Philippine Literature in Spanish
Encyclopedia
Philippine literature in Spanish is a body of literature made by Filipino writers in the Spanish language
. Today, this corpus is the third largest in the whole corpus of Philippine literature (Philippine Literature in Filipino
being the first, followed by Philippine literature in English
). It is slightly larger than the Philippine literature in the vernacular languages. However, because of the very few additions to it in the past 30 years, it is expected that the former will soon overtake its rank.
missionaries, accompanied by Spanish soldiers, soon spread Christianity from island to island. Their mission was implemented the forced relocation of indigenous peoples during this time, as the uprooted natives turned to the foreign, structured religion as the new center of their lives. The priests and friars preached in local languages and employed indigenous peoples as translators, creating a bilingual class known as ladino
s.
The natives, called "indios", generally were not taught Spanish, but the bilingual individuals, notably poet-translator Gaspar Aquino de Belén
, produced devotional poetry written in the Roman script in the Tagalog language
. Pasyon
, begun by Aquino de Belen, is a narrative of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which has circulated in many versions. Later, the Mexican ballads of chivalry, the corrido, provided a model for secular literature. Verse narratives, or komedya, were performed in the regional language
s for the illiterate majority. They were also written in the Roman alphabet in the principal languages and widely circulated.
In the early 17th century a Chinese Filipino
printer, Tomas Pinpin
, set out to write a book in romanized phonetic script writer, His intention was to teach his fellow Tagalog-speakers the principles of learning Spanish. His book, published by the Dominican
press (where he worked) appeared in 1610. Unlike the missionary's grammar (which Pinpin had set in type), the native's book dealt with the language of the colonizers instead of the colonized. Pinpin's book was the first such work ever written and printed by a Philippine native. As such, it is richly instructive for what it tells us about the interests that animated Tagalog translation and, by implication, Tagalog conversion in the early colonial period. Pinpin construed translation in simple ways to help and encourage Tagalog readers to learn Spanish.
Among the first Filipinos to produce works is Luis Rodríguez Varela
, a mestizo
born in Tondo
(which was province outside Manila
walls
but now incorporated as a district) in 1768.
Among the works, the earliest recognised work in this era is "Proclama historial que para animar a los vasallos que el Señor Don Fernando VII tiene en Filipinas a que defendian a su Rey del furor de su falso amigo Napoleón, primer Emperador de fanceses, escribe, dedicada e imprime a su costa Don Luis Rodríguez Varela". As the title expresses, the work is full of prohispanic sentiments.
In 1810, a year later the publication of the said work, Fernández de Folgueras, Governor General to the Philippines was granted by the 'Office of the Censor' to publish three books. The books were entitled: "Elogio a las Provincias de los Reynos de la España Europea", "Elogio a la mujer" and "El Parnaso Filipino". The last book, a collection of poems written by various Filipino poets at that time, is still now one of the most important works in the entire corpus of Philippine Literature in Spanish. And although it was severely criticised during its heyday (in 1814), it bears the merit of being the first book about the Philippines
in Castilian
that is purely literary and not didactic or religious.
This era also saw the publication of works by José Vergara, one of the Philippine representative to the Spanish Cortes; and Juan Atayde (1838–1896), a military official. Most of the works published during these years are poetry.
But since most of the people who are knowledgeable in Spanish are those that belong to the Catholic hierarchy
, religious works still make up a large part of the corpus.
During his stay as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Manila
, Fr. Pedro Peláez
, S.J.
, (1812–1863) founded the "El Católico Filipino", a journal of religious nature. While serving the said post, he also taught at the University of Santo Tomas
and acted as a correspondent to "La Genereción", a journal published in Madrid. In his works, Peláez worked much to the defence of his fellow Filipinos.
Though it was first printed anonymously, a flyer published in Madrid
in 1862 entitled "Documentos importantes para la cuestión pendiente sobre la provisión de curatos en Filipinas" was also attributed to him. It was also Peláez who first used the term "PERLA DE ORIENTE" to refer to the Philippines. This was made popular later by José Rizal
in his last poem and the modern translation into Filipino
by the national anthem
. The term was first used in 1855 in his work entitled "Sermón de San Andrés".
