A Bit On Hinirang
I met up with Jam and Mida last night. Mida flew in from Hong Kong last week and, before you go into another round of SARS jokes, my dear friend assured me that while guarding against SARS is important, the paranoia surrounding the disease is primarily due to the way the media has been reporting about it. In Mida's words, things are pretty much normal in Hong Kong. (It reminded me of EDSA Dos. During the height of that anti-Estrada rally, I'd been receiving email from my overseas friends expressing concern, to which I'd respond anti-climactically. "Yes, we did join the massive rally, but we had to stop by Seattle's Best for coffee.")
Jam had to excuse herself to go to work, so Mida and I ended up at UCC for coffee, and had a wonderful conversation about literature and history, parenthood and living overseas. As usual, I was the one who asked the questions and learned a whole bunch'a new things, a lot of which I'll perhaps use in a follow-up book. One of the more interesting things we talked about concerned Hinirang, and one aspect of Philippine history that we've somehow overlooked.
In Hinirang, we attempt to create stories that succinctly chronicle the experiences of four groups. These are the native Katao, the conquering Ispancialo, the adaptive Tsino, and the creatures of magic. Mida suggested that we consider including the Indians (or In-jye, in Hinirangesque) who had settled in the Philippines before the Spanish, particularly in the southern Batangas - Mindoro area. Another round of research required here. This adds to Hinirang's already numerous possibilities and opportunities for exploration.
I met up with Jam and Mida last night. Mida flew in from Hong Kong last week and, before you go into another round of SARS jokes, my dear friend assured me that while guarding against SARS is important, the paranoia surrounding the disease is primarily due to the way the media has been reporting about it. In Mida's words, things are pretty much normal in Hong Kong. (It reminded me of EDSA Dos. During the height of that anti-Estrada rally, I'd been receiving email from my overseas friends expressing concern, to which I'd respond anti-climactically. "Yes, we did join the massive rally, but we had to stop by Seattle's Best for coffee.")
Jam had to excuse herself to go to work, so Mida and I ended up at UCC for coffee, and had a wonderful conversation about literature and history, parenthood and living overseas. As usual, I was the one who asked the questions and learned a whole bunch'a new things, a lot of which I'll perhaps use in a follow-up book. One of the more interesting things we talked about concerned Hinirang, and one aspect of Philippine history that we've somehow overlooked.
In Hinirang, we attempt to create stories that succinctly chronicle the experiences of four groups. These are the native Katao, the conquering Ispancialo, the adaptive Tsino, and the creatures of magic. Mida suggested that we consider including the Indians (or In-jye, in Hinirangesque) who had settled in the Philippines before the Spanish, particularly in the southern Batangas - Mindoro area. Another round of research required here. This adds to Hinirang's already numerous possibilities and opportunities for exploration.
Comments