Beware of History, It Holds No Secrets
Gregoria de Jesus, Widow of Andres Bonifacio
We scaled mountains, crossed oceans, faced the travails of new landscapes. How do we say that in a single page. Let me begin with Banahaw, the mountain that majestically sits in the Southwest corner of island Luzon. The "holy mountain" is its popular name. Life-changing stories surround it. Patricia and I, spent many good months and years there. We observed the rituals of the spiritualists who domiciled at its foot and who preached peace, patriotism, and progress to those who would listen. Many years of teaching at the premier University of the Philippines revealed to me and my students, that these aspirations were elusive. Our spiritualists friends baptized their place the New Jerusalem and continue to pray and sacrifice for its coming. We did the same, beneath the baptismal waters of the Suplina Falls that fiercely whipped our backs; in the dim light of a sacred cave, some six hundred feet in the bowels of the volcanic crater, we prayed, as many did, to the spirits that our lives become meaningful and with good fortune.
When President Marcos engineered a constitutional power grab then, euphemistically declared, a New Society, the more fortunate ones looked beyond the islands and left the old society behind. Helter-skelter, a Diaspora emerged, mostly young professionals immigrating to the United States, some artists in UK and a few in Latinate countries. We find ourselves in Australia: where I attended Sydney University; where I wrote a thesis about the Mount Banahaw spiritualists; where we learned new skills - my wife, a student of museum then, a new mother, and parenthood. Parenting 101 in Diaspora started here.
Many Filipinos crossed over to the U.S. in the Family Reunion Program, or converted student/professional visas into resident Green Cards, the holy grail of Filipino immigration. Blessed with that option, our path led from Sydney to San Francisco. Our lives transected Parenting 101-B in Diaspora and living in the Belly of the Beast. Jobs, layoffs, credit histories, homes, jobs, layoffs, Depression 1997, teach, more study, Depression 2008, remodeling, daughter-in-college, daughter-in-marriage. A grand-child. Life goes on, like fine wine in the cellar of life.
ARTICLES ABOUT MICHAEL
"This prized Filipino fabric is from pineapple leaves" by Anne Ewbank Atlas Obscura, September 6, 2018 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cloth-made-from-pineapples
Penman No. 182: "In NVM’s Footsteps" by Jose (Butch Dalisay), January 11, 2016 https://penmanila.ph/2016/01/11/penman-no-182-in-nvms-footsteps
“Pilgrimage to a literary legacy” by Lisa Melnick, Positively Filipino, January 20, 2016 http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/pilgrimage-to-a-literary-legacy
"SF Community College losing Filipino students due to accreditation crisis.” Inquirer Global Nation, April 16, 2014. http://globalnation.inquirer.net/102134/sf-community-college-losing-filipino-students-due-to-accreditation-crisis/#ixzz3WAo4XfWe
"Evening of song, poetry in SF hails Bonifacio’s birth anniversary.” Inquirer Global Nation, November 20, 2014.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/114597/evening-of-song-poetry-in-sf-hails-bonifacios-birth-anniversary/#ixzz3WAn4RwTs
“Academic Technology Specialist Program: Digital Art and Diskurs ’07.” Speaking of Computers, No. 76, January 23, 2008
“Getting digital: Moving Drama, Art/Art History Departments into digital workflow.” Speaking of Computers, No. 70, January 25, 2006
“Medieval Spains Hyper Textbook: If You Build It Will They Come?” Speaking of Computers, No. 59, April 8, 2002
“Segunda jornada del seminario de Universia en la UIMP.” Universia.es: el portal de los universitarios, Spain, Agosto 2, 2002
“University jobs run a wide gamut.” Stanford Report, September 6, 2000
“The 10-second commute: former road warriors use high-tech means to work at home.” San Francisco Chronicle, April 14, 1997