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—’ (some totally hashed up sentence would follow). ‘You can’t say that. Your only possible grammatical choices are…’ Here was I, a native American, supposedly well-educated, allegedly a writer of the English language, which I had been speaking and listening to since birth, receiving what amounted to grammar lessons from a woman who … was none of these things insofar as the English language was concerned.”
The Foundation would publish in the same year the epic study Conspiracy for Empire written by Jonathan Fast with his wife, Luzviminda Francisco, who would both become good friends with Renato and Letizia’s grandson, Red. Jonathan scribbled this dedication on a copy of Roots of Dependency in 2000. Red is today the foundation’s managing director.
Pasts Revisited can be seen at the Yuchengco Museum in RCBC Plaza until July 31.
