Madrid notes
Madrid notes
By Janet C. Garcia
MADRID–Four hundred years of occupation seem not enough for Spanish colonizers to remind them of the Philippines. On the streets of the capital city of Spain, there are sterling reminders of its former colony.
On one corner of the bustling Avenida de Filipinas (Philippine Avenue), a tourist will not miss a historical marker paying tribute to Dr. Jose Rizal. It is a replica of the Philippine national hero’s monument in Manila’s famous park Luneta, where he was shot on December 30, 1896 by firing squad upon the orders of the Spanish government.
However, Madrid’s version is smaller and its grounds are less spirited due to the absence of the waving colorful Philippine flag, the attractive water fountains and the marching guards that Manila’s Rizal Park boasts of.
Rizal’s landmark in the ebullient European city is somehow eclipsed by the vibrancy of Avenida de Filipinas, which is an upbeat commercial-residential thoroughfare. Rizal, whose 143rd birth anniversary was celebrated on June 19, probably once walked on this path when he studied Medicine as well as Philiosophy and Letters in Madrid in 1884.
A few blocks away is the location of “Las Islas Filipinas (Philippine Islands),” a subway station on Line 7 of Metro Madrid, an underground railway as complicated as New York’s notorious mass transportation. “Las Islas Filipinas” shares Line 7 with a stop called “Avenida de America (American Avenue).” Strangely even in Madrid, the Philippines has a link to the U.S. But most Metro stations have been named after Spanish royalty figures, heroes, intellectuals and former territories.
During merienda time, Spaniards eat “Filipinos.” A Chocolate-coated biscuit called “Filipinos” is one of their favorite snacks. The mini doughnut-shaped treat comes in three assortments – white, brown and dark chocolate aptly representing the diversity of Filipinos. No wonder, there was a diplomatic protest a few years ago against Barcelona-based Artiach-Nabisco, the makers of Filipinos. Some Filipino lawmakers believed that using the name for a snack had racial undertones.
Ever wonder if Lapu-lapu exists in Spanish cuisine? Lapu-lapu, a kind of expensive fish in the Philippines, can’t be found in restaurants’ here. Lapu-lapu, the first “indio” who led a revolt against Spanish conquerors, has no memorial here. But to all Filipinos, he’s a hero.
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