This "Love of Taroko" Dance May Be Similar to a Dance from the Banaue Rice Terraces

In the quest to study Filipino culture, it's important to know what culture was brought by the settlers. Most Filipinos are of Malay and I think also of Indonesian descent. The aboriginal dances of Taiwan are similar to the Philippines due to common ancestry. I did some writing about how most of Southeast Asia may be of Malaysian descent. I'm not surprised to see that Taiwanese natives have dances similar to the Filipino tinikling, and use certain words similar to the Filipino native language. I did also write about the similarities between Filipino aborigine songs and Taiwanese songs.

This performance of 太魯閣之戀 (Tài lǔ gé zhī liàn) or "Love of Taroko" feels like something from a Buwan Ng Wika (Month of the Language) presentation. There were some Ifugao and Igorot dances. The dance steps here resemble some Ifugao dance I witnessed during my high school days. What disappoints me (now) is realizing that there are some cool-sounding Ifugao songs! If Taiwanese tribal dances can be performed with lyrics then why not Filipino tribal dances?

Ifugao dances are usually presented with drum beats. I guess it was that hard, back then, to secure Ifugao dance music. I still think if the song "Love of Taroko" were purely written in the Taroko dialect--it could easily be mistaken to be an Ifugao or Igorot song.

What? The Aquinos Aren't Part of a Political Dynasty?!

I was looking at the Mahal Ko Ang Pilipinas (I Love the Philippines) Facebook page, which made me laugh. This is what they wrote on their post saying that the Aquino Family isn't a political dynasty: THE AQUINO FAMILY IS NOT A POLITICAL DYNASTY 🇵🇭🎗 Pro-Duterte blogger Tio Moreno says that Bam Aquino is part of a political dynasty because the Aquino family is a political dynasty. But to me, this is not true. Why is it not true that the Aquino family is a political dynasty? 🤔 1. When Ninoy Aquino entered politics, none of his children joined him in his endeavors, and even his wife Cory did not join him in politics. 2. When Ninoy was assassinated in 1983, none of his children succeeded him in politics, not even his wife. But when the opposition and his supporters were looking to be the opposition's candidate for the presidency in the snap election called by Ferdie Marcos for 1986, his housewife Cory Cojuangco-Aquino was approached, encouraged or convinced by people t...

Shifting to the Parliamentary System is Better than Banning Political Dynasties

Some Filipinos who are totally against charter change (or constitutional reform) always use political dynasties as an excuse. It's not enough that some of them should keep saying that economic charter change will mean "selling the Philippines to foreigners". Please, if they realize it, developed countries allow 100% FDI ownership--allowing foreigners to own 100% of their business . Back on the topic, I would like to discuss political dynasties and why they're not necessarily bad . Some people keep talking about the anti-political dynasty law--that is one per family. It might be because they still think the first Marcos Administration was a parliamentary system. Please, evidence has been gathered that it was never a parliamentary system, to begin with (read here )! It's easy to talk about political dynasties. Some people were citing President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. as a member of a political dynasty. Some people also cite the Dutertes. I even...

Why I Think Banning the Mention of Hitler on Facebook is STUPID

Getty Images It's crazy how reporting a comment with the word "Hitler" can get anyone banned. For example, this is what I found on Quora : They should be allowed. there are quotes of his that are not in praise of hitler but showing how he thought so that people are critical of their current leaders . For example, here’s a quote by him “ How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.” This is a perfect example of why Hitler quotes should be allowed; to show how dictators think and how people should be critical. Yes, he started a giant war and murdered people but censoring what he said will only help the next dictator start more wars and murder more people because people forgot about Hitler . This is why the First Amendment is so important: it’s about communication and freedom so that we all make better decisions in the future. I just told someone that Adolf Hitler seized the means of production and I got a strike. Like what? I wonder what ...

Filipinos Calling Indians as "Bumbay"

The song "Dayang Dayang" was given a parody cover called "Dayang Daya". Oftentimes, the song "Dayang Dayang" is thought to be Indian. Instead, it's arguably said to be from Muslim Mindanao or was brought in either from Malaysia or Indonesia. Historically, some of the settlers in the Philippines were Malaysians and Indonesians. So, it's probably safe to say that most Filipinos of brown skin descent are mixed Malay and Indonesian. I was even reminded how I mistook a Malaysian woman for a Filipino woman. Back on topic, the parody song has an introduction that says, "Kami Bumbay galing sa India..." (We're Bombay coming from India). I even tend to refer to Indians as Bombay--something I ended up tactlessly saying during my first trip to Singapore. Many times, Filipinos tend to use Bumbay not as a racial slur but to simply refer to an Indian. Some Filipino-Indians don't even mind being called Bumbay for a reason. I guess they got accust...

Double Ten Isn't Taiwan's Birthday

It's often a mistake for people to think that Double Ten is Taiwanese independence day. Actually, it was December 7, 1949 , which was when Taipei became the capital of Taiwan. Instead, the real history of Double Ten can be From the Taiwanese Community Center , we can read this interesting tidbit about Double Ten and why it still matters for Taiwan: So what is this holiday all about? October 10th is Taiwan National Day, but it is not Taiwan’s birthday. Instead, it commemorates October 10, 1911, which was the start of an event called the Wuchang Uprising in China. This uprising led to the Xinhai Revolution which brought about the fall of the Qing (Ching) Dynasty, the end of the Chinese dynasties, and the founding of the Republic of China in 1912 . At this time, Taiwan had been under the rule of the Empire of Japan since 1895, and i t was not until the end of World War Two in 1945 that Japan was forced to relinquish control of the island to the Republic of China . M...

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