With the death of Peláez, another priest continued the battle for self-identity in the person of Fr. José Apolonio Burgos (1837–1877). Burgos was a student of Peláez at UST
. A year after an earthquake of 1863 that took the life of his teacher, he graced the Madrid journal "La Verdad" with "Manifesto que a la noble Nación Española dirigen los leales filipinos" to defend the heavy criticisms of the regular priests against the Filipinos of that time. He also able to publish "El Eco Filipino" in order to reiterate the call of reform to the Philippine government and hierarchy.
His other notable works are "Mare MAgnum" (1851), "Estado de Filipinas a la llegada de los españoles" (witten in 1871 but published posthomustly in 1894), "Ciencias y costumbres de los filipinos" (1868), "Cuentos y leyendas filipinas" (1860), "Es verdad los milagros" (1860) and "Los Reyes Filipinos".
With the opening of the Suez Canal
, many Españoles came to the Philippines. Some even studied in the islands which gave birth to some publications like "La Oceanía Española", "El Comercio" and "La Voz de España".
A potent tool in promoting Filipino nationalism in Spanish was the foundation of La Solidaridad
(more fondly called La Sol by the members of the propaganda movement) in 15 February 1885. With the help of this organ, Filipino national heroes like José Rizal
, Graciano Lopez Jaena
, Marcelo H. del Pilar
, etc. were able to voice out their sentiments.
Perhaps, the best-known editors of the Sol is Graciano Lopez Jaena
(1856–1896). Some of his more famous works include "Fray Botod" and "La Hija del Fraile".
Pedro Paterno
also tried to establish some newspaper like "La Patria", "El Libera", "Soberanía Nacional" and "Asamblea Filipina". This also became outlets where Filipino were able to publish their works in Spanish.
Filipino novels in Spanish are quite rare. And aside from José Rizal
's Noli Me Tángere
and El Filibusterismo
, Paterno
published an earlier novel entitled "Ninay" in 1885. The work was depicting local colour and one of the inspirations that led José Rizal
to write his own.
Aside from "Ninay", Paterno
were able to publish "Doña Perfecta" (1876), a novel; and "Sampaguita" (1880), a collection of poems; "La antigua civilización tagalog" (1887), "El cristianismo en la antigua civilización tagalog" (1892), and "La familia tagala en la historia universal", all expositories.
If Paterno
was able to introduce the Tagalogs
into the world, Isabelo de los Reyes
(fondly called Don Belong by contemporaries) did the same for the Ilocanos
.
In 1882, Don Belong published his "La invasión de Limahong". This made him enter the world of journalism which gave him all the outlets he needed to express his nationalism. Some of the newspapers he worked for were "El Diario de Manila
", "La Oceanía Española", "Revista Catolica", "El Progreso", "El Republicano" and "El Heraldo".
Considered the founder of the workers' movement in the Philippines, Don Belong founded the "La actividad del obrero" in 1902 that served as the main voice of the working class. Later, he founded the Iglesia Filipina Independiente as a revolt to the abuses of the Catholic
hierarchy
in his hometown
. The foundation of the church was instrumental in the translation of the Holy Scriptures in Ilocano.
Some of Don Belong
's more renowned works include "El Folklore Filipino" (1889), "Las Islas Visaya en la Época de la Conquista" (1889), "Historia de Filipinas" (1889) and "Historia de Ilocos" (1890).
The era also say the works of José Rizal
, Antonio Luna
, Eduardo de Lete, Emilio Jacinto
, José Palma
, Felipe Calderón
and Apolinario Mabini
.
In Cebu
, the first Spanish newspaper, El Boletín de Cebú, was published in 1886.
, continued writing in Spanish until 1946. Other well-known Spanish-language writers, especially during the American period were Francisco Alonso Liongson
(El Pasado Que Vuelve, 1937), Isidro Marfori, Cecilio Apóstol
(Pentélicas, 1941), Fernando Ma. Guerrero (Crisálidas, 1914), Gaspar Aquino de Belén
, Flavio Zaragoza Cano (Cantos a España and De Mactán a Tirad) and others. Manila
, Cebu
, Bacolor and many other sities and towns across the Philippines had its share of writers in Spanish, most of whom flourished during the early decades of the century.
Among the newspapers published in Spanish were El Renacimiento, La Democracia, La Vanguardia, El Pueblo de Iloílo, El Tiempo and others. Three magazines, The Independent, Philippine Free Press and Philippine Review were published in English and Spanish.
