I WAS invited by the Roxas City government and the Ang Panublion Museum to give a talk at their 2023 Regional Heritage Summit last April 29, 2023 at the Gerry Roxas Foundation Convention Center, Dayao, Roxas City. At first, I wanted to decline the invitation since I am not an expert in Panay history. But I realized, maybe I can give some framing to what they already know. As we believe in the Pantayong Pananaw school of thought, history is not just a mere collection of facts. These facts should be explained within concepts that come from the people.
There are many Panay historians and cultural workers but none was more influential with me than Dr. Vicente Caluba Villan, who was my college teacher. He is like "kuya" to me, and we spent many hours talking to each other, especially when we did tours together. No other person, save Zeus Salazar and Bernadette Abrera, was more influential in the way I frame my writings than Villan. As my tribute to him, I shared with the Panayanhons what I learned from him in reflecting about their own history and how they contributed to the nation's story in general.
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