(pic from BBC)
Happy Independence Day to the motherland!
The Philippines declared liberation from more than 300 years of Spanish rule on June 12, 1898, in the midst of the Spanish-American War. A premature declaration by then-president, Emilio Aguinaldo, because as he saw the Spaniards board their ships & sail away, he rushed to the presidential palace only to be greeted by the new colonizers, the Americans, who had purchased the country from Spain in the 1898 Treaty of Paris to recoup Spain's war costs. Ooooops.
American rule lasted until the end of World War 2, once the Philippines had fulfilled its usefulness as a Pacific military base. Incidentally I watched a great old movie today about the Japanese occupation during the war, one of the masterpieces of Philippine cinema, "Oro, Plata, Mata." It's directed by Peque Gallaga, a proud Illongo & filmed in Bacolod, yahoo! (I am also a proud Illonga from Bacolod) :)
Even though we are now proudly independent, we have much to owe to our former colonizers. So thank you Spain, for our love of all things pork, our musical rhythm, 40% of our language, Catholicism, & our last names. Thank you America for our English skills, our media-savvy, & our penchant for fast food & sugar. And then thank you rest of Asia for our family values, our cheap & great shopping, & our love of variety shows & karaoke. All these quirky traits combine to form the wonderful & wacky culture that I so adore & take with me everywhere I go.
Go Pinoy pride!
The Philippines declared liberation from more than 300 years of Spanish rule on June 12, 1898, in the midst of the Spanish-American War. A premature declaration by then-president, Emilio Aguinaldo, because as he saw the Spaniards board their ships & sail away, he rushed to the presidential palace only to be greeted by the new colonizers, the Americans, who had purchased the country from Spain in the 1898 Treaty of Paris to recoup Spain's war costs. Ooooops.
American rule lasted until the end of World War 2, once the Philippines had fulfilled its usefulness as a Pacific military base. Incidentally I watched a great old movie today about the Japanese occupation during the war, one of the masterpieces of Philippine cinema, "Oro, Plata, Mata." It's directed by Peque Gallaga, a proud Illongo & filmed in Bacolod, yahoo! (I am also a proud Illonga from Bacolod) :)
Even though we are now proudly independent, we have much to owe to our former colonizers. So thank you Spain, for our love of all things pork, our musical rhythm, 40% of our language, Catholicism, & our last names. Thank you America for our English skills, our media-savvy, & our penchant for fast food & sugar. And then thank you rest of Asia for our family values, our cheap & great shopping, & our love of variety shows & karaoke. All these quirky traits combine to form the wonderful & wacky culture that I so adore & take with me everywhere I go.
Go Pinoy pride!
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