, ub e Cl o m ur H O ur O
SEPTEMBER 2020 ISSUE 44
BA R | C U I S I N E | A R T | P O P -U P | E V EN T S
MH | E D I T O R ' S N O T E
Rally Cry As the world searches for a vaccine to fight COVID-19, we at Manila House have not been immune to the effects of the pandemic on our operations. We all love Manila House, and are working hard to ensure its long term sustainability. We are not closing, but we do face many challenges, just like many other business impacted by the pandemic. The Board of Directors ExCom, the Investors and the Management Team have been studying the various scenarios that would allow us to remain open, and assess how each one would affect us. It was unanimously agreed the best option would be to reduce the space by half. We will give up the public event spaces and The Grill, as well as Anahaw and the banquet kitchen. We will keep Bonifacio Dining, and the Avenue Bar and Deck. At the same time, we will be able to retain the unique DNA of Manila House. The Board, Investors and Members are all rallying to keep the Club open. But we need your help. Please support us by paying your 2021 dues ahead of time plus a one-time P10,000 payment for which you will receive the equivalent amount in food vouchers. The food vouchers are fully consumable and can be used for dine in and takeaway. We will also be holding an auction of furniture, fittings and equipment we will no longer be needing. Please support us by bidding for these items! A catalogue of available images will be posted. We would need your payment by the end of September, which will go into a sinking fund. Please join us for a Members Town Hall on Zoom on September 1 at 4PM. Please click on this link to register.
H OW TO S I G N U P Manila House Rewards is easy and convenient to access. The attached hyperlink https://manila-house.eber.co takes you to the registration/login page. You will be able to log in to your account using the primary email or mobile number connected to your Club membership.
Best In-House Magazine PHILIPPINES BEST BRAND AWARDS 2018
Editor Bambina Olivares
Manila House is a very special place. It is more than a club; it is our home, a private space that has fostered its own community of curious, committed and caring Members who define the Club as much as its distinct interiors. We hope you will rally with us to keep the Manila House going.
Graphic Designer Joseph Concepcion Editorial Adviser Anton San Diego
Thank you for your support.
Bambina Olivares
Director of PR and Arts, Culture, and Education Programs
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O N TH E COVE R
The dramatic 8th floor lobby
M H | TA BL E OF C O N T E N T S
September 2020
MH Club Sandwich
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EDITOR'S NOTE
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TA BL E OF CON TE N TS
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FO OD & BEV E R AGE Let it Flow Weekend Specials
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NEWS An Urgent Message from the GM and the Executive Committee
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T R AV E L Armchair Travel My London
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MEET OUR TEAM Jerome Benisano
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MH INTERVIEW Rachel Felicia
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ON SHOW The Portrait of A Woman
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F E AT U R E S The Fight Against Video Call Fatigue The Mayor Speaks
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I N C A SE YOU M IS SE D I T How Filipinos Found Allies in Black American Soldiers During the Philippine-American War Shutterbug Writers' Tales Channeling Manila House
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R ETA I L COR N ER
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C A L E N DA R OF E V E N T S The Future of Adventure Travel Investing in Art During A Pandemic
MH | N E W S
An Urgent Message from the GM and the Executive Committee
Dear Members, We trust this letter finds you and your families healthy and safe. The Manila House Board of Directors has been working on a sober assessment and realistic plan regarding the medium-term sustainability of the Club. After a robust Q4 2019, the first two months of 2020 began strongly, despite the Taal Volcano eruption. Then the pandemic struck, and everything changed. Since the lockdown was put in place on March 16th, we have endeavored to continue to serve our Members and keep as many of our valued staff employed. Special thanks to Lizzie Zobel and Charlene Escaler of Project Food and all our Members who generously donated money and food, as well as, PPEs, sanitation solutions and equipment which allowed our staff to prepare meals for over 10,000 people, including neighboring barangays and hospital frontliners. In addition, in order to continue to provide “value added” benefits to our Members, we enhanced our award-winning monthly newsletter, IN THE HOUSE, in an all-digital format. We also moved our events programs online with a well-attended series of webinars on arts, culture, politics, history, health and wellness, and business. Our webinars may be viewed on our dedicated Manila House channel on YouTube. At the end of the day, we know that our continued success depends on meeting