Coming to New York in June. Roces Family members will come to New York City to see Anding Roces' book transformed into a zaruela.
SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT
June 21 - 24, 2007
The Annex
La Mama Theatre
67 East 4 St.
New York, NY USA
Based on Dr. Roces' eponymous prize-winning book of short stories, the musical is about the uniquely Pinoy's fascination with game cocks.
Purchase tickets
I have had so much going on in my life that I've not had much time to devote to this project at all. I look at the things that I have on the to do list for this and I look at my to do list for work, a business I am trying to start up, and the requirements for the community that I live in now that I'm on the Board of Directors and it leaves me so little time. Now that work is slowing down, or at least I get summer Fridays which means I alternate Fridays off, I will be able to devote more time into this project.
 Portrait of Don Alejandro Roces, Sr. (by Fernando Amorsolo)My apologies for not updating so regularly lately. I've been away from computers on sabbatical and haven't had regular access to computers. I received an email the other day and was given some pictures to post. This is the first of the four I received.
From an email I just got to read: In case you don't know yet, my nephew Christian phoned to tell me of the birth of his and Valentina's first child, Sebastian Alexander on Thurs. 9 Feb. (instead of 16 Feb. as expected). His maternal grandparents, Habib and Sonia, arrived the day before from Beirut, and his paternal parents, Joe and Marie from Albuquerque, NM via Wash.DC , haven't arrived yet due to a big snow storm on the East Coast. On his father's side he is Powers-Roces-Tatton and his mother's side he is Bardawil. More details and hopefully photos as they arrive.
I've not had much time to spend here these past 2 weeks. So much so that I have forgotten what I learned about the new system that I was preparing to implement here to help rotate content. On personal fronts, two weeks ago my wife's cat who is 18+ years passed away. My wife and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary the other day. We're also gearing up to start a food business and want to do another run before the end of the month. I recently got elected to our board of directors at the Coop we live in so that is also taking up a good amount of my time. We're also in talks to start a non profit organization to help get books to impoverished kids in the Philippines. We've been able to get a publisher on board to purchase the books at cost and get the publisher to do the distribution as part of their book fair program. We just need to focus on getting sponsors and monies for each school so that each child can get a book. If you'd like to assist in this project now or in the future please feel free to contact me about the One Book Project.
I just recieved this in the mail a moment ago... Ha muerto Francisco Roces Felgueroso, en la tarde del Martes.
El funeral por su eterno descanso se celebrará en la mañana del
JUEVES, DÍA 26, en la iglesia parroquial de Castiello de Bernueces. Doce años de lucha contra el cáncer, con batallas ganadas al mal, paro con una muerte que se veía venir durante los últimos días, que pasó en el Hospital General acompañado por sus
familiares más cercanos.
Francisco Roces vivió dedicado a su familia y a la Parroquia de Castiello. El pasado mes de Octubre la Asociación de Vecinos le rindió un homenaje multitudinario, como agradecimiento a su
continua dedicación a resolver los problemas de la zona, siempre en colaboración con su esposa. Pili.
Miembro de una familia muy numerosa, deja viuda, dos hijos: Pilar María y Francisco y cuatro nietos. Hombre de vida cristiana, era bien conocido por todos por su asistencia a los actos religiosos de la parroquia. Ahora que ya no estará presente, quedará su recuerdo en todos los muchos que le apreciaban, que se unirán a rezar por la salvación de
su alma. Que Dios premie sus desvelos para llevar adelante a su familia y que su ejemplo sirva para que la sociedad en que vivimos sea algo mejor.
 Alfredo "Ding" Roces and Baby Roces and the rest of his clan. Can you name the rest of them?
It's the first real post of the 2006 and it is going to be a simple request. Those of you who are related to the Roces Family, I need some information. Since I started this I have been filling in the family tree as best as I can. When I meet up with someone I request information about their parents and siblings and any children they may have. I need to continue to fill it in. So if you are the head of a household, please contact me before you send anything. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable like they are sending personal information to someone that they do not know. If we've been in contact before please send me the most information you can which means please include birthdates and significant dates like marriages, divorces and the like. If you'd like to include a family portrait, please do so and list all the family members on the photo. Pets are also welcome as well. Even if you think that I have your information, please contact me so that I can verify the information that I have. The detailed information will only be shared with known family members, what does that mean? Well I won't give it to someone that isn't sponsored or vouched for by another person who has been verified either live in person or via another family member who has done or claims the same. The family tree will be public, but the details will not. To help me with this I have been working on a new program that will allow me to filter out family members from the general public. I hope to complete the work on it and implement it by March. Please email me your information at rocesfamily@gmail.com
 Wishing all the family members a Happy New Year!!!
