''El Renacimiento'' () was a bilingual Spanish– Tagalog language newspaper. It was printed in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

until the 1940s by the members of the Guerrero de Ermita family. Its directors were

Fernando Ma. Guerrero Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

, Teodoro M. Kalaw, and

Rafael Palma Rafael Palma y Velásquez (: October 24, 1874 May 24, 1939) was a Filipino politician, Rizalian, writer, educator and a famous Freemason. He was a senator from 1916 to 1921 and was the fourth president of the University of the Philippines. Biogr ...

and its editors were

Wenceslao Retana Wenceslao "Wenchesco" Emilio Retana y Gamboa (September 28, 1862 – January 21, 1924), also known as W.E. Retana or Wenceslao E. Retana, was a 19th-century Spanish polymath. He was a civil servant, colonial administrator, writer, biographer, p ...

, Javier Gomez de la Serna, Dominador Gomez,

Isabelo de los Reyes Isabelo de los Reyes Sr. y Florentino, also known as Don Belong (July 7, 1864 – October 10, 1938), was a prominent Filipino politician, writer, journalist, and labor activist in the 19th and 20th centuries. He was the original founder of the ' ...

, and

Felipe Calderon Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal. Noteworthy ...

. The paper was first published on September 3, 1901, and was founded as a response to the signing of the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

, which derailed the Philippines' struggle for sovereignty. The paper was openly critical of the United States' colonial regime and its policies. The paper shut down due to official pressure after publishing an editorial that dealt with corruption in the colonial government. It was re-established by Don Martin Ocampo, who had been the business manager and principal owner, under the name of La Vanguardia, with Taliba as its Tagalog edition.

Aves de Rapiña

On October 30, 1908, ''El Renacimiento'' published an editorial entitled "Aves de Rapiña" ("Bird of Prey"), which dealt with corruption in the colonial government. The newspaper was sued for libel by

Dean Conant Worcester Dean Conant Worcester, D.Sc., FRGS (October 1, 1866 – May 2, 1924) was an American zoologist, public official, and authority on the Philippines. He was born at Thetford, Vermont, and educated at the University of Michigan (A.B., 1889). He first ...

, then-secretary of the interior of the Insular Government of the Philippines. Worcester felt he was alluded to by the description of someone who had "the characteristics of the vulture, the owl and the vampire." According to historian

Ambeth Ocampo Ambeth R. Ocampo (born 1961 in Manila) is a Filipino public historian, academic, cultural administrator, journalist, author, and independent curator. He is best known for his definitive writings about Philippines' national hero José Rizal and o ...

, Worcester allegedly used his position as interior secretary to profit from the sale of diseased beef. He was also alleged to have profited from overpriced hotel concessions on government land. Worcester's lawsuit pushed the paper toward bankruptcy, which led to the paper's closure. Kalaw and publisher Martin Ocampo were sentenced to prison. However, the two were given pardons in 1914 by Governor-General

Francis Burton Harrison Francis Burton Harrison (December 18, 1873 – November 21, 1957) was an American statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and was appointed governor-general of the Philippines by President of the United States Woodro ...

. The essay has become part of the required reading list in Philippine colleges. ''El Renacimiento'' is remembered as an anti-colonial publication that fought for

press freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...

during the

American colonial period The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...

References

Newspapers published in Metro Manila Spanish-language newspapers Publications established in 1901 National newspapers published in the Philippines Defunct newspapers published in the Philippines Censorship in the Philippines

External links

Scanned copies hosted at the digital collections website of the University of Santo Tomas Miguel de Benavides Library
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