the venerated image of "Apung Iru” [St. Peter] this morning, I noticed that the different barangays competed with each other for the best banderitas, this seemed to me the best in the rainbow colors we associate today with LGBT.

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Photos from Ambeth R. Ocampo's post

My Inquirer column today is about falling into the rabbit hole of early Philippine imprints or "Incunabula" books published in the Philippines from 1593-1643.
Thanks to Butch Dalisay for the wonderful pic from my opening keynote at San Agustin yesterday. It looks as if I am browsing the books on a shelf.l
https://opinion.inquirer.net/184217/s...







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One of the oldest books in the San Agustin Library (Intramuros) dates from 1576

One of the oldest books in the San Agustin Library (Intramuros) dates from 1576. It is significant not because of age but from the signature of "fray Andres de Aguirre" who signed on its title page in 1584. Aguirre was one of the five pioneer Augustinian friars who arrived in the islands with Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565.
The five pioneer Agustinians were: Andres de Urdaneta�, Martin de Rada�, Diego de Herrera�, Pedro de Gamboa�, and Andres de Aguirre. All of them have been honored with stree...

Photos from Ambeth R. Ocampo's post

My Inquirer column today on Manila's "leo-delfin" (lion-dolphin) granted in 1596 and the Singapore Merlion created in 1972. Ours is older, has the head of a lion and the tail of a dolphin, while Singapore's has the head of a lion and the tail of a fish. The issue is not whether these are the same or not, but that ours receded from memory due to disuse, while effective nation-branding made the merlion the iconic international symbol of Singapore.
https://opinion.inquirer.net/184147/o......

Four years ago Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, III passed away

Four years ago Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, III passed away.
My Noynoy story is from 2011. I was waiting for a cab outside the plush Plaza Indonesia shopping mall when "hawi boys" asked me to step out of the red carpet laid out for a departing VVIP. Then President Aquino walked briskly toward a waiting limousine to take him to the Indonesian Presidential palace for dinner. He saw me, stopped, extended his hand, and when I took it he remarked, "you look familiar." I am usually quick to think on my fe...