and exceeding the expectations of you, the Member. Early in the Lockdown, we conducted a Member Survey in which 88% of Members believed we should stay open. Encouraged by your support, we opened our doors on June 16th for in-club dining and small private events, always following strict health and safety protocols and in compliance with IATF guidelines. The vast majority of the Founding Investors, Board Members, and Management also strongly supported keeping the Club open and to preserve its very unique character as a place that reflects the best of the modern, global Filipino. With all that being said, it should come as no surprise that Manila House has not been immune from the significant financial impact of the pandemic. Therefore, in order to ensure the survival of Manila House, the Board has approved the following action plan, effective immediately: 1. Reduce the Manila House footprint, while preserving the Club’s distinctive and unique DNA. As a result, we will retain the most popular features of Manila House, including Bonifacio Dining, the Avenue Bar, the Deck and the private entrance and elevator along 5th Avenue. Note: The Deck will be significantly enhanced as part of our new footprint. 2. Raise sufficient funds over the immediate term until more socialization returns. We hope Members support Manila House by: • Advancing their 2021 Annual Dues plus buying a Php10,000 fully consumable Food Voucher to be collected by September 30, 2020. Note: This money will be placed into a Sinking Fund and be returned (less amounts consumed plus VAT), if we are unable to reach a funding threshold to continue operations (e.g. the majority of Members paying these two amounts within September)
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• Participating in a Special Auction/Silent Bidding to sell the excess furniture, fixtures and equipment that will no longer be needed with the smaller footprint. We shall be posting photographs of these items online. • Supporting our lunch and dinner takeaway service • Supporting our lunch and dinner at the Club inside or in the open deck spaces. We are strictly implementing social distancing and contactless in-house dining following all GCQ guidelines to ensure your safety. We will be sending you via email your Statement of Account which will include the Php10,000 charge for prepaid Food Vouchers. As a Member, you know that Manila House is a very special place. It’s more than a club; it is our home, and a community of curious, committed and caring individuals who love this amazing space that reflects the Filipino creative spirit. In a little over three years, the Club has become a cultural touchpoint, as an active supporter of the arts as well as a showcase for the bright future of the country, as epitomized by the constantly evolving district of BGC viewed from our windows. To further understand the plans and to ask questions, we will be hosting a Members Only Manila House Town Hall on Tuesday, September 1 at 4PM. We hope you will be able to attend. Please click on this link to register. Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for your enduring support. With your help, we will be able to weather this once in a lifetime event, stronger and better than ever. Sincerely, The Executive Committee Jose Arcilla Jr. Butch Albert David Chua Doris Ho Anton San Diego
Get to Know: Jerome Benisano You could say sugar is his jam. Sweet dreams are literally made by Jerome Benisano, our in-house Pastry Chef since 2017 What inspired you to become a pastry chef? I really have a sweet tooth. I remember when I was five years old, I had no upper front teeth because of excessive candy eating.
MH | M E E T O U R T E A M The perfect pie crust is thin, buttery and flaky. I’m currently watching The Bizarre Adventures of Jojo on Netflix or YouTube or streaming I like to unwind by cycling, travelling or just hanging out with my girlfiend or my friends and bingewatching anime
I like sweets, Kitkat whites, Hershey’s cookies and cream, cookies and cream-flavored ice creeam, anything cookies and cream! Most likely I would munch on it non-stop. I never thought it would be my job to make sweets!
What kind of food to eat or cook brought you comfort during the ECQ lockdown?
I got inspired to bake when I first worked at Diamond Hotel’s pastry kitchen, I was an intern back then and got absorbed. I loved the atmosphere, the smell of butter and sugar being cooked, the sight of the bread and cakes being baked, I loved everything that was happening in that kitchen, everything was new to me, the feeling of excitement to go to work because I knew I would learn something new again, plus we had a British Pastry Chef from whom I really learned a lot. He specialized in French pastries, and that’s what really got me hooked into French desserts (shout out to Chef Daniel Back).
If you could invent a cake or pastry that would be forever remembered as your creation, what would it be like?
What tips would you give to a home baker for the perfect cake? Pastry is easy and complicated at the same time. You should understand and follow the recipe, weigh your ingredients carefully. Baking is all about accuracy, and be careful with the temperature. It’s all about the basics actually; if you understand the basics it will be easy for you to play with the recipes.
