It was a delightful Wednesday afternoon as the Constantino Foundation received the Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Councilors Wency Lagumbay, Doray Delarmente, and Atty. Tope Liquigan, the city’s tourism chief, Giana Barata, and around 15 other staff of the city.

The visit was filled with questions and expressions of wonder and surprise as the leadership of the city took their time to experience Letizia: A Life in Letters and get to know the generational Filipina named Letizia Roxas Constantino.

“Thank you for having us,” said Mayor Belmonte, “We truly enjoyed ourselves. The exhibit was very inspiring, beautifully presented and so insightful. We were all so impressed.” The mayor also offered an idea, which the foundation gladly accepted: “We hope we can use some of the material in our Women’s Museum.”

Now entering its fifth month, the exhibit opened in April and was scheduled to end on May 30. [READ]

Who’s a celebrity? Or what is a celebrity? Maybe everyone, at least those who celebrate history.

And so the exhibit continues, and many thank those who asked for an extension. We’ve had loads of eager visitors since as many have requested appointments through the foundation’s channels and requests conveyed to family and staff.

One day we get the glitter and grit of stalwarts we’ve come to know in journalism. It was the second time for Ces Drilon, and a first for Pinky Webb and Yvette Novenario, the latter currently the general manager of TicketWorld. Their guide was the exhibit’s curator, Karmina Constantino-Torres.

The women, busy ones each, come together periodically to break bread, to share insights and questions, celebrations of common people overcoming steep odds or leaders actually leading, as well as sadnesses encountered or anticipated as they witness governance fail or fall apart, and laughter, a lot of laughter, as citizens of [READ]

It was a lovely Saturday morning when Mohamed Nasheed dropped by to see the exhibit Letizia: A Life in Letters. He loved the exhibit so much he stayed for more stories exchanged over lunch and to enjoy the company of the family’s matriarch, Lourdes Balderrama Constantino.

Nasheed is currently the secretary general of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), a 74-nation group of countries vulnerable to climate change. He was previously the president of the Maldives, an island nation facing global warming-induced challenges very similar to what the Philippines is experiencing.

Nasheed, also a former speaker of the Maldivian parliament called the Majlis, remains a storied figure in international climate and democracy issues. The Island President, a most gripping and colorful documentary was made about him – highly recommended – and it tells much more about the person, including more parallels with very recent Philippine history. Nasheed was the central figure [READ]

We were honored to host representatives from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines at the Letizia: A Life in Letters exhibit. The visit offered a meaningful occasion for scholarly exchange on historical memory, archival curation, and inclusive heritage interpretation. Through engaging dialogue over merienda, we explored avenues for collaboration and public-facing historical work.

The exhibit remains open for visits by appointment through this link: https://forms.gle/YYFDFJAfS1uejQ5Q9. We look forward to welcoming more scholars, educators, and heritage workers to the space.

Read Manila Times Article Here

by Red Constantino

“[H]ow do we exist, save on the lips of our friends?” wrote Virginia Woolf to Molly MacCarthy on 11 June 1939. The day before, Woolf said, “you were absolutely incandescent.”

After three days of a pewter sky came sunshine.

Zachary See, an intellectual who hides the fact that he’s a baker of seriously lovely scones, and historian Ambeth Ocampo, strode into the Constantino Foundation compound the other week to see the exhibit, Letizia: A Life in Letters. They joined Girlie and Kartini Alampay, who had walked in minutes earlier.

It was the day before free public access to the Linangan Gallery ended. The exhibit’s visitors seemed gratified with their experience. Girlie and Kartini were certainly delighted to have their photos taken with Ambeth, Zach, and my mum Lourdes Constantino, Dudi to friends and family, [READ]