More articles about: history

Shakey’s has been one of the country’s go-to food joints for delicious thin-crust pizzas and addictive mojos. Despite the highly competitive restaurant scene, the brand has withstood changing tides and continues to be a place where family and friends make memories. Given ...

Soldiers live and breathe duty, no matter the cost or sacrifice—this is something that Hiroo Onoda took to heart when he refused to surrender even decades after the Imperial Japanese Army had surrendered in World War II.For 29 years, he hid in ...

Juan and Antonio Luna were the best of men, but they were also the worst of men.The Luna brothers are usually held in the same regard as Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Apolinario Mabini. Juan's obra maestra, the "Spoliarium," still hangs in full glory ...

Conspiracy theories are rarely fun. To be honest, most of the time, they’re more stupid than brilliant.But those are conspiracy theories. Actual conspiracies, however, are another matter entirely. And the Philippines is no stranger to schemes, plots, hidden secrets, and mysterious dealings. ...

When people talk about ghosts, there is none more popular than the white lady. She has been featured in countless movies (hello, Sadako) and has become a sort of pop culture icon, being referenced in chick flicks such Mean Girls (Lindsay Lohan ...

On November 29, the Philippines will commemorate the 126th birth anniversary of Maria Orosa. To many residents of Manila, the name is a reference to an obscure street in Malate surrounded by more familiar historical figures whose names have also become streets: ...

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), through its chair, Dr. Rene Escalante, released a statement regarding the animated film Elcano and Magellan. Produced by Dibulitoon, an independent production company based in Guipúzcoa, Spain, the film was harshly criticized online for ...

Unlike the traditional culture that we have grown accustomed to thanks to centuries of feudal indoctrination, Western Visayan culture places high regard on the role of women. Visayan folk literature puts women on equal footing with men in its creation myths and ...

On October 31, research group Vulcan Inc. posted footage of what is believed to be the deepest shipwreck ever found. The discovery was made more than six kilometers below sea level on the edge of Emdem Deep, one of the deepest points ...

Metro Manila is home to 16 cities and over 13 million people. It’s the fifth most populous urban area in the world, and currently the center of the country’s culture, politics, and economy. But before it became a sprawling metropolis, Metro Manila ...

Rajah Sulayman, Rajah Matanda, and Lakandula were powerful allies that co-ruled Manila in the 16th century. The three rulers of Manila had territories that were strategically placed in different areas along the Pasig River Delta opening up to Manila Bay. Lakandula controlled the ...

It’s no secret that the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America will go to great lengths to defeat its enemies—whether at home or abroad. At the height of the Cold War in the ‘50s, they were responsible for overthrowing the government ...

In the Philippines, karaoke is king. Every barangay is equipped with 10 or so karaoke bars, each of which is alive until well into the early morning. But karaoke isn’t complete with alcohol, and when you add a couple of drunk—and off-tune—Filipinos ...

Here’s a fun fact you can share at your next dinner party: For almost two years, from October 1762 to April 1764, the Philippines was part of the British Empire. It happened during the Seven Years’ War, which saw pretty much every nation ...

Some four months ago, the film Quezon’s Game was released to general acclaim. The film depicted the personal efforts of Manuel Quezon to rescue as many as 10,000 Jews from what would eventually become the Holocaust. Well received for its portrayal of an obscure topic in ...

A black-and-white photo has resurfaced on social media, with claims that it was taken moments after Emilio Aguinaldo’s men hacked General Antonio Luna to death. If rumors are to be believed, the general allegedly refused to die, and took many blows to ...

From myths and absurd rumors to relationships, we here at Esquire have just about explored every detail about Jose Rizal's life. He is, after all, the country's national hero. But if there's one thing that we haven't discussed a lot, it's his relatives.The Filipino "Today I ...

Every town has its folk heroes. In a nation like ours, where almost all of our history is spent in conflict, it’s impossible not to have one. The province of Tarlac is no exception.Some names famously come from the Melting Pot of ...

People are suckers for the Robin Hood trope, and in Cavite, there is no anti-hero more revered (or reviled) than Leonardo Manecio, aka Nardong Putik. Back in the ‘50s to ‘70s, Cavite was practically run by Nardong Putik, an organized crime boss hailing from ...

Ho Chi Minh once said that we should “make poems including iron and steel, that a poet must also learn how to lead an attack.”None exemplified the image of a warrior-poet more than Eman Lacaba. He was a lot of things to ...