Hmmmm, pizzas and burgers, tapsilog and sparerib sinigang
I think something fruity and nutty, I really like the combination of strawberries and pistachio. I’ll add some feuilletine crunch for texture, pistachio biscuit, strawberry cremeux, pistachio cream mousseline, strawberry compote garnished with fresh strawberries and pistachio nougatine, something you don’t get to eat everyday. I want it to be like an explosion of textures and flavors. I’ve made something similar in the club, everyone should try it out sometime! When the pandemic ends, what would be first on your list of things to do or places to go to? I really want to go back to Siargao, I like the vibe there. But I think I will visit my mom first in Bulacan, I really miss her home cooking.
D I RECTO RY
Reservations +63 917 816 3685 reservations@manilahouseinc.com
Banquets +63 917 816 3671 banquets@manilahouseinc.com
Membership +63 917 834 2217 membership@manilahouseinc.com
etail R +63 917 809 4896 retail@manilahouseinc.com
PR and Arts, Culture & Education Programs +63 917 829 0819 events@manilahouseinc.com
Call us: +632 7 958 5007, +632 8 478 7163, +632 8 478 7165, +632 8 478 7176, +632 8 826 3196
Manila House Private Club, Inc. 8F, Seven/NEO, 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig 1634, Philippines www.manilahouseinc.com Manila House Private Members Club @manila_house
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MH | I N T E R V I E W
Rachel Felicia
The pandemic threw a spanner into the works for many people, and Rachel Felicia was no exception. But the young entrepreneur turned a crisis into opportunity Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do I became an entrepreneur after I graduated at CondÊ Nast College, London, five years ago. I am passionate about building an enterprise, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. I believe entrepreneurship and starting a business rises from having an idea at the moment of time you’re living in. I am the owner/founder of MNLLondon and 5
MNLLondonHome and co-owner/ co-founder of Cangrejos Locos, Fina Manila and Tala Beauty.
an opportunity to support and help each other bounce back and create a society for a better future.
How has COVID-19 and the lockdown impacted your life and work?
How are you keeping busy?
COVID-19 has changed the way I live and the things I did on a daily basis. It made me re-examine what's really important in life. It reminded me that we have to be grateful for what we have and what we can give. It gave me
Last month, I started an online business that sells home decor. Stores that are housed in physical spaces are now undertaken online and this has created a major shift in our society. People who were not very comfortable with online shopping had to
MH | I N T E R V I E W
Rachel Felicia with fiancĂŠ Robert Tan
“Working from home has created a lot of challenges and can be more stressful sometimes, but it has developed new scales for the new normal.� accustom themselves to it because this pandemic has taught us that social media is a platform where we can purchase our daily needs. This motivated me to build another brand that curated home decor and tableware to help create beautiful moments at home in times that matter. What have been your strategies to help you cope with the new reality brought about by the pandemic? Some of the strategies that helped me cope up with the new reality such as working from home is to create
a particular area for work so I can physically and mentally disassociate myself from it when I leave my work space. Working from home has created a lot of challenges and can be more stressful sometimes, but it has developed new scales for the new normal. It also gave me a big opportunity to learn a better method and system for my online businesses and upgrade to a stronger presence online to connect better with the consumers. I believe we have to continue to build more online presence because business models are evolving and they are less focused on physical spaces. For Rachel's favorite London spots, please turn to page 14
What are you most looking forward to doing once things have settled down and a vaccine is in sight? I am looking forward to reconnecting and reuniting with my loved ones. I am getting married in six months and I hope I can spend the last few months as a single lady with my family and friends. The world will never be same after COVID-19 and it will not go back to being a pre-COVID world but I look forward to the day when all of this is over and we can finally adapt to the new reality that will develop a better world we are living in. 6
MH | O N S H O W
Chingbee Kalaw Cuenca
Portrait of A Woman A financial analyst by profession, and an artist by vocation, Rodrigo Cuenca moves from manga-inspired art to portraits "After my mother's passing, I did a painting of a photograph of her as a tribute. My father showed the painting to several friends and one of them unexpectedly commissioned a portrait from me. Several more requests have followed, so I have launched a separate brand for portraiture, even as I continue with my pop art and other content. I am grateful to know that my father, and, even after her passing, my mother continue to help me succeed in my various endeavors.�
A B O U T R O D R I G O C U E N CA Ramon Rodrigo Kalaw Cuenca, CFA is a content creator who uses art and digital media to increase awareness of issues in global businesses and the economy. His also creates portraiture for select clients. artandfinance.net
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Rodrigo Cuenca
The Fight Against Video Call Fatigue
MH | F E A T U R E S
Video calls can tire us, according to a recent BBC report, because “we need to work harder to process non-verbal cues like facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, and body language; paying more attention to these consumes a lot of energy�
W H AT C A N W E D O ?
