We, the pastry team of Diamond Hotel Philippines, offered our culinary expertise in line with the celebration of 150 years of Jose Rizal. As I, Pastry Chef Daniel Back and my sous-chef Robert Mempin decided on a form this celebratory cake would take, I remembered seeing the original copy of his first book ‘Noli Me Tangere’. Inspired by this powerful image, we set to work.
Initially,  we made a large Supermoist Cake, this being one of the most popular cakes we sell at the hotel’s tea lounge Kohikan and our patissiere in the Power Plant Mall, Makati called The Cake Club.  The Supermoist Cake is a dark and luxurious chocolate cake covered with chocolate ganache and finished with chocolate shavings.

We started by alternating 3 layers of  dark supermoist chocolate sponge cake and chocolate ganache.   Then we rolled out the white fondant icing, primarily used for wedding cakes, and carefully placed it over the cake.  The cake was made to ‘rest’ overnight in our chocolate room which is usually reserved for house-made pralines and bon-bons.  In the morning, a scanned version of the Noli Me Tangere  book cover was printed on edible paper using edible ink was placed over the cake. The sides were then framed with white chocolate and the book binding was made from white chocolate as well.  To secure the edible paper, the sides of the paper were bordered with dark chocolate.   Once the image and cover was in place, we placed the cake on a custom-made wooden plinth similar to the Rizal stand ready for transport to Fort Santiago in Intramuros.

While Chef Robert and I were preparing the commemorative cake, the rest of the pastry team produced over 100 petit Noli Me Tangere cakes complete with the same artwork. These cakes were given to the Descendents of Jose Rizal and other important guests. In all, the special Noli Me Tangere cake took us 2 days to create. It was a pleasure to be a part of this historical celebration in honor of  the 150 years of Jose Rizal.

Diamond Hotel's "Noli Me Tangere Cake"

Mini Noli Cakes. Photo by Pedro Javier.

Jose Rizal-labeled confections

Jose Rizal, fireworks in back. Photo by Popi Laudico.

In celebration of this momentous event, government units, the academe, and other culture, history and art-oriented institutions have planned grand events for Sunday. Among these is My Rizal 150′s Maligayang Bati, Jose Rizal, an evening of art, music, poetry and fireworks in Fort Santiago.
The Banda ng Maynila (brass band of the City of Manila) will kick-start the event by playing live music. They will be followed by the Ateneo Chamber Singers, who will be performing classics, as well as one song especially composed for the event, on the Main Stage at the flagpole area of Plaza Moriones.

Berklee alums Tess Salientes and Gerard Salonga have also prepared a specially composed musical theme for the event. There will be a fireworks display after their performance.

Camp Suki will be offering kalesa rides, on-the-spot artists who can sketch/draw your portrait (for a fee), and a turn-of-the-century photo shoot complete with costumes.

Gerardo de Leon’s 1961 classic Noli Me Tangere will be shown on one of the walls of the ruins of the American barracks, courtesy of CCP and SOFIA (Society of Filipino Film Archivists) who were responsible for the restoration of the film.

Sipat Lawin Ensemble will be performing an avant-garde  piece wherein they are going to march backwards from Luneta to Fort Santiago doing a reenactment of Rizal’s execution. They will also be doing pocket performances throughout the evening.

Heroes Square will also do their 30-minute play on Rizal and Josephine Bracken inside the Rizal Shrine, which will remain open all night. The play will start after the firework display and the Buhay na Kasaysayan members, dressed in period military uniform, will draw the crowd into Rizal Shrine.

Traditional food from the era in which Rizal lived will be sold by concessionaires Ilustrado, Barbara’s, and Adarna Food and Culture.

The Manila Diamond Hotel is baking a special birthday cake for Jose Rizal, recreating Rizal’s book stand with his Noli Me Tangere placed on top. Rizal’s book stand is being restored by Escuela Taller of Intramuros.

The Lopez Museum will be showcasing  their extensive Rizal collection, and will be on display at the Plaza Armas.

Registration starts at 5:00 p.m., and the program starts at 6:00 p.m. Ticket prices are P100 per adult and P50 for kids below 12 years of age. Entrance is free for guests who will come in period costumes, or dress as their favorite characters from Jose Rizal’s novels.

For more information, please contact:

Lisa T. Bayot
Tel. nos:
(+632) 817-8062
(+632) 894-0505

Maite P. Gallego
Email add: maitepgallego@yahoo.com.ph

Banda ng Maynila (Brass band of the City of Manila) will kick start the event by playing live music from 6:15 p.m. to around 6:45 p.m.