A little acapella do wop ditty by Santa and the Reindeer.Have yourself a wonderful Merry Christmas.
http://news.inq7.net/lifestyle/index.php?index=1&story_id=61039 Christmastime in a bottleFirst posted 11:14pm (Mla time) Dec 24, 2005By Linda Bolido Inquirer THE LADY'S CHOICE HAS BECOME THE people's, too, as more than a hundred communities throughout the Philippines rallied around the new squat glass jar of the popular mayonnaise brand of consumer product manufacturer Unilever. The new Lady's Choice bottle for mayonnaise and sandwich spreads became the symbol this Christmas of bayanihan, an increasingly endangered Filipino tradition. From the northernmost province of the country, Batanes, to the heartland of Mindanao, entire towns and cities worked together for weeks to come up with their entries to Unilever's Christmasterpiece Bayanihang Pasko 2005, the first of what will be an annual competition for the best holiday season emblem that a community could produce through teamwork. The rules were simple. Among others, participants had to form themselves into teams of at least 10, use a minimum of 100 new Lady's Choice bottles, and the resulting structure should be not less than 15 feet tall. When the dust settled, rather after thousands of bottles had been emptied, the modest town of Naawan in Misamis Oriental, halfway between the capital Cagayan de Oro and Lanao del Norte's Iligan City, emerged victorious as the "Most Creative Town or City." The municipality of 17,000 built the Arc of Friendship over the main highway. Consisting of two towers, with a footbridge linking both parts, the Pride of Naawan, as Mayor Dennis L. Roa called it, could very well be the town's own Arc de Triomphe. Though it did not cost as much to build nor would it last as long as the Paris landmark (entries must be left intact until Jan. 15), the bamboo-palm-coconut arch won for the town at least P1 million in prize money (there were additional prizes in cash and kind). It also earned Naawan bragging rights over Tangub City in Misamis Occidental, which had been dubbed the Christmas Symbols Capital of the Philippines. In fact, almost every town and city in Mindanao that participated in the contest knew Tangub would be a formidable opponent. The city had been into the Christmas business for 13 years, hence the title conferred on it by the Department of Tourism. Tangub did win a silver and a bronze for two of its seven entries. Roa had the help of a former advertising man and a native son of Naawan, Bai Manginsay, in conceptualizing the award-winning arch. With the prize money, the mayor said he would set up a creativity center that would train people, particularly out of school youth, in livelihood activities. Naawan celebrated its victory in style, courtesy of Unilever. Despite the heavy rains on the evening of Dec. 17, people from the town and neighboring municipalities came in droves to watch, among others, Jolina Magdangal and Jimmy Bondoc perform. Iligan, which had three entries, won a special citation. The Department of Education's entry, which featured traditional symbols of the season like the Christmas tree, used the most number of bottles-2,672-beating the local government's replica of city hall by just a few jars. Mayor Lawrence Cruz said the people of the city were so into the spirit of the competition that they even brought unopened jars. Not wanting the items to go to waste, the mayor had them used for sandwiches for the volunteers' merienda. Though only about one per cent of Iligan's population is Muslim, Cruz made it a point to make them feel part of the whole project by having a crescent beside the cross on the roof of "city hall." In Tangub, with seven entries to fill with Lady's Choice jars, Mayor Jennifer Tan and Vice Mayor Edemar Alota, who supervised the project, said they would probably lay off the mayonnaise and sandwich spread until February. That the city has this Christmas thing down pat was obvious from the complexity and diversity of its entries. The city engineer's office's bronze-winning project even had a revolving "bottle" of Lady's Choice made of rice straw looming over a large umbrella covering the nativity scene (the umbrella was supposed to be a metaphor for faith and the encompassing protection it offers). Judges in this year's competition were National Artist Alejandro Roces, glass sculptor Ramon Orlina, architect Ma. Cristina Turalba, Tourism Assistant Secretary Eduardo Jarque and Unilever's Alex Tacderas. |
 Merry Christmas to all those family members around the world! A rememberance to those that are no longer with us in body but memory. This particular young gentleman is Matthew the son of Mike Sioson & Marlene Roces. She was kind enough to send this early in the Christmas season and I've been hoping that other family members would also send me pictures of their children on Santa's lap. I'll have to make sure that I announce the request much earlier next year. Take some pictures of your kids opening gifts in the morning and email me the best ones you have. It would be great to share them with the rest of the family around the globe. Merry Christmas everyone!
