—

For a name detached from a place is a voice detached from a mouth: Carvajal, Zaragoza, Arroceros, Muella de la Industria.

For Manila is as textual as much as it is geographical: a page is a place.

For if ‘everything in the world exists to end up in a book’, then everything in Manila exists to end up in an archive.

For the scholar once said: ‘dust and crabs, dust and crabs’.

For an archive is a pile of dust and facts.

For a fact is a dust mote with which a city may be built.

For when a coloniser came, the city became enclosed with a wall.

For when a coloniser came, the city was declared ‘open’.

For when a coloniser came he ‘boiled Manila water for 48 hours, then threw it away and drank beer’.

For I once saw a sign: ‘Open 45 hours’.

For in an archive you let your fingers do the walking.

For Manila has doubles: Singapore’s Merlion and the creature in Manila’s coat-of-arms are similar.

For in Singapore, you can find Manila Street.

For if ‘I keep coming back to Manila’ and ‘hinahanap-hanap kita Manila’, then I want to return to the city that has wounded me.

For if you can lead a horse to the Pasig but cannot make him drink, then you can lead a scholar to Manila but cannot make him think.

For dust in an archivist’s hand and dust on a flâneur’s body mean the same thing: I was there.

For ‘there is no there there’.

For this is the city of our defections.

For ‘how can you see your [city] unless you leave it’.

—

For when I write ‘Manila’, Manila recedes; when I do not write ‘Manila’, Manila approaches.

For on the wall of Quiapo Church is a faded mural of the Black Nazarene procession.

For to pass the time you make a list of the things you see: candles in the shape of humans; crystals; pamparegla; buntot pagi; pito-pito; amulets; beads; flowers; flowers; fruits; vegetables; contraptions to unclog drains; jeans.

For Manila is paratactic.

For ‘I wander thro each charter’d street, / Near where the charter’d Pasig does flow’.

For earthquakes and fires revise Manila.

For Manila now is both continuity and rupture from Manila then.

For once voices occupied my hearing the way a crowd occupied a plaza.

For only the mad will write a history of Manila’s silences.

For it is only when you choose to empty your self from your self that a poem can occupy you.

For Manila can never be emptied.

For Manila has had its chances.

For Manila keeps us guessing.

For even if Manila is secretly in love with its ruins, it still treats them with disdain.

For if only you could keep a city in your mind the way you keep a folded map of it in your pocket.

For Manila will reveal itself to you only when you have made up your mind to stop being full of yourself.

For ‘mad Manila hurt you into poetry’.

For ‘dear, dirty Manila’.

—

For I will consider my city Manila.

For in mid-afternoons in karaoke bars, old men sing and on their laps young women sit and touch them disinterestedly.

For my friends and I would go out to eat roasted chicken and grilled squid.

For I buy most of my Beatles albums from my ’suki’.

For Bilibid Viejo means ‘old prison’ and Hormiga means ‘ant’.

For from the riverbank on late afternoons, the view of the Post Office is magnificent and melancholy.

For in Sta. Cruz Church, above the altar, the eyes of Paschal Lamb look like fish eyes and its legs look splayed; its artist was an unwitting master of skewed perspective.

For when you can carry facts in your head, history becomes frighteningly portable.

For a moment is a speck of dust on the back of the ant of time.

For a woman who is out of time sleeps with a man who is out of love.

For it pleases us to see the towers of the Ocampo Pagoda when we walk along Gonzalo Puyat.

For when nobody minds us we can do as we please.

For when I brought you to San Sebastian Church we could not enter, so we said we would come back next time.

For the city touches you with its heat, dust, and rain.

For the city speaks to you with its noise.

For the city will never tell you the distinction between ‘history’ and ‘the past’.

For a pickpocket never looks you in the eye when he steals your wallet.

December essay topics in Nick Joaquin’s Almanac for Manileños (notes)

1. December as month of marriage and parenthood—6 December: St. Nicholas of Bari: patron of marriage—10 December: feast of the Holy House of Loreto—Simbang Gabi as novena to Our Lady of Expectation—Sunday after Christmas: feast of the Holy Family—28 December: feast of Inocentes and St. Joseph.

2. Calendar anomaly—December is the name of the 12th month, but etymologically, its name means “tenth.”

3. 22 December: winter solstice—midwinter bonfires: to rekindle the waning sun—25 December: Birthday of the Sun—commemoration of the Roman sun god Mithras—birth from Great Mother Goddess—pagan origins of Christmas celebration—13 December in Scandinavia: feast of St. Lucy—Christmas lantern as continuation of primitive rite of Birthday of the Sun.

