Advocacy gives meaning to life

I have just finished discussing the meaning of the word “advocacy” with Junífera Clarita. I asked her if she has heard of it. She said no. So I explained it to her in the simplest way a nine-year-old kid would understand.

I told her that it is what a person is fighting for. It is a mission, a personal purpose. I cited to her an easy example which she is very familiar with: myself. She and her siblings are already aware that I advocate for the return of the Spanish language in our country. I explained to her that it used to be the language of Filipinas, that it was the language of our patriots, most especially José Rizal, and that it used to be taught in schools. I asked her if Spanish is being taught in her school. She said no.

“See?” I replied. “In the past, Spanish used to be taught in schools. But not anymore. And that is what I am fighting for. That is the reason why I always write about it in my social media accounts. Because I believe that when Filipinos learn Spanish, they will be able to recover their dignity which will bring them closer to Jesus Christ. Because Spanish is a part of us Filipinos.”

I also told her that I have another advocacy: the environment. The protection of nature. Because it is God’s gift to us. That is why we should value it.

For a brief moment, I paused and thought if I should devote more time to the environment than my fight for the return of the Spanish language. I think I should, given the alarming status of our environment.

I then cited a few other examples to make it more clearer to her. There are people who advocate for the women’s rights, people who advocate for the rights of poor children to have toys, people who advocate for sports, etc. I then asked her what she would like to advocate for. She also said the environment Well and good.

In closing, I told her that a person who has no advocacy is a dead person. He is alive, yes, but he is like a mindless robot who functions only to wake up, eat, then sleep. A worthless life. But a person who advocates for something is a person who has a heart, who is fully alive, and lives a meaningful life, a life with a purpose. I explained to her that even if I am a poor man, I do not feel that my life is meaningless because of what I am advocating for.

Throught it all, my daughter was attentive. And I’m glad she was.

PS: She has been studying Spanish for the past three weeks via Duolingo, so I told her that the Spanish for advocacy is “apoyo” or “defensa“.

_{Follow me on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Threads.}

History with a purpose

Instead of sharing historical trivia simply for the sake of sharing knowledge about our country’s past, put it to good use. Share it with the purpose of enlivening our national identity. A Filipino enlightened by nationalism which is founded on our storied past will give him not just courage and character but a well-polished dignity to face adversaries greater than himself. No amount of exterior forces (China, US neocolonialism, etc.) nor interior challenges (political corruption, insurgencies, etc.) will deter him from moving forward if his national identity wields a power that is sourced from its veritable past. Remember: historical knowledge is power.

_{Follow me on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Threads.}

An ashy Valentine’s Day

I’m now part of the social media team of Our Lady of Fatima Parish – Elvinda, San Pedro Laguna. The short article below is my first contribution to their Facebook page:

Have a blessed Lenten Season, everyone.

_{Follow me on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Threads.}

Poemario Rizaliano

^{Translatio unius poematis Josephus Rizal in Anglicam per Nick Joaquín, Nationalis Artis pro Literature.}

Para comprender mejor el talante y la psicología de José Rizal, o quizás su amor apasionado por nuestra patria filipina, es mejor leer sus poemas llenos de amor y esperanza en lugar de sus novelas llenas de ira, desprecio, y dolor.

To better understand the viewpoints and psychology of José Rizal, or perhaps his passionate love for our country, Filipinas, it is better to read his poems that are full of love and hope rather than his novels that are filled with anger, contempt, and suffering.

Para más maintindihán ang sáloobin at psicología ni José Rizal, o ‘di cayá’y ang caniyáng marubdób na págmamahal sa ating bansáng Filipinas, más maínam na basahin ang caniyáng mg̃a tuláng punó ng pag-ibig at pag-asa en vez na mg̃a novela niyáng punó ng galit, pañguñgutyâ, at paghihinagpís.

_{Follow me on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Threads.}

Why do we have “Noche Buena”?

During the Spanish times, when Catholicism still reigned with fervor burning, Filipinos did not eat on the entire day of Christmas Eve. They practiced fasting in preparation for Christmas Day, the only time they were finally allowed to eat, but in festive spirit. This explains why there is so much food during Noche Buena, a practice which now secularized Filipinos, who no longer fast, still hold dearly to this day.

_{Follow me on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Threads.}

Misa de Gallo, Simbáng Gabí, or Misa de Aguinaldo?

 ^{Misa de Aguinaldo at the Holy Family Church in Cubáo, Quezon City, circa 2014 (Maurice Joseph Almadrones)}

The traditional nine-day Christmas Season dawn Masses begin today. People have been calling it either as Misa de Gallo, Simbáng Gabí, or Misa de Aguinaldo. But which of the three, really, is the precise term? Is it acceptable if we just use them interchangeably?

First of all, it should be clarified that Misa de Aguinaldo is just the same as Simbáng Gabí. The Tagálog term, however, seems to be a recent coinage — it was never used during the Spanish times and US occupation era. It had always been Misa de Aguinaldo.