EMAIL > MEETING
TURN VIDEO OFF
Before organizing a video call meeting, assess if the aims of the video call could be achieved through an email. Emails are efficient, straightforward, and less taxing than video calls.
Turn the video off and focus only on the audio. Close your eyes briefly and take some deep breaths. Turn the video back on when you're ready.
WE LL-B E I N G I S KE Y
2 0 -2 0 -2 0 R U LE
If you're organizing the video call, use 5-10 minutes to check-in on everyone and see how they are. Make the meeting as short as possible. Encourage attendees to excuse themselves if in a rush.
Every 20 minutes, for 20 seconds look 20 feet away. This is to help your eyes rest and refocus.
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MH | F E A T U R E S
The Mayor Speaks
Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano, a Manila House Member, spoke to us recently about the efforts he and the City of Taguig have undertaken to contain the surge of COVID-19, as well as address the economic impact of the pandemic on residents and businesses.
What have been the greatest challenges you have faced as mayor implementing the ECQ/GCQ in Taguig? Communication has always been difficult for any government institution especially because of the rampant misinformation and fake news circulating. People are in panic mode. Our healthcare facilities were not built to address such a pandemic that comes once in a generation. Most importantly, making people understand the “why” or the reason behind our actions remains to be our greatest feat. People think they are invincible to the virus, believing that they themselves have strong immune systems that could withstand the disease. Some remain ignorant to the fact that it takes a community to heal and fight the virus, and not just healthcare facilities—who have already lost their top-caliber doctors in the fight to curtail the disease. Efficiently harmonizing programs and assistance on the national level and local level while managing concerns are paramount along with addressing the medical response that the pandemic requires such as isolation of the sick, contact tracing, testing, and treatment among many others. Taguig is often thought of as a “rich” city because of the presence of BGC. But there are also a lot of Taguig residents who have been unable to work or feed their families during the ECQ. How did you address their immediate needs and long-term anxieties? 9
Mayor Lino Cayetano
Taguig prides itself on its good financial management which allows us to tap into unutilized funds in our safekeeping designated specifically for times of crisis like this. The local government has placed mechanisms to provide assistance and support to our less fortunate brothers and sisters in the city of Taguig. In partnership with the national government, the City of Taguig has laid out a number of social amelioration programs that aim to provide short to medium economic relief to our constituents. To complement the P8,000 given by the DSWD through its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), and Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) program, the City of Taguig will also be providing each household who has not received assistance from the national government with P4,000 to help them get by their daily needs. Aside from this, Taguig has also identified sectors that are deeply affected by the enhanced community quarantine such as our public transportation groups, senior citizens, PWDs, vendors, among many others, and give extended financial assistance to them as well.
MH | F E A T U R E S
“Reviving the Philippine economy requires a strong partnership and efficient coordination between the local and national government.”
