Hello class! It seems we have a new student today and I would love for you to get to know them. Let me introduce to you Maria Josefa Gabriela Silang.

Mrs. Silang is what you can call the Filipino version of Joan of Arc. She is known as the first Filipino woman to lead revolts during the Spanish colonization in the Philippines and the empowerment she brought to the Filipino women of society speaks bounds.

As the wife of Diego Silang, she endured her husband’s attempts to overthrow the Spanish rule. Abuses, taxation, and a strong belief that the government and church in Ilocos be led by Ilocano officials fostered the revolt. The goal of an independent Ilocos seemed to be in sight. Despite numerous attacks in the city and imprisonment of unwanted priests though, Diego was eventually assassinated by his friend Miguel Vicos who was paid by church authorities.

After his death, his Spanish-Ilocono wife Mrs. Silang grasped onto the revolt command and began bravely fighting. The troops were inclined to her force because she became one of the closest advisors in the revolt under her husband’s rule and she would always support their battles. Gabriela soon came to be known as generala and the name struck fear in the Spanish troops and Ilocanos that worked with Spain. She implemented countless guerilla attacks to towns near the coasts and she recruited countless freedom figters in Pidigan.

The Spanish force against her was intense and her retreat to Abra was soon followed by her attempt to lead her troops back towards Vigan. Attacking on September 10, 1763, Gabriela found she had to escape the cornucopia of solders willing to kill their force.

Ten days later on September 20, 1763, Gabriela Silang was caught and her place as the last survivor of the rebellion seemed to disappear. In reality though, her story has been passed on and the four valiant months she was able to lead was yet another step towards liberation.

Literally one of our many unsung heroes in the Philippine culture, Maria Josefa Gabriela Silang deserves praise for her courage and unwavering strength.  Please, do let the name resonate because a woman’s worth is just as strong as her heart.

For this installment of Know History Monday, I wanted to share some of my personal insights I have come to find through the people and events I have immersed myself in this week.

If you did not know, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama visited San Diego State University on Thursday, April 19. Being enlightened by the Dalai Lama’s symposium can best be described as moving. Not only did he share his wisdom, but he also shared his humor and sincerity with the crowd. I honestly was astounded by how down-to-earth a man with such notoriety was and how human he really is. Part of this realization came from his explanation that ‘your bones are my bones; your blood is my blood.’ In short, he defined the fact that we are all the same, not different, and this ultimately affected my outlook moving forward.

Currently, I am part of a Filipino-based organization called Andres Bonifacio Samahan at SDSU. Our organization has been established for 40 strong years and on Saturday, April 21, our 40th Anniversary banquet was held. From the beautiful location to the divine food, the event was beyond a success – the key reason being the people and the history we share.

Forty years of members were able to reside in the same room and share the stories they tied so strongly to Samahan. Forty years of members from the past were able to meet the current generation and see the direct reflection of their own work. Forty years of members were able to know their history, and history stemmed from those who are us.

Sitting amidst such togetherness led me to understand and experience one aspect of what the Dalai Lama meant when he said we are all the same. The people in the room were once in our position because they too came to know a culture based on history. The tricky thing with history here is the fact that history consists of the people we are now as a reflection of the past and the history we are creating as a reflection for the future.

One way to Know History. Hope my thoughts can be part of yours too!

If you haven’t done so already, listen to the video above by international singing sensation Charice and let the anthem’s power resonate.

For this week’s Know History Monday lesson, we will be learning about the Philippines’ national anthem, Lupang Hinirang, or “Chosen Land” in English.

Lupang Hinirang was composed by Julian Felipe in 1898 in response to General Emilio Aguinaldo’s commission to create a tune that would generate patriotism and heroism within the hearts of the Filipino people for the Philippine revolution.

On June 12, 1898, the tune was played for the proclamation of Philippine independence from Spain and was called “Marcha Filipina Magdalo” before being renamed to “Marcha Naciional Filipina” as the National Anthem. The anthem at the time still lacked words, but the next year Jose Palma wrote the poem “Filipinas” in Spanish to match the music of the anthem for the La Independencia newspaper. The lyrics were soon adopted as the official lyrics.

