Photo: Members of “The Tinio Brigade”. Anti American Resistance in the Ilocos Provinces, 1899-190.

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Photo: Members of "The Tinio Brigade". Anti American Resistance in the Ilocos Provinces, 1899-190. Staff: (to which Apolinario Querubin's Guerilla 4 belonged) seated L to R: Captain Yldefonso Villareal, Brig. Gen. Benito Natividad, Brig. Gen. Manuel Tinio, Lt. Col. Joaquin Alejandrino and Maj. Joaquin Buencamino(son of Felipe Buencamino, a minister in the Aguinaldo cabinet); Standing L to R: 2lt. Francisco Natividad and two unidentified officers; Seated: the 15 year-old officer 2Lt. Pastor Alejandrino.   ---------   Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Tinio Manuel Tinio y Bundoc (June 17, 1877 – February 22, 1924) was the youngest General[2] of the Philippine Revolutionary Army, and was elected Governor[3] of the Province of Nueva Ecija, Republic of the Philippines in 1907. He is one of the three Fathers of the Cry of Nueva Ecija along with Pantaleon Valmonte and Mariano Llanera. Manuel Tinio, then 18 years old, joined the Katipunan in April 1896. By August he had organized a company composed of friends, relatives and tenants. Personally leading his group of teenaged guerillas, he conducted raids and depredations against Spanish detachments and patrols in Nueva Ecija. Occasionally, he joined up with similar forces under other youthful leaders. An Early flag of the Katipunan. On September 2, 1896, Manuel Tinio and his men joined the combined forces of Mariano Llanera and Pantaleon Belmonte, capitanes municipales or mayors of Cabiao and Gapan, respectively, in the attack on San Isidro. Of 3,000 who volunteered, 500 determined men were chosen for the attack. Led by a bamboo orchestra or musikong bumbong of Cabiao, the force came in two separate columns from Cabiao and Gapan City and converged in Sitio Pulu, 5 km. from San Isidro. Despite the fact that they had only 100 rifles, they furiously fought the Spaniards holed up in the Casa Tribunal, the arsenal, other government buildings and in the houses of Spanish residents. Capt. Joaquin Machorro, commander of the Guardias Civiles, was killed on the first day of battle. According to Julio Tinio, Manuel's cousin and a participant in the battle, Manuel had a conference in the arsenal with Antonio Luna and Eduardo Llanera, the general's son, immediately after the battle. The Spanish authorities hastily organized a company of 200 civilian Spaniards and mercenaries the following day and attacked the overconfident insurgents, driving the besiegers away from the government center. The next day more Spanish reinforcements arrived from Peñaranda, forcing the poorly armed rebels to retreat, leaving behind 60 dead. The Spaniards went in hot pursuit of the insurgents, forcing those from Cabiao to flee to Candaba, Pampanga, and those from Gapan to hide in San Miguel de Mayumo in Bulacan. The insurgents from San Isidro fled across the river to hide in Jaen. The relatives of those who were recognized were driven away from their homes by the colonial authorities. Manuel Tinio and his troop stayed to protect the mass of people from Calaba, San Isidro, who were all his kinfolk, hastening across the river to Jaen, Nueva Ecija. The Spaniards’ relentless pursuit of the rebels forced them to disband and go into hiding until January 1897. Tinio was a special target. At 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) tall, he literally stood out among the attackers, whose average height was below 5 feet (150 cm). He fled to Licab. A platoon of cazadores (footsoldiers) was sent to arrest him, forcing Hilario Tinio Yango, his first cousin and the Capitan Municipal of the town, to lead them to him. Warned of the approaching soldiers, Manuel again escaped and fled on foot back to San Isidro, where, in the barrios of Calaba, Alua and Sto. Cristo, he hid with relatives in their various farms beside the Rio Gapan (now known as the Peñaranda River). Fear of arrest compelled him to be forever on the move. He never slept in the same place. Later on, he would attribute his ill health in his middle age to the privations he endured during those months of living exposed to the elements. The passionate rebels reorganized their forces the moment Spanish pursuit died down. Tinio and his men marched with Gen. Llanera in his sorties against the Spaniards. Llanera eventually made Tinio a Captain. The aggressive exploits of the teen-aged Manuel Tinio reached the ears of General Emilio Aguinaldo, whose forces were being driven out of Cavite and Laguna, Philippines. He evacuated to Mount Puray in Montalban, Rizal and called for an assembly of patriots in June 1897. In that assembly, Aguinaldo appointed Mamerto Natividad, Jr. as commanding general of the revolutionary army and Mariano Llanera as vice-commander with the rank of Lt.-General. Manuel Tinio was commissioned a Colonel and served under Gen. Natividad. The constant pressure from the army of Gov. Gen. Primo de Rivera drove Aguinaldo to Central Luzon. In August, … [Read more...]