Aside from cash assistance, our comprehensive approach to address Taguiguenos’ concerns includes the distribution of stay-at-home food packs and hygiene kits to all households in Taguig. The City has also distributed masks, soap for handwashing, and facemasks in Anti-COVID kits to the sectors most vulnerable to the disease such as senior citizens, PWDs, and our fellow Taguiguenos who have underlying medical conditions. Our holistic approach includes the provision of psychosocial assistance for our constituents—we have been providing mental health teleconsultations to all Taguiguenos who seek mental and emotional support through the hotline 0915-065-5043 and 0961-734-0805 with a schedule of availability found on the I Love Taguig Facebook page or on taguiginfo.com. We assure that every Taguigueno is looked after and provided for by its city government. We are in for tough times during GCQ and beyond, with the economy taking a hit. What kind, if any, of stimulus packages will Taguig be proposing to businesses in BGC and other municipalities to help revive the economy? How can residents and workers help? Reviving the Philippine economy requires a strong partnership and efficient coordination between the local and national government. At the grassroots level, the City of Taguig will be giving cash assistance to all of
its citizens in the hope of being able to 1. capacitate Taguiguenos to buy their daily necessities and; 2. stimulate local economic activity in the city. On top of this, we have also established public markets in each barangay in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and with the help of local sellers to give citizens easier access to goods and fresh produce. The city government has also decided to extend its payment deadline for city taxes and other obligations to May 20, 2020 in response to the impacts of COVID-19 on citizens. Through the Bayanihan We Heal as One Act, and now Bayanihan 2, the national government through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) allows MSMEs and small businesses to have access to a recovery package, granting them P300,000 loan assistance or a loan ranging from P10,000-P200,000 under the Enterprise Rehabilitation Financing Program. On the other hand, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), will be rolling out a COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) which allows a P5,000 one time cash dole out for formal workers. Above the efforts of the local government and national government, we urge businesses to pay their workers’ fair wages even in the midst of the pandemic. We believe that people, most especially those in the vulnerable sectors of society are in dire need of assistance in trying times like this. 10
MH | F O O D A N D B E V E R AG E
Let it Flow Our liquid buffet is back! For only P990 per person, enjoy a selection of beers, house cocktails, whisky, vodka, rum, tequila, and house wine DAI LY | 4 PM - 6:30 PM
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MH | F O O D A N D B E V E R AG E
Weekends with the Family Our set menu options at friendly prices* Available only for takeaways on Saturdays and Sundays. Good for 4-6 persons
*We’re offering special meal sets at cost to help keep our staff employed. Thank you for your support
FILIPINO SET MENU
J A PA N E S E S E T M E N U
P3, 0 0 0
P4 , 0 0 0
Lumpiang Ubod Inasal na Manok Inihaw na Tiyan ng Bangus sa Dahon ng Saging Ginataang Kalabasa White Rice Cassava Cake
Soft Shell Crab Salad Seafood Gyoza Tempura Basket Tenderloin Teppanyaki Japanese Fried Rice Mascarpone Cheese Cake
B ON I FAC IO S E T M E N U
THE GRILL SET MENU
P5, 5 0 0
P6 , 0 0 0
Green Goddess Salad Nasu Miso Manila House Fried Chicken US Beef Tenderloin Salpicao Manila House Bolognese Carrot Cake
Grilled Caesar Salad Crab Cakes Roasted Chicken USDA Prime Rib Eye (500g) Mascarpone Mashed Potato Lemon and Basil Tart
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MH | T R AV E L
Armchair Travel
The dreaming continues as the pandemic rages on. With the Passenger Series from Europa Editions, you can discover countries anew and imagine yourself immersed in their cultures. This new anthology series features the best new writing photography, art, and literary reportage from around the world. The first two volumes are now out, and bring you to Japan and Greece. Accompanying the books are dedicated playlists on Spotify that will heighten your virtual travel experience
T H E PA S S E N G E R : J A PA N
T H E PA S S E N G E R : G R E E C E
The subjects in this volume range from the Japanese veneration of the dead to the Tokyo music scene, from urban alienation to cinema, from sumo to toxic masculinity.
Few countries have received more media attention in recent years and even fewer have been represented in such vastly divergent ways. News headlines replace people’s individual stories, impressions substitute facts, characters take the place of people.
