Yes, our Philippine National Hero Dr Jose Rizal is celebrating his sesquicentennial or 150th birth anniversary on June 19, 2011. To celebrate this 150th birthday, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has lined up a series of national and school-based activities. NHCP will spearhead commemorative programs in Calamba City (birth place of Jose Rizal), Manila and Dapitan City in Zamboanga.
According to Maria Serena I. Diokno, a University of the Philippines professor and Chairperson of the NHCP, “Jose Rizal is a very interesting character in Philippine history because he loved the country with a passion, wrote both fiction and poetry, practiced sports, and had his share of adventures from his extensive travels. In celebrating his 150th Birth Anniversary, NHCP aims to inspire a re-reading of his life, a little beyond what we have learned in our required courses in high school and college.”
Some of the events will have Cultural Center of the Philippines staging “Noli Me Tangere” with Ryan Cayabyab adapting Rizal’s Noli with the libretto by National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera. Rock Ed Philippines in partnership with NHCP will have an album out entitled Rock Rizal.
NHCP in partnership with the Philippine Postal Corporation held a stamp design contest called “150th Birth Anniversary of Jose Rizal Postage Stamp Design Contest” where students, amateurs and professional designers participated by portraying Jose Rizal‘s ideals and role as a national hero and as a Haligi ng Bayan in line with the development of the country.
Rizal Award is now accepting nominations for Individual and Institution Award. Click here for more details.
Furthermore, there will be a commemorative coin to be made for this celebration.
There will also be celebrations and events in different countries like United States of America, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Spain.
For full information of Rizal@150, visit National Historical Commission of the Philippines website.
This entry was posted on Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 at 2:44 pm and is filed under About Town, In the News, Interesting tidbits, Philippines, Teaching Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.