Memorial Day in the U.S. is two days away, the last Monday in May. It seemed appropriate that I add one of my favorite photos to the "foto" section of my blog. It is an old black and white picture of an an American soldier carrying an injured Filipino girl cradled in his arms. I found it framed and hanging on a wall in the museum on Corregidor Island in Manila Harbor. I cannot any longer make out the date, though it is most likely sometime in the first months of 1945. The picture is very grim and yet seems hopeful to me. You can find it easily, along with a few other photos, in the blog foto gallery.
May in the Philippines is very important as the Month of the Virgin Mary, to whom Filipinos have a great devotion. Thus I have added an article to the blog, entitled "Maria Sanctissima: Strong Filipinas." I wrote the article for the May, 2012 issue of VIATimes Newsmagazine, as number six in the series on Strong Filipino Women. Filipinos embraced Mary when the Spanish colonized the country, in part because they recognized in her aspects of their own Mother Goddess. The Spanish Friars never quite succeeded in keeping the Mother Goddess out of Filipinos' devotion to Mary.
Happy Memorial Day and Happy May
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