In 1915, the local newspapers began publishing sections in English and after World War II and the destruction of Intramuros
where a large part of the Hispanic community was based, Hispano-Filipino literature started declining and the number of books and magazines written in Spanish by Filipino authors was greatly reduced.
, academic director of the Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española (Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language
), Edmundo Farolan
, director of "Revista Filipina" and recipient of the Premio Zobel in 2000 for his poetry work "Tercera Primavera" or Lourdes Castrillo Brillantes
, a prominent Filipino female writer, author of "80 Años del Premio Zobel" (80 Years of the Zobel Prize), a compilation of Spanish literature written by Filipinos.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Today, this corpus is the third largest in the whole corpus of Philippine literature (Philippine Literature in Filipino
Philippine Literature in Filipino
-Notable Literary Works in Philippine languages:Florante at Laura, by Francisco Balagtas.-Availability of literature in Filipino outside of the Philippines:...
being the first, followed by Philippine literature in English
Philippine literature in English
Philippine literature in English has its roots in the efforts of the United States, then engaged in a war with Filipino nationalist forces at the end of the 19th century. By 1901, public education was institutionalized in the Philippines, with English serving as the medium of instruction. That...
). It is slightly larger than the Philippine literature in the vernacular languages. However, because of the very few additions to it in the past 30 years, it is expected that the former will soon overtake its rank.
History
According to Mariñas (1974) Philippine Literature in Spanish can be divided into 5 stages of development namely:- Works of Spanish Religious About the Philippines (1593–1800)
- Formative Stage (1800–1873)
- Nationalist Stage (1873–1903)
- The Golden Age (1903–1966)
- Modern Works (1966–present)
Spanish religious works about the Philippines (1593 - 1800)
The arrival of the Spaniards in 1565 brought Spanish culture and language editors. The Spanish conquerors, governing from Mexico for the crown of Spain, establish a strict class system that imposed Roman Catholicism on the native population. Augustinian and FranciscanFranciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
missionaries, accompanied by Spanish soldiers, soon spread Christianity from island to island. Their mission was implemented the forced relocation of indigenous peoples during this time, as the uprooted natives turned to the foreign, structured religion as the new center of their lives. The priests and friars preached in local languages and employed indigenous peoples as translators, creating a bilingual class known as ladino
Ladino
Ladino may refer to:*Ladino is the name used primarily in Israel for Judaeo-Spanish, a Sephardic language, primarily spoken among Sephardic Jews, or for the written form used in religious texts and translations; compare to Ashkenazic Jews' language, Yiddish*Ladino is also used for the variety of...
s.
The natives, called "indios", generally were not taught Spanish, but the bilingual individuals, notably poet-translator Gaspar Aquino de Belén
Gaspar Aquino de Belen
Gaspar Aquino de Belén is a Filipina poet and translator of the 17th century, author in particular of Pasyon, a famous poetic of passion, died narration and resurrection of Christ....
, produced devotional poetry written in the Roman script in the Tagalog language
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
. Pasyon
Pasyon
The Pasyon is a narrative of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ woven with the standard elements of epic poetry and a colorful dramatic theme, with stanzas of five lines. Each line has eight syllables...
, begun by Aquino de Belen, is a narrative of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which has circulated in many versions. Later, the Mexican ballads of chivalry, the corrido, provided a model for secular literature. Verse narratives, or komedya, were performed in the regional language
Philippine languages
The Philippine languages are a 1991 proposal by Robert Blust that all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi—except Sama–Bajaw and a few languages of Palawan—form a subfamily of Austronesian languages...
s for the illiterate majority. They were also written in the Roman alphabet in the principal languages and widely circulated.
In the early 17th century a Chinese Filipino
Chinese Filipino
A Chinese Filipino derived from two words: "Tsino" and "Pinoy" ) is a Philippine national of Chinese ethnicity but born/raised in the Philippines....
printer, Tomas Pinpin
Tomas Pinpin
Tomas Pinpin was a printer, writer and publisher from Abucay, a municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines, who was the first Filipino printer and is sometimes referred as the "Patriarch of Filipino Printing."...
