The Goethe-Institut Manila 50th Anniversary celebration meant everything: meet people, meet good old friends - but the most important thing: learn more about Philippine-German relations. Goethe and Rizal, and much more.
The round table discussion on the roles of international institutions and art communities moderated by Jay Cruz was very interesting indeed. The part "Music of Rizal" after the opening speeches of the German Ambassador and the director of the Goethe Institut was really touching. Sometime later followed documentary film screenings such as "As told By Butterflies" by Nawruz Paguidopon, or "Entablado" by EJ Mijares.
Another unique part was the presentation of commemorative stamps. I would like to thank the Director of the Goethe-Institut in the Philippines, Mr. Richard Kuenzel for his friendly and immediate permission to publish some parts of his second speech:
"Please allow me to touch a very precious chapter of this year's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Goethe-Institut in the Philippines. As you all know, this is also the year of the 150th anniversary of the National Hero of the Philippines, Dr. Jose Rizal. The Postmaster of our host country as well as the National Historic Commission encouraged us to have a commemorative stamp printed which underlines the very special relationship between Dr. Rizal and Germany. Not only studied dr. Rizal in Heidelberg ophtalmology and has his most important work "Noli me tangere" printed 1887 in Berlin. Not only was the last remaining copy of the film "Noli me tangere' (1961, Gerardo de Leon) restored 1996 in the Federal Film Archive in Koblenz/Germany and was passed to the late President Cory Aquino, and not only put in the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Goethe-Institut all efforts into restoring the two manuscripts "Noli me tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" - resting in the national Library - by experts and trainers from Germany, but beyond these facts Dr. Rizal did open his heart to very important facets of life in Germany at the end of the 19th century, and by doing so established the actual first substantial cultural relations between our two countries.
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To conclude the presentation of the stamps commemorating the very tender personal relationship to germany, in which Rizal compared the feeling of exotism with a friend, I should like to draw your extension on Rizal's last poem which he wrote in the night before his execution. Hidden in a kerosine lamp, he gave the paper to his sister Trinidad, the last person to visit him in the cell. "There is something in it," he whispered. - MI ULTIMO ADIOS was soon after translated into German by Pastor Karl Ullmer in 1897. "Last farewell" - "Letztes Lebewohl"."
