The Myth of the Barangay and Other Silenced Histories provides important incisive analyses of several primary documents that point to a rich and largely dismissed narrative of early written Philippine history. Damon Woods has done tremendous and painstaking work to seek out hidden Filipino transcripts found among Spanish documents scattered all over the world. In doing so, his work calls for an enriched, critical, and continuing dialogue on the bayan and its relationship to Filipinos in the Philippines as well as the growing Filipino diaspora. Woods’s voice in this work also provides insight into how research can and should be practiced from an appropriate and respectful cultural context, always presented with humility and gratitude.
—Lily Ann B. Villaraza
Chair, Philippine Studies Department
City College of San Francisco