, set out to write a book in romanized phonetic script writer, His intention was to teach his fellow Tagalog-speakers the principles of learning Spanish. His book, published by the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
press (where he worked) appeared in 1610. Unlike the missionary's grammar (which Pinpin had set in type), the native's book dealt with the language of the colonizers instead of the colonized. Pinpin's book was the first such work ever written and printed by a Philippine native. As such, it is richly instructive for what it tells us about the interests that animated Tagalog translation and, by implication, Tagalog conversion in the early colonial period. Pinpin construed translation in simple ways to help and encourage Tagalog readers to learn Spanish.
Formative stage (1800 - 1873)
During the so called 'Formative Stage', Filipino writers began to recognize the Philippines a separate entity from Spain and codified these in different form of expressions.Among the first Filipinos to produce works is Luis Rodríguez Varela
Luis Rodríguez Varela
Luis Rodríguez Varela, also known as "El Conde Filipino" was an early Filipino nationalist, active at the beginning of the 19th century....
, a mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
born in Tondo
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
(which was province outside Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
walls
Intramuros
Intramuros is the oldest district in the present day city of Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines. Nicknamed the "Walled City", Intramuros is the historic fortified city of Manila, the seat ot the government during the Spanish Colonial Period. Its name in Latin, intramuros,...
but now incorporated as a district) in 1768.
Among the works, the earliest recognised work in this era is "Proclama historial que para animar a los vasallos que el Señor Don Fernando VII tiene en Filipinas a que defendian a su Rey del furor de su falso amigo Napoleón, primer Emperador de fanceses, escribe, dedicada e imprime a su costa Don Luis Rodríguez Varela". As the title expresses, the work is full of prohispanic sentiments.
In 1810, a year later the publication of the said work, Fernández de Folgueras, Governor General to the Philippines was granted by the 'Office of the Censor' to publish three books. The books were entitled: "Elogio a las Provincias de los Reynos de la España Europea", "Elogio a la mujer" and "El Parnaso Filipino". The last book, a collection of poems written by various Filipino poets at that time, is still now one of the most important works in the entire corpus of Philippine Literature in Spanish. And although it was severely criticised during its heyday (in 1814), it bears the merit of being the first book about the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in Castilian
Castilian Spanish
Castilian Spanish is a term related to the Spanish language, but its exact meaning can vary even in that language. In English Castilian Spanish usually refers to the variety of European Spanish spoken in north and central Spain or as the language standard for radio and TV speakers...
that is purely literary and not didactic or religious.
This era also saw the publication of works by José Vergara, one of the Philippine representative to the Spanish Cortes; and Juan Atayde (1838–1896), a military official. Most of the works published during these years are poetry.
But since most of the people who are knowledgeable in Spanish are those that belong to the Catholic hierarchy
Hierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
, religious works still make up a large part of the corpus.
During his stay as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Manila
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila or Archdiocese of Manila is a particular Church or Diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. It is also considered as the primatial see of the country, currently headed by the Archbishop of Manila and it enjoys primacy over the other dioceses in...
, Fr. Pedro Peláez
Pedro Peláez
Pedro Peláez was a Filipino Catholic priest who favored the rights for Filipino clergy during the 19th century. He was diocesan administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila for a brief period of time. In the early 19th century, Pelaez fought for the secularization of Filipino priests...
, S.J.
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, (1812–1863) founded the "El Católico Filipino", a journal of religious nature. While serving the said post, he also taught at the University of Santo Tomas
University of Santo Tomas
The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
and acted as a correspondent to "La Genereción", a journal published in Madrid. In his works, Peláez worked much to the defence of his fellow Filipinos.
Though it was first printed anonymously, a flyer published in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1862 entitled "Documentos importantes para la cuestión pendiente sobre la provisión de curatos en Filipinas" was also attributed to him. It was also Peláez who first used the term "PERLA DE ORIENTE" to refer to the Philippines. This was made popular later by José Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
in his last poem and the modern translation into Filipino
Filipino language
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
by the national anthem
Lupang Hinirang
Lupang Hinirang is the national anthem of the Philippines. Its music was composed in 1898 by Julián Felipe, with lyrics in Spanish adapted from the poem Filipinas, written by José Palma in 1899....
. The term was first used in 1855 in his work entitled "Sermón de San Andrés".