The Ateneo Chamber Singers will be performing classics, as well as one specially composed song for the event on the Main Stage (Flag pole area of Plaza Moriones) at around 7:30 p.m.

Berklee alums Tess Salientes and Gerard Salonga have prepared a specially composed musical theme for the event, with an incredible fireworks display after the performance.

Camp Suki will be offering kalesa rides, on-the-spot artists who can sketch/draw your portrait (for a fee), and a turn of the century photo complete with costumes.

Gerardo de Leon’s 1961 classic “Noli Me Tangere” will be shown on one of the walls of the ruins of the American barracks, courtesy of CCP and SOFIA (Society of Filipino Film Archivists) who were responsible for the restoration of the film.

Sipat Lawin Ensemble will be performing an avant garde  piece wherein they are going to march backwards from Luneta to Fort Santiago doing a reenactment of Rizal’s execution. They will also be doing pocket performances throughout the evening.

Heroes Square will also do their 30 minute play on Rizal and Josephine Bracken inside the Rizal Shrine and it will remain open all night. They will start after the firework display and the Buhay na Kasaysayan members, dressed in period military uniform, will draw the crowd into Rizal Shrine.

Traditional food from the era in which Rizal lived will be sold by concessionaires Ilustrado, Barbara’s, and Adarna Food and Culture.

The Manila Diamond Hotel is baking a special birthday cake for Jose Rizal, recreating Rizal’s book stand with his Noli Me Tangere placed on top. Rizal’s book stand is being restored by Escuela Taller of Intramuros.

The Lopez Museum will be showcasing  their extensive Rizal collection, and will be on display on the Plaza Armas.

Ticket prices are  P100 per adult and P50 for kids below 12. Entrance is free for guests who will come in period costumes and/or dress as their favorite Noli or Fili characters.

It is definitely Rizal month, made even more special because it is his 150th birthday, and everyone is invited in this nationwide celebration.

I’ve been invited by my friend Marga Deona to the media launch of My Rizal 150 in Rizal Shrine at Fort Santiago. The event is organized by Saturnina Rizal‘s great granddaughter Lisa T. Bayot and Maite P. Gallego, relative of Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo and Maximo Viola. Together with Binhi founding members Lois Ilustre, Miles Po, Rosalyn Consing and Peachy Avancena, film producer, writer and event organizer Ria Limjap, artist Yodel Pe, composer Tess Salientes Bloom, musical arranger Gerard Salonga, architect Miko Liwanag, Lucia Rizal descendant Trixie Herbosa Grau, and Vibal Foundation, they bring Rizal closer to each Filipino for “every Filipino [to] be inspired to emulate Rizal and work towards the strong Filipino nation he envisioned  for us.”

Read more: See original article here.

“Rizal was just a page in the texbook.”

But after getting to reading about the country’s national hero, architect Miko Liwanag said that he became “unbelievably impressed” with Dr. Jose Rizal.

This was just one of the few stories told in Fort Santiago yesterday during the launch of the My Rizal 150 website.

Adarna Food and Culture, which catered the event,  served guests with a sumptuous nineteenth-century “privilege class” merienda including empanada de kaliskis from Malolos, Bulacan,pancit 1930, hot chocolate, bite-sized pandesal, and kesong puti.

The program included a Rizal mini-quiz, where hosts asked event attendees trivia questions about the national hero. Afterwards there was a tour by Escuela Taller Intramuros director Mico Manalo of the Almacenes Reales (royal bodega), a seventeenth-century structure currently undergoing reconstruction.

Celebrating the Rizal in us through the web

Bloggers post updates online about goings-on at the launch via their mobiles

My Rizal 150 is intended to serve as a hub for the celebration of Rizal’s 150th birth anniversary, with a vision of “every Filipino knowing Rizal” and a mission to “deepen Filipinos’ knowledge and appreciation of Rizal by encouraging all sectors of society to find meaningful ways to celebrate his sesquicentennial.”

The project was initiated by a group of family and friends of the Rizal clan, in partnership with various private organizations, agencies, and academic institutions.