Roces in the News (RITN) Every day I keep finding new things about the family name and it's legacy. It's nice to know that Lolo Rafael is still helping people help people. | Special Features (as of 1:40 AM) |
 Migrant worker’s daughter does her family proud
VOLUNTEERS FOR PROGRESS By NARLIZA BENTER As a child Donna Marie Alcantara was no different from the others. In her grade school years, Donna, as her friends called her, usually spent her time playing without worrying about life. Back then she was studying in a private school in Baguio City. Her father worked as a laborer in a company and was earning enough for his family; her mother sold barbecue to augment the family income. Life seemed good. When Donna reached Grade 6, her mother decided to work abroad as a housemaid. As with other children of OFWs, Donna found the separation difficult. She remembers enduring loneliness and the pang her mother’s absence. "Although our financial situation improved a bit, it still could not replace having my mother around." Gifted with a maturity beyond her years, Donna decided to pour all her energies on her studies instead. Despite the hard work of her mother and father, money was still hard to come by for the family. Classes were about to start when Donna was informed that the family could no longer shoulder some of her school expenses. It was another storm that Donna had to weather. "It was bad because my classmates would tease me about my ratty old uniforms and the fact that I always had to borrow school materials. I felt like I had no choice because we just didn’t have enough money to buy all those things." When she was about to enter high school, she transferred from a private school to a public one. Fearful for her future but determined to succeed, Donna worked hard until she found herself part of the Pathways to Higher Education Program in Saint Louis University in Baguio City. Pathways to Higher Education is an innovative education program of Ateneo de Manila University, having regional offices in Baguio Marbel and Bulacan, that aims to help send academically gifted but marginalized public high-school students to college. Instead of giving doles and scholarships, Pathways offers impoverished high-school students academic enrichment classes, supplementary learning activities, and learning resource centers to enable them to study well and earn scholarships to the schools and courses of their choice. It opened a lot of doors for Donna and finally the Rafael Roces Memorial Scholarship Program provided her with a full scholarship. Now a sophomore at Saint Louis University, Donna is well on her way toward fulfilling her dreams of providing a better future for her and her family. "Someday I want to build up my own school, a school that can help marginalized students develop and enhance their talents, skills and abilities. I also dream of becoming a teacher who will serve the country and help bring out the best in students, a teacher who deals with people, touching life and letting them realize that everything happens for a reason." Donna’s family is her source of inspiration. "My family is my source of happiness. In the end, I just want to give them a more comfortable life. It is true that I am going through a lot of trials in life; I still find myself praying to God asking for help, guidance and support. I cannot allow one difficulty to defeat me, to crush the dreams that years of hard work and dedication have built. I must hold on to my dreams and believe that I can do it." Pathways to Higher Education has been helping young students like Donna chart their own courses for the future. With your help, more high-school and college students will have access to new experiences and opportunities that will make them better individuals and leaders. Get to know more about Pathways’ groundbreaking programs by calling 426-6001 local 4044-4049, by sending an e-mail to pathways@admu.edu.ph, or by logging on to www.pathwaysphilippines.blogspot.com or by texting 0920-950-8171. |
EDITORIAL PRENSA ASTURIANADirector: Isidoro Nicieza
GIJÓN 15 de Diciembre de 2005
Aunque haya muerto vivirá CARLOS OSORO SIERRA
Querido Carlos: Quiero estar unido a ti y a toda tu familia en la muerte de tu hermana Pili. Ciertamente ese agujero tan hondo y oscuro que siempre aparece en nuestra vida como es la muerte nos deja sin palabras. Los humanos tenemos palabras para casi todo, pero para la muerte no tenemos ninguna, lo único que se nos ocurre es decir a quien padece este acontecimiento «te acompaño en el sentimiento» o «estoy contigo». Yo hoy quiero decirte otra cosa muy diferente, en la que tú crees profundamente. Los que creemos hemos recibido una palabra de quien es más que nosotros, que vivió la muerte en su propia existencia y que resucitó y alcanzó la resurrección para nosotros. Él nos dijo: «Yo soy la resurrección y la vida, el que cree en mí, aunque haya muerto, vivirá y todo el que vive y cree en mí no morirá para siempre». ¿Crees esto? Sé que tú lo crees. Y sé también que la inseguridad que viene de nosotros desaparece cuando asumimos la seguridad que Jesucristo mismo nos da. Pido al Señor por tu hermana. Mañana la misa la ofreceré por ella y la recordaré junto a todos vosotros, su familia. Con gran afecto.
