Rarely in history do we find two friends whose interlinked lives would dramatically affect contemporary history. This is the tale of two Portuguese explorers, Fernão de Magalhães (Magellan) and Francisco Serrão (Serrano), who would both leave lasting imprints on Philippine history. In commemoration of their 495th death anniversary this year, we look […]
Venezuela recently launched a tourism drive entitled “que chévere es Venezuela” for Semana Santa or Holy Week, which traditionally is a long holiday in all of Latin America. Which brings me to ask this very important question: “why visit Venezuela? Venezuela is a blackhole of bad news these days. Skyrocketing […]
I just got a free vacation in sweltering Venezuela (figuratively and literally), courtesy of my government. If it wasn’t for the panicky decision-makers of that “office meant to protect Filipinos overseas,” I would have already been on my way back to Manila, having finished my posting in Mexico on 31 March […]
When does a simple handshake seem to be more than what it is? Much ado has been said about the recent handshake between US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro. Right wing critics bemoaned that Obama was legitimizing a brutal dictator. On the other hand, Obama’s left wing […]
Something interesting happened when I attended the “Colloquium on the Pacific” hosted by the Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas of the Institute Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). The event celebrated the 500th anniversary of the “discovery” of the Pacific Ocean by the Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. At the event, I had […]
Much has been said about the novelist Dan Brown’s “hellish” depiction of Manila in his novel entitled “Inferno.” In the fictional novel, one of the protagonists was said to have been raped in one of Manila’s slums. Thin-skinned Manileños, who abhor any negative portrayal about their hometown, took this as a personal […]
Because of my middle name, I always get asked whether I am a Muslim or if I am from Andalucia. That was when I was living in Cuba and Mexico. This piqued my interest about Andalucia. I finally had an opportunity to visit in May 2013. I selected Cordoba, Seville, […]
I came across a headline in Miami Herald about an acquaintance I have met many years ago in Cuba: Pedro Alvarez Borrego now a house-flipping capitalist. I think Mr. Alvarez Borrego has always been a capitalist at heart. You’ve got to be one if you are working for the Trade Department regardless […]
I still vividly remember the first time I arrived in Cuba in March 2008. My first impression was that Cuba looked and felt forlorn. From the air, the landscape looked vast and empty. This heightened the sense of anxiety. I felt unease traveling into a world so vastly different from […]