Manila-based writer, painter, and sea creature.
I write about desire, discretion, art, reefs, restaurants, and the strange weather of men.
Host of The Companion’s Notebook.
erinestrella.online
Erin Estrella
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July 4 still exists here, by the way. It's now called "Philippine-American Friendship Day." I'm sure the irony is lost on absolutely no one.
So today, June 12 - the date we chose, the date we took back.
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.
Thanks for your concern re: big earthand tsunami warning today. I am currently in Luzon, Northern group of islands- the earthquake and tsunami warning in Mindanao (southern group of islands(
I am trying to befriend the murder of crows that hang out near the dive site I frequent.
I hope the spirits grant me their approval.
July 4.
THEIR birthday. They gave us our freedom back as a party favor at their own celebration.
And for sixteen years we went along with it - lighting fireworks for our independence on the one day of the year guaranteed to be about somebody else.
There was an actual order in Samar to kill everyone over the age of ten.
The general who gave it got a court-martial and a comfortable retirement. We got a footnote in their textbooks.
But here's my favorite part. When America finally "granted" us independence in 1946, guess what date they picked?
- Philippines independent from Spain. First republic in Asia. We fought for it. We bled for it. We wrote an anthem for it.
Six months later, Spain sold us to America for $20 million. We were not consulted. We were not even cc'd.
Erin Estrella
It took until 1962 for Macapagal to say what everyone was thinking: we declared independence on June 12, 1898. That's the date.
That was always the date. America didn't give us our freedom - they just held it for 48 years and charged emotional interest.
Happy Hindipendence day, Philippines! No, that's not a typo. Hindi means No/not in our national language. US, listen up because I heard this part of your history is NOT taught in your schools.
In 1898, the first president Aguinaldo stood on a balcony in Kawit and declared the
There are talks of Visa free visits to Guam for Filipinos.
So to all my lovers in the United States:
Let's swim with Guam's sharks soon
When we objected - with rifles, because we'd just spent years learning how - America called it an "insurrection." History calls it the Philippine-American War. Somewhere between 200,000 and a million Filipinos died, mostly civilians.