Carta remitida por el Sr. Arzobispo, D.Carlos Osoro a Carlos Roces Felgueroso
EDITORIAL PRENSA ASTURIANA
Director: Isidoro Nicieza
GIJÓN 15 de Diciembre de 2005
Funeral en La Asunción por Pilar Roces Felgueroso
 Pilar Roces Felgueroso.
María del Pilar Roces Felgueroso falleció el pasado lunes y recibió cristiana sepultura en Villalón de Campos (Valladolid). Pili será despedida mañana, viernes, día 16 de diciembre, a las 19.45 de la tarde, en La Asunción, donde se celebrará un funeral por su eterno descanso. En el Colegio de La Asunción estudiaron las tres hermanas Roces Felgueroso y allí sus familiares rezarán por ella, muy cerca del hogar que compartieron en la niñez y juventud. Era la mayor de nueve hermanos, de los que ahora sólo viven seis. Ella fue también madre de familia numerosa; casada, hace más de medio siglo, con Manuel Herrero Monje, fue madre de ocho hijos. Profunda creyente, Pilar vivió al servicio de su familia. Entregada a todos ellos, sin desmayar, desde la muerte de su hija Mercedes, en un accidente de automóvil, vivió con su pena y fue perdiendo la fuerza y la salud hasta su reciente muerte. «Ante su muerte no debemos estar tristes ni lamentarnos. Su vida ha de servirnos de ejemplo a todos, para desterrar el egoísmo y servir a los demás con amor, como ella hizo durante tantos años», dice su hermano Carlos Roces
 The call came on Saturday morning. I wasn't home so I got a message from my sister on my cellphone when Mamasing passed on. I was travelling to visit a friend for the weekend and didn't have access to a computer until today. If anyone would like to share stories or pictures for me to post please contact me rocesfamily@gmail.com. Information on services and news as I hear about it.
I've been quite busy with work since I've returned from the Philippines. There are several business deals that I'm working on and it's kept me from working on this project. I've literally had not spare time as I've been jet setting for the past 2 months with a trip to Carlsbad to visit my parents, London to visit my mother in law, and this weekend will be a surprise trip my wife as put together. The holidays will bring some lighter workloads at the office so I'll be able to write up some elements I've been meaning to. If anything I don't think I'll get to the conversion to this new format until after the new year, but I can at least continue to update this blog on a weekly basis like when I first started. Two different family members have been connected by other long lost people because of this website. One connection spans decades and is within the oldest generation, and the other is from my generation. It's great to know that even if I've not had time to update this site with stories that it still is something that can help connect the family over time and distance.
I've been really busy with work and haven't had much opporunity to work on putting together the pictures from the trip. I've been able to cull out the Morita's Restaurant pictures but the rest really need TLC to put together. I was trying to upgrade the forums to the latest vbulletin and the security patch update and in doing so blew up the system. I was going to recover it, but then thought to myself,"Remember the feed back that people have given you is that it's difficult to navigate and use for non-computer people." In that vein with the little spare time that I do have, I've been testing a different presentation software. The new software will incoporate this blog along with the forum and photo gallery in a more simplified, easy to navigate front end system. (At least I hope.) If I can at least get the blog transferred over before Christmas I'll be happy with that and then I can get the rest of the intergration after the New Year. One of the other things that I think is interesting is that since I've not had any time to work on this project, I seem to have had a memory leak. As I look at some of the coding and technical items I'm not remembering how they work or what I need to do to modify them the way that I had been. I just need to spend more time with this and hopefully I will be able to soon. In the meantime... Here's a movie of my wife Dori petting a tiger cub in the Malabon Zoo. (warning dialup users it's a 6Mb quicktime video!)
