We remember Jose Rizal's "Peaceful Life in Dapitan"

Today is Jose Rizal's birthday. That is why we are sharing one of his letters as published by the Commission on Higher Education in its website. Let us remember Rizal, who once lived, laughed and loved in our midst. Mindanao then, to this extraordinarily brilliant and freedom-loving Filipino, was a haven....a place where he further grew in wisdom and godliness. Letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt, December 19, 1893 "I shall tell you how we lived here. I have three houses-one square, another hexagonal, and the third octagonal. All these houses are made of bamboo, wood, and nipa. I live in the square house, together with my mother, my sister, Trinidad, and my nephew. In the octagonal house live some young boys who are my pupils. The hexagonal house is my barn where I keep my chickens. "From my house, I hear the murmur of a clear brook which comes from the high rocks. I see the seashore where I keep two boats, which are called barotos here. "I have many fruit trees, such as mangoes, lanzones, guayabanos, baluno, nangka, etc. I have rabbits, dogs, cats, and other animals. "I rise early in the morning-at five-visit my plants, feed the chickens, awaken my people, and prepare our breakfast. At half-past seven, we eat our breakfast, which consists of tea, bread, cheese, sweets, and other things. "After breakfast, I treat the poor patients who come to my house. Then I dress and go to Dapitan in my baroto. I am busy the whole morning, attending to my patients in town. "At noon, I return home to Talisay for lunch. Then, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., I am busy as a teacher. I teach the young boys. "I spend the rest of the afternoon in farming. My pupils help me in watering the plants, pruning the fruits, and planting many kinds of trees. We stop at 6:00 p.m. for the Angelus "I spend the night reading and writing."

The Golden Tara of Agusan

One of GMA's winningest documentaries hosted by Mel Tiangco, The Philippine Treasures, features the Golden Tara of Agusan del Sur. The Golden Tara is a 21-carat golden figure of a female Hindu deity. It is said to have been found by a Manobo woman along the muddy banks of the Wawa River and was first thought to be some kind of a doll. Now, the Golden Tara's home is the Fields Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. It solemnly sits in a delicate glass case and is counted among the most precious in the collection of pre-historic artefacts from Asia. In Butuan, Golden Tara replicas of different sizes may be purchased by tourists and locals in souvenir shops and pasalubong centers. As I see the image dangling in keychains, emblazoned on t-shirts and molded in plaster of Paris table ornaments, I cannot help but wonder how it would have felt if personally, I can see the original image in the Balanghay Museum instead. There is one giant marker though declaring that the Golden Tara was discovered in the Caraga region. It stands as a proud reminder that yes, there is so much history left to be unearthed, so many stories to be told, so many questions to be answered. If only we can all make an effort to take one small step to understanding our country's colorful history, we may well be on the path to more lasting peace, harmony and of course, progress. (CARosales)

New Beginnings

We write today as if it is still the first day of January as we fling open our doors and windows to yet another challenge in the converging worlds of television and the world wide web. iSYU & iSTORYA is a shared blog by the producers of GMA Regional News and Public Affairs in Mindanao. Entries will be in both Cebuano/Visayan and English. We endeavor to be chroniclers, storytellers, storycatchers for stories of and about Mindanao in this generation for the benefit of the next. Join us in this exciting ride by suggesting issues and stories. We prefer those that focus on the beauty, mystery and heart of Mindanao. Certainly, there is something to look forward to this July.