1882 in the Philippines is best described as an annus horribilis, literally a “horrible year.” 1882 was a year of disaster and tribulation, with misfortune coming in threes: earthquakes, a cholera epidemic, and a devastating typhoon. The Diario de Manila reportage,...

While I understand the celebration that comes with the inclusion of the Philippines in the world-famous Michelin Guide, our culinary culture needs no validation. Not from foreigners. Nor from a company whose core business is manufacturing tires. Goodyear and...

Being a nerd has its rewards. When I am in an archive, a library, or a museum with materials from or about the Philippines, I feel like a child in a candy store. Despite the stress and jet lag that comes with long trips, I accepted the invitation to deliver an opening...

Reading Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” (1897) in high school was a revelation. First, the novel did not translate accurately into the many film versions I have seen. Second, the novel was presented in epistolary form, or through a succession of letters and diary entries....

Jerrold Tarog’s long-awaited “Quezon” did not disappoint. As a matter of fact, it exceeded my already jaded vision following his “Heneral Luna” (2015) and “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral” (2018). I watched the film on a Monday afternoon, the time seniors watch for free, and...

Most “old” people use artificial intelligence, or AI, like Google. They ask a question, AI answers. That is the simplest, most basic use of a tool that is slowly shaping our lives, whether we like it or not. In discussions on the use of AI in higher education last...

Analyn Salvador-Amores, professor of anthropology at the University of the Philippines Baguio, may not fit the image of the swashbuckling anthropologist Indiana Jones, but her work is real, not reel. For many years now, Amores, “Ikin” to friends, has been on the hunt...

Next week, the Philippines will be the guest of honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the biggest and most important book fair in the world. Jose Rizal is the mascot of the Philippines because of his German connection. He lived in historic Heidelberg to learn German and...

In search of material for a column, I visited the Ateneo Rizal Library the other day and browsed aimlessly in the periodical section. There, I came across bound volumes of the pro-Ferdinand Marcos Sr. magazine “Republic Weekly.” In it was a series on Dovie Beams and...

The few holdouts who prefer the paper edition of the Inquirer over the digital version are romantics who like the smell of paper, the smudge of ink on their fingers. While there is a tactile pleasure in reading a newspaper, I prefer digital in my research because I am...