Spotlight
Letizia: A Life in Letters – Extended Viewing Opportunity
Thank you for your interest in the exhibit Letizia: A Life in Letters! Unfortunately, the period of free public access ended last 30 May. In[READ]
Visitors from far away!
It's been almost two months and we've had so many delightful visits. From students to scholars, activists to advocates, poets and engineers, to parents,[READ]
Poets and scholars visit exhibit!
What a magical day it was to receive four fine women, all of them luminaries in their respective fields, three of them Constantino Foundation[READ]
Discover the story of Letizia Roxas Constantino in this moving feature by Rolling Stone Philippines
This Exhibition Brings A Hidden Figure Into The National Spotlight From April 9 to May 30, the retrospective “Letizia: A Life in Letters” will[READ]
Spotlight
Major Joy as Mayor Joy and QC Councilors Visit the Exhibit
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[READ]
Pasts Revisited
Julio Nakpil
We remember today Julio Nakpil, born on 22 May 1897. He was a composer and, as a general in the Philippine Revolution, belongs to the pantheon of giants of the Filipino nation. Nakpil adopted the clandestine name J. Giliw. He led a full and meaningful life serving his people. His letter, dated 28 September 1897, is most interesting. Nakpil wrote the letter as the head of the revolutionary movement’s High Council to raise funds for the Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan four months after assassins carried out the order of Emilio Aguinaldo to execute Andres Bonifacio. According to the historian Jim Richardson, “Nothing in Nakpil’s letter alludes to the ‘Republica Filipina’ of which Aguinaldo had been elected president at the Tejeros convention in March.” Just as interesting, Nakpil was writing from Sta. Ana, which, said RIchardson, was “even closer to the seat of Spanish power” compared to late 1896 when the Sanggunian was based in Pasig. Even more interesting, one might expect the recipient of Nakpil’s fundraising letter to be “a wealthy resident of Sta. Ana, or of another suburb or town nearby.” But the letter’s addressee was Cipriano Ortiz, “the parish priest of Paete, Laguna, a Franciscan friar and, presumably, a Spaniard.” *
Julio Nakpil would eventually marry the Katipunan’s Lakambini, Gregoria de Jesus, the wife of Andres Bonifacio. They had eight children. (Two died in their infancy.) Nakpil would write in his memoirs about Aguinaldo’s orders to assassinate not just Bonifacio but also Gen. Antonio Luna.
Readers are encouraged to listen to Nakpil’s compositions, which are available on Spotify and Apple Music. Just type “Julio Nakpil” and look for his albums. According to BahayNakpil.org, “Several of Nakpil’s compositions were inspired by the revolutionaries’ struggle to regain freedom for the country. An admirer of Jose Rizal . . .” Nakpil wrote Pahimakas (1897), “a funeral march commemorating Rizal’s execution” while the piece Pasig Pantayanin (1898), he dedicated to the revolutionary forces.” Nakpil also wrote Pamitinan (1897), a song for revolutionaries “who went into hiding because of persecution.” Nakpil enlarged his Himno Nacional later into a grand march “to be played at the Rizal Monument, and changed its name to Salve Patria (1896).” Nakpil died on November 2 1960.
(Main image of the hero is from BahayNakpil.org and the poster art and layout is by Rica Dominguez)
Events
Videos
Stories
Poets and scholars visit exhibit!
What a magical day it was to receive four fine women, all of them luminaries in their respective fields, three of them Constantino Foundation partners, thanks to the IYAS and one who was a close personal friend of Letizia Roxas Constantino, and, in her words, a proud student of Renato Constantino.[READ]
Discover the story of Letizia Roxas Constantino in this moving feature by Rolling Stone Philippines
This Exhibition Brings A Hidden Figure Into The National Spotlight From April 9 to May 30, the retrospective “Letizia: A Life in Letters” will be open to the public and will spotlight the life and writings of the esteemed but humble historian and nationalist By Mel Wang | April 10, 2025[READ]
A visit from the royalty of good causes
A visit from the royalty of good causes: Three generations of fine Filipinas dropped by to see the Letizia: A Life in Letters exhibit. It was a pleasure to guide Teresita Ang See, her daughter Meah, and Meah's daughter, Mayim, around the Constantino Foundation's Linangan Gallery. Tessy, as the academic and civic[READ]
No instructions. No assignment. Just inspiration.
“It felt like her words filled the entire room.” Francheska put pen to paper after experiencing Letizia: A Life in Letters. No prompt. Just purpose. #LetiziaALifeInLetters #ConstantinoFoundation