With the death of Peláez, another priest continued the battle for self-identity in the person of Fr. José Apolonio Burgos (1837–1877). Burgos was a student of Peláez at UST
University of Santo Tomas
The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
. A year after an earthquake of 1863 that took the life of his teacher, he graced the Madrid journal "La Verdad" with "Manifesto que a la noble Nación Española dirigen los leales filipinos" to defend the heavy criticisms of the regular priests against the Filipinos of that time. He also able to publish "El Eco Filipino" in order to reiterate the call of reform to the Philippine government and hierarchy.
His other notable works are "Mare MAgnum" (1851), "Estado de Filipinas a la llegada de los españoles" (witten in 1871 but published posthomustly in 1894), "Ciencias y costumbres de los filipinos" (1868), "Cuentos y leyendas filipinas" (1860), "Es verdad los milagros" (1860) and "Los Reyes Filipinos".
With the opening of the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, many Españoles came to the Philippines. Some even studied in the islands which gave birth to some publications like "La Oceanía Española", "El Comercio" and "La Voz de España".
Nationalist stage (1873 - 1903)
During these years, Filipinos who could afford the European standard of living began to send their children to Spain for education. This formed a circle of learned indios who called themselves Los Indios Bravos. The Filipinos were also received by their Spanish peers so welcomingly that they were able to found the Circulo Hispano-Filipino, whose members include prominent personalities of the day. Nationalism was actually more propagated in the Spanish language rather than the vernaculars.A potent tool in promoting Filipino nationalism in Spanish was the foundation of La Solidaridad
La solidaridad
La Solidaridad was an organization created in Spain on December 13, 1888. Composed of Filipino liberals exiled in 1872 and students attending Europe's universities, the organization aimed to increase Spanish awareness of the needs of its colony, the Philippines, and to propagate a closer...
(more fondly called La Sol by the members of the propaganda movement) in 15 February 1885. With the help of this organ, Filipino national heroes like José Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
, Graciano Lopez Jaena
Graciano López Jaena
Graciano López Jaena was a Filipino journalist, orator, and revolutionary from Iloilo, well known for his written work, La Solidaridad....
, Marcelo H. del Pilar
Marcelo H. del Pilar
Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán , better known by his nom-de-plume Plaridel, was a celebrated figure in the Philippine Revolution and a leading propagandist for reforms in the Philippines A master polemicist in both the Tagalog and Spanish languages, he helped the Propaganda Movement through...
, etc. were able to voice out their sentiments.
Perhaps, the best-known editors of the Sol is Graciano Lopez Jaena
Graciano López Jaena
Graciano López Jaena was a Filipino journalist, orator, and revolutionary from Iloilo, well known for his written work, La Solidaridad....
(1856–1896). Some of his more famous works include "Fray Botod" and "La Hija del Fraile".
Pedro Paterno
Pedro Paterno
Pedro Alejandro Paterno y de Vera-Ignacio, also spelled Pedro Alejandro Paterno y Debera Ignacio was a Filipino politician, as well as a poet and novelist.His intervention on behalf of the Spanish led to the signing of the Pact of...
also tried to establish some newspaper like "La Patria", "El Libera", "Soberanía Nacional" and "Asamblea Filipina". This also became outlets where Filipino were able to publish their works in Spanish.
Filipino novels in Spanish are quite rare. And aside from José Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
's Noli Me Tángere
Noli Me Tangere (novel)
Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
and El Filibusterismo
El filibusterismo
El filibusterismo , also known by its English alternate title The Reign of Greed, is the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere and like the first book, was written in Spanish. It was first published in 1891 in Ghent, Belgium...
, Paterno
Pedro Paterno
Pedro Alejandro Paterno y de Vera-Ignacio, also spelled Pedro Alejandro Paterno y Debera Ignacio was a Filipino politician, as well as a poet and novelist.His intervention on behalf of the Spanish led to the signing of the Pact of...
published an earlier novel entitled "Ninay" in 1885. The work was depicting local colour and one of the inspirations that led José Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
to write his own.
Aside from "Ninay", Paterno
Pedro Paterno
Pedro Alejandro Paterno y de Vera-Ignacio, also spelled Pedro Alejandro Paterno y Debera Ignacio was a Filipino politician, as well as a poet and novelist.His intervention on behalf of the Spanish led to the signing of the Pact of...
were able to publish "Doña Perfecta" (1876), a novel; and "Sampaguita" (1880), a collection of poems; "La antigua civilización tagalog" (1887), "El cristianismo en la antigua civilización tagalog" (1892), and "La familia tagala en la historia universal", all expositories.
