October 7, 2008

Centennial

Since I mentioned Jose Rizal in my previous two posts, I might as well add a third and get him out of my system. Because he's a Philippine national hero, his image and name appears all over the country, especially in monuments and street names, whether he actually went to the place or not. Here, we see a bust of him through the gates of Palma Hall in the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines (U.P.). When I was in college and visiting friends here, Palma Hall was the home of the College of Arts and Letters. Now, according to U.P. Diliman's website, it is the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. We used to be able to pass through this gate too. I think it's permanently closed now, and only the gates at its sides are left open. My guess is it's to preserve Rizal's bust—you know what college kids can be like. U.P. was founded in June 18, 1908 and this year marked their centennial. Their official seal is composed of an eagle holding a shield with symbols for agriculture (inside the pyramid: a coconut tree, rows in a field, and something tied in a bundle), science (upper left: a book, an oil lamp with a flame, and a funny-looking flask which I remember from Chemistry lab), and engineering (upper right: a hammer, an anvil, and a wheel). At least, those are the symbols in this seal. Wikipedia has a picture of the seal on the gate of U.P.'s main library, and it sure looks different from this one. And it's the image on the library that was used when U.P. had its seal redrawn and registered in the Intellectual Property Office.

gate of Palma Hall in the University of the Philippines Diliman campus

17 comments:

Stevenson Q said...

Wow! UP! I failed to capture my UP Dream back when in my senior year. jujuju but I'm doing well with my University now^^

Yup Ms. Hilda, John is his name. I am very much willing to send it to you. I'll send it right away.

Thanks so much for understanding me. Hope you find out what his message means.

You'll recieve it in 5 minutes time.

Steven^^

Stevenson Q said...

Hello Ms. Hilda! I've sent it all na po sa happyinmanila2008@y.c Hope to hear from you. Delete nyo nalang po itong comment na to as you read it so that no one will see your eadd. Thanks

Steven^^

Debbie Courson Smith said...

Thanks for the explanations, otherwise, it just looks like a seal that's strictly a decoration.

Saretta said...

It's somewhat reminiscent of the seal on the US dollar.

Hilda said...

Seven dear, my email address is no big secret. It's displayed at the bottom of my blog and it's also available from my profile. :D

Halcyon said...

I like seals and official things like that. This one is really nice. The eagle seems to be a universal symbol.

Webradio said...

Thank You for the explain, Hilda...

Anonymous said...

I like the photo, with the seal as focus of interest rather than the bust. I guess students are the same the world over :)

Ken Mac said...

hi Hilda, thanks for your nice comments on my blog.
I like this relief, it looks like an old coin. and the curclicue gate is exceptional!

Jill said...

Enjoyed the history.

melanie said...

Merci pour les explications. La capture de la statue à côté est très réussie !

Stevenson Q said...

Hello happy! Thank you so much for your reply! You just don't know how much it helped me! Thank you Thank you!

I have replied to it also and hope you read it. Hope to hear from you after school. I have two exams today starting at noon! God BLess you and please pray for me.

Steven^^

Ming the Merciless said...

Students do crazy things. When I visited Harvard University last month, we visited one of the statues there. Supposedly it's good luck to rub the foot of the statue but I hear people pee on it too.

USelaine said...

I like how you framed the face of the bust just so. The eagle makes me wonder if it is a holdover from US occupation.

USelaine said...

Oh, and remember to vote for the December theme! The poll is in the member's area of the Portal forum.

EG CameraGirl said...

The design of the gate is beautiful but I think the eagle on the seal looks very American.

Unknown said...

The gate looks beautiful and I also like the way you have framed the bust. Vey nice shot, Hilda!