inside Philippine politics and beyond
Easter this year has particularly been meaningful for me. First, I’m inspired to find Filipinos all over the world who continue to be concerned for their Motherland. It is this discovery that has energized and heartened me, what my hubby Alan calls “bayanihan in the cyber-age.” I also think many of those gathering around my website are Filipinos who had [...]
Dear everyone, I will be doing two things this week - Site maintenance And contemplation Because of the difficulties that many of you have been experiencing going into my site, I have decided to devote the next few days to trying to solve this problem. Please bear with me. There may be times that my site will not be available [...]
Intro by Raïssa Robles One of the unique features of the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship was the use of humor as a political weapon. The Marcoses simply hated being laughed at. And concerts of the Apo Hiking Society were famous for poking fun at the powers-that-be through songs and jokes. Yesterday, out of the blue, Jim Paredes of the [...]
Actors and actresses are fine. But this young man is a living embodiment of peace and love. And maybe he can help bring peace. I’d like to thank my Facebook friends who passed this on to me: Ellen Talleon, Leilani Perez Mallin, rodel Panligan, Isah V. Red, Glenn Cruz, Ben Leano, Evangelinni Banaginni, Linda Reyes Romualdez and Esoy Yodabe. [...]
By Raïssa Robles One of the “things” I love about the Internet is how millions of strangers around the world share their thoughts and ideas for free. And Facebook and Twitter make all that sharing easy – with the speed of thought. Hate can spread so swiftly. But so can love and fun. Like this one below. I first [...]
By Raïssa Robles This is not the first time the Catholic Church has pressured the government into banning a work of art on the grounds that it is sacrilegious and blasphemous. In 1956, the Catholic Church tried to stop Congress from requiring all schools from including the novels of our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal in the curriculum. To [...]
By Raïssa Robles I like this piece of art for art’s sake: But it is art like this that provokes my mind: And this : And this: And this, too: Religious art The Catholic Church has always used art to great effect to elicit religious fervor from Filipinos. But what goes for [...]
A personal commentary By Raïssa Robles When Imelda Marcos went to the Cultural Center of the Philippines and asked it to shut down an art exhibit, it promptly did. When presidential spokesman Ed Lacierda was asked what the Office of the President intended to do with the same art exhibit, he washed President Benigno Aquino’s hands for him and [...]
From the art exhibit “Kulo” at the Cultural Center of the Philippines - _______________________________ Related Stories: Meet our new Philippine President: Her Excellency, Madame Imelda Marcos Disturbing Art _______________________________
And what this has to do with Rizal and Marcos By Raissa Robles I’ve been writing since I was a kid. Writing all sorts of stuff. I’ve written about Sharon and Gabby, earthquakes and volcanoes, pearls and fashion, and even an adventure tale. But increasingly, I do not know why I feel compelled to write about a puke-inducing period in [...]