On June 23rd, 2008 the Year of Urdaneta officially began in the Philippines. This marks the beginning of a cycle of events and activities wholly designed to raise the profile of Friar Andres de Urdaneta and his accomplishments. Most gratifying is the knowledge that the Philippines is not alone in wishing to honor this man; but instead is part of an international effort.
In tribute to the international nature of the Urdaneta 500 celebration, Mayor Jose Miguel Santamaria Ezeiza of Ordizia in Spain gave a welcome speech in the house that Friar Urdaneta built – the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino. A native son of Ordizia, honoring their greatest son in the center of the city he initiated. There can be no more appropriate location in Cebu, the Philippines and quite possibly the world to launch any event focused on Urdaneta than the Basilica. We understand that Mexico and Peru are also involved in developing activities; with Ordizia the natural epicenter. We hope, though, that the activities in the Philippines will take on a scope unparalleled in the rest of the world: For Urdaneta is arguably one of the most important historical figures in our history. In mapping the Manila Galleon route, he put us on the map; he even gave the Philippines its name. Magellan originally named the archipelago the Isles of San Lazaro. In 1544, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos named the islands of Samar and Leyte Las Islas Felipinas, in honor of King Philip II of Castila. The Villalobos expedition was sent to East Asia to establish a Spanish foothold; he failed. He suffered great losses to disease and hostile natives; eventually being defeated by the Portuguese, imprisoned and died on April 4 in a cell. Where Villalobos fell short, Urdaneta exceeded. In 1565, he was the first to call the entire archipelago the Philippines. We owe, not only the preservation of our dialects to him, but even our name. Second, where Villalobos and many others failed, Urdaneta and Legazpi were able to establish a foothold and, eventually, colonize and evangelize this country.
We know Friar Urdaneta in the broad strokes of a staggering figure. What he accomplished is not only legend; but his life is literally the stuff of which blockbuster movies are made. Swashbuckling adventures, passion, danger and a love story are dominant features. He lived the life of daring; disappearing into, in what that time was, unknown and mysterious Asia; he returned as only the second man to circumnavigate the world, with his child, named Grace, in one hand and a surfeit of knowledge in the other. He spoke different forms of the Malay tongue, learned from Asian navigators and sailors the routes and currents of the region and developed a keen sense of diplomacy and observation. His observational abilities would become a boon to historians of pre-Hispanic Philippines, as his notes are some of the most complete known. The potential for discussing his impact on the country and the region is barely scratched.
On June 25 and 26 the National Commission on Culture and the Arts and Instituto Cervantes will host a series of talks on life and lasting impact of Urdaneta. We hope that this will not be the culmination of scholarly work on him, but an impetus for more. Today, though, we wish to honor the efforts of the organizers of the Urdaneta 500 Launch Day in Cebu: the Ynchausti Foundation and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, the Augustinian Province of Sto Nino de Cebu and the City of Cebu and many more deserve our appreciation for organizing a tremendous event. We look forward to seeing what else develops in Cebu and the rest of the Philippines.
