I recall a 1967 march used by one of our high school teachers as material for English instruction: “Stouthearted Men.” The song was over 30 years old by then, and I could understand how students aged 14 considered its sound out of fashion. I felt the same way too. It didn’t sound the same as popular music of the late ’90s. It didn’t even sound as current as the “oldies” our parents liked.
Ironically, some 11 years wiser, grappling with what we consider to be our country’s most current concerns, I find the song the most time-relevant over any other. Perhaps not for its sound, but for its message: “You who have dreams, if you act they will come true. To turn your dreams to a fact, it’s up to you… Start me with ten who are stout-hearted men, And I’ll soon give you ten thousand more.” Continue reading ‘Stout-Hearted Men’
The weather was kind, the participants eager, and the Walled City was waiting to be discovered. With Ivan ManDy of Old Manila Walks leading, 40 people walked the streets of Intramuros much like how the myriad of colonizers, traders, and generations of Filipinos must have over the past 400 years or so.
The tour begins in front of the Manila Cathedral, Plaza Roma, Intramuros
It was One Tama’s Action Day: rediscovering this city we call home. It fittingly began at the Plaza Mayor of our Nation’s first capital. From where we stood, we gained insight on what influences drove our first Spanish colonizers. To the north was the center of military might. To the east and west were the centers of regional and national politics. And to the south, the formidable structure of Manila’s oldest Catholic Church.
Continue reading ‘One Tama Action Day: Rediscover Your City’