Sentro Rizal Washington DC to Mark 1st Anniversary with Ambeth Ocampo Presentation
WASHINGTON D.C. 04 June 2019 — Sentro Rizal Washington DC will celebrate its first anniversary with a presentation by Filipino historian, author, and Rizal scholar Ambeth Ocampo on 10 June 2019 at the Philippine Chancery Annex Building.
In the presentation entitled “RIZAL: The Hero As Traveler,” Professor Ocampo will share his perspective on how the travels of Dr. Jose Rizal influenced the hero’s writings and shaped his beliefs.
While the words ‘travel’ and ‘tourism’ are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between the two: a tourist travels for leisure, he dips into a foreign culture but remains largely unchanged while a traveler aims for experience as a means of understanding himself in the context of the foreign. Every Filipino child knows that Rizal traveled a great deal when air travel was but a figment of the imagination, but what is not emphasized is how Rizal was formed by his exposure to other lands, peoples, and cultures,” Professor Ocampo wrote in the presentation abstract.
“It is not well known that Rizal traveled to America, traveling by land from San Francisco to New York to catch a voyage to London. Looking back on Rizal’s travels helps us understand the hero, ourselves, and the emergence of the Filipino nation,” he added.
“We are proud and delighted to celebrate the first anniversary of Sentro Rizal Washington DC with Professor Ambeth Ocampo. He is a very engaging presenter and an authority on the life and times of Jose Rizal. His presentation certainly advances Sentro Rizal’s mission, which is to spread knowledge and awareness of Philippine history and culture overseas,” said Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel G. Romualdez.
Housed at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., Sentro Rizal Washington DC is the 30th branch of the Sentro Rizal, which was recognized by virtue of Section 42 of the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, which specifies a center “whose main purpose is the promotion of Philippine arts, culture and language throughout the world.” Since its inauguration on 10 January 2018, the Washington branch has served as the primary vehicle through which the Embassy conducts its cultural diplomacy programs.
Ambeth Ocampo’s “RIZAL: The Hero as Traveler” is co-presented by Sentro Rizal Washington DC and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, with the support of the US-Philippines Society. END
For more information, visit www.washingtonpe.dfa.gov.ph, www.philippineembassy-usa.org, https://www.facebook.com/PHinUSA or https://twitter.com/philippinesusa