Photo: Company B of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment 1943

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Company B of the U.S. Army's 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment 1943 Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/laginguna1942/?fref=nf Shown in this photo were Filipino soldiers assigned to Company B of the U.S. Army's 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment. While here, they conducted their intensive infantry training at Camp Cooke, California. In this picture, they brandished their "Bolo" knives (all-purpose jungle machetes) in the air. They did this in anticipation of the day when they would finally meet the Japanese and avenge the overrunning of their island homes. Here at their training camp in 1943, a ceremonial event took place when prominent businessmen arrived from Los Angeles. During this event, "Bolo" knives were presented to the officers and senior noncommissioned officers (NCO's) of the regiment. The enlisted personnel were previously issued this weapon and were honing their skills for use in combat. *** The original photo was creased so I cropped it to make it presentable. "LAGING UNA" - "ALWAYS FIRST" "SULUNG" - "FORWARD" "BAHALA NA!" - "COME WHAT MAY!" "IN HONOR OF OUR FATHERS!" "77TH ANNIVERSARY (1942-2019)” — at Camp Cooke, CA. (near Lompoc - now Vandenberg AFB).   … [Read more...]

Imprinting Andres Bonifacio: The Iconization from Portrait to Peso by The Malacañan Palace Library

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Imprinting Andres Bonifacio: The Iconization from Portrait to Peso by The Malacañan Palace Library Source: http://malacanang.gov.ph/2942-imprinting-andres-bonifacio-the-iconization-from-portrait-to-peso/Imprinting Andres Bonifacio: The Iconization from Portrait to Peso by The Malacañan Palace Library   The face of the Philippine revolution is evasive, just like the freedom that eluded the man known as its leader.     The only known photograph of Andres Bonifacio is housed in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain. Some say that it was taken during his second wedding to Gregoria de Jesus in Katipunan ceremonial rites. It is dated 1896 from Chofre y Cia (precursor to today’s Cacho Hermanos printing firm), a prominent printing press and pioneer of lithographic printing in the country, based in Manila. The faded photograph, instead of being a precise representation of a specific historical figure, instead becomes a kind of Rorschach test, liable to conflicting impressions. Does the picture show the President of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan as a bourgeois everyman with nondescript, almost forgettable features? Or does it portray a dour piercing glare perpetually frozen in time, revealing a determined leader deep in contemplation, whose mind is clouded with thoughts of waging an armed struggle against a colonial power? Perhaps a less subjective and more fruitful avenue for investigation is to compare and contrast this earliest documented image with those that have referred to it, or even paid a curious homage to it, by substantially altering his faded features. This undated image of Bonifacio offers the closest resemblance to the Chofre y Cia version. As attested to by National Scientist Teodoro A. Agoncillo and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, it is the image that depicts the well-known attribution of Bonifacio being of sangley (or Chinese) descent. While nearly identical in composition with the original, this second image shows him with a refined–even weak–chin, almond-shaped eyes, a less defined brow, and even modified hair. The blurring of his features, perhaps the result of the image being timeworn, offers little room for interjection. In contrast, the next image dating from a February 8, 1897 issue of La Ilustración Española y Americana, a Spanish-American weekly publication, features a heavily altered representation of Bonifacio at odds with the earlier depiction from Chofre y Cia. This modification catered to the Castilian idea of racial superiority, and to the waning Spanish Empire’s shock–perhaps even awe?–over what they must have viewed at the time as indio impudence. Hence the Bonifacio in this engraving is given a more pronounced set of features–a more prominent, almost ruthless jawline, deep-set eyes, a heavy, furrowed brow and a proud yet incongruously vacant stare. Far from the unassuming demeanor previously evidenced, there is an aura of unshakable, even obstinate, determination surrounding the revolutionary leader who remained resolute until his last breath. Notice also that for the first (although it would not be the last) time, he is formally clad in what appears to be a three-piece suit with a white bowtie–hardly the dress one would expect, given his allegedly humble beginnings. Given its printing, this is arguably the first depiction of Bonifacio to be circulated en masse. The same image appeared in Ramon Reyes Lala’s The Philippine Islands, which was published in 1899 by an American publishing house for distribution in the Philippines. The records of both the Filipinas Heritage Library and the Lopez Museum reveal a third, separate image of Bonifacio which appears in the December 7, 1910 issue of El Renacimiento Filipino, a Filipino publication during the early years of the American occupation. El Renacimiento Filipino portrays an idealized Bonifacio, taking even greater liberties with the Chofre y Cia portrait. There is both gentrification and romanticization at work here. His receding hairline draws attention to his wide forehead–pointing to cultural assumptions of the time that a broad brow denotes a powerful intellect–and his full lips are almost pouting. His cheekbones are more prominent and his eyes are given a curious, lidded, dreamy, even feminine emphasis, imbuing him with an air of otherworldly reserve–he appears unruffled and somber, almost languid: more poet than firebrand. It is difficult to imagine him as the Bonifacio admired, even idolized, by his countrymen for stirring battle cries and bold military tactics. He is clothed in a similar fashion to the La Ilustración Española y Americana portrait: with a significant deviation that would leave a telltale mark on succeeded images derived from this one. Gone is the white tie (itself an artistic assumption when the original image merely hinted at the possibility of some sort of … [Read more...]

