Spotlight

Three weddings and a usable past

By WILSON LEE FLORES, The Philippine Star

Published Jul 19, 2026 5:00 am

There is a curious alchemy to marriage—that mysterious collision of two lives becoming one shared story.

Some unions glitter with the wattage of wealth and celebrity. Others endure like ancient coral reefs, shaped patiently by unseen tides. Then there are those rare partnerships that not only transform two hearts but also help awaken the memory of a formerly colonized nation.

In one remarkable week, three marriages—one unexpectedly reborn, one diamond-bright after 60 years, and one that continues to illuminate our national consciousness—reminded me that what binds people is never merely ceremony. It is the quiet courage to keep dancing with history.

Actors Bea Alonzo and Puregold executive Vincent Co [READ]

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Historian to Historian

At the #PastsRevisited exhibit, there is a handwritten note that gives visitors a sense of the scholarly ties that animated key figures who wrote about our people’s past.

“May I tell you how much I have enjoyed Renato Constantino’s INSIGHT AND FORESIGHT and congratulate you both for having made many of the original articles possible,” wrote the historian William Henry Scott to the journalist Luis “Morik” Mauricio on 22 September 1977, after the publication of Constantino’s book, which Mauricio had edited. Scott thanked Mauricio for his “excellent selections” and “equally excellent introduction,” [READ]

RENATO2026-07-17T14:26:12+08:00July 17, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

Art, History, and Music in Harmony: A Filipino Equation

Silaw Artist Collective will have a

show in October at the Yuchengco Museum. You can

see the painter Eghai Roxas getting acquainted with the

space while an ensemble practices pieces on the floor.

A lovely Filipino equation: Art + history + music =

busog. Letizia and Renato would approve! 🎹🎼🎻

See original story here:

🔗https://www.facebook.com/reel/442834

RENATO2026-07-17T14:49:02+08:00July 17, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

KALAYAAN AND MACARIO SAKAY

The month of July is filled with many events that deserve commemoration. The founding of the Katipunan on its seventh day in 1892 is one, and the death of the great Aurelio Tolentino on July 5 in 1915 is another. But July 14 deserves prime place as well in national remembering.

On this day, Katipunan original Gen. Macario Sakay, President of the Republika ng Katagalugan, went down from the mountains on foot, accompanied by his officers Francisco Carreon, Leon Villafuerte, Julian Montalan, and Lucio de Vega.

U.S. officials had earlier sent an emissary to Sakay to convey their commitment to establish a Philippine national assembly, with independence as the eventual goal. In return, they asked, Sakay must end the armed resistance. Sakay agreed on condition that a general amnesty [READ]

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FRIENDSHIP ACROSS GENERATIONS

The exhibit Pasts Revisited contains details about the intellectual collaboration and friendship enjoyed by Renato Constantino and Letizia Constantino with scholars over the years. One letter shows the humorous interaction of Letizia with one of the authors of Roots of Dependency, the seminal study on the political and economic revolution in 19th century Philippines published in 1979 by the Foundation for Nationalist Studies (FNS), which was established by Renato and Letizia. FNS would be later renamed the Constantino Foundation after the passing of Renato in 1999.

Renato and Letizia held the authors of Roots of Dependency, Jonathan Fast and Jim Richardson, in high regard. They were esteemed colleagues and dear friends. In 1985, Fast would write about Letizia: “Letty’s correspondence was … to the point. And intimidating. ‘Dear Jon, on page 268 line 17 you said—’ [READ]

RENATO2026-07-17T14:26:12+08:00July 12, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

“Pasts Revisited” exhibit extended until July 31 by Flow Galindez

RENATO2026-07-17T14:26:12+08:00July 7, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

The Constantino legacy exhibit just got extended: here is why you need to go

by Astig.PH

MAKATI, Philippines (Jul 2026): You have a few more weeks to catch a rare look at the love letters and personal artifacts of the couple who changed how we look at our own history. The Constantino Foundation and Yuchengco Museum officially extended the run of “Pasts Revisited: An Exhibit on a Usable History and the Romance of Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino” until July 31, 2026.

Located at the RCBC Plaza in Makati City, the showcase focuses on the celebrated husband and wife historian duo. Organizers decided to keep the doors open longer because of high demand and the sheer size of the collection. This is the first time the public can see personal items like Renato’s writing desk and his wood pipes. Legend has it that National Artist Vicente Manansala once traded a custom painting just to get his hands on one of those pipes.

A look at Pinoy [READ]

RENATO2026-07-17T14:26:12+08:00July 6, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

‘Pasts Revisited’ exhibit extended until July 31

Visitors have more time to experience a unique intersection of history, art, and intellectual resistance, as the Constantino Foundation and Yuchengco Museum have officially extended the run of Pasts Revisited: An Exhibit on a Usable History and the Romance of Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino until July 31, 2026.

Currently housed at the RCBC Plaza in Makati City, the exhibition highlights the celebrated husband-and-wife historian duo whose writings profoundly reshaped Filipino identity.

Due to popular demand and the vast nature of the collection, organizers are giving the public a prolonged opportunity to engage with these pieces of national heritage.

The exhibit offers a look at the intellectual labor and lifelong romance of Renato and Letizia. For the first time, the public can view personal artifacts, rare art and photos, historical notes, and contemporary [READ]

RENATO2026-07-17T14:26:12+08:00July 6, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

Candido’s Wave!

Two sold + two reserved = only 16 prints are left. The limited serigraph prints by the artist Denise Nicole Tolentino are among the most moving pieces of art in recent memory depicting Philippine history with compelling power. It reflects so closely a chapter in our past that makes the narrative bloom, and it succeeds because it is both haunting and inspiring. Candido’s Wave is available at the YShop of Yuchengco Museum until the exhibit [READ]

RENATO2026-07-17T14:26:12+08:00July 3, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

The Philippines’ Past Revisited and Continuing Past: Usable History in Today’s Philippines

by‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎ ‎Prof. Rommel Banlaoi on July 3, 2026

Renato Constantino’s A Past Revisited and The Continuing Past remain profoundly relevant in illuminating the Philippines’ present political turbulence marked by the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, the collapse of the Marcos–Duterte alliance, and violent upheaval within the Senate. These developments have not only revived anxieties over institutional fragility that Constantino already analyzed during his time but also sharpened dynastic rivalries as the nation looks ahead to the 2028 presidential elections.

Written during the Martial Law era, these two books on Philippine History dismantled colonial-centered narratives and restored Filipinos as central actors in their own story. They exposed how Spanish and American colonialism entrenched [READ]

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