I WAS in Grade 6 in 1996 when I stumbled upon a huge book at the Tarlac First Baptist Church School. Pre-internet, the book design and colorful photos were fantastic, amazing and fascinating for me, and it transported me to the time of our heroes like never before. It got me more interested in its subject, whose death centenary we were commemorating at the time. The coffee table book was In Excelsis: The Mission of José P. Rizal, Humanist and Philippine National Hero. The author was Felice Prudente Sta. Maria. I count her together with Gregorio Zaide, Diosdado Capino, Ambeth Ocampo and Nilo Ocampo as the historians who made me the Rizal advocate I am today. Two years later, Felice would publish another coffee table book, Visions of the Possible, her tribute to the centennial of Philippine Independence.