Photo of soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army’s 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. 1942 – 1946

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Photo of soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. 1942 - 1946 Photo courtesy of: Pelagio Valdez‎ 1st Filipino Regiment, U.S. Army, 1942-1946 Photo of soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. Training with "Bolo" knives in this drill, they went "head to head" against each squad. These machetes dated as far back as the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. Through history, even Philippine Scouts used these weapons. They were later used by these inductees who entered the Filipino Regiments. When the 1st Filipino Battalion was first formed in April 1942 at Camp San Luis Obispo, California many of the inductees who were farmhands in civilian life brought their own field machetes to the training camps. Lt. Col. Robert H. Offley, the battalion commander was soon promoted and assumed command of the newly formed 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. Activated in July 1942 at the Salinas Rodeo Grounds, the unit moved to Fort Ord where the 2nd Regiment was born in October. By the winter of 1943, Camp Beale became the next temporary home. And during the summer, infantry training was conducted at Camp Roberts and the adjacent Hunter Liggett Military Reservation. Somewhere in the process, ColNoel Offley decided to authorize and incorporate "Bolo" knives into the combat inventory of his soldiers. Proficiency became mandatory as practice made perfect. This weapon was also excellent for clearing jungle debris as an entrenching tool as well as for offensive and defensive purposes. Intensive infantry training also continued at Camp Cooke, California with the 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment. Sometime in 1943, prominent Los Angeles businessmen arrived at this post of the "Sulung" soldiers. On this eventful day, "Bolo" knives were presented to the officers and NCO's of the unit. This was done as a publicity stunt to show the American people of the existence of the Filipino Regiments. The 2nd Regiment now became the only official unit in U.S. Army history to be presented "Bolo" knives for use in combat. The enlisted men had previously trained with these field machetes. Both regiments were now armed with these deadly Filipino weapons. And testing would be conducted in the upcoming battles of the Southwest Pacific Area of Operations. "LAGING UNA" - "ALWAYS FIRST" "SULUNG" - "FORWARD" "BAHALA NA!" - "COME WHAT MAY!" "IN HONOR OF OUR FATHERS!" "76TH ANNIVERSARY (1942-2018)” — at Camp Roberts/Hunter Liggett Military Reservation, CA   … [Read more...]

Article: Zona de Campeones – Guro DIno Flores impartió seminario de Lameco Eskrima y Kali Ilustrisima. September 2017

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Article: Zona de Campeones - Guro DIno Flores impartió seminario de Lameco Eskrima y Kali Ilustrisima. September 2017 http://www.zonadecampeones.com/portal/index.php/selecciona-tu-deporte/artes-marciales/judo-y-jiu-jitsu/1257-guro-dino-flores-impartio-seminario-de-lameco-eskrima-y-kali-ilustrisima     … [Read more...]

