Spanish Period
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.
According to Mariñas (1974) Philippine Literature in Spanish can
be divided into 5 stages of development namely:
1.
Works of Spanish
Religious About the Philippines (1593–1800)
2.
Formative Stage
(1800–1873)
3.
Nationalist Stage
(1873–1903)
4.
The Golden Age
(1903–1966)
5.
Modern Works
(1966–present)
1. Works of Spanish Religious
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 Franciscan 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 ladinos.
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 languages 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.
2. 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, 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".
3. 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 (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.
4. 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.[2] One of
the country's major writers, Claro Mayo Recto, 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.
5. 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 Rivera, 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" orLourdes 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.
Notable Writers in Spanish
·
José Rizal
Notable Spanish Works
·
José Rizal
Notable Spanish Works
·
Noli Me
Tangere and El
Filibusterismo - both written by Jose Rizal 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.
·
Maragtas - A collection of legends of ten chiefs (datus) who escaped from
the tyranny of Datu Makatunaw of Borneo to
the island of Panay.
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.
________________________________________________________________________
Article Comes from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_literature_in_Spanish
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Spain has an extraordinary artistic heritage. The dominant figures of the Golden Age were the Toledo-based artists El Greco and Diego Velázquez. Francisco de Goya emerged in the 18th century as Spain's most prolific painter and he produced some wonderfully unflattering portraits of royalty. The art world in the early 20th century was influenced by a remarkable group of Spanish artists: Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí, ambassadors of the artistic culture in Spain.
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Another example of Spanish culture is the invention of the Spanish guitar, which was invented in Andalusia in the 1790's when a sixth string was added to the Moorish lute. It gained its modern shape in the 1870's. Spanish musicians have taken the humble guitar to dizzying heights of virtuosity and none more so thanAndrés Segovia (1893-1997), who established classical guitar as a genre. Flamenco, music rooted in the cante jondo (deep song) of the gitanos (gypsies) of Andalusia, is experiencing a revival. Paco de Lucia is the best known flamencoguitarist internationally.
His friend Camarón de la Isla was, until his death in 1992, the leading light of contemporary cante jondo. In the 1980s flamenco-rock fusion (a.k.a. "gypsy rock") was developed by the likes of Pata Negra and Ketama, and in the 1990s Radio Tarifa emerged with a mesmerizing mix of flamenco and medieval sounds.
Bakalao, the Spanish contribution to the world of techno, emerged from Valencia.
Spain has an extraordinary artistic heritage. The dominant figures of the Golden Age were the Toledo-based artists El Greco and Diego Velázquez. Francisco de Goya emerged in the 18th century as Spain's most prolific painter and he produced some wonderfully unflattering portraits of royalty. The art world in the early 20th century was influenced by a remarkable group of Spanish artists: Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí, ambassadors of the artistic culture in Spain.
Spain's architecture ranges from prehistoric monuments in Minorca in the Balearic Islands, to the Roman ruins of Merida and Tarragona, the decorative Lonja in Seville, Mudéjar buildings, Gothic cathedrals, castles, fantastic modernist monuments and Gaudí's intricate fabulist sculptures in Barcelona. They are all representative of the culture of Spain.
Another example of Spanish culture is the invention of the Spanish guitar, which was invented in Andalusia in the 1790's when a sixth string was added to the Moorish lute. It gained its modern shape in the 1870's. Spanish musicians have taken the humble guitar to dizzying heights of virtuosity and none more so thanAndrés Segovia (1893-1997), who established classical guitar as a genre. Flamenco, music rooted in the cante jondo (deep song) of the gitanos (gypsies) of Andalusia, is experiencing a revival. Paco de Lucia is the best known flamencoguitarist internationally.
His friend Camarón de la Isla was, until his death in 1992, the leading light of contemporary cante jondo. In the 1980s flamenco-rock fusion (a.k.a. "gypsy rock") was developed by the likes of Pata Negra and Ketama, and in the 1990s Radio Tarifa emerged with a mesmerizing mix of flamenco and medieval sounds.
Bakalao, the Spanish contribution to the world of techno, emerged from Valencia.
______________________________________________________________________
Article comes from
: http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/
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