When the Philippines came under American rule, popular English translations of the anthem were made by Paz Marquez Benitez, Mary A. Lane, and Camillo Osias to be passed by Philippine Congress in 1938.

The Tagalog version of the anthem actually did not come about until the 1940’s and it took Education Secretary Gregorio Hernandez Jr.’s committee from 1954 to make revisions to the song to be confirmed in 1998 as a new national symbol. The new national symbols law states only the Filipino version of Lupang Hinirang shall be performed.

The Tagalog and loose English translations are as follows:

Bayang magiliw, / Country Beloved ,
Perlas ng silanganan / Pearl of the Orient,
Alab ng puso, / The burning (fervor)of the heart
Sa dibdib mo’y buhay. / In thy chest is alive.

Lupang hinirang, / Chosen Land,
Duyan ka ng magiting / Cradle thou (art) of the valourous.
Sa manlulupig, / To the invaders,
Di ka pasisiil. / Thou shalt never submit.

Sa dagat at bundok, / In seas and mountains,
Sa simoy at sa langit mong bughaw, / In air, and in skies of Thine azure,
May dilag ang tula, / There is beauty in the poem
At awit sa paglayang minamahal. / And (in the) song for freedom beloved.

Ang kislap ng watawat mo’y / The sparkle of the flag of Thine
Tagumpay na nagniningning, / Is victory that is shining.
Ang bituin at araw niya, / The Stars and Sun of it
Kailan pa may di magdidilim, / Forevermore shall never dim.

Lupa ng araw, ng lualhati’t pagsinta, / Land of the sun, of glory, and loving,
Buhay ay langit sa piling mo, / Life is Heaven in Thine embrace.
Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi, / ‘Tis our joy, when there be oppressors
Ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo. / To die because of Thee.

Champions of the land – Enjoy your week!

There are a lot of things in this world that deserve respect. The way we show our respect towards others though is different from culture to culture. For instance, it is common to know bowing is a traditional way of showing respect in Japanese culture. In correlation, the Filipino culture has its own traditional gestures to show respect.

A common Filipino tradition to show respect towards elders is called pagmamano. The word mano stems from the Spanish meaning for hand and pagmamano is the act of either kissing an elder’s hand or raising their hand to touch your forehead. This act is often done as a greeting or farewell to the elders of the house. By doing it, you are asking for their blessing as well as blessing them.

Pagmamano is done across all generations since family is one of the biggest Filipino values. The root of the tradition is believed to have come from the Catholic Friars and Priests who colonized and converted natives under Spanish rule. The Pope was held in high esteem and his act of extending his hand to fellow church clergy as he blessed them transmogrified into the Filipino tradition we have today.

For a visual step-by-step guide, here’s a lovely link:

http://www2.puc.edu/Faculty/Milbert_Mariano/MANO/howto.html

The tradition of pagmamano has survived through centuries of foreign influences, and if someone older than you asks you to show respect to them, usually by saying “Mano Po,” you should know that the history behind your response represents the culture we will not lose.

The entire crew, baby girl in hand, headed out for a team dinner at one of our favorite pizzerias…Bruno Pizza located at the edge of North Park and Hill Crest. Bruno is a testimony to classic Napoli style pizza, which is the home and birth place of pizza. A historic fact, pizza actually means “burnt” for their burnt crust.

The pizza was great, but the company was amazing. We gathered the entire team as PNOY App begins its new ventures. I know we do get ourselves into a lot of mischief for a lil company.

Things have been extremely busy with our current “No History, No Self” collection. To date our most acclaimed and successful collection resulting in great feed back via emails, text messages, and of course orders! A huge THANK YOU!!! But the forecast has a huge storm coming through in the next few months. We’ll be beyond busy shuffling, rearranging, and polishing things to come. We have gathered new team members to help us brace the chaos. The gleam of light through the clouds will begin to peak through in June. Sun will shine with a “fresh” smell in the air and we will have “championed” the furry.

Continue to enjoy the “No History, No Self” S/S now available. In the next few weeks we’ll be releasing a few more tees and crews in your favorite pieces and an entirely new collection for the little ones!

