22 JANUARY

Masonry, Philippines, 1890s

1895 - Filipino mason and future Prime Minister Apolinario Mabini  y Maranan informs  fellow mason and reform propagandist Marcelo H. del Pilar that an order has been promulgated that prohibits Masonry, orders the closure of all Masonic lodges, and imposes severe penalties in the Spanish colony, the Philippines; earlier in 1892, Filipino masons began playing cat and mouse with the authorities who kept a close watch on Masonic lodges following the arrest of prominent Mason and friar critic Jose Rizal; the persecutions resumed in 1894 and assumed terror-level in 1895 when the arrests and deportations of Masons have become a daily occurrence; the supposed prohibition comes less than two years before the outbreak of  the Philippine Revolution led led by the Kagalanggalangang Katipunan nang  manga Anak nang  Bayan (KKK), a secret organization aiming for Philippine liberation from Spanish rule and which is marked by a mix of both Masonic and indigenous socio-religious concepts.

Vicente  Manansala y Silva

1910 - Future great Filipino cubist  painter and illustrator, Vicente Manansala y Silva, is born in Macabebe, Pampanga during the American colonial  period; a high school dropout, he would enter the School of Fine arts at the  University of the Philippines where he would be handled by famous artists including  Fernando and Pablo Amorsolo, Vicente Rivera y Mir and Ramon  Peralta; he would work  as an illustrator for periodicals before beginning to  gain national recognition with his "Pounding Rice" entry that would bag the top prize at a national exhibition; following an art fellowship to Canada  and, later, France, he would go on to perfect his craft, including in the  field of stain glass and would be credited for developing transparent cubism; his more famous works would make it to postcards included 'daily scenes' of Filipino life, such as “Magbabalot” (1973), “Planting Rice” (1980), “Tiangge” (1980), “Carollers” (1980), “Vendors” (1978), and “Give Us This Day” (1977); Manansala received a number of prestigious awards,  including the 1963 Republic Cultural Heritage Award and, posthumously, the  National Artist Award in 1981, with his art to be described by President Ferdinand  E. Marcos as "uniquely Philippine" while being "as universal as the art  of the early titans Luna, Hidalgo, and  de la Rosa."


Photo credits:

http://www.filipinopaintings.com/personalities.php?bio=51http://www.mastermason.com/urdaneta302/home_files/readings_files/revo-2.html