Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
THERE are many people who live truly extraordinary lives; people who, immersed in adverse circumstances beyond their control, have a series of unique, unrepeatable experiences, true lessons of life. Many of these people tell their children and grandchildren about their experiences orally, leaving a vivid impression on them. But it is even better if these people have the will to write down what they lived, because in this way they not only transmit these experiences to their loved ones but also to readers of many generations and even other nations, who will be able to learn and draw lessons from someone else's experience.
Last Christmas I bought a book entitled in Spanish Mis memorias de la guerra de Filipinas (My Memories of the Philippine War). Published in Barcelona in 2004, its author was born in Naga to a Bicolano mother — from Libmanan — and a Spaniard from Abla, Almería, Spain. Her name was María Dolores Tapia del Rio and only a few days ago I learned that she passed away two years ago. She herself translated her book into English under the title My Reminiscences of the Second World War in the Philippines (Barcelona, Parnass Ediciones, 2007), but I suspect that this translation has not circulated much in the Philippines — that was her intention — as I have only managed to see one copy in the Heritage Library.
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