Caught between an ageing population and extreme post-modernity, Japan is an ideal observation point from which to understand our age and the one to come. Read a sample 13
Spotify Playlist
In this volume of The Passenger, we chose to set those opinions aside in order to give to the stories, facts, and people of Greece the dignity and centrality they deserve. Read a sample
Spotify Playlist
My London
MH | T R AV E L
Rachel Felicia hopes to return to London, a city she loves, once international leisure travel resumes. In the meantime, she shares her favorite hangout's in the English capital. TO G ET I N S PI R ATI O N
TO U NWI N D
The British Museum
Kensington Gardens
Hyde Park
TO S H O P
Selfridges
Harrods
Liberty
TO EAT
Sketch
The Wolseley
No. Fifty Cheyne
Simpson’s in the Strand
Chinatown
AF TE RN O O N TEA
Claridge’s
The Savoy
Fortnum & Mason
The Ritz London
The manager at The Ritz London is Filipino and he would always give me extra treats when I would spend my afternoon tea time there. It made me appreciate our culture of being hospitable 14
MH | I N C A S E Y O U M I S S E D I T
How Filipinos Found Allies in Black American Soldiers During the Philippine-American War
Roots run deep between Filipinos and black Americans, and it all started here. Jam Pascual writes about the webinar for ANCX.PH
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To watch the full webinar, visit our YouTube channel
The history of Filipinos and black Americans overlap in surprising ways. Contemporary discourse has drawn comparisons between incidents of police brutality here and in the US, and are a point of solidarity. But roots of this solidarity run deeper than that. Filipinos and Black Americans have before found themselves crossing paths in another violent time—specifically the Philippine-American War of 1899 and 1902. Manila House recently held a panel on this understudied fragment of history called A Conflict of Conscience: Buffalo Soldiers in the Philippine-American War. Moderated by Bambina Olivares, the panel was attended by a roster of accomplished academics: filmmaker Mark Harris, historians Anthony Powell, Frank Schubert and Vicente Rafael, law expert Gill Boehringer, academic Rik Penn, and Evangeline Canonizado Buell, an author and Filipino direct descendant of a buffalo soldier. The discussion was anchored in many ways by Harris, who is in the middle of working on a documentary called, well, “A Conflict of Conscience,” on the panel’s subject of interest. The panel began with Mark Harris giving a general introduction on the black soldiers of the war. The term “buffalo soldier” originated from Native Americans, who remarked that the hair of black soldiers reminded them of buffalo fur. These soldiers were either slaves or the sons of former slaves. And while the Philippine-American war came a few decades after the abolishment of slavery in the United States, this was still a tumultuous time in racist America. According to Rafael, by August of 1898, Filipinos were just about to take Manila back from the Spaniards and become a full-fledged politically sovereign country, but something got in the way. “Just as when the Filipinos were poised to take Manila and complete their victories, the United States forces came in and basically forced them out of their positions. The US made a deal with the Spaniards, conducting a quote unquote mock battle of Manila Bay, so that the Spaniards refused to surrender to the Filipinos. 15
The 24th U.S. Infantry at drill, Camp Walker, Philippine Islands Photo from Wikimedia Commons
The Americans kept Filipinos out from occupying Manila. And by August 13, the Americans were able to occupy the seat of the former colonial government.” Believing that Filipinos weren’t ready for self-rule, the Americans occupied our territories, and targeted insurgents and civilian supporters. As Rafael put it, “the war was racialized.” Here is where the conflict of conscience comes in. Black soldiers enlisted in the US army, who participated in the occupation of the country, were firsthand witnesses to how Americans subjugated Filipinos. These black soldiers saw Filipinos as fellow dark-skinned brothers and sisters, subject to the forms of oppression and violence they faced in the heartland. Both Filipino and black people were called the n-word slur. This prompted an internal conflict among the black soldiers—should they fight the war? Or could they possibly side with these strangers in a strange land, oceans away from the life they used to know? A letter from a buffalo soldier stationed in the Philippines expresses this personal inner battle. It read: “Every colored soldier who goes to the Philippine Islands to fight the brave men there who are fighting and dying for their freedom… is fighting to curse the country with color-phobia,
MH | I N C A S E Y O U M I S S E D I T
lynchings, Jim Crow (train)cars, and everything else that white prejudice can do to blight the darker races… and since the Filipinos belong to the darker human variety, it is the Negro fighting against himself.” The infantryman who wrote this letter died three weeks later. This is the heart of the conflict of conscience. Buffalo soldiers actually did have incentive to fight the war, even if it served a nation that oppressed them. Anthony Powell recalled a conversation that he had with his grandfather, who served 40 years in the army, from 1887 to 1927. “When I was a young buck thinking that I knew everything, I asked my grandfather in the mid-50s, I said, ‘Granddad, why did you serve this racist nation for all of those years?’ And he told me something I’ll never forget. He said the army gave him the only part of the American dream that the nation would let him be in.” Ths US army gave black Americans the most viable promise of social and economic upward mobility. Because according to Powell, “outside the structure of the army, African-American men did not have much of a chance to improve their lot in life.”
