El Renacimiento () was a Spanish–Tagalog bilingual language newspaper. Spanish articles were published under El Renacimiento, while Tagalog articles were published under Muling Pagsilang. It was printed in Manila until the 1940s by the members of the Guerrero de Ermita family.
It was founded as a response to the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which derailed the Philippines' struggle for sovereignty. It featured articles criticizing the United States' governance of the Philippines, including the policies of former U.S. President William Howard Taft.
The paper's publisher, Martin Ocampo, re-established it as the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia and its Filipino edition Taliba on February 9, 1910 and February 19, 1910, respectively.
Aves de rapiña
On October 30, 1908, El Renacimiento published a Spanish-language editorial entitled "Aves de rapiña" ("Bird of prey"), which dealt with corruption in the colonial government.
On January 23, 1909, the newspaper was sued for libel by Dean Conant Worcester, 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, 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 towards bankruptcy and subsequent closure. Kalaw and Ocampo were sentenced to prison. The majority of the remaining editorial staff were absolved of their sentences after a series of appeals from 1910 to 1912. However, Kalaw and Ocampo were given pardons in 1914 by Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison.
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 during the American colonial period.
Known staff
Martin Ocampo – Founder, Publisher Rafael Palma – Founder, Director (1901–1903) Fernando Ma. Guerrero – Director (1903–1907) Teodoro M. Kalaw – Director (1907–1909) Lope K. Santos – Director for Muling Pagsilang Fidel A. Reyes – Chief Editor (c. 1908) Faustino Aguilar – Chief EditorEl Renacimiento. Collection 9.14. Miguel de Benavides Library, University of Santo Tomas. Wenceslao Retana – Editor Javier Gomez de la Serna Dominador Gomez – Editor Isabelo de los Reyes – Editor Felipe Calderon – Editor
References
Notes
External links Scanned copies hosted at the digital collections website of the University of Santo Tomas Miguel de Benavides Library