4. Celebration of Sta. Lucia in Old Manila: invasion by the peasantry of gentry ground—Recollet Church in Intramuros became market fair—but Recoletos in Intramuros in now no more.

5. Tree of Christmas—when man believed that trees had the property of fire—gods of the sun, fire and trees were the same—plucking off the mistletoe so that the tree can be sacrificed—sacrificing the Old King so that he may be reborn as the New King—King’s genitals were hung on the tree before he was slain—also a symbol of fertility—25 December for pagan Britain: night-long orgy—British mothers’ night, Tagalog Tatarin.

6. Turquoise as December birthstone.

7. Sampaloc—founded by Franciscans—first nunnery—first Filipino to become a nun: Marta de San Bernardo—became a nun while at sea—first public printing house: Imprenta de Nuestra Señora de Loreto—still rustic until the 1920s—Sampaloc as university town—Centro Escolar de Señoritas, University of Manila, National University—hotbed of the angry young—fiesta: second Sunday of December.

8. December 1896: happiest December in Philippine history—Revolution appeared triumphant—Cavite had been liberated from Spain—but at the end of the month, 40,000 troops had sailed from Spain.

9. December 1941: gloomiest December in Philippine history—8 December: bombing of Baguio, Davao, Aparri, Tuguegarao—Manila declared Open City.

10. Advent also as preparation of Christ as Judge at the end of the world—Advent supposed to be a season of fasting and penitence but in Manila it has become the start of a long celebration—December in Manila as one continuous fiesta—feast of Immaculate Conception—fiesta of Sampaloc—Simbang Gabi—fiesta in Ermita—Tatarin festivals in Paco—Rizal Day—Rizal Day Queens of the 1920s.

11. No tradition of Nochebuena—Nochebuena had to be simple: pospas, goto—1930s: cold frankfurters, cold ham, cold liver slices and bread and butter.

12. Panunuluyan in Makati.

13. 12 days of Christmas: 26 December to 6 January—6 January: Twelfth Night, end of gift-giving season—6 January as Christmas for the Eastern Orthodox Church.

14. Shopping for gifts as a city-wide operation—shoes at Gandara—chinelas at Villalobos—terno at Calle San Fernando at Binondo—toys at Rizal Avenue—hams, chestnuts, pomelos, champuy, ampao at Calle Rosario—bread at San Marcelino and Intramuros—biscuits at Tondo—pastries and sweets at Plaza Sta. Cruz—hats at haberdashery shops opposite Plaza Sta. Cruz—imported fruit and cold meats along Echague—Spanish delicacies (especially turron) at shops in Quiapo—but now turron is only banana fritters—1930s: start of rise of department store.

15. Legazpi expedition sailed from a port in Mexico called Navidad—voyage under the auspices of Babe of Bethlehem ended with finding of the Christ Child in Cebu—natives called Jesus “Deo Bata”—Christ Child became resident in Philippines but became transformed into native idol.

16. New Year’s Eve: rite of the scapegoat and rite of saturnalia.

17. Insular Ice Plant: minute-long whistle sounded thrice a day—7.00 a.m., noon, 4.00 p.m.—regulated our lives—origin of the expression “mabilis pa sa alas kuwatro”—on Arroceros Street, between Sta. Cruz Bridge and Colgante—ice plant’s whistle sounded for an hour on New Year’s Eve.

Joaquin, Nick. Almanac for Manileños. Manila: Mr and Ms, 1979.

November essay topics in Nick Joaquin’s Almanac for Manileños (notes)

1. Pagan rituals associated with Day of the Dead—Irish, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Eskimos—division of 1 November and 2 November duties—memorial decoration on the eve of All Souls—the cult of saints—who were considered “saints”—auxiliary saints—purging of many saints suspected of being mythic heroes—10th century: start of church canonization.

2. Guinatan for Biyernes Santo and Todos los Santos—recipe for guinatan—kinds of guinatan.

3. Narrative of the Inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

4. Manila high society parties—history of Club Filipino—Club Filipino and nationalism—Mancomunidad Pampangueña—Kahirup.

5. History of tourist belt area: Malate, Ermita, Luneta, San Marcelino—all these areas may have been a single geographical unit before the arrival of the Spaniards—friars then divided the area—burned in 1762 during the British Invasion—only Bagumbayan was not rebuilt—became Luneta—first name: Parish of Santiago Apostol, then renamed: El Campo de Bagumbayan—19th century Ermita—Fort San Antonio Abad—San Marcelino—Ayala Bridge (made of steel)—American period—area became classier, like a precursor of Forbes Park and San Lorenzo—November fiestas in the Malate area—war ruined everything.

