A Colonial Urbanization

Knowing a city's colonial history is important when planning its rehabilitation and restoration. Thus our lead article this week, "Colonization's Impact on Manila," written by urban planner Nathaniel von Einsiedel offers valuable knowledge and guidance for those who seek to bring back Manila's former glory,  a goal of the capital city's current mayor, Isko Moreno Domagoso. 

Spanish food in Metro Manila has become a thing, thanks partly to the efforts of Marilou and Pablo Garcia-Morera, whose enterprise Espa-Fil has made available the crucial ingredients of Spanish cooking to the Philippines. PF Correspondent Cherie Querol Moreno writes about the couple and whets our appetite for the cuisine of our former colonizer in "To Dine in Madrid, By Way of Manila." 

Marilou Morera is also a cookbook author and she shares her recipe for "the true paella" for the Happy Home Cook this week.

From Toronto's Bank of Montreal comes Annella Manalo Mendoza, a digital assets manager and librarian. Christian Gabriel Pareja profiles her in "Old Fashioned Values in a Digital Career."

Our In The Know links this week:

Black History and the Filipin@ Community

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/unseen-and-unheard/201602/black-history-and-the-filipin-community?fbclid=IwAR0KReXkWJrM_-fXnxcOQRzKnyhcdQA9ge78UHAkGhjLM53tnHEg_67lPGc

Just how bad was corruption during the Marcos years?
https://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/240477-analysis-just-how-bad-was-corruption-marcos-years?fbclid=IwAR2RLmmhLUHbGaFruyfGYmSAaEBTiXkwybXYjix8e0x6sX9T77TjZ2fR1rQ

Meet 11 Year-old Filipino Cellist Damodar Das Castillo, Champion Musician in Estonia
https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/meet-11-year-old-filipino-cellist-damodar-das-castillo-champion-musician-in-estonia/?fbclid=IwAR2KlSv3O-MbHd5z09Od_hOlFPCcq4JaNvIS4w1j30vCCKl_zFRM9nLpM1Y

World’s greatest concentration of unique mammal species is on Philippine island
https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/press/worlds-greatest-concentration-unique-mammal-species-philippine-island?fbclid=IwAR34pe6inxzGI-G9N0bydSZ4UjoMBG4IQltcghyZHEBSs0zO1odVkKsUj6E 

For Video of the week, GMA Public Affairs’ I-Witness features Solana Perez, who wants to be the first Filipina to compete in the Mongol Derby, the hardest horse race in the world.

Name That Dish

Before taking a bite of a cheese-laden ensaimada or savoring a scoop of tasty mechado, have you ever stopped and wondered where their names come from? Not likely, but it's always good to know how the names of those rich, delicious Spanish dishes came to be. PF Correspondent Cherie M. Querol Moreno satisfies our craving for culinary knowledge with an etymological feast, "Behind the Names of Those Spanish Recipes."

Another valuable history lesson can be had with Sydney-based historian Deborah Ruiz Wall's research on "The 'Indio Hacenderos' of Angono," which includes her forebears. 

History of more recent vintage is the subject of author/journalist Benjamin Pimentel's opinion piece, "Never Mind EDSA: Remember the mini-EDSAs, the Battles Before the Uprising" which contends that the 1986 People Power Revolution was the culmination of a series of citizens' actions that chipped away at the Marcos dictatorship's hold on power.

And February being Black History Month, here are some Read Agains that illustrate the close kinship of African Americans and Filipinos:

Rene G. Ontal's "A Black Man's Burden" 

Benjamin Pimentel's “The Untold Story of Sugar Pie DeSanto” 

For the Happy Home Cook, here's another one from San Francisco-based foodie, Voltaire Gungab: Double-Decker Chocolate and Coconut Pudding.

Here are the links for stories you may have missed: 

Central Luzon: New killing fields in Duterte's drug war
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/224159-central-luzon-new-killing-fields-duterte-drug-war?fbclid=IwAR1U-7ENDlJdgnEWjoehOaNPR1ip1Ok1y7KKkdpHagBXQwhCppw7oZyDGo8

The Bobby Mañosa I knew–a Filipino architect like no other
https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/325359/the-bobby-manosa-i-knew-a-filipino-architect-like-no-other/

Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur reveals who's behind his success
https://pia.gov.ph/features/articles/1018315?fbclid=IwAR0rG1CkcFX6-zxuzU0hGxoEqO7OBt8Us-VRRKqnQ7Jk3knm0NhXmyiF63k

Ana Valdes-Lim: The Reward is in the Process
http://www.dailygood.org/story/2233/ana-valdes-lim-the-reward-is-in-the-process-richard-whittaker/

For Video of the Week, we feature “Kangkungan,” a new video short by acclaimed filmmaker Mike De Leon, who presents a critique of the current administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and urges Filipinos to vote in the upcoming election.