Graciano’s Dirty Fingers Book Launch and Panel Discussion

The Friends of UP Visayas High School Foundation, Inc. and the National Museum of the Philippines – Iloilo invite you to the book launch of Graciano’s Dirty Fingers (Author: Emmanuel Lerona; Editors: Dr. Ma. Luisa E. Mabunay, Marilynn Quigley, & Francisco G. Villanueva), an updated archival-historiographical biography of Graciano López Jaena, grounded in newly recovered primary sources from the Philippines and Spain, including letters, periodicals, official records, and unpublished documents.

Published by the Friends of UP Visayas High School Foundation, the book reexamines Graciano’s political thought, journalistic work, networks in Spain, and role in the Propaganda Movement, situating him within broader Spanish republican and anti-colonial currents of the late nineteenth century.

The launch frames the book not only as a scholarly contribution but also as a public invitation to rethink how Filipinos engage with archives, memory, and historical interpretation.

This book launch is brought to you with the support of Dr. Graciano Lopez Jaena Foundation, Inc., the University of the Philippines Visayas Center for West Visayan Studies, the UPV Office of Alumni Relations, Kasingkasing Press, West Visayas State University Maaram, WVSU DevCom Society, WVSU Athenaeum Keepers, WYWV West TV, and the University of San Agustin Archives and Museum.

To deepen this conversation, the program includes a panel discussion on “Counter-Archive as Historiography,” featuring:

Dr. Genevieve Asenjo, writer and literary scholar whose work interrogates archipelagic thinking, narrative, and cultural ecologies;

Dr. Ma. Luisa Mabunay, Philippine studies scholar, historian, and editor whose expertise anchors the project’s methodological rigor;

Prof. Stephen B. Alayon, information specialist known for advancing archival access, research data management, and the use of emerging technologies in community-centered preservation;

Mia Fe Lopez-Cruz, 4th generation descendant of Graciano, and President, Dr. Graciano Lopez Jaena Foundation; and

Berks Joseph Barrios Tan, a Social Studies scholar whose work engages historical research, heritage preservation, heritage preservation, and advocacy in human rights and civic participation.

Together, they will explore how historical research can function as a counter-archive—challenging dominant narratives, surfacing marginalized or silenced voices, and expanding what is possible in evidence-based storytelling in the age of digital tools, AI-assisted research, and open-access knowledge infrastructures.

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO REGISTER:
https://tinyurl.com/56nkxshu

THIS EVENT IS FREE!

A limited number of copies of the book will be available at the launch for a LAUNCH PRICE of Php 600.00. Exclusively prior to the launch (i.e., for a limited time only), you may also pre-order a copy at Php 400.00 through this link. Note that the book will already sell for Php 600.00 at the launch:

https://forms.gle/GxE9YdQkRsJMX95c6
THE AUTHOR AND THE EDITORS
Emmanuel A. Lerona is a writer, researcher, filmmaker, and book designer whose work blends archival digging, community storytelling, and visual narrative. He creates documentaries, short films, and cultural projects that foreground Panay indigenous lifeways and place-based memory, while collaborating widely across schools, government agencies, and creative communities.

Ma. Luisa “Meloy” E. Mabunay is a retired UP Visayas professor and historian whose work spans local history, Japanese migration, gender studies, and coastal resource management. With decades of scholarship, curatorship, and publication, “Meloy” brings her extensive expertise to reexamining the life and legacy of Graciano López Jaena through newly accessed archival materials and fresh historical insight.

Marilynn “Meyen” Quigley is a poet and writer based in Victoria, Canada, whose life and work span the Philippines, Sudan, the U.S., Pakistan, and Turkey. A UPIC alumna, she has taught, written training manuals, and published essays on migration and cross-cultural experience, while remaining active in community work with Filipino immigrants in Victoria.

Francisco “Frank” G. Villanueva is an educator, writer, and communication professional whose career bridges teaching, advertising, and cultural advocacy. A longtime Canada-based practitioner, he has lectured widely on Philippine arts and heritage and published Bugasong to Barcelona: Life and Works of Felix Laureano (2025).

🗓️ December 18, 2025
⏰ 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
📍 National Museum Western Visayas (former Iloilo Prison)

Source: University of the Philippines Visayas Facebook