Secondly, there is a difference between the Misa de Gallo and the Misa de Aguinaldo / Simbáng Gabí. The first refers to the midnight Mass celebrated on Christmas Eve. The second pertains to the nine-day votive Masses celebrated in the early hours of the morning before Christmas Day (from the 16th to the 24th).

While a literal translation of Misa de Gallo would be “Mass of the Cock”, the term really means “Midnight Mass” as it is celebrated on Christmas Eve. Pope Sisto III (Sixtus III) instituted it in the third century and was celebrated for the first time at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The name came to be because it was at midnight when the first cockcrow is usually heard in the ancient city.

Also, Filipinos know that the word aguinaldo is synonymous to “regalo” which means gift. The Real Academia Española defines aguinaldo as “que se da en Navidad o en la fiesta de la Epifanía” or a gift given at Christmas or on the feast of the Epiphany.

But where is the gift-giving in Misa de Aguinaldo?

The origin of the Misa de Aguinaldo can be traced back to the Masses celebrated at dawn, nine days before Christmas in honor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the early days, churches in Spain were in the habit of providing food to the poor right after each dawn Mass. This corporal act of mercy is called Aguinaldo, and the gifts that the religious gave to the poor were called aguinaldos. Pretty soon, the dawn Masses, including the distribution of gifts, became known as “Misas de Aguinaldo“.

Finally, it is not true that the Misa de Aguinaldo was conceptualized to accommodate farmers who start working in the fields before sunrise. As can be gleaned above, this practice originated from Spain. No such accommodation was done for farmers there.

_{Follow me on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Threads.}

From Pantheon to “pantiyon“

^{The Pantheon, Rome, Italy (Wikimedia Commons).}

Filipinos in far-flung towns and barrios oftentimes refer to tombstones as panteón*. I first heard the word from my paternal grandmother as a child. I was already steeped into books by then, so when I first heard the word from her, it immediately reminded me of the Pantheon, that famous Roman temple built between the 1st and 2nd centuries. For years, I wondered if the Pantheon of Ancient Rome had any influence over the origin of the word panteón especially since they sound almost the same when uttered.

Later in life, when I was already into etymology (the study of the origin of words), I found out that what I have been suspecting all these years is correct. The local word panteón indeed originated from the Pantheon of Rome. This temple was built by Roman general Marcus Agrippa who was also an architect. It was dedicated to all Roman gods. Years later, when Christianity triumphed over pagan Rome, Pope Boniface IV rededicated the temple to the Virgin Mary and all Christian martyrs, paving the way to the development of the feast of All Saints’ Day.

This same Roman temple became the inspiration for the French revolutionists who, after seizing the Church of Sainte-Geneviève, turned it into what is now known as the Panthéon of Paris. Since then, the word pantheon has been applied to buildings in which illustrious dead are honoured or buried. Here in Filipinas, its local equivalent (panteón) specifically refers to either a tombstone or a mausoleum.

_{* “Pantion” and “pantiyon” are erroneous spellings. Panteón is Spanish for Pantheon. Follow me on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Threads.}

¡Viva la Hispanidad!

¡Feliz Día de la Hispanidad! ¡Viva las Españas! ¡Viva la Virgen del Pilar!

La Naval de Manila in a nutshell

The brilliant comic strip above (from Komiks ni Fray) is NOT fiction nor was it taken from some historical legend. Our Lady of the Most Blessed Rosary really participated in the battle against the five Dutch invasions of 1646 to protect the consecrated islands of Filipinas. And this was attested to by the shocked Spanish and Filipino sailors themselves, many of whom were nearly defenseless (and even outnumbered) against the Protestant Dutch vessels that later on frighteningly sailed away upon seeing the heavenly apparition. This is the awe-inspiring origin of La Naval de Manila whose feast day we commemorate today. ¡Viva la Virgen!

_{Follow me on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Threads.}

“Para ñga po diyán sa tabí”

Whenever we need to get off the jeepney, we all say “para” to the driver. By now, I believe most Filipinos already know that para is Spanish for “stop”, conjugated from the verb “parar” (to stop).

To students of Spanish grammar, it is also known that para is the informal imperative form. Therefore, in Tagálog, para means “humintó ca” (you stop).

Not so polite, isn’t it?

Meanwhile, the formal imperative form of parar (the polite version) is “pare” which means “humintó po cayó” (please stop). Since we Filipinos are a polite bunch, won’t we rather say pare to the jeepney driver instead of para?

The only problem is that the word pare means something else. It is actually a variant or shortened form of the Spanish word “compadre” which means co-father or co-parent. It is what you call your male friend whom you have chosen to become the godfather of your child. But pare has since become a way of addressing or referring to a friend or companion even if he is not your child’s godfather. So yeah, it would be awkward to say “pare, pare” to the jeepney driver.

These are just some of the countless subtleties and nuances of the Spanish language found in Tagálog. And we haven’t even tackled all the other Hispanized Filipino languages.

By the way, the word “tsuper” is actually derived from the Spanish “chófer” which means the same thing: driver. Gulat cayó, ¿no?

_{Follow me on Facebook, X, Threads, and Instagram.}