If Paterno
Pedro Paterno
Pedro Alejandro Paterno y de Vera-Ignacio, also spelled Pedro Alejandro Paterno y Debera Ignacio was a Filipino politician, as well as a poet and novelist.His intervention on behalf of the Spanish led to the signing of the Pact of...
was able to introduce the Tagalogs
Tagalog people
The Tagalog people are an ethnic group in the Philippines. The name Tagalog comes from either the native term tagá-ilog, meaning 'people living along the river', or another native term, tagá-alog, meaning 'people living along the ford', a ford being a shallow part of a river or stream where people,...
into the world, Isabelo de los Reyes
Isabelo de los Reyes
Isabelo Florentino De Los Reyes, Sr., also known as Don Belong , was a prominent Filipino politician, writer and labor activist in the 19th and 20th centuries. He was the founder of the Aglipayan Church, an independent Philippine national church...
(fondly called Don Belong by contemporaries) did the same for the Ilocanos
Ilocano people
The Ilocano or Ilokano people are the third largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. Aside from being referred to as Ilocanos, from "i"-from, and "looc"-bay, they also refer to themselves as Samtoy, from the Ilocano phrase "sao mi ditoy", meaning 'our language here.' The word "Ilocano" came from...
.
In 1882, Don Belong published his "La invasión de Limahong". This made him enter the world of journalism which gave him all the outlets he needed to express his nationalism. Some of the newspapers he worked for were "El Diario de Manila
Diario de Manila
Diario de Manila was a Spanish language newspaper published in the Philippines, founded on October 11, 1848, and closed down by official decree on February 19, 1898, after the colonial authorities discovered that its installations were being used to print revolutionary material.The Diario was...
", "La Oceanía Española", "Revista Catolica", "El Progreso", "El Republicano" and "El Heraldo".
Considered the founder of the workers' movement in the Philippines, Don Belong founded the "La actividad del obrero" in 1902 that served as the main voice of the working class. Later, he founded the Iglesia Filipina Independiente as a revolt to the abuses of the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
hierarchy
Hierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
in his hometown
Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Sur is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Vigan City, located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the provincial capital...
. The foundation of the church was instrumental in the translation of the Holy Scriptures in Ilocano.
Some of Don Belong
Isabelo de los Reyes
Isabelo Florentino De Los Reyes, Sr., also known as Don Belong , was a prominent Filipino politician, writer and labor activist in the 19th and 20th centuries. He was the founder of the Aglipayan Church, an independent Philippine national church...
's more renowned works include "El Folklore Filipino" (1889), "Las Islas Visaya en la Época de la Conquista" (1889), "Historia de Filipinas" (1889) and "Historia de Ilocos" (1890).
The era also say the works of José Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
, Antonio Luna
Antonio Luna
Antonio Luna y Novicio was a Filipino pharmacist and general who fought in the Philippine-American War. He was also the founder of the Philippines's first military academy.- Family background :...
, Eduardo de Lete, Emilio Jacinto
Emilio Jacinto
Emilio Jacinto y Dizon , was a Filipino revolutionary known as the Brains of the Katipunan.-Biography:Born in Trozo, Tondo, Manila. Jacinto was the son of Mariano Jacinto and Josefa Dizon...
, José Palma
José Palma
José Palma was a poet and soldier. He was on the staff of La Independencia at the time he wrote his "Filipinas," a patriotic poem in Spanish. It was published for the first time in the issue of the first anniversary of La Independencia on 3 September 1899...
, Felipe Calderón
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
and Apolinario Mabini
Apolinario Mabini
Apolinario Mabini y Maranan was a Filipino political philosopher and revolutionary who wrote a constitutional plan for the of 1899-1901, and served as its first prime minister in 1899...
.
In Cebu
Cebu City
The City of Cebu is the capital city of Cebu and is the second largest city in the Philippines, the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines and known as the oldest settlement established by the Spaniards in the country.The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was...
, the first Spanish newspaper, El Boletín de Cebú, was published in 1886.
The Golden Age (1903 - 1966)
Ironically, the greatest portion of Spanish literature by native Filipinos was written during the American commonwealth period, because the Spanish language was still predominant among the Filipino intellectuals. One of the country's major writers, Claro Mayo RectoClaro M. Recto
Claro Mayo Recto, Jr. , was a Filipino politician, jurist, poet and one of the foremost statesmen of his generation...
