Vibal Foundation Book Documents 400 years of Bullfighting in the Philippines
Vibal Foundation will launch Bullfighting in the Philippines, 1602-2022 on December 3, 2022 at the Casino Español de Manila. Authored and published by Gaspar A. Vibal, the book chronicles this obscure Philippine branch of a celebrated Iberian tradition that has linked Spain and the Philippines for over four centuries.
The book is the most extensive study on the subject of tauromachy in the archipelago. Written not only for aficionados, Vibal created a scholarly work with the general readership in mind using the lens of fine arts, architecture, literature, cultural anthropology, zooarchaeology, science, philosophy, biography, transnational zoopolitics, and comparative history.
Featuring the translation of Wenceslao E. Retana’s classic Fiestas de Toros en Filipinas (1896) and a foreword by Carlos Martínez Shaw of Real Academia de la Historia, the book is enriched with over 200 images, a bilingual taurine glossary, a global timeline, a “Who’s Who” of pertinent actors, and a complete table of bullfights held in the Philippines between 1602 to the present.
National artist for literature Resil Mojares describes the book as “a work of high scholarship: deeply researched, theoretically informed, clearly written, and excellently illustrated. Beyond documenting, Vibal offers cross-cultural reflections on the political, cultural, ethical, and philosophical issues raised by bullfighting and similar blood spectacles. This is a remarkable book that excites and reminds us that–despite the sense of many that much historical writing in the country seems a case of more-of-the-same—Philippine history is a field in which there is still so much that remains to be known, discovered or richly imagined.”
Bullfighting in the Philippines 1602 – 2022 is part of the Academica Filipina+ series. The interdisciplinary series pushes the boundaries of scholarly publishing with smart and thought-provoking works that explore the Philippine past and present. Other titles in the series include More Hispanic Than We Admit 1 to 3, More Tsinoy Than We Admit, More American Than We Admit, More Tomboy, More Bakla Than We Admit, Sisa’s Vengeance,The World of Manila-Acapulco Galleons, Santo Niño de Cebú 1565–2015, Salungat: A Soledad S. Reyes Reader, Púgot: Head Taking, Ritual Cannibalism, and Human Sacrifice in the Philippines, Philippine Genealogy and Art History: The Luciano P. R. Santiago Reader, and Boxer Codex, Second Edition.
Available in hardcover and softcover editions, the books may be purchased online at Vibal Shop (https://shop.vibalgroup.com), Shopee, Lazada, GrabMart, and Amazon. For bulk orders, please contact marketing@vibalgroup.com.