Passing through the gates of hell

Much has been said about the novelist Dan Brown’s "hellish" depiction of Manila in his novel entitled "Inferno." In the fictional novel, one of the protagonists was said to have been raped in one of Manila's slums. Thin-skinned Manileños, who abhor any negative portrayal about their hometown, took this as a personal offense. This despite the fact that it was a work of fiction, and that Manila indeed is a city full of slums. Read More ...

A visit to Andalucia

A view of the historic center of Cordoba with the Roman bridge on the foreground.

Because of my middle name (Aljibe), I always get asked a lot whether I am a Muslim or I have Andaluz roots when I was in Cuba and Mexico. This has piqued my interest about Andalucia for the longest time. I finally had an opportunity to visit this May. When I was planning the itinerary of my travels, I selected Cordoba, Seville, Granada and Malaga  without putting much thought about it. I merely looked at the map and decided that Cordoba, being the closest one to Madrid would be my jump-off point. From there, the other cities are a just a bus-ride away. Read More ...