English became the wedge that separated the Filipinos from their past and later was to separate educated Filipinos from the masses of their countrymen. -- Renato Constantino, historian  

By Blood

PACO PARK
San Marcelino and General Luna Sts., Manila, Philippines

Built in 1820 at the south side of the Pasig River, this petite but beautiful circular park of moss- covered stone -- with a picturesque chapel in the middle-- was a cemetery until it was declared a national park in 1966. Its two concentric walls served as burial niches for the Spanish elite and, for a while, the national hero José Rizal. Rizal was secretly buried at the back of the chapel after his execution but his remains were later transferred to the Luneta Park. No burials have been performed here since 1912.

Interesting that Rizal's family seems to identify themselves with the Spanish elite. This is one irritating trait of Filipinos... trying to establish their identity by association with other cultures.

I am a Filipino. I am not a Filipino with a fourth of Chinese blood or a fifth of Spanish blood or a Tenth of Japanese blood. I am just a Filipino... if you need to know something about my blood.. it's type B.