back dead, while others say he lived the rest of his peaceful life in the mountains of Nueva Ecija. These are the unlikely encounters, and the relationships produced from them, that we don’t always find in our history textbook, still need to be acknowledged. Gill Boehringer took the time to tell the story of the friendship between US Sergeant John Calloway and his friend Tomas Consunji, who worked for the United States government in the Filipino administration, but was also suspected to be an undercover agent for the Nationalists. They would have dinner together and exchange letters, but their correspondence would lead the US to brand Calloway a potential defector. A paper written by Boehringer goes into detail about the complications of this relationship, and the fate he was dealt under the US justice system. The panel concluded with Evangeline Canonizado Buell reading an excerpt of her memoir “Twenty-Five Chickens and a Pig for a Bride.” The excerpt spoke of her grandfather Ernest Stokes, a buffalo soldier who responded for a call to volunteers for the war in the Philippines. By forming relationships with the Filipinos around him, he learned to speak Ilocano, Kapampangan, Tagalog, and Bisaya. He married a Filipina by the name of Maria Bunag, and after Bunag passed away, some time would pass before he married again, to Roberta Dungca, whom he met in Pampanga. Stokes even taught his wife to cook soul food from his hometown of Tennessee. It is interesting to think about how these stories of cultural contact spring forth from how minority groups respond to oppression and process their shared experiences.
“‘Granddad, why did you serve this racist nation for all of those years?’ And he told me something I’ll never forget. He said the army gave him the only part of the American dream that the nation would let him be in.” - Anthony Powell
One would do well to remember that in an extremely racist America, black folks had very little options in terms of choosing jobs or going to school. It must also be noted that enlisting in the military actually means that you get an education. Rik Penn mourns, “There has always been a hope amongst African-American civilians and politicians, that by giving a blood sacrifice to the country, this will somehow raise your stature, give you a greater standing, and recognition among the other white civilians. That somehow, this will show them, this will be the thing that will cause that surge of brotherhood, that they will rise above all this racism and be accepted as full class citizens. That continued up into Vietnam.”
Still, there were buffalo soldiers who took all factors into account, including the violence Americans inflicted upon Filipinos, and chose to defect from the military. Frank Schubert discussed the elusive figure David Fagen, a buffalo soldier whose personal life is kind of a mystery, but whose defection was substantially covered and reported. Born in Tampa Florida, Fagen defected to the other side and became a guerilla leader, supposedly after communicating with Filipino revolutionaries. White leadership in the military were obsessed with Fagen and saw him as a traitor. Some reports say that he was brought
One can look at the online event as a method of research for Mark Harris, working on the film as we speak. But more importantly, it was an opportunity for Americans and Filipinos alike who virtually attended the event to discuss and share stories, considering how the finer details of the Philippine-American war aren’t discussed in the average history class. In what other unlikely ways have Filipino and black Americans interacted over the course of human history? What insights can be gleaned from these points of contact? Perhaps these insights express one truth: that solidarity, in its simplest sense, means to acknowledge and bond over the things different people have in common. One just has to know where to look. And when we do find them, hopefully it won’t be in wartime. 16
MH | I N C A S E Y O U M I S S E D I T
Before and after photos enhanced by editing
Shutterbug The best camera, award-winning photographer Scott A. Woodward says, is the one you have in your hand. During his online workshop for Manila House, he shared his favorite tips and hacks to turn your mobile phone into an expert camera capable of taking beautifully composed and lit photos. He showed how to create dramatic images, juxtaposing shadows and light and highlighting color. He also included a quick lesson in retouching to make a photo even better.
The changes may be subtle but the impact is strong
To get the video of the workshop, please email events@manilahouseinc.com. There is a P1,500 fee to access the video. 17
A picture goes from blah to wow with a few basic tweaks
MH | I N C A S E Y O U M I S S E D I T
Writers' Tales
A candid and lively conversation among internationally-acclaimed Filipino authors revealed more than writers' work habits, but also their internal passions and convictions, as well as their existential concerns about the meaning and purpose of writing at a time of great uncertainty and anxiety Reine Arcache Melvin
Author, The Betrayed: A Novel “We can't live intensely all the time; we'd fall apart. But at that moment when things happen... it feels like a veil has been lifted. “We feel very intensely, and we feel like there's clarity in the world, there's an intensity of the emotion. And I think that is what artists look for when they write, and that's what people look for in art, also.”