It was spearheaded by Lisa Bayot, the great-granddaughter of Rizal’s eldest sister Saturnina. Others in the founding group are the Binhi English Literacy Foundation, Inc. including Maite Gallego and Binhi members Lois Ilustre, Miles Po, Rosalyn Consing, and Peachy Avancena. Also included are Ria Limjap, Yodel Pe, Tess Salientes Bloom, Gerard Salonga, Liwanag, and Trixie Herbosa Grau (descendant of Rizal’s sister Lucia).

My Rizal 150 was also made possible with the support of the Department of Education, Cultural Center of the Philippines, University of the Philippines (UP) College of Arts and Letters, UP College of Science, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Santo Tomas, Ayala Museum, Yuchengco Museum, Lopez Museum, Vibal Foundation, Goethe Institute, and Intramuros Administration.

Vibal Foundation is in charge of web maintenance and content, with the website containing various information on Rizal: his works, related articles, and a calendar of activities for his 150th anniversary.

Website features

The section on Rizal’s Life and Works features his works, reviews of his works, biography, and analyses of his life and impact on the Philippines.

Aimed at showcasing the hero’s humanity “with all his defects and greatness,” the Complete Jose Rizal (also featured in this section) was made possible through the cooperation of the National Historical Commission and Filipiniana.net. It is a separate website which aims to publish all known cultural output of Rizal including his letters, essays, novels, poems, and sketches.

Also featured in the website is the Encyclopedia Rizaliana of Wikipilipinas, giving tribute to the national hero with its articles on life and times of Rizal.

Rizal in the Modern Day is the section is where one can discover Rizal as a national hero, religious figure, and more.

For those interested in participating in any of the year-long Rizal sesquicentennial festivities, one can visit The 150th Celebration section. Users can also peruse the Rizaliana Media section, which includes articles, books, photos, and videos relevant to Rizal.

Behind My Rizal 150

Maite Gallego—a relative of Rizal’s contemporaries Maximo Viola and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo—said My Rizal 150 is also meant to be a central platform to inform as many people as possible about the year-long Rizal-themed activities.

“More than a group of people, My Rizal is actually a movement, an invitation, and a challenge for all of us to rediscover Rizal in ourselves and have a deeper understanding of Rizal, his ideals, his heroisms, and to celebrate the Rizal in each of us,” Gallego said.

Bayot said that the website targets the youth. Given that Rizal accomplished so much when he was in his teens and twenties, she said that the the youth may be able to relate to him.

Lisa Bayot and Maite Gallego host the launch program

When asked what set My Rizal 150 apart from other websites featuring Rizal, the two said that it is more youth-oriented, as well as being a purely private initiative, with content put together mostly by volunteers.

They added that My Rizal 150 will remain online long after the sesquicentennial year and that more Rizal-related activities will be encouraged after this year as people become more aware. “We’re looking for a year of celebration in education, culture, and arts, and we hope even beyond that,” Gallego said.

The two are looking forward to having more content in the website, including more interesting articles about Rizal.

“A lot of foreigners are very interested in Rizal and they have been writing e-mails to us,” Gallego said. “More countries are honoring Rizal, they’re naming more monument or places after him. So as those happened, we’ll be posting those on the website as well.”

According to Bayot, they will be highlighting ongoing events especially in Germany, the country where Rizal became a member of the Anthropological Society and the Geographic Society of Berlin, and where he worked on the novel Noli Me Tangere.

The two stated that they want people to keep coming back to the website. “Somebody we spoke with said that you peel one layer after another and there’s always more and more to discover, and that’s what we want the public to realize,” said Gallego.

Rizal, realized

“I guarantee you, the more you learn about him, the more you will want to know more about him,” said Liwanag during the website launch yesterday, remembering how he was “forced” to read about Rizal and research on his architecture in Dapitan.

“If we pattern our approach to everything, he is somebody who is an excellent role model,” he said.

He stressed that Rizal is an international hero who has inspired people long after his death. “This guy is not just our national hero, he inspired so many people across borders, and even in Spain, our colonizers.”

Rizal Shrine Fort Santiago curator II Zarah Escueta commended the Rizal family’s participation in the commemoration and celebration of the national hero.

Escueta also suggested that the My Rizal 150 website add a section about Rizal Shrine in Fort Santiago.

“So mapo-promote natin much more although sometimes we do not need any promotions for Rizal or anything about Jose Rizal kasi talagang dinadayo, pero syempre kailangan pa rin nating i-promote ito,” she said.

Escueta says that it is her personal advocacy to promote Rizal through social networking sites, as the administration has no funds provided for this.

Photos taken by Owen Berico