Anak TV Seal screening process winds up
First posted 09:23pm (Mla time) Nov 11, 2005
By Nestor Torre
Inquirer News Service
LINK
EACH YEAR, THE Anak TV screening process winds up with a media showcase that gives print and broadcast journalists a chance to see how the nationwide screenings for the prized citations of child-friendly shows unreel.
This year's culminating trip is happening this weekend, with the help of Negros Navigation and the office of the Mayor of Bacolod City. Some media people sailed yesterday on the MS/St. Joseph the Worker. They are currently in Bacolod City and will be back in Manila tomorrow.
Young viewers' welfare
During the trip, they are observing how Anak TV screenings are conducted, and learning what people from all walks of life think
about television, particularly in relation to young viewers' welfare.
Onboard the Negros Navigation vessel, they are interviewing MTRCB Chair Consoliza Laguardia, and interfacing with Southeast Asian Foundation officials, led by president Edgardo Roces, and trustee Sulficio Tagud Jr.
In Bacolod, they are taking a city tour, visiting scenic sites, and sampling the city's delicacies. More pertinently, they will attend a media conference hosted by Mayor Evelio Leonardia and the city's councilors. At the event, the mayor will make an official statement about television as it affects Bacolod children.
Effectivity
We have joined a similar "educational trip" in the past, and can vouch for its effectivity in helping media people better appreciate the importance of encouraging the production and viewership of TV shows that have a positive effect on young people.
Even better, we saw for ourselves that many parents, educators and youths in the provinces are very concerned about irresponsible and exploitative TV programs, because they realize the persuasive power of television over young viewers' sensibilities.
At the Anak TV screenings, they launched into extensive discussions of the sample programs they viewed, and detailed how they impacted on
children.
Not perfect
To be sure, the Anak TV process isn't perfect. Last year, for instance, a few of the programs cited left something to be desired (at least as far as this writer was concerned).
But the process generally works, and goes a long way in involving the
viewing public in vetting programs that young viewers get to see. This is "broadcast democracy" at work, and should definitely be encouraged.
Citations
So, our hopes are high that the 2005 Anak TV Seal citations will encourage the production of more responsible TV programs, and that more media people will give SEAFCTV's signature project the support it deserves.
GMA TOASTS OUTSTANDING PINOYS FOR SHOWCASING BEST OF FILIPINO
 MALACANANG, November 8, 2005 (OFFICE OF THE PRESS SECRETARY) ) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo congratulated today several outstanding indigenous groups and individuals who have made the Philippines proud by garnering recognitions and awards here and abroad. The President hailed the awardees for showcasing the best of the Filipino during a special courtesy call this afternoon at the Rizal Hall of Malacanang. "They represent the best of the Filipino and indeed there are so many that represented the best of the Filipino… We congratulate all of them. They all represent the great Filipino worker, the great Filipino. Thank you for inspiring us and may we continue to produce more of the great Filipino," the President said. Among those present during the simple ceremonies were Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, UNICEF Director Nicolas Alipui, national artists Napoleon Abueva (visual arts) and Dr. Alejandro Roces (literature), and Presidential Assistant on Culture and concurrent National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) executive director Cecile Guidote Alvarez. Leading the awardees is the Xilworks team of the Far Eastern University (FEU) that won the Jaycees International Best Business Plans of the World contest last Oct. 28 in Vienna, Austria. The team, composed of Ruth Michelle Ariem, Alexis Lozano, Michael Estorninos and their adviser Prof. Ramon Adviento, bested over 200 business plans from around the world with their clean technology of extracting silver from spent x-ray solution. Other awardees are ABS-CBN news anchor Karen Davila whose feature "Batang Preso" (Juvenile Prisoners) in the investigative program "The Correspondents" bested 50 other entries from the Asia-Pacific region in winning the "UNICEF Child Rights Award" last October in Hong Kong; GMA7 news anchor Rhea Santos and host of "At Your Service" television