ni Gil R. Miranda
THE VIDEOS
The whole world is busy. Parents occupy themselves in chasing dreams and providing their families a convenient life. Dreams however are like rainbows. They drift away as one gets near. Life becomes a daily grapple with time, stealing precious moments, like reading for the children a story, or telling them how a place was named, the beginnings of a nation or a community, and the struggles of its people to achieve liberty. Lest these shall not be told to the next generation, all these shall be forgotten.
Si Malakas at si Maganda
There are a thousand and one creation myths around the world. Every culture have their own stories about the time and space far beyond past where yesterday, today and tomorrow all began.
The Filipino people have their own share of the myth, a tale about the beginning-- the creation of Malakas (Strong) and Maganda (Beautiful) who sprang out from a split bamboo.
Lumang Maynila
Few now know Manila as it used to be, a kingdom ruled by Islamic Rajahs, Lakans, and Datus engaged in a burgeoning trade with China during the Ming Dynasty. It was then the center of commerce at the banks of Pasig River and its capital was Tondo. Attempts for Manila's conquest to grab the flourishing trade were made by the Indian Majapahit Empire, the Sultanate of Brunei, and the Chinese Pirate Limahong.
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Under the Spanish rule it became Spain's center of activity in the Far East and a very important part of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade supplying goods to Europe, Latin America, Africa, and China.
Alamat ng Pagsanjan
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Pagsanjan is a beautiful sleepy town at the junction of Balanac and Bumbungan Rivers. It lies where the river forks, thus the name Pagsanjan meaning "where the river branches." Pagsanjan is the gateway to Pagsanjan Falls, which is a misnomer for Magdapio Falls in the town of Cavinti.
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The beauty of Pagsanjan Falls or Magdapio is beyond compare. It attracted tourists, foreign and local, since the early days of the Spanish and American eras. Equally interesting is its legend which tells the story about how the falls came to be.
Lawa ng Bay
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Wrongly called Laguna Lake or Lawa ng Laguna, the lake's real name is "Laguna de Bay, " Spanish for Lake of Bay. The biggest fresh water lake in the Philippines was named after a progressive community led by Gat Pangil during the early Spanish era called "Bay," a Tagalog ambiguation for "baybay" meaning lakeshore. The Spaniards' phonetics made them pronounce it "Ba-i."
The Province of Laguna got its name from the lake. The province was originally called, "La Provincia dela Laguna de Bay."