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Soliquigas.com | Dear Manong & Manang

Manang's Reply:

It means showing your Filipino pride through words and action without stepping on other people's toes.

What antibiotic did Filipino doctor Abelardo Aguilar co-discover? Hint: Brand is Ilosone, named after Iloilo. Erythromycin.

Who invented the fluorescent lamp? Thomas Edison discovered the electric light and the fluorescent lighting was thought up by Nikola Tesla. But the fluorescent lamp we use today was invented by Agapito Flores of Tondo, originally from Guiguinto, Bulacan. Americans helped Filipino politicians to develop it internationally for home use. (Yes! Many foreigners have noted the Filipino population's high percentages of inventors and international beauty queens.)

The one-chip video camera was first made by Marc Loinaz, a Filipino inventor from New Jersey.

"What's still most impressive to me about the Philippines is the friendliness of the people, their sense of humor...," wrote Honolulu journalist John Griffin in a 1998 visit to Manila.

Distinguished British traveler-writer A. Henry Savage Landor, thrilled upon seeing a Bicol landmark in 1903, wrote: "Mayon is the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen, the world-renowned Fujiyama (Mt. Fuji) of Japan sinking into perfect insignificance by comparison." Mayon has the world's most perfect cone.

Filipinos had their first taste of Mexican chili and corn during the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade (1573-1811). In return, Mexico's people had their initial taste of tamarind, Manila mango and a Filipino banana called racatan or lakatan.

Los Angeles, California was co-founded in 1781 by a Filipino named Antonio Miranda Rodriguez, along with 43 Mexicans.

Founded in 1595 by Spaniards, the University of San Carlos in Cebu City, Philippines is older than Harvard and is the oldest existing university in Asia. The University of Santo Tomas in Manila, established in 1611, is Asia's second oldest.

What University of the Philippines fraternity lets new members run around campus naked during initiation rites? Alpha Phi Omega.

What is the world's 3rd largest English-speaking nation, next to the USA and the UK? The Philippines. (Not land area. Source: Moon Publications)

The USA bought the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam from Spain in 1898. The Filipino-American Independence War from 1899 to 1902 ensued, killing about 4,000 Americans and how many Filipinos? About 16,000 were killed in action and 200,000 died from famine and pestilence. (The Philippines lost and was colonized until 1946.)

The first female president of the Philippines sworn into office in 1986 was Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. Her maiden name is Chinese... In a March 31, 1997 article, The New York Times reported that the CIA manipulated Philippine elections: "(CIA operative Col. Edward Lansdale) essentially ran the successful presidential campaign of Defense Minister Ramon Magsaysay in the Philippines in 1953."

Who is the personal physician of United States Pres. William Clinton? Eleanor "Connie" Concepcion Mariano, a Filipina doctor who was the youngest captain in the US Navy.

The first Filipino-American in US Congress was Virginia Rep. Robert Cortez-Scott, a Harvard alumnus.

Who was the first Asian and/or Filipino to snatch America's Pulitzer Prize? Philippines Herald war journalist Carlos P. Romulo in 1941. (He was also the first Asian to become UN President.) The first two Filipino-Americans to garner the same award 56 years later were Seattle Times' Alex Tizon and Byron Acohido, who is part-Korean... Gwendolyn Brooks became the first black writer to win a Pulitzer in 1950... In 1995, the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter claimed that the Nobel Prize committee gave its Medicine award to Italian researcher Rita Levi Montalcini because of her company Fidia's $8.4 million lobbying campaign.

In the Philippines, Filipinos were introduced to the English language in 1762 by British invaders, not Americans.

The first Filipino act to land a top hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 1960s was the group Rocky Fellers of Manila. Sugar Pie deSanto (father was from the Philippines), The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (according to the October 1984 article "Prince in Exile" by Scott Isler in the magazine Musician), Jaya and Enrique Iglesias followed. Pure Filipinos who made success in minor charts were Jocelyn Enriquez aka Oriental Madonna, Buffy, Pinay and (Ella May) Saison.

Latina-American pop star Christina Aguilera lost to Filipina vocalist Josephine Roberto aka Banig during the International Star Search years ago. In a mid-1999 MTV chat, she said that competing against someone of Banig's age was "not fair."

Two Filipina beauties chosen as Miss Universe in 1969 and 1973, respectively, have Ilocano ties. Gloria Diaz is from Northern Ilocos region - La Union; Margie Moran hails from Southern Ilocos - Pangasinan.

Filipino writer Jose Rizal could read and write at age 2, and grew up to speak more than 20 languages, including Latin, Greek, German, French and Chinese. What were his last words? "Consummatum est!" ("It is done!")

The first ever international Grandmaster from Asia was Eugenio Torre who won at the Chess Olympiad in Nice, France in 1974.  In March 1999, Maurice Ashley of New York became the first black grandmaster.

This son of two Filipino physicians scored over 700 on the verbal portion of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) before age 13 - Kiwi Danao Camara of Punahou School, Hawaii...  Edward Sanchez, a Mensa member, bagged the grand prize in the first Philippine Search for Product Excellence in Information Technology.

Who was the Filipino-American dancer who scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT?  Joyce Demonteverde of California.

Pure- or part-Filipino celebrities in American showbiz include Von Flores, Tia Carrere, Paolo Montalban, Lea Salonga, Ernie Reyes Jr., Nia Peeples, Julio Iglesias Jr., Lou Diamond Phillips, Phoebe Cates and Rob Schneider. (Miss Ruffa Gutierrez, where are you?)  (After co-hosting the November 13, 1999 Holyfield-Lewis boxing pre-fight special with TVKO's Joe Rocco, she has been assigned to host many other events for US television. - J. M.)

Besides gracing fashion magazine covers, this international supermodel from Manila had walked the runways since the 1970s for all the major designers, like Calvin Klein, Chanel, Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix, Donna Karan, Gianni Versace and Yves Saint Laurent - Anna Bayle.