This essay analyzes the ways in which official organizers of the celebration of the centennial of independence from Spain, and their critics, treat the notion of 'history', its relationships to 'the past' and to nationalism - as a political project and as a cultural movement. Commentators across the political spectrum seem to share the view that nationalism is still crucial to Philippine development (in a general sense) and that history can serve the goal (Constantino's 'usable past'), yet few ask searching questions about what kind of nationalism is possible today. The essay takes issue with the way in which nationalists understand history, and with the notion that a shared heritage is a necessary condition for building a just and democratic state.