World War 2 U.S. Army’s 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, 2nd Regiment receiving “Bolo” knives in a special ceremony.

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World War 2 U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, 2nd Regiment receiving "Bolo" knives in a special ceremony. In the annual 1943 yearbook of the U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, this page featured the 2nd Regiment receiving "Bolo" knives in a special ceremony. This took place in 1943 at their training location of Camp Cooke, California. Prominent Los Angeles businessmen visited the "Sulung" Regiment to make this presentation. Receiving their weapons were the officers and senior Non commissioned officers (NCO's). The enlisted personnel had already training with their weapons which had been previously issued. The entire regiment paraded waving their weapons in the air past the regimental staff, dignitaries and visitors. Music was provided by the "Sulung Band" and it was indeed a day to remember for families and their guests. — at Camp Cooke, CA (near Lompoc, CA - now Vandenberg AFB).       … [Read more...]

World War 2 Filipino-American “Bolo” knife fighting during a unit practice. U.S. Army’s 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment.

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World War 2 Filipino-American  "Bolo" knife fighting during a unit practice. U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. Photo property of: Community Relations Liaison for 1st & 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments and 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (Special), U.S. Army, 1942-1946 https://www.facebook.com/pelagio.valdez?fref=nf   #LagingUnaBoloMatchUp This platoon was assigned to the U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. It conducted "Bolo" knife fighting during a unit practice. The regimental commander, Colonel Robert H. Offley authorized that the members of his unit add "Bolos" to their combat inventory. When the 1st Filipino Battalion was formed on April 1, 1942, many inductees who were farmhands in civilian life brought their own field machetes with them to training. In this photo, "Pinoy" soldiers awaited their turn in a large circle. This was like modern day "pugil stick" fighting. In the rear, you can see more soldiers also waiting their turn. This took place at Camp Roberts, California which was a major field training area of the 1st Regiment in 1943. "LAGING UNA" - "ALWAYS FIRST" "SULUNG" - "FORWARD" "BAHALA NA!" - "COME WHAT MAY!" "IN HONOR OF OUR FATHERS!" "74TH ANNIVERSARY (1942-2016)"     1st Filipino Infantry Regimental Headquarters Camp San Luis Obispo … [Read more...]

WORLD WAR 2 SOLDIER JUMPING TOWARDS CAMERA WITH BOLO KNIFE/MACHETE DURING TRAINING MANEUVERS AT SAN LOUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA ON 27 MARCH 1944.

SOLDIER JUMPING TOWARDS CAMERA WITH BOLO KNIFE/MACHETE DURING TRAINING MANEUVERS AT SAN LOUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA ON 27 MARCH 1944. Photo property of: http://www.ww2online.org/image/soldier-jumping-towards-camera-bolo-knifemachete-during-training-maneuvers-san-louis-obispo       1014. Photograph. Soldier jumping towards camera with Bolo knife/machete during training maneuvers. “3-27-44. Allen. Sgt John Petarsky, Bat B 506 AAA Bn wastes no time in rushing the enemy. Sgt Petarsky is squad leader of an Ambush Squad. Photo taken during a Division problem near Morro Bay Calif. 168-L-44-1086.” Army Signal Corps photograph. Photographer: Allen. Camp San Louis Obispo, California. 27 March 1944   DATE: 27 Mar 1944- LOCATION: Morro Bay HOMETOWN: BRANCH: Army … [Read more...]

Photo: Philippine Scouts at 1904 World’s Fair doing the Bolo Drill (Photo courtesy of the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society)

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(Photo courtesy of the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society) … [Read more...]

Photo Archive: Lameco Practitioners & Friends at the Dog Brothers Gathering in 1997

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Photo Archive: Lameco Practitioners & Friends at the Dog Brothers Gathering in 1997 Photo courtesy of Arnold Noche. This photo was taken in 1997.  It was at the Dog Brothers Gathering in Hermosa Beach, California. Arnold was in town from NYC. Some of the people in the photo: Arnold Noche, Dino Flores, Ron Balicki, Diana Inosanto, Sebastian, Al, Perla,  JP, Crafty Dog, Hans Tan, Nick Papadakis, Sung Han, Felix and Dogzilla.   … [Read more...]

Lameco Eskrima Founder Punong Guro Sulite Books, DVDs, Artcles and Magazines

Punong Guro Edgar Suite

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