Ambeth R. Ocampo's Blog, page 12

Remembering Tony Perez (1951-2025).
Passing by P. Tuazon to exit at EDSA some weeks ago, I passed by Tony Perez's place and told myself to schedule a visit. He ha left FB so I was going to ask around for his phone number. He was a different man to different people, a man of many facets: playwright, seer, exorcist, cultural officer at the US Embassy and upon retirement became the "Hermit of Cubao."
Received a message from him on FB, when I was teaching in Japan, he was doing murals for ...

#𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸: 𝗬𝘀𝗹𝗮 𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗼𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀?, 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗵 𝗥. 𝗢𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗼

In some old Spanish maps, the Philippines was known as the Islas del Poniente or the Isles of the West because Magellan traveled to the islands using the Western route from Spain. To the Portuguese who used the Eastern route, the Philippines was the Islas del Oriente (Isles of the East). Imagine if we changed from Filipinas to Islas del Poniente, we would not be Filipinos today; we would be “Ponientas”!

#InquirerOpinion #INQPlus...

Privileged to examine yet another original 1734 Murillo Velarde map of the Philippines added to the three known ones in Manila.



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My Inquirer column today on maps and the old names of Filipinas.



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My Inquirer today on a current Ayala Museum exhibition on color in/and Fernando Amorsolo.



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Interviewed on Rizal by German media in preparation for the Philippines as Guest of Honor at the 2025 Frankfurt Bookfair. Thanks to the National Library for allowing us to film and record in the building where Rizal’s manuscript legacy are preserved.



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KSP.
Kulang sa pansin? You can get a lot of attention riding this "crocodile car," actually a float or carrosa that I saw while leafing through the prewar magazine "El Renacimiento Filipino."



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The view of Emilio Aguinaldo’s grand living room from a library in the mezzanine where musicians played to encourage people to dance. Without the carpets you can fully appreciate the polished floors of Philippine hardwoods in planks that reference the flag.



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JULIA VARGAS the face behind the streetname.
For many of us who drive or commute, Julia Vargas the long street that connects C5 to EDSA, from SM Pasig to "MegaSMall." While browsing issues of the prewar magazine Excelsior from 1929 (through digital copies of rare Philippine periodicals made available by the UP Main Library) I found the face behind the name: Julia Vargas was the wife of Francisco Ortigas, owner of the Hacienda de Mandaloyon now the glitzy Ortigas Center.



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First Filipino sighted by Pius IX (Pio Nono in 1869?



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