program for bagging the Gold Camera Award, the highest award given in the 38th US International Film and Video Festival, one of the world’s highest honors in audio visual competition held last June. The show’s "Under the Sea" episode, which taught a fishing community how to build an artificial coral reef as an alternative means of livelihood, bested 1,300 entries from 30 countries under the Community Development Genre category; The Philipine Educational Theater Association (PETA) received last October the 2005 Japan Foundation’s Special Prize for Culture and Arts, the first for the Philippines, for its significant role in international cultural and artistic exchange and carrying out educational and community building efforts in Asia; Ms. Malou Jacob, who was among this year’s recipients of the SEAwrite Awards, Asia’s most prestigious literary prize given by the Princess of Thailand in Bangkok last month; Jacob’s book "Anatomy of Corruption" talks about the values and the re-thrusting necessary to fight corruption. "Juan Tamban," one of her plays about a street child who eats cockroaches to survive, received critical acclaim. Visual artist Romulo Galicano, who bested 2,000 other painters from around the world in winning the grand prize of the 2005 International Portrait Competition hosted by the Portrait Society of America in Washington, D.C. last May 2005; His winning entry, a 30x40 oil painting portrait of Eddie Chua, a businessman and friend, was a perfect example of temporary realism – a fusion of realist and abstract art discipline. Christian choral group Coro Cantabile which received the Club UNESCO Citation during this year’s 7th Multi-ethnic Cultural Festival in Greece; Shirley Halili-Cruz School of Ballet, for bagging a total of 67 awards and gold trophies in the different dance categories in the 7th Asia-Pacific Dance Competition in Singapore. The President, who issued Presidential Proclamation No. 486 observing the whole month of October as Indigenous People’s Month, also congratulated the awardees in this year’s "Search for Outstanding Indigenous People’s Leadership (S.O.I.L.) that was given by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). They are Baguio City’s Cecile Afable (education and media), Iloilo’s Romulo Caballero (arts and culture), Pangasinan’s Inocencio Carganilla (entrepreneurship/livelihood), Mountain Province’s William Claver (peace, human rights and environment), and Zamboanga’s Justino Tiban Awid (public service/community leadership).
Today is All Saints Day. If I recall correctly there is an honor guard ceremony for Raphael "Liling" Roces Jr. and the others that were martyred during WWII. I'm currently reading Looking For Liling: A Family History Of World War II Martyr Rafael R. Roces, Jr. written by Alfredo "Ding" Roces. It's been a fascinating read so far.  Cemeteries are a time capsule of RP history, culture
First posted 03:17am (Mla time) Nov 01, 2005
By Jerome Aning
Inquirer News Service
LINK
IN LIFE, they helped shape the course of Philippine politics and culture. In death, their graves serve as guideposts to history.
Statesmen, politicians, military leaders, men and women of arts and letters, pioneers, martyrs and heroes come alive in the narratives of tour guide Carlos Celdran.
Once a year, Celdran takes local and foreign tourists to the Manila North, Chinese and La Loma Catholic cemeteries where the remains of some of the most outstanding Filipinos are interred. The three cemeteries are contiguous and combine to become Metro Manila’s biggest and most populous necropolis.
The final resting places of these illustrious Filipinos range from the ostentatiously elaborate to the self-effacing. Some reveal the architectural design or materials of a lost era.
Amid crosses and statues of Madonnas, saints and angels, Celdran recounts anecdotes about the dead while standing in front of their graves.
The greatest concentration of historical figures are at the Manila North and La Loma cemeteries. Three Presidents --Sergio Osmeña, Manuel Roxas and Ramon Magsaysay -- are buried there.
The cemeteries also host national politicians, like Claro M. Recto, Quintin Paredes, Pablo Ocampo and Benito Legarda, as well as Manila Mayors Arsenio Lacson, Antonio Villegas, Felix Huertas and Manuel de la Fuente.
Giants of arts and letters
Giants of Filipino arts and letters are represented by painter Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo, composer Julio Nakpil, architects Arcadio Arellano and Nakpil’s son Juan, and show biz personalities from the early 19th century up to “Da King of Philippine Movies” Fernando Poe Jr.