And of course we’ll keep you posted with all the things to come!

A lot of you have come to know our Bahag-inspired design on the tank top and crew neck. This traditional loincloth is used throughout the Philippines by indigenous tribes to cover the man’s “junk” and is often unique to the tribe, just as unique as all of you who wear such culture.

Before you go out and hunt for your significant other in such fly threads though, you should know a bit of history behind that cloth. The hand-loomed bahag was worn by tribes who performed numerous acts of survival and rituals – my favorite being the Idaw ceremony. This week’s Know History Monday will be on the sacred ceremony.

The Idaw, meaning “bird,” is a hunting ritual where rival war tribes and their warriors would listen for the celebrated Idaw bird. This bird was said to lead the tribe to victory and this ritual stemmed into a modern-day Bontoc (mountain province of the Philippines) dance.

Before you leave class today, I encourage you to watch the video above of the Idaw dance performed by the University of Calgary Filipino Student’s Association (FSA). Get the appropriate threads and I’m sure you’ll be ready to hunt with a warrior mentality! See you next week.

A culture’s history cannot be known without the stories and lessons its people possess. Furthermore, if the generations to come go forth with an oblivious outlook on who they are and where they came from, a culture can be lost all together. We must “Know History, Know Self” or else there will be “No History, No Self.” — Welcome to your first lesson in Know History 101!

New beginnings always call for a source of inspiration, and I wanted to introduce a memorable Filipino folktale for this first Know History Monday.

From the Tinguian people, an indigenous community once based in the mountain province of Abra in Luzon of the Philippines, comes the tale of “The Man with The Coconuts.” The story translated by Mabel Cook Cole goes like this:

Once there was a man who gathered coconuts and began loading his horse heavily with the fruit. On his way home, he met a boy and asked, “How long will it take to reach back home?”

“If you go slowly,” said the boy, looking at the load on the horse, “you will arrive very soon; but if you go fast, it will take you all day.”

The man could not believe this strange speech, so he hurried his horse. The coconuts fell off and he had to stop to pick them up. The man hurried his horse again to try and make up for lost time, but the coconuts fell off again. He did this many times, and it was not until night that he finally reached his home.

Face up to the task at hand, you will find important morals within the tales of our history. We must take strides and care in reaching our goal or else we will complete our journey with no meaning.

Book this in your mind because the answers you seek have often been shared by the culture you can only choose to know.

Coming to the end of this lesson, do take note: Know History 101 class will be held every Monday on the blog. Class dismissed!

Last night our good friend Aaron “Woes” Martin and Paul blessed us with a visit to SD. Not only was a food fest, but the beginning of a project born from SD’s BMX bandits, the Outsiders, PNOY App’s Shirt The Kids, and Angry Woebots.

Here’s a few pics from last night. More info about the collab after the jump!

Enjoy your weekend!

Real talk. Real lyrics. Real eyebrows. Brrrraaat! Bambu via DJ Phatrick.

Aloha all!

Let me begin this post by introducing myself. My name is Lauren, but you can call me LaurenTheMeatatarian. How many people do you know will tell you their name and then let you know that you can call them by a longer name? Exactly.

Just so you know where I’m coming from and what I’m about, here are some facts about me!

I was born in Anaheim and enjoyed an exuberant childhood of living five minutes away from Disneyland. I moved to Hawaii a couple of years later and enjoyed the beaches despite not knowing how to swim. I loved the islands, but I could not give up my California Love <3 so I made the choice to attend college at San Diego State University. I absolutely adore my school and when I’m not there you can find me gallivanting and exploring the beautiful and cultured world we live in.

How does this all relate to me posting here though?

Currently, I have been humbled with the opportunity of bringing my outlook and drive to the inspirational PNOY Apparel team. We’re working on some amazing projects that will be revealed in the next couple of months, and all I can say is something BIG is definitely brewing! I’m really trying to contain myself from spilling the coffee beans, but I promise we’ll be getting you involved very soon!

For now, be prepared for the worst best just like me when alligators attack!

Stay champions everyone!