Spotlight

Diving into Renato and Letizia Constantino’s past lives and history

 

Rosalinda Ofreneo: The Constantinos’ romance went beyond the commonplace connection and encompassed the country in their advocacy of nationalism. They shared what Ofreneo called “usable love,” with Letizia serving Renato “hand and foot, as prescribed by patriarchal culture,” and later becoming his equal intellectual partner.

By Liana Garcellano | Jun 29, 2026

The Philippine history book “A Past Revisited,” published in 1975, has always been associated with the late historian and war veteran Renato Constantino. But he was only one of two authors, the other being his wife Letizia Roxas Constantino.

The exclusion of Letizia’s name was not a patriarchal erasure but a conscious decision for her safety, as stated on an introductory panel at Yuchengco [READ]

2026-06-29T16:08:28+08:00June 29, 2026|Tags: |

Landmark exhibit pays tribute to enduring romance, legacy of Constantino couple

History, art, and intellectual resistance combine in an exhibit currently on view at YSpace at the Yuchengco Museum, located in RCBC Plaza, Makati City.

Running until July 11, 2026, “Pasts Revisited: An Exhibit on a Usable History and the Romance of Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino” offers the public an unprecedented look into the lives of the late couple whose partnership reshaped Philippine historiography.

Pasts Revisited exhibit at the Yuchengdo Museum, RCBC Plaza

Presented by the Constantino Foundation, the exhibit serves as a vital antidote to what the foundation’s managing director, Renato Redentor “Red” Constantino, describes as a state of “national amnesia” in a time [READ]

2026-06-22T20:23:06+08:00June 25, 2026|Tags: |

Exhibit pays tribute to romance, legacy of Constantino couple

History, art, and intellectual resistance combine in an exhibit currently on view at YSpace at the Yuchengco Museum, located in RCBC Plaza, Makati City.

Running until July 11, 2026, “Pasts Revisited: An Exhibit on a Usable History and the Romance of Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino” offers the public an unprecedented look into the lives of the late couple whose partnership reshaped Philippine historiography.

Presented by the Constantino Foundation, the exhibit serves as a vital antidote to what the foundation’s managing director, Renato Redentor “Red” Constantino, describes as a state of “national amnesia” in a time of deep political and environmental crisis.

“Our current period will be remembered in history as a chapter of intense [READ]

2026-06-22T19:56:58+08:00June 23, 2026|Tags: |

The Manila Times on Pasts Revisited: Legacy of Renato and Letizia Constantino

June 18, 2026

HISTORY and art merge in “Pasts Revisited,” an exhibit that recalls the love story of Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino, two Filipinos who wrote together as a couple to decolonize the nation, ongoing until July 11 at Y Space at the Yuchengco Museum in Makati.

Mounted by the Constantino Foundation, the exhibit features letters, never-before-seen book manuscripts, rare artifacts, and artworks given to the couple by Vicente Manansala, Malang, and Araceli Dans, along with photos of the Constantino couple with good friends Claro M. Recto and Lorenzo Tañada, plus handwritten notes from William Henry Scott, Doreen Fernandez, and Edilberto Alegre.

The exhibit likewise showcases fascinating new art — contemporary expressions of a “usable history,” the concept advanced by the Constantino couple to encourage Filipinos to regard lessons from the past to shape [READ]

2026-06-22T13:19:13+08:00June 22, 2026|Tags: |

Kara David — Granddaughter of Renato and Letizia Constantino — at Pasts Revisited

Journalist Kara David — granddaughter of Renato and Letizia Constantino — visited Pasts Revisited: An Exhibit on A Usable History and the Romance of Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino at the Yuchengco Museum.

The exhibit runs from 11 June to 11 July 2026 at RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave. corner Gil Puyat Ave., Makati. (Closed Sundays & holidays. Bike parking available at RCBC Plaza.) Read Original Story Here

2026-06-22T13:17:41+08:00June 21, 2026|Tags: |

Limited‑Edition Prints and New Works at the Yuchengco Museum

ART! PRINTS! Yes! An important part of the Pasts Revisited exhibit of the Constantino Foundation is new works the public can consider acquiring. They’re made by young artists who used the concept advanced by Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino – that of a usable history – to create works urge us to reflect on lessons we can draw from the past to help shape our present as we pursue a better future for our nation – together.

See the captions for the artists’ words about their work.
 
Two are serigraphs – ALAS NG BAYAN by Basilio Pangilinan, who made 12 prints (two already sold since the exhibit’s opening) and CANDIDO’S WAVE by Denise Nicole Tolentino, who made 20 prints (two sold, which means only 18 are left).
 
[READ]
2026-06-18T17:57:41+08:00June 18, 2026|Tags: |

Former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño Recalls His First Encounter with Renato Constantino

“My first brush with Renato Constantino was through Mr. Herman Rochester, our 4th year high school adviser, who lent me his “Miseducation of the Filipino.” From then on I was hooked.

In college, I encountered “Parents and Activists”, which helped me understand my parents’ objections to my activism, then his books “A Past Revisited” and “A Continuing Past” which made me learn history in a way that I was never taught in my elementary and high school years. His and his wife Leticia’s many articles, pamphlets, books and publications were guiding lights that stirred up the makabayan and palaban in me. Theirs was a writing that was nakakapagmulat at nakakataas ng pag unawa.
In today’s red tagging era, Tato and Leti would be easily branded as communist terrorist operatives engaged in the radicalization and terrorist grooming of our [READ]
2026-06-18T17:35:33+08:00June 18, 2026|Tags: |

A Poet’s Gift: Ramon Sunico’s Watercolor Pipe at Pasts Revisited

Some Christmases ago the poet Ramon Sunico gave the foundation’s managing director a lovely gift – a watercolor rendition of an Igorot pipe. The painting is now displayed on the very desk Renato Constantino used when he was a young writer, a fitting addition that comes with a dedication true friends will smile at. Past the desk is Renato with his pipe, and even more pipes on display, and the red sabong painting by Vicente Manansala.
 
Come see the exhibit people have been raving about. Pasts Revisited: An Exhibit on A Usable History and the Romance of Renato Constantino and Letizia Roxas Constantino, 11 June to 11 July 2026 at the Yuchengco Museum, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave. corner Gil Puyat Ave. The museum is closed on [READ]
2026-06-17T15:57:18+08:00June 17, 2026|Tags: |

Post-Liberation Blues: The Left and the Collapse of South Africa

A compelling discussion from one of the most astute and articulate chroniclers of South Africa and its ties to the continent, including the South African Left. Limited seats – first 20 to register. Bilis! Lunch and refreshments served. (After the meal we’ll have a discussion on dried African bush meat and fermenting chillies.)

Tristen Taylor has a PhD in Aristotle’s economics and is a Research Fellow at the Unit for Environmental Ethics, Stellenbosch University. Tristen is a South African journalist and photographer. He was formally the director of the South African environmental organisation Earthlife Africa JHB from 2008 to 2016. In November 2021 he was shortlisted for the Fetisov Journalism Awards for Outstanding Investigative Reporting. Tristen won the 2022 Superscrieri press prize and the 2023 Dejan Anastasijević Annual Award for Investigative Journalism. In 2024, he received an honourable [READ]
2026-06-17T15:45:53+08:00June 17, 2026|
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