By Johnny Dayang
June 24 stands is a popular feast day in the Catholic church calendar, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Messiah’s coming. Cities like Manila and San Juan in Metro Manila, celebrate the day, in St. John’s honor, with water-dousing and other activities. In my hometown, Kalibo, Aklan, it is the culmination of the world-famous Ati-atihan festival.
The date, however, also reckons with significant historical events. On that date in 1497, explorer John Cabot claimed eastern Canada for England, believing he had found Asia in Nova Scotia. In 1509, Henry VIII was crowned king of England.
On June 24, 1571, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi proclaimed Manila as capital of the Spanish colonial administration in the Philippines, with San Juan Bautista as patron saint. In 1793, France adopted the first republican Constitution on the same date.
On June 24, 1812 Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces invaded Russia by crossing the Neman River. Forty-one years later (1853), American President Franklin Pierce signed the Gadsden Purchase, buying 29,670 square-miles (76,800 square km) from Mexico for $10 million in what is now southern Arizona and New Mexico.
Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo who sewed the first Filipino flag, was born on June 24, 1859. On the same date in 1898, Apolinario Mabini’s Decalogue was issued; Pablo Picasso, the great Spanish painter, opened his first exhibition in Paris at age 19 in 900; and in 1930, the US announced the first radar detection of planes.
John is equivalent to the Latin name Juan, which means ‘God is gracious.’ In Philippine journalism, Juan de la Cruz is the iconic representation of the ordinary Filipino and the collective Filipino psyche. It is the counterpart of ‘Uncle Sam’ among Americans, coined by Robert McCulloch-Dick, the original publisher-editor of the Philippine Free Press.
There are many prominent Filipino Juans – hero-painter Juan Luna, former Health Secretary and Senator Flavier, Senator Liwag, revolutionary journalist Sumulong, and Architects Nakpil and Arellano. And of course incumbent Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Let’s not also forget Don Juan Casanova, the legendary Spaniard ‘great lover’ (?) known for his seductive appeal to women.
As for me, now going 83, just call me Juan.
-o0o-
Tomorrow, June 23, there will be a media forum on citizens vigilance against corruption and other venalities at the NVC Carmen Hotel in Kalibo, Aklan.