, continued writing in Spanish until 1946. Other well-known Spanish-language writers, especially during the American period were Francisco Alonso Liongson
Francisco Alonso Liongson
Francisco Alonso Liongson lived in one of the most exciting periods of Philippine history. He was born into an Ilustrado family from Pampanga, Philippines at the turn of the 20th century and raised with the revolutionary values of an emerging Philippine identity which held freedom, justice, honor,...
(El Pasado Que Vuelve, 1937), Isidro Marfori, Cecilio Apóstol
Cecilio Apostol
Cecilio Apóstol was a Filipino poet. His poems were once used to teach the Spanish language under the Republic Act No. 1881....
(Pentélicas, 1941), Fernando Ma. Guerrero (Crisálidas, 1914), Gaspar Aquino de Belén
Gaspar Aquino de Belen
Gaspar Aquino de Belén is a Filipina poet and translator of the 17th century, author in particular of Pasyon, a famous poetic of passion, died narration and resurrection of Christ....
, Flavio Zaragoza Cano (Cantos a España and De Mactán a Tirad) and others. Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
, Bacolor and many other sities and towns across the Philippines had its share of writers in Spanish, most of whom flourished during the early decades of the century.
Among the newspapers published in Spanish were El Renacimiento, La Democracia, La Vanguardia, El Pueblo de Iloílo, El Tiempo and others. Three magazines, The Independent, Philippine Free Press and Philippine Review were published in English and Spanish.
In 1915, the local newspapers began publishing sections in English and after World War II and the destruction of Intramuros
Intramuros
Intramuros is the oldest district in the present day city of Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines. Nicknamed the "Walled City", Intramuros is the historic fortified city of Manila, the seat ot the government during the Spanish Colonial Period. Its name in Latin, intramuros,...
where a large part of the Hispanic community was based, Hispano-Filipino literature started declining and the number of books and magazines written in Spanish by Filipino authors was greatly reduced.
Modern works (1966 - present)
Although the output of Philippine literature in Spanish has diminished in later years, there are still some notable writers, like José del Mar, who won a Zóbel Prize (Premio Zóbel) for his work, Perfiles, in 1965, Francisco Zaragoza (1914-1990), author of "Castala Íntima", Guillermo Gómez RiveraGuillermo Gómez Rivera
Guillermo Gómez Rivera is a Filipino writer, journalist, poet, playwright, historian, linguist, dance instructor, and scholar of Spanish and British descent from the Province of Iloilo....
, academic director of the Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española (Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language
Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language
The Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language is the main Spanish-language regulating body in the Philippines. Its headquarters are located in Makati City. It was established in Manila on July 25, 1924....
), Edmundo Farolan
Edmundo Farolan
Edmundo Farolan, born in Manila , was a young writer-scholar who had won literary awards abroad when he studied philosophy and letters in Madrid...
, director of "Revista Filipina" and recipient of the Premio Zobel in 2000 for his poetry work "Tercera Primavera" or Lourdes Castrillo Brillantes
Lourdes Castrillo Brillantes
Lourdes Castrillo-Brillantes is a prominent Filipino female writer in the Spanish language.-Achievements:Brillantes is the author of 80 Años del Premio Zobel , a compilation of Spanish literature written by Filipinos...
, a prominent Filipino female writer, author of "80 Años del Premio Zobel" (80 Years of the Zobel Prize), a compilation of Spanish literature written by Filipinos.
Notable writers in Spanish
- José RizalJosé RizalJosé Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
- Marcelo H. Del PilarMarcelo H. del PilarMarcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán , better known by his nom-de-plume Plaridel, was a celebrated figure in the Philippine Revolution and a leading propagandist for reforms in the Philippines A master polemicist in both the Tagalog and Spanish languages, he helped the Propaganda Movement through...
- Claro M. RectoClaro M. RectoClaro Mayo Recto, Jr. , was a Filipino politician, jurist, poet and one of the foremost statesmen of his generation...
- Francisco Alonso LiongsonFrancisco Alonso LiongsonFrancisco Alonso Liongson lived in one of the most exciting periods of Philippine history. He was born into an Ilustrado family from Pampanga, Philippines at the turn of the 20th century and raised with the revolutionary values of an emerging Philippine identity which held freedom, justice, honor,...
