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After September 11, each nation must keep its identity," Ambassador Tomas Rodriguez Pantoja said at Spain’s national day celebration. He stressed the centuries-old ties–social, cultural, religious–between Spain and the Philippines, adding, "the Filipino even thinks like a Spaniard."

The evening’s piece de resistance was of course the paella. F. Sionil Jose and his wife Tess, other Filipino hispanistas and Spanish filipinistas must have relished it, among them Paco and Vicky Delgado, Marianne Hubbard, Ambassador Milena Santana Ramirez, Jorge and Stella Araneta, the vivacious, indispensable Pilar Aladanese, Fr. Jose Arcilla, Tony and Christina Olbes, Ambassador-designate-to Spain Lani and Conchitina Bernardo (what an asset she’ll be to Lani!), Consuls Fortune Ledesma and Evie Costa, Ambassadors Peter Rosting and Enrique Syquia.

The charming, refined and highly intelligent Ambassador Veka Inal cut an elegant and stylish figure at Turkey’s national day celebration–as indeed she always does. Saudi Arabian Ambassador Saleh M. Al-Ghamdi was leaving the Intercon’s Sky Top just as I was arriving, so I missed having a delightful chat with the witty envoy who has "promised" sending an oil well to our country via Saudi Arabia Airlines Flight 0000. I exchanged greetings with Mexican Ambassador Enrique Hubbard, Ramon Ilusorio who came in his signature embroiderless barong, and celebrated artist Manuel "Manny" Baldemor. Ambassador Inal invariably introduced Manny to guests as the Global Village artist who painted breathtaking scenes of Turkey, then donated the proceeds of his subsequent exhibit to Turkey’s earthquake victims. Do you know that Manny is marking his tenth year with UNICEF, his Christmas card designs having generated P23 million for UNICEF’s global humanitarian projects?

Congratulations to Ambassador Werner Baumann for having taken to the San Agustin Museum the exquisitely unique exhibit (now ended) "The Abbey of St. Gall: A Cultural Center". Already viewed and appreciated in more than 100 venues around the world, the exhibit showed, through replicas, the art and history of St. Gall in Switzerland from the early 7th century to modern times.