Renato Redentor Constantino, The Poverty of Memory: Essays on History and Empire (FNS-2006), p. 52-55

Nothing New in the World
The winding path the United States took to September 11th.

“Memory says, ‘I did that,’” Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote. “Pride replies, ‘I could not have done that.’ Eventually, memory yields.”

Three years ago in America, on September 11, airplanes fell from the sky and thousands died. Countless numbers mourned the mass murder. Countless mourn still. On the same day 31 years ago, the sky fell in Chile when the democratically-elected Allende government was overthrown in a bloody coup staged by the American government. Who mourns the Chilean sky?

Remembering is a political act, wrote Boston Globe columnist James Carroll. “Forgetfulness is the handmaiden of tyranny.”

In 1953, the United States engineered a coup in Iran which ousted the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh — an Iranian colossus who happened to live in a frail [READ]

Lester Rodriguez, distinguished artist from Binangonan, begins the day with a watercolor workshop with Sagay youth. It’s a great platform – later, we’ll lead a workshop with teachers on how to use art in appreciating and interrogating history and science.

Sunrise just before the 13th Nature Encounter Arts Month Celebration opens in Sagay, Negros Occidental. Themed “Duta, Tubig, Hangin,” the festival was initiated in 2013 by the celebrated artist Nunelucio Alvarado. Festivities commence early morning at the coastal spot of Kape Albarako, with body painting, dancing, performance art, and kites flying against a backdrop of the open sea. Led by Pintor Kulapol and other local artist groups, films will be shown with dances and visual art exhibits. A number of art and history appreciation sessions will be held with local teachers, which the Constantino Foundation is contributing to.

Photos © ConstantinoFoundation.