Spotlight

National Artist Virgilio Almario Writes on the Constantinos’ Legacy of Activism

Mabuhay! Mula kay Virgilio Almario, Pambansang Alagad ng Sining: AKTIBISMONG NASYONALISTA, na unang lumabas sa pahayagang Filipino Ngayon, sa loob ng kanyang kolum na Sarì-Samot!

AKTIBISMONG NASYONALISTA

ni Virgilio Almario

NITÓNG NAKARAANG HUWEBES, Hunyo 11, binuksan sa Yuchengco Museum ang ekhibit na Pasts Revisited, isang handog ng Constantino Foundation sa alaala ng mag-asawang Renato at Letizia Constantino.

Siyempre, naroon si Red, ang tagapangasiwa ng foundation, at mga pamilya nina Karina at RC, dalawang anak ng mag-asawang historyan para magbukás ng exhibit. Naroon din ang mga tagahanga, estudyante, at kaibigan nina Tato at Letty. Naroon siyempre ang magandang curator ng museo, si Jeannie Javellosa, at nag-aanyaya ng mga exhibit ng writers at artists.

Napakaganda ng exhibit. Tasteful, [READ]

RENATO2026-06-16T22:57:59+08:00June 15, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

Karganilla on Constantino: Combatant, Journalist, Historian

We present today the Malaya column of UP Manila’s Prof. Bernard Karganilla, whose words one can see prominently on the wall of the Pasts Revisited exhibit at the Yuchengco Museum: “Renato Constantino was a combatant in the anti-fascist world war, a journalist, and a historian. He made history, witnessed history, and wrote history.” Karganilla would know; he was a long-time student of Renato as well as Letty, and he became a much loved friend of the two historians.

With Prof. Karganilla’s words we feature as well as his wedding photo, with his late wife, Anita, who was much loved by the Constantinos, a love that extends to the second and third generations. In the wedding pic, Renato Constantino is standing to the left of Prof. Karganilla. In the other photo is history scholar Prof. Raymund Ciriaco, who was [READ]

RENATO2026-06-16T22:57:59+08:00June 14, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

Opening Day at Y Space: Pasts Revisited

The opening day of #PastsRevisited was a happy blast. Here’s a first batch of photos. Unless indicated otherwise, please credit the images to Giliw/Constantino Foundation. If the stories and artifacts we’ve displayed generate new insights, provide interesting perspectives, and make visitors remember, then the exhibit #PastsRevisited has done what it was intended to [READ]

RENATO2026-06-16T22:58:00+08:00June 13, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

Pasts Revisited at Yuchengco Museum: Art, History, and Legacy

Over a hundred guests at the opening yesterday of #PastsRevisited. So many stories to share. Here’s one: featured in the exhibit is original the desk and chair Renato used as a young writer. The first book you’ll see is Vestiges of War, which was put together by Angel Velasco Shaw, the beaming woman in the photo with the foundation’s managing director Red Constantino. Red describes the book as “both might and beautiful the way it wove together art, history, and culture, politics driven by the book’s subject – the Philippine-American War and the aftermath of an imperial dream [READ]

RENATO2026-06-16T22:58:00+08:00June 12, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

We are thrilled to share this feature on our upcoming exhibit!

“Pasts Revisited: An Exhibit on a Usable History and the Romance of Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino” opens this June 11 at 3 PM at Y Space, Yuchengco Museum, RCBC Plaza, Makati City — and runs until July 11.

For the first time ever, see rare letters, never-before-seen manuscripts, artworks gifted by National Artist Vicente Manansala and other celebrated painters, and photos with luminaries who shaped Philippine history. The exhibit also features Alas ng Bayan, a powerful tribute to five Filipino women who resisted oppression across different eras.

Opening day (June 11) and June 12 (Independence Day) are free and open to the public, 10 AM–6 PM.

Students, teachers, and groups are welcome! For scheduling and inquiries: [READ]

RENATO2026-06-16T22:58:01+08:00June 6, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

The Constantino Exhibit at Yuchengco Museum

New history exhibit with loads of compelling art! Yes! At the Yuchengco Museum from June 11 to July 11, get a chance to see historians Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino as you’ve never seen them before. Discover the epic love story of two Filipinos who wrote together as a couple to decolonize the nation.