Before larger cemeteries were set up elsewhere in the metropolis, Manila North was the resting place of the Who’s Who of Philippine society, the scions of political clans, eminent academicians, big businessmen, sportsmen and famous entertainers.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s mother-in-law, Lourdes Tuason-Arroyo of the influential Tuason political clan, is buried at Manila North.
Through the years, many remains of VIPs have been exhumed and re-interred in shrines in their hometowns.
Only in April this year, the remains of First Lady Aurora Aragon-Quezon joined those of her husband, President Manuel Luis Quezon, originally a “resident” of Manila North, at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.
The following month, the remains of Potenciano Gregorio Sr., composer of Bicol’s popular love song “Sarung Banggi,” were reburied in his hometown of Sto. Domingo, Albay.
A mausoleum is dedicated to the veterans of the Philippine Revolution and the Filipino-American War, like Trinidad Tecson, Pio Valenzuela, Tomas Mascardo and Baldomero Aguinaldo.
The Thomasites
A graveyard honors the Thomasites, the American teachers who pioneered modern public education in the country and were behind such institutions as the Philippine Normal University in Manila and Silliman University in Dumaguete City.
Celdran related that the teachers, who arrived in 1901 and worked in major provinces, were unaccustomed to the local climate and thus died from assorted tropical diseases.
The tomb of the well-loved American Governor General, Francis Burton Harrison, is at La Loma at the boundary of Caloocan and Quezon cities. He was known for “Filipinizing” the country’s bureaucracy and accelerating the Filipinos’ training in democracy and responsible government.
A cherub guards the simple grave at Manila North of flyweight champion Pancho Villa, who fought in the United States in the 1920s and is considered Asia’s first boxing superstar.
Simplicity is also the theme of the mausoleum of the noodles magnate Ma Mon Luk at the Chinese Cemetery.
Melancholy air
A melancholy atmosphere hovers over the plot of the La Salle Brothers who were massacred by the Japanese during the Allied Liberation of Manila in World War II.
The same is true at the mass grave of the 20 Boy Scouts who died when their plane crashed in the Indian Ocean while they were on their way to the 1963 World Jamboree in Greece.
During World War II, the Chinese Cemetery witnessed the executions of prominent citizens, like Girl Scouts organizer Josefa Llanes Escoda, Chinese Consul General Yang Guangsheng, star athlete-turned-guerrilla spy Virgilio Lobregat, and writers Rafael Roces and Manuel Arguilla.
At the La Loma Cemetery lies the tomb of convicted rapist Leo Echegaray, the first to be executed by lethal injection in 1999 when capital punishment was restored. The heated debate about the death penalty, which divided the country, is conveyed by his epitaph that contains his last words: “Pilipino pinatay ng kapwa Pilipino.”
The Manila North Cemetery also contains the country’s only known Jewish cemetery, where each tombstone is marked by a Star of David. The cemetery also has spaces allotted for Freemasons, as well as aborted fetuses and abandoned dead infants.
While Manila North seems to have lost its image as the country’s premier cemetery due to congestion and urban pollution, the Chinese Cemetery, also in Manila, has remained popular among the ethnic Chinese.
Chinese Cemetery founder
Founded in the 1850s by Lim Ong and Tan Quien Sien, also known by his Christian name, Carlos Palanca, the 54-hectare Chinese Cemetery contains graves that tell of the wealth and social status of several generations of deceased.
Mausoleums can be as high as two stories. Some resemble temples and pagodas, while others can only be described as “grave villas.”
Those in the sections dubbed Millionaire’s Row and Little Beverly Hills contain comforts for the living, such as air-conditioning, hot and cold water, radio and television, complete kitchen appliances, flushing toilets, chandeliers and even mailboxes.
The dead are remembered in accordance with Catholic practices mixed with Buddhist, Confucian or Taoist traditions on honoring ancestors. Visiting family members offer food and burn incense sticks and paper cuttings before sepulchers that display portraits of the deceased.
Celdran told the Inquirer that over the years, the elements and general neglect have caused some of the tombs in the three cemeteries to deteriorate.
“Of course, there are some graves that are in bad shape, but most of these are run by the private families that own them. It’s the fault of the individuals rather than the government which is why [tombs are] deteriorating,” he said.
