Ateneo historian honored in Mexico, forges int’l academic cooperation

Ateneo de Manila University historian Dr. Filomeno V. Aguilar has been named International Honorary Professor by the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (UAEH) in Mexico, with the Philippines as Guest Country of Honor at the 39th Feria Universitaria del Libro (FUL) from 4 to 13 September 2026.

Aguilar, Professor of History and Assistant Vice President for Research, Creative Work, and Innovation at the Ateneo de Manila, was formally invested with the title of International Honorary Professor in recognition of his distinguished career as a historian and his significant contributions to the field of Philippine studies, which have brought knowledge of the Philippines to greater prominence in the international academic sphere.

The UAEH and the Ateneo also signed a memorandum of understanding covering faculty and student exchanges, joint research, internships, conferences, and other collaborative activities—a nod to the longstanding relations between the Philippines and Mexico.

“Philippine history cannot be comprehended apart from Mexico—and the other way around,” Aguilar noted in his keynote lecture, Mexico and the Philippines: The Beginning of World Trade. As is well known, the Philippines was administered from the Viceroyalty of Nueva España, which would evolve into Mexico.

Aguilar traced how the Manila-Acapulco Galleon helped connect Asia and the Americas and thereby establish world trade, which, following the work of historians Dennis Flynn and Arturo Giráldez, refers not just to intercontinental exchange but to a continuous commercial network connecting all permanently inhabited continents of the globe.

Aguilar noted the massive inequalities and systemic fragilities arising from this global economy, which left the Philippine countryside in an underdeveloped state and underwrote profligate lifestyles in the Americas propped up by profits from silver.

At the same time, the cultural exchange between Mexico and the Philippines is witnessed by, on the one hand, the abundance of Indoamerican words that entered Philippine languages through Spanish and, on the other hand, a number of Philippine words in Mexican Spanish on the west coast. The linguistic imbalance reflected asymmetries in administrative power, demographic scale, and the structure of colonial trade.

“The Galleon Trade, for better or worse, put our two countries at the center of global history—at the birth of world trade. This undeniable fact is worth remembering and celebrating.” Aguilar concluded, “México y las Filipinas no son desconocidos; somos hermanos del Pacífico” (Mexico and the Philippines are not strangers; we are brothers of the Pacific).

Apart from his keynote, Aguilar also gave a separate lecture for undergraduate students on José Rizal and his novels, as well as a graduate-level lecture on Philippine global migrations from a comparative Mexican perspective.

Ateneo de Manila University Professor of History and Assistant Vice President for Research, Creative Work, and Innovation Dr. Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr. delivered the keynote lecture, “Mexico and the Philippines: The Beginning of World Trade,” at the opening ceremony of the 39th Feria Universitaria del Libro, held in Mexico from September 4 to 14, 2026. Dr. Aguilar was named International Honorary Professor by the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo. PHOTO: UAEH

Aguilar’s investiture comes during a landmark Philippine participation in the FUL, with the country becoming the first Southeast Asian nation named Guest Country of Honor. Organized by UAEH, the FUL is one of Mexico’s longest-running university book fairs and one of the country’s most important publishing and cultural events. This year’s edition features more than 800 publishing imprints and over 550 literary, academic, scientific, artistic, and cultural activities under the theme, “Global Trade.”

The Philippine program showcased the country’s literature, history, scholarship, food, music, textiles, tourism, and arts. More than 300 Philippine publications were featured at the fair, including over 200 titles from the University of the Philippines Press, alongside exhibitions on indigenous textiles and the Manila-Acapulco trade route.

Filipino participants included Philippine Ambassador Arvin de Leon, Second Secretary and Consul Marisa Winkler, poet, novelist and filmmaker Kristian Sendon Cordero, and chef and author Claude Tayag, while the UAEH Symphony Orchestra featured Philippine National Artist for Music Lucrecia Kasilag’s Philippine Scenes in its opening program.