Sarge Lacuesta
Author, City Stories “It's a great thing for a writer to know what they're writing about. Because a lot of writers don't. You either know what you're writing about and/or you have the talent to write it, you know? I never know where I am, I'm always doubting myself, and that's a great start as well, because you just keep at it. But I do like to write about those things you can't say, the ugly truths, the dirty feeling, the sad things... There's so much, and there's so much connected to being Filipino. Somebody wrote an article about not wanting to be a Filipino anymore and you know, he has a point! But I'm Filipino, and I want to write about things like that. I think the act of writing is like that: finding the complexity that you want to capture.”
Dorian Merina
Author, Di Achichúk: Poems and Images from Batanes “We've won awards, we've published our writing, but there's a lot of failure, there's a lot of rejection as a writer... I still have some of my pitches rejected, manuscripts are rejected, criticism comes back from writing. It's hard to hear sometimes, but hopefully it's constructive, hopefully it's helpful. It isn't always that way but that's the process, that's the creative process, right? In journalism, or I'd refer to how I started, in hiphop and spoken word, it's highly collaborative, and so you're constantly critiquing each other, getting feedback... and that can be very helpful and productive. But at the end of the day, you have to believe in what you'r ewriting. Nobody else can tell your story, or the story that you want to tell. Nobody else can do that. Only you can.”
To watch the full webinar, visit our YouTube channel
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MH | I N C A S E Y O U M I S S E D I T
Channeling Manila House In case you missed our previous webinars, catch us on YouTube
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Retail Therapy
MH | R E T A I L C O R N E R
Our new Retail Corner with our curated selections at 30% off View the Manila House Retail Catalogue
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MH | C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S
Zooming In
Join us on Zoom for these informative, entertaining and illuminating talks which encompass art & design, culture, history and current events
WED | SEPT 16 | 5PM I N V E S T I N G I N A R T D U R I N G A PA N D E M I C
Jaime Ponce de Leon León Gallery
After almost six months on lockdown, art fairs and galleries seem like relics from a previous era. Yet sales of art continue, primarily through online channels. Art in the Park, in fact, held their much-awaited mini art fair with a maximum price threshold of P50,000 per artwork online. But how does one buy art one cannot see or touch until it is delivered, post-purchase? Jaime Ponce de Leon of León Gallery and art collector Toñico Manahan break down the art marketplace today, and share useful guidelines for buying art online. Register in advance for this webinar Presented in partnership with León Gallery
Toñico Manahan Art Collector
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MH | C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S
WED | SEPT 23 | 3PM T H E F U T U R E O F A DV E N T U R E T R AV E L Just when travel had reached peak accessibility, the ability to hop on a plane and get away from it all at a destination that offers excitement, discovery and adventure has now been wrested from us due to the pandemic. We will travel again one day, but how will we travel in a world that has altered significantly? Those bucket list trips—safaris, mountain treks, remote adventures—are they still possible? What precautions will we take once we are able to travel again? Will these affect the quality of our experience? Register in advance for this webinar In partnership with A2A Safaris
Images courtesy of A2A Safaris
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A SAFE AND S A N I TA R Y P L A C E We keep our premises virus-free with stringent disinfection and sanitary measures.
The health, safety and well-being of our Members and staff are of utmost importance to us. FACE SHIELDS / FACE MASKS / PPE Used throughout, especially during food preparation
PERSONAL SANITATION Frequent handwashing is a must. Alcohol, hand sanitizers and soap are available throughout the Club
TEMPERATURE CHECKS Thermal scans performed at the entrances to the Club No entry to those with temperatures above 37.5°C and with cough, cold and fever symptoms
FOOT BATHS Located at the entrance to the Club
CONTACT TRACING Members must check in with their RFID cards. All guests must be registered.
SANITATION OF PREMISES Regular and thorough cleaning and disinfection of all premises, with Sanivir smoke disinfectant to protect against viruses, bacteria and other germs