The exhibit will showcase letters, never before seen book manuscripts, and other rare artifacts. Revealed to the public for the first time are works of art given to the couple by National Artist Vicente Manansala and celebrated painters Malang and Araceli Dans, together with photos of the writers with good friends such as Sen. Claro M. Recto and Sen. Lorenzo Tañada, alongside handwritten notes from historians such as William Henry Scott, Doreen [READ]

RENATO2026-06-16T22:58:01+08:00June 4, 2026|Tags: PastsRevisitedExhibit|

The Videos Are Now Available — Renato Constantino Revisited

Watch the full recording of the April 18 convocation, Renato Constantino Revisited — a forum on the role of dissent in development, the usable past, and his lifelong romance with Letizia Roxas Constantino in pursuit of national liberation. Or jump directly to individual speaker sections. Transcripts and papers from select speakers are also available. WATCH HERE

RENATO2026-06-17T02:20:32+08:00May 18, 2026|Tags: RenatoConstantinoRevisited|

Ang Gahum ng Katutubong Gubat

An overview and review of Philippine Native Trees 404: Rooted and Rising
Renato Redentor Constantino, 28 April 2026, Club Filipino

Patnubayan nawa tayong lahat ni Leonard. Paumnahin din sa lahat. Sampung beses kong sinubukang tumanggi ngunit kumbaga sa basketbol, ang score po ay Imelda Sarmiento, 100, at ako po ay zero. Ang consolation prize ko lang ay nandito rin po kayong lahat dahil sa powers niya.

She goes by many names; I call her Tita Ime, a person whose power of persuasion defies all laws of physics. She is a force of nature. No one can say no to her. You can try but in the end all I can say is God bless and may the Force be with you.

I ask everyone to focus on the next speakers, especially Dr. Lillian Rodriguez and Jayson Mansibang. They are the real experts. They are botanists, their expertise is unparalleled, and they are incredibly [READ]

RENATO2026-05-04T11:35:45+08:00May 4, 2026|

NATURE BEGINS IN THE MIND: Congratulations Angela!

Few people have ever seen the elusive Philippine mouse-deer in the wild. But chances are, if you’re old enough to read this paragraph, then you might have read or even more likely had a parent read to you, the Adarna House adventures of Pilandok the mouse-deer as a child. The mischievous hero used guile and trickery to run circles around his opponents. In one story, he deceives a murderous sultan using a supposedly golden egg. In another, he outsmarts a greedy datu by luring him into a cage at sea.

For many kids in today’s heavily urbanized world, nature is something that often begins in the imagination. Read and reread in bedrooms and classrooms far from the jungle, the stories of Pilandok, Diwa the Dugong, Mayumi the Forest Pig, and Macky, ang Maliksing Paniki, serve as important avenues for children eager to explore the wilderness of the mind.

Still, it would be [READ]

RENATO2026-04-28T02:20:00+08:00April 28, 2026|

A Gathering of Ideas: UP CMC hosts Convocation for Historian and Journalist

by Red Constantino

All the tools available to you, use them, and use them for the greater cause of national freedom and social liberation. Decolonize. Words often said by Letizia before she passed away in 2016. We did a lot of the first point last Saturday at the convocation for Renato Constantino, and likewise discussed in different details the second point, because we cannot completely decarbonize without full decolonization, and without decarbonization we cannot fully decolonize.

Much was shared by the speakers, but UP College Media and Communication (CMC) Dean Diosa Labiste framed a lot of narratives early when she spoke of the long overdue review of Renato Constantino’s contributions as a journalist.

We talked briefly before the event formally began as Dr. Labiste recounted The Manipulated Press, a book by one of the speakers, Rosalinda Ofreneo, published in 1984 with an introduction by Constantino. I mentioned The State of the Philippine Press, [READ]

RENATO2026-06-17T02:18:34+08:00April 20, 2026|Tags: RenatoConstantinoRevisited|