The Harbinger of Truth
Arts & Culture MANILA, MARTES, 10 DE ENERO DE 1950
THE ART AND ESSENCE OF THE MALOLOS BANQUET MENU
auvent a la financiere; Abatis de poulet a la Tagale; Cotelettes de mouton a la papillote, pommes de terre paille; Dinde truffee a la Manil-
Releve-poisson sauce blanc (fish with white sauce), Croquettes a la Philippinoise (croquetas), Saucise de Poulet a la Republique (chicken
NICK Joaquin once said his effusive statement that the Malolos menu is a culmination and should stand side-by-side with the Malolos Constitution. The said Malolos banquet menu was the listing of food served on September 29, 1898 dubbed as the ―1898 fiesta nacional‖ or ―Solemne Ratificacion De La Independencia Filipina‖ (Solemn Ratification of Philippine Independence). There is an art in the way, the Malolos banquet menu was made. The designer of the menu was Arcadio Arellano. It is in the form of a foldable Philippine flag as its cover and the inside is the listing of the food. The side foldable paper revealed the date of the party, Sept. 29; the French Revolution motto: ―Libertad, Fraternidad and Igualidad.‖ More surprisingly, the contents of the menu were not typical native Filipino dishes nor Spanish cuisine but French cuisine. French cuisine that time is considered as the highest form of cooking. There are two types of menus still extant today. The first is the lunch menu, which was published by Harpers History of War in the Philippines in 1900 and the next is the dinner menu, which is now displayed in Xavier University Museum in Cagayan de Oro. There are only three existing original copies of the menu and a reproduction from Harpers book. THE
HISTORIC
FRENCH
MENU The French lunch menu is as follows: ―Hors d‘Oeuvre: Huitres, Crevettes roses; beurre radis; olives; Saucisson de Lyon; Sardines aux tomates; Saumon Hollandaise. [Entrees] Coquille de crabes; Vol
The art of cruelty: a review of Juan Luna’sSpoliarium By ALAIN LOUISE C. GERONIMO
HIS ARTWORK will be nothing without political allegory. A prolific painter and a political activist, Juan Luna y Novicio became one of the most recognized artists in the country. Inspired by the artwork of the Renaissance painters, he established his artistic talent in 1878 with the opening of an art exposition called Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, or the National Demonstration of Fine Arts.
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BY JEROME P. VILLANUEVA
FIRST PAPER MONEY? El Banco Español Filipino de Isabel II issued its first banknote, 10 peso note with the serial number “0001.” The first banknote is now in the vaults loise; Filet a la Chateubriand, haricots verts; jambon froid-asperges en branche. Dessert. Fromages; Fruits; Confitures; gele de Fraises; Glaces. Vins: Bordeaux, Sauterne, Xeres; Champagne. Liquers: Chartreuse; Cognac. Café, The.‖ (oysters, prawns, buttered radish, olives, Lyon sausages, sardines in tomato sauce, and salmon with Hollandaise sauce. Entrees or main courses: crabmeat in its shell, filled pastry shells, chicken giblets, mutton chops with potato straws, stuffed truffled turkey a la Manilloise (pavo embuchado), beef fillet a la Chateaubriand with green beans, and cold ham with asparagus. dessert: cheeses, fruits, jam, frosted strawberries and ice cream. Wines: Bordeaux to Sauterne, sherry and champagne, then to the liqueurs Chartreuse and Cognac, and finally to coffee or tea. ) While the dinner menu is as follows: ―Portage-Consomme de Volaille a la Royale (Chicken Soup),
sausage or galantine), Boueff Ladre, Pigeons aux Champignons (stewed pigeons garnished with mushrooms), Roti Chapon Dore (a roast capon or castrated oversized fattened young cock glazed with egg and browned in oven), Saladesaison (fresh green raw salad served with the roast). Legumes (vegetables were Aubergines farcies (stuffed eggplant better known as rellenong talong), Haricortes Vertes Sautes (string beans sautéed in butter and probably garnished with parsley in the French tradition but could also be our everyday guisadong sitaw), Entrenets-glace Moka Parisenne (Mocha ice cream). For dessert they had fromage (cheese), fruit, confitures (jam or fruit preserves. The wines followed the same sequence as in the luncheon: Bordeaux, pagne. Liquers followed dinner: Green Chartreuse, Cognac and Anisette. And indeed, the dinner concluded with coffee or tea.
He produced a number of paintings in that exposition. One of these is the Spoliarium, Juan Luna‘s most recognized work, produced in 1884.
Its winning in the 1884 in the art exhibition in Madrid was celebrated by the Filipino propagandists wherein Jose Protacio Rizal included it n his opening toast, saying that it ―embodied the essence of our social, moral and political life: humanity in severe ordeal, humanity unredeemed, reason and idealism in open struggle with prejudice, fanaticism and justice.‖
This took him 8 months to finish it. Overall, it conveys humanity‘s darkest secrets. The darkness, the slavery, the anguish, the torture, the gore – our greatest fears, all wrapped up in this painting. The darkness of the setting is juxtaposed to humanity‘s situation in his work, where all hope is lost, humanity being exposed to the pains and evils of this world.
He had been toying that idea in a book, that would soon be called Noli Me Tangere, ―a Latin echo of the Spoliarium‖.
DIVISION OF SOCIAL CLASSES IN FOOD SERVED In the Oct. 2, 1898 issue of El Cometa, an article by a certain journalist under the pseudonym Karaukka explained that the printed menus were only for the VIPs and the ordinary people had a different set of meal which consisted of: tinola (native chicken soup), fish, agachonas (snipes), carabao brain, lengua de carabao, menodillos, tortillas, riñones, chicken, croquetas, ham in gelatin, capon with eggs, turkey and salad. The desserts for the locals were fruits like oranges, mangoes, bibingka, puto, turon and mazapan. Another primary source is the official newspaper of the Malolos Government, La Republica Filipina which stated that the spacious dining room was well adorned, featuring seals and flags on each trecho. Windows had tulle curtains to block harsh sunlight on the main table groaning under the weight of the finest vajillas, exquisite sweets, and bottles of various wines. Lorenzo del Rosario, in charge of the service, prepapred for 30 guests set with 200 utensils. Malolos Republic President Emilio Aguinaldo was at the center of the table with Generals Riego de Dios, Garcia, Torres, Noriel, Gregorio and Pio del Pilar. T.h. Pardo de Tavera and Jose Alejandrino sat across Aguinaldo. HIDDED ESSENCES Two things can be inferred from analyzing the context of the Malolos Banquet. One is the representation of the French cuisine that the Filipinos that time had known these as highest form of culinary and also created a banquet that is observed using international standards of cooking or thed ubbing it as ―world-class‖ quality of the banquet that can be shown to foreign groups . The negative side of this banquet is tolerating the social stratification among Filipinos, a Spanish concept of Principilia and indios as seen on the difference of the menus served with VIPs and local men.
ART REVIEW
This artwork is humanitarian in nature and will turn many heads to those who want to find inspiration for works that include darkness and treachery.