The Anthem Philatelist

" Glimpses of Old Cebu: Images of the Colonial Era " is a 276-page coffee table book of nearly 600 of the best photographs, postcards , stereoviews and lantern glass slides of Cebu and its many towns taken between 1870-1945. More than just a mere showcasing of rare, never-before-seen images, the book also provides a treasure trove of information accompanying nearly every picture. The author, Lucy Urgello Miller has been collecting vintage Philippine postcards and photographs for over 20 years, the thrust of her collection being Cebu . She acquired 90% of her Cebu collection in the United States where she is living with her husband Richard "Rick" Miller. Most of the collection was bought at antique postcards shows. Lucy has about 1,000 pictures and postcards on Cebu but she selected only the best and most interesting for this book. Mommy Gingging, Lucy and my wife Grace A blue-blooded Theresian, Lucy spent her entire education from kind...

In 1976, Transkei was proclaimed by the apartheid-era South Africa as an "independent black homeland" (in actuality, an area set up to reduce the black population of South Africa by giving them citizenship in this new area.) Not internationally recognized, Transkei was re-incorporated into South Africa when the apartheid system was abolished in 1994. As a separate "nation", Transkei adopted the famous southern African song "Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika" as its official national anthem. In fact, the song was written and composed in what later became Transkei; as well, the writer of the song, Enoch Sontonga , was a member of the Xhosa people, which was the official language of Transkei. Interestingly, not only was "Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika" used for decades prior to the creation of Transkei as the anthem of the anti-apartheid movement, but also, this song became part of the anthem of the new South Africa after Transkei was re-integrated. This is a ...

Upon independence in 1964, Zambia adopted the melody of "God Bless Africa" for the melody, yet different lyrics were written to specifically reflect Zambia. "God Bless Africa" is a popular song and anthem in southern Africa, the song was also formerly used by Zimbabwe, Ciskei, and Transkei, and currently by Tanzania and as part of the South African anthem. "Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free" or "Lumbanyeni Zambia" is the national anthem of Zambia. The tune is taken from the hymn Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (God Bless Africa), which was composed by a South African, Enoch Sontonga , in 1897, the lyrics were composed at or near Zambian independence to specifically reflect Zambia, as opposed to Sontonga's lyrics which refer to Africa as a whole. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika also forms the first verse of South Africa's national anthem.

Tanzania was the first African nation to use the popular African song "Mungu ibariki Afrika" (God Bless Africa) as its anthem, in 1961 when it was Tanganyika, and was retained after union with Zanzibar in 1964. It is now also used by South Africa (as part of the current anthem) and Zambia (with different words), and formerly used by Zimbabwe, Ciskei, and Transkei. The song was written collectively and composed by Enoch Mankayi Sontonga. Enoch Mankayi Sontonga (ca. 1873 - 18 April 1905) was the composer of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (God Bless Africa), which has been part of the South African national anthem since 1994. It was also the official African National Congress (ANC) anthem since 1925 and is still the national anthem of Tanzania and Zambia. It was also sung in Zimbabwe and Namibia for many years. Sontonga, a Xhosa, was born in the city of Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape. He trained as a teacher at the Lovedale Institution and subsequently attended the Methodist Mission...

The Island Territory of Bonaire is one of five island territories (Eilandgebieden) of the Netherlands Antilles, consisting of the main island of Bonaire and, nestled in its western crescent, the uninhabited islet of Klein Bonaire. Together with Aruba and Curaçao it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles. As part of the Netherlands Antilles, Bonaire is also a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The structure of the relationship between Bonaire, the Netherlands Antilles and the Kingdom is planned for change under proposed legislation. The Netherlands Antilles is scheduled to be dissolved as a unified political entity on 10 October 2010, so that the five constituent islands would attain new constitutional statuses: Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius will become special municipalities of the Netherlands, while the islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten will become independent states within the Kingdom of the Ne...

Jose Yulo (1894 – 1976) Jurist, statesman, lawyer, Jose Yulo was one of the distinguished and outstanding leaders of the country. He was born on September 24, 1894 in Bago Negros Occidental, the fifth child of Sofronio Yulo and Segunda Yulo. His mother died when he was six years old and his father followed when he was 12. Yulo finished the first three years of his high school at the Rizal Institute in Bacolod but in 1910, he transferred to the Manila High School, where he obtained his high school diploma the following year. Among his contemporaries at the Manila High School were Jose P. Laurel and Elpidio Quirino.   Yulo wanted to take up engineering but since the course was not offered in the evening, he enrolled in the college of law of the University of the Philippine. He was then below 18, the prescribed age for admission to the university but was admitted, however, upon the special recommendation of the high school principal. UP Law dean, George A. Malcolm, employed Yulo i...

Casimiro Villacin del Rosario ( 13 Jun, 1896- 15 Sep, 1982) is a foremost Filipino physicist, astronomer and meteorologist.   Dr. del Rosario is known for his researches on ultraviolet light of different wavelengths, effect of radioactive radiation on Euglena , high voltage electrical discharges in a vacuum, and many others. His works have been published in international journals such as the American Physics Review and the Journal of Franklin Institute .   He is the co-founder of the Bartol Research Foundation in Philadelphia, an institution which did pioneering researches in physics.   Dr. del Rosario was the recipient of a Presidential Award in 1965 for his contributions to physics. He was made Director of the Philippine Weather Bureau for 11 years, and the first vice-chairman of the National Science Development Board in 1958. He was conferred as a National Scientist in 1984.   Dr. Casimiro del Rosario was born on June 13, 1896 in Bantayan , Cebu to Pantale...

Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitan (August 30, 1850 – July 4, 1896) was a Filipino writer, journalist, and revolutionary leader of the Philippine Revolution and one of the leading Ilustrado propagandist of the Philippine War of Independence. He served as editor of the vernacular section of the Diariong Tagalog (Tagalog Newspaper), the first Philippine bilingual newspaper, in 1882. From 1890 to around 1895, he edited and published the newspaper La Solidaridad (Solidarity), mainly through his 150 essays and 66 editorials published under the nom de plume Plaridel. Del Pilar's militant and progressive outlook was derived from the classic enlightenment tradition of the French philosophes and the scientific empiricism of the European bourgeoisie. Part of this outlook was transmitted by freemasonry, to which del Pilar subscribed. Considered the Father of Philippine Masonry, del Pilar spearheaded the secret organization of Masonic lodges in the Philippines as a means of strengthening ...

Gregorio de Jesus was the first female member of the Katipunan. She was also the wife of Andres Bonifacio and took care of safekeeping all the necessary documents of the Katipunan and orienting new members of the movement. She also made the first Katipunan flag. Gregoria de Jesús (15 May 1875 – 15 March 1943), also known as Aling Oriang,[1] was the founder and vice-president of the women's chapter of the Katipunan of the Philippines.[2] She was also the custodian of the documents and seal of the Katipunan. She married Andrés Bonifacio, the supremo of the Katipunan, and played a major role in the Philippine Revolution. She has one son from Andrés Bonifacio and five children from Julio Nakpil. Gregoria de Jesús was born in the city of Caloocan, in what is now the province Rizal, to a Catholic middle-class family. Her father, Nicolás de Jesús, was a carpenter who later served as a gobernadorcillo. As a young girl, she was an exceptional student and a silver medal recipient in an exa...

A born soldier Gen. Mateo M. Capinpin was already a member of the Boy's Battalion organization at age ten. As a professional soldier, he belonged to the Company "I" of the 4th Infantry, the Pride of Fort Mckinley (now known as Fort Bonifacio). He commanded the 21st division of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) and received the general's star even before the start of World War II.   Brig. Gen. Capinpin, a war time commander of the Philippine Army's famed 21st Division, was born in Morong Rizal on April 22, 1887. He grew up and took his elementary & secondary education in Laguna High School. After graduating from High School in 1906, at the age of 19, he joined and was enlisted in the Philippine Scouts where he started as a Private and was honorably discharged as a Major. During his itinerary with the Philippine Scouts from 1906 to 1918, Capinpin was acclaimed to be the only one who knew his Company Roster by heart. Stories have it that at nigh...

Gen. Emilio F. Aguinaldo was the first president of the Philippine Republic. A wealthy native of Wl Viejo, Cavite, Aguinaldo later donated his mansion to the Philippine government to preserve the monument to Philippine nationalism. Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (March 22, 1869 – February 6, 1964) was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role in Philippines' struggle for independence, essentially in the Philippine Revolution against Spain, as well as in the Philippine-American War that resisted American occupation. Aguinaldo is considered to be the country's first and the youngest Philippine President, and though the Philippine government failed to obtain any foreign recognition during that time, it is now considered Southeast Asia's first republic. The seventh of eight children of Carlos Aguinaldo and Trinidad Famy, Emilio was born into a Chinese-mestizo family on March 22, 1869 in Cavite Viejo (now Kawit), Cavite province. Aside fr...

Teodora M. Alonso , the mother of Dr. Jose Rizal was a highly educated woman for her time and was Rizal's first teacher. She shared her son's suffering as an enemy of Spain. She lived to see the day her son was executed by firing squad in Bagumbayan field now known as Luneta. Teodora was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos. Lorenzo was a capitan-municipal of Biñan, Laguna, a representative in the Spanish Cortes, a Knight of the Order of Isabela the Catholic and a surveyor by profession. Brijida de Quintos was an educated housewife who attended to her family's needs. In accordance to the decree issued by Governor-General Narciso Claveria in 1849, their family adopted the surname "Realonda." Coming from an able family, Teodora had her formal education at the Colegio de Santa Rosa in Manila. Just like her mother, she was well-educated and highly cultured, and had knowledge in literature and mathematics. When Teodora turned 20 years old, she m...

Felipe Agoncillo was an outstanding figure in Philippine diplomacy. He served on the Consultation Board of the Spanish Governor General but was later exiled to Jolo on charges that he was a filibuster, a suspect of revolutionary activities. He escaped and returned to Manila to join the revolution. He later served in several diplomatic posts for the Philippine Commonwealth and the Republic.   Agoncillo was born on May 26, 1859 in Taal, Batangas to Ramon Agoncillo and Gregoria Encarnacion. At an early age, his parents already noticed his brilliant mind. He enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila where he was a consistent honor high school student and later transferred to the Universidad de Santo Tomás where he obtained his law degree in 1879 with an excellent grade. He was granted a Licentiate in urisprudence with the highest honors. He returned to Taal to manage his family's properties after a year studying in Manila because his parents had both died. Agoncillo was alrea...

Jose Abad Santos is best known as a jurist. He gained national hero status during World War II. His refusal to collaborate with the Japanese with the Japanese occupational forces resulted in his incarceration, torture and death.   José Abad Santos y Basco (February 19, 1886 – May 2, 1942) was the fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines and served as Acting President of the Philippines during World War II. He was executed by Japanese forces during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, He is the grandfather of Senator Jamby Madrigal. Abad Santos was born in City of San Fernando, Pampanga to Vicente Abad Santos and Toribia Basco. His brother, Pedro, would eventually emerge as a leading socialist leader during the Commonwealth era. In 1904, he was sent to the United States as a government pensionado. He finished a pre-law course at the Santa Clara College in Santa Clara, California; his Bachelor of Laws at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois; and ...