Celdran said the Chinese Cemetery was generally “still in pretty good shape” since it is run by a private organization known as the Chinese Charitable Organization.
Losing architectural flavor
He added that some Chinese tombs were fast losing their architectural flavor as many high-priced lots were being partitioned and sold to newcomers.
However, many La Loma tombs, including the St. Pancratius Church, are in disrepair because of lack of funds.
City Hall has been busy fixing up Manila North. The cemetery has a new entryway and an annex to accommodate more graves.
Many squatters have also been removed and resettled.
“Nevertheless, all three cemeteries are still worthy of a visit,” Celdran said, noting the growing number of tourists, guided or unguided, going to the cemeteries.
Culture experts say cemeteries are among the last places altered by forces of economic progress and development. Like historic artifacts, cemeteries tell what life was like in the past and how it continues to evolve.
They are, in a way, a time capsule of Philippine history and culture.
To me the technology of connectivity is amazing. I recieved an email from someone looking for a family member. I forwarded the information accordingly and hopefully the two long lost friends will reunite.
This story was taken from www.inq7.net -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=54434 15 Ateneans to be enshrined in memorial First posted 04:06am (Mla time) Oct 25, 2005 By Inquirer News Service ON NOV. 12, at a gathering on the Ateneo de Manila University campus at Loyola Heights, Quezon City, 15 men will be enshrined in the Ateneo Heroes Memorial. Their names will be added to those of the 112 who have been enshrined there since 1969, the year then Ateneo president Fr. Pacifico Ortiz S.J. had a modest war memorial erected to honor the Ateneans who perished in the Revolutions of 1896 and 1898 and World War II. Three Jesuits -- Fathers James Reuter, Romeo Intengan and Francisco Perez -- are among the present honorees. Reuter, who is currently at the helm of the Catholic Church’s National Office of Mass Media, was a prisoner of war of the Japanese interned in Los Baños, Laguna. Through the years, he has imbued his students with heroic ambitions and a passion for excellence as he taught college, coached the Hail Mary Team (the Blue Eagles), directed plays and conducted the Ateneo College Glee Club. Intengan, former Philippine Provincial of the Society of Jesus, was arrested and detained for two months for taking part in a march protesting electoral fraud and violence committed by the Marcos martial law regime. Perez was a guerrilla during the Japanese occupation. He was with the Matute Combat Regiment in the Bulacan Military Area headed by Gen. Alejo Santos. To be enshrined with them are two other living Ateneans -- Dr. Alejandro Roces and Antonio Malvar Meer. Roces was considered the youngest guerrilla when, at 15, he joined Marking Guerrillas in Rizal during WWII. A few years ago, he fearlessly faced hardened criminals, spoke to them about the importance of Literature to the nation and was able to retrieve the original manuscripts of Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and Mi Ultimo Adios that they had stolen. Meer served the country during and after the Pacific War, joined President Manuel Quezon’s organized guerrilla force and founded Handog sa Sundalo Foundation to alleviate the soldiers’ poverty. Among the deceased honorees are those who fought in Bataan and walked the Death March -- Antonio Vinluan, Philip Buencamino, Antonio Nieva, Ramon Pamintuan, Oscar Coscolluela and Ramon Diaz, who was tortured by the Japanese for being a member of an intelligence cell that relayed information about the Japanese to the Americans in Australia through the interned Jesuits. For the first time in the memorial’s history, four young Ateneo graduates will be enshrined for their martyrdom during the martial law years. They are Ferdinand Arceo, William Begg, Artemio Celestial Jr. and Abraham Sarmiento Jr. An exhibit of memorabilia belonging to the heroes will open at 1 p.m. on Nov. 12 at the Rizal Library. A documentary on the Legacy of Heroes will be shown, with Ricardo Jose as speaker. The ceremony honoring the heroes at Bellarmine Field will follow at 3 p.m.
I really have been so busy trying to catch up on work. I had to hit the ground running here and it has been nonstop since we arrived. I've been meaning to post items about things that happened while in Manila along with other things that I've discovered. Here is something that Carlos Roces emailed me from "Los Roces vuelven a Gijón." We'll have to make some sort of future plan to try to get all the Roces family members from all the countries together. 
| 