6. 1963: Bonifacio made Hero of Manila—30 November: also the day of Manila’s patron saint: St. Andrew the Apostle—1574: Manila placed under the protection of St. Andrew from the advances of Limahong—the revolutionary dimension of St. Andrew—Scotland and Manila have the same patron saint.

Joaquin, Nick. Almanac for Manileños. Manila: Mr and Ms, 1979.

October essay topics in Nick Joaquin’s Almanac for Manileños (notes)

1. Famous October events in world history—Battle of Lepanto, Russian October Revolution, Sun Yat-Sen’s revolt against the Manchus, inauguration of the People’s Republic of China—great October fiestas of Manila—La Naval, Binondo.

2. San Francisco Church in prewar Intramuros—every Tuesday, veneration of San Antonio de Padua—15 June 1577: arrival of Franciscans in Manila—evangelization of Manila, Southern Tagalog and Bicol—establishment of hospital—wrote grammar books in Tagalog and Bicolano—4 October: feast of St. Francis of Assisi—also World Animal Day.

3. Lanzones—myth of lanzones and association with October—when lanzones is grown—names of lanzones—lanzones belt—description of lanzones—memory of Pakil boy associated with lanzones.

4. How to make a fumigant out of lanzones.

5. Close ties between Chinese and Filipinos began in Spanish period—history of Chinese settlements in the Philippines—around 10 Parians in Manila throughout history—”classic” Parian: outside Parian Gate, later became Arroceros and Plaza Lawton—Parian in Binondo became present-day Chinatown—noodle kitchens and refreshment parlors.

6. Octoberian in Philippine school system.

7. Rivalry between Sta. Cruz and Binondo—the glory that was Sta. Cruz and the grandeur that was Binondo—history of Binondo and Sta. Cruz—Escolta–Plaza Sta. Cruz—integration of city began with Calle Azcarraga—1900s: Binondo on the wane, Sta. Cruz on the rise—demolition of houses, merging of Dulumbayan and Salcedo, construction of Rizal Avenue—decline of Sta. Cruz–vanished downtown places: Zorilla, Teatro Pilipino, Monte de Piedad on Plaza Goiti, Refugio, Silver Dollar, feria in Plaza Sta. Cruz, La Perla, Lux, Sirena, Empire, Savoy, Rivoli, Palace, Sibakong, Plaza Lunch, Tom’s Dixie Kitchen.

8. Halloween—witches of Halloween—priestesses of the old religion—broom symbol—primeval cult of the moon—old religion in Europe—Asian time marked by lunar calendars.

Joaquin, Nick. Almanac for Manileños. Manila: Mr and Ms, 1979.

The forfeit of maps might also land her there

Unto Thee by Mabi David will be the National Book Development Board Book Club’s feature for this month. Discussion will be on 20 June 2009 (Saturday), 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m., at the Ortigas Foundation Library. More details at Itinerary.

Sample work from You Are Here, Mabi’s second collection of poems, here and here. A sample of Mabi’s critical writing can be found here.

September essay topics in Nick Joaquin’s Almanac for Manileños (notes)

1. Pan de San Nicolas—tinapay kastila—10 September: feast of St. Nicholas of Tolentino—pan de sal as smaller, softer version of pan de San Nicolas—folk rules (now mostly forgotten) that paired certain breads with certain dishes.

2. Rice—supposedly nutritionally insubstantial yet manages to suppress hunger pangs—rice dominates Filipino diet—Philippines as rice exporter until 19th century—rice shortage during the war—California rice after the war.

3. Mother houses built by Augustinians—San Agustin—Convento de San Nicolas (Recoletos)—Augustinians who first converted Filipinos to Christianity—Augustinians as Blackfriars, but in the Philippines they wore white—Frailocracy in colonial period unfortunately personified by Fray Damaso—but friars also contributed to our development—story of Las Piñas and Fray Diego—revised view of “300 years in a convent”—not just convent but also factory, trade school, research laboratory, agricultural school, etc.—transfer of technology.

4. 15 September 1898—Malolos Republic, Congress inaugurated—29 September 1898: Malolos Congress ratified—Malolos dinner menu—culmination—sophistication not only in council but also at table.

