Ateneo de Manila University historian Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr. has been named International Honorary Professor by Mexico's Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (UAEH), an honor conferred at the opening of the 39th Feria Universitaria del Libro (FUL) in Hidalgo, where the Philippines is serving as guest country of honor.
UAEH Rector Octavio Castillo Acosta formally inducted Aguilar during the book fair's opening ceremony, which runs from September 4 to 13, 2026. According to the Ateneo de Manila, the honorary title recognizes Aguilar's career as a historian and his contributions to Philippine studies, which have raised the field's profile in international academic circles.
Historian's Role at Ateneo de Manila
Aguilar holds a dual role at the Ateneo de Manila University, serving as Professor of History and Assistant Vice President for Research, Creative Work, and Innovation. His academic work in Philippine studies has drawn international attention and positioned the discipline within broader global historical scholarship.
Keynote: The Philippines and Mexico at the Birth of World Trade
In his keynote lecture titled "Mexico and the Philippines: The Beginning of World Trade," Aguilar argued that neither country's history can be fully understood without the other. He traced how the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade connected Asia and the Americas, forming what historians Dennis Flynn and Arturo Giráldez define as world trade — not merely intercontinental exchange, but a continuous commercial network linking all permanently inhabited continents.
Aguilar noted that the Philippines was historically administered from the Viceroyalty of Nueva España, the colonial entity that eventually became Mexico, cementing the deep administrative and commercial ties between the two nations.
"The Galleon Trade, for better or worse, put our two countries at the center of global history — at the birth of world trade," Aguilar said during the lecture.
He closed his address in Spanish, describing Mexico and the Philippines not as strangers but as brothers of the Pacific.
Aguilar Flags Colonial Inequalities and Linguistic Asymmetry
Beyond the trade connections, Aguilar used his keynote to highlight the inequalities and systemic fragilities the galleon economy produced. He argued that the global trading system left the Philippine countryside underdeveloped while financing extravagant lifestyles in the Americas fueled by silver profits.
Aguilar also examined the cultural traffic between the two countries, describing it as running both ways but unevenly. Numerous Indoamerican words entered Philippine languages through Spanish, while only a smaller number of Philippine words survive in Mexican Spanish along the country's west coast. According to Aguilar, this linguistic imbalance reflects broader asymmetries in administrative power, population size, and the structure of colonial trade.
Ateneo and UAEH Sign Academic Partnership
On the sidelines of the book fair, the Ateneo de Manila and UAEH signed a memorandum of understanding covering faculty and student exchanges, joint research, internships, conferences, and other collaborative academic activities. The agreement formalizes ties between the two institutions and opens channels for ongoing Philippine studies scholarship in the Latin American academic context.
Aguilar delivered two additional lectures at the fair beyond his keynote: an undergraduate session focused on national hero José Rizal and his novels, and a graduate-level lecture examining Philippine global migrations from a comparative Mexican perspective.
Philippines Is First Southeast Asian Guest Country of Honor
According to the Ateneo de Manila, the Philippines is the first Southeast Asian nation ever named guest country of honor at the Feria Universitaria del Libro. Organized by UAEH, the FUL is among Mexico's longest-running university book fairs. This year's edition carries the theme "Global Trade."
The Philippine program at the fair featured more than 300 publications, including over 200 titles from the University of the Philippines Press, alongside exhibitions on indigenous textiles and the Manila-Acapulco trade route.
Philippine participants included Ambassador Arvin de Leon, Second Secretary and Consul Marisa Winkler, poet, novelist, and filmmaker Kristian Sendon Cordero, and chef and author Claude Tayag. The UAEH Symphony Orchestra opened the fair with "Philippine Scenes" by National Artist for Music Lucrecia Kasilag.
By the Numbers
- 39th edition — the Feria Universitaria del Libro running September 4–13, 2026
- 10 days — duration of the book fair (September 4 to 13, 2026)
- 800+ publishing imprints participating in the fair
- 550+ literary, academic, scientific, artistic, and cultural activities at the fair
- 300+ Philippine publications featured, including 200+ UP Press titles
Why This Matters
The conferral marks a rare international institutional recognition for a Filipino historian, underscoring the growing global relevance of Philippine studies as an academic field. The Philippines being named the first Southeast Asian guest country of honor at one of Mexico's longest-running university book fairs signals a formal elevation of Philippine cultural and intellectual presence in Latin America. The Ateneo–UAEH memorandum of understanding also opens concrete pathways for cross-Pacific academic collaboration between the two countries.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of UAEH (Creative Commons BY-NC-ND — do not crop watermark)