- Cecilio ApóstolCecilio ApostolCecilio Apóstol was a Filipino poet. His poems were once used to teach the Spanish language under the Republic Act No. 1881....
- Guillermo Gómez RiveraGuillermo Gómez RiveraGuillermo Gómez Rivera is a Filipino writer, journalist, poet, playwright, historian, linguist, dance instructor, and scholar of Spanish and British descent from the Province of Iloilo....
- Guillermo Gómez Windham
- Jesús BalmoriJesús BalmoriJesús "Batikuling" Balmori was a Filipino Spanish language journalist, playwright, and poet.-Biography:Jesús Balmori was born in Ermita, Manila on 10 January 1887. He studied at the Collegio de San Juan de Letrán and the University of Santo Tomás, where he excelled in Literature. He was married...
- Graciano López JaenaGraciano López JaenaGraciano López Jaena was a Filipino journalist, orator, and revolutionary from Iloilo, well known for his written work, La Solidaridad....
- Fr. Ignatio Francisco Alzina
- Antonio AbadAntonio AbadAntonio Mercado Abad was a poet, fictionist, playwright and essayist from Cebu, Philippines, who wrote in Spanish when such was the language of the Filipino society. He was educated at the University of San Carlos...
- Edmundo FarolánEdmundo FarolanEdmundo Farolan, born in Manila , was a young writer-scholar who had won literary awards abroad when he studied philosophy and letters in Madrid...
- Lourdes Castrillo BrillantesLourdes Castrillo BrillantesLourdes Castrillo-Brillantes is a prominent Filipino female writer in the Spanish language.-Achievements:Brillantes is the author of 80 Años del Premio Zobel , a compilation of Spanish literature written by Filipinos...
- Uldarico A. AlviolaUldarico A. AlviolaUldarico A. Alviola , well-known Cebuano Visayan novelist, was considered the dean of Cebuano writers. Also a distinguished lexicographer, he was the editor of Ang Suga, and several other Spanish language publications....
- Fernando María GuerreroFernando María GuerreroFernando María Guerrero was a Filipino politician, journalist, lawyer and polyglot who became a significant figure during the Philippine's golden period of Spanish literature, a period ranging from 1890 to the outbreak of World War II in 1940....
- Evangelina Guerrero
Notable Spanish works
- Doctrina Christiana
- Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo - both written by Jose RizalJosé RizalJosé Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
in Spanish - created controversy among the Spanish authority in the Philippines. They were instrumental in creating a Filipino sense of identity during the Spanish colonial period by caricaturing and exposing the abuses of the Spanish colonial government and religious authority. - Urbana at Felisa Book written by a friar telling the Filipino women about modesty, chastity, and other virtues.
- Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas by Antonio de MorgaAntonio de MorgaAntonio de Morga Sánchez Garay was a Spanish lawyer and a high-ranking colonial official in the Philippines, New Spain and Peru. He was also a historian. He published the book Sucesos de las islas Filipinas in 1609, one of the most important works on the early history of the Spanish colonization...
- MaragtasMaragtas (book)The Maragtas is a work by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro titled History of Panay from the first inhabitants and the Bornean immigrants, from which they descended, to the arrival of the Spaniards. The work is in mixed Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a languages in Iloilo in 1907...
- A collection of legends of ten chiefs (datuDatuDatu is the title for tribal chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs in the Visayas and Mindanao Regions of the Philippines. Together with Lakan , Apo in Central and Northern Luzon, Sultan and Rajah, they are titles used for native royalty, and are still currently used in the Philippines...
s) who escaped from the tyranny of Datu Makatunaw of BorneoBorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
to the island of PanayPanayPanay may refer to*Panay Island*Panay *Panay, Capiz*Panay River*Panay Gulf* USS Panay *Panay incident...
. The chiefs and followers are believed to be ancestors of the Visayans. The arrival is celebrated in the festival of the Ati-atihan ni Kalibo, Aklan. While they are legends, they are also based on facts and events. The legends were compiled into a book by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro in 1907.
External links
- Online E-book of La Primera Imprenta en Filipinas: Reseña Histórica Bio-Bibliográfica con tres apéndices by Manuel Artigas y Cuerva. Published in 1910.
- Revista Filipina Filipino magazine dedicated to Spanish language and literature.