5. 23 September 1762: British in Manila Bay—25 September 1762: British in Manila—British Occupation until 31 May 1764—two year period: anarchy—revolts by Ilocanos and Chinese.

6. 29 September: Michaelmas—St. Michael the Archangel—history of Arrabal de San Miguel—Malacañang—Fabrica de Ginebra de San Miguel–Fabrica de Cerveza de San Miguel—Amorsolo as San Miguel label designer—story of Ginebra and San Miguel Beer.

Joaquin, Nick. Almanac for Manileños. Manila: Mr and Ms, 1979.

The wall stands distant. Thus continues the attachment.

Some notes from keynote lecture by Avery Gordon in the Haunted Futurities symposium. 4 June 2009.

•

Haunting as something by which any form of social violence has repressed can make itself known.

•

When the trouble appears, when the trouble is no longer repressed, when what had been concealed is made present and when the presence demands its due.

•

Haunting urges something to be done—this action may be social, psychological, or political in nature—and may be a prelude to change. In this sense, the past is bound to the future: to be haunted is to be interwoven with what may come.

•

What happens when the ghost demands attention.

•

Haunting as a sign of what Raymond Williams calls the emergent state.

•

Ghosts can be treated respectfully but can’t be allowed to take over completely.

•

A difference between trauma and haunting. Trauma is a misalignment of time, a disruption in the temporality of experience. Trauma is experienced belatedly. The shock comes later. One is stuck in a past that repeats as a present that can never end. Trauma binds you to an experience that can neither be forgiven nor forgotten. Trauma binds you to the repression of the memory, as well as to a defined future.

•

In haunting, there is a possibility for a new future.

•

A definition of redress: the elimination of the conditions that create the haunting.

•

We may be haunted by historical alternatives. We may be occupied by nostalgia, regret or urgency. We may be unable to wait for things to change.

•

Despite being haunted, Raymond Williams reminds us, we carry on regardless.

•

We are not reactive, but inaugurative subjects.

•

A possible way of living: to place oneself in a state of undefeated despair. To put oneself in the slower temporality of the wait. To live in a transformative time, to live with the prospect that every day, the possibility for change is offered.

•

A definition of freedom: the cultivation of an indifference to the system and the possible benefits it can give you.

•

A definition of freedom: to become unavailable for servitude.

August essay topics in Nick Joaquin’s Almanac for Manileños (notes)

1. Etymology of August: Augustus, first emperor of Rome—birthstone: moonstone—color: red—according to Philippine superstition, a month of ill omen—knife—St. Bartholomew: 24 August feast day—patron of cutlery—history and folk culture: August, San Bartolome, bolo, Katipunan.

2. History of the Dominicans—25 July 1587: arrival in the Philippines—parishes founded, churches built, major accomplishments in engineering, agriculture, and in languages—8 August: feast of St. Dominic of Guzman.

3. Dozen eggs offered to nuns of Sta. Clara if you don’t want to rain on your parties—possible reason: “clara” in Spanish means both “clear” and “egg white”—hence: Sta. Clara = clara (egg white) = clear (weather)—11 August: feast of St. Clare—Sta. Clara cloister used to be in Intramuros but now in Quezon City.

4. Trece de Agosto: Occupation Day—commemorated Fall of Manila to the Americans (1898)—reasons why occupation of Manila was invalid.

5. Paco—1580: beginnings, first church—1790s: moved to its present-day site—19 August: Paco fiesta in honor of Our Lord of the Holy Sepulcher—site of inns and taverns—1860s: famous for Colegio de la Concordia—rowdy melting pot—Estero de Paco (navigable then)—streetcars on Calle Herran—Calle Dart—Paco Cemetery—east of Herran: gentry—west of Herran: proletariat—poor people had their own chapel (for Our Lady of Peñafrancia) and ritual (Tatarin).

6. Katipunan Revolution—controversies regarding dates—Joaquin’s version of the outbreak of the Revolution—Cry of Balintawak—Battle of Pinaglabanan—victories in Cavite.

7. August associated with tuberculosis—19 August: birthday of Manuel Quezon—Philippine Tuberculosis Society and the origins of the Sweepstakes.

8. 29 August 1916: Jones Act—Filipinized government—architectural accomplishments—history of Philippine architecture—Spanish: Renaissance and Baroque—native style evolved in 19th century—early American period: tried to blend with Spanish-period architecture—California mission and Florida colonial—Burnham and neoclassic style—Empire Days.

Joaquin, Nick. Almanac for Manileños. Manila: Mr and Ms, 1979.