st

Revi
ewerin21
CenturyLi
ter
ature
f
rom t
hePhili
ppines
andtheWorld12

1
MODULE1:POETRY:THEFI
LIPI
NOPOEM

ALongHi
stor
yofPoet
ry

Fi
li
pinosarenostranger
stopoet
ry;i
thasbeenpartofFi
li
pinocul
tureeversi
ncepre-Hi
spanicti
mes.
Theawitorsongexist
edinmanyformsandwereusedforvari
edpurposes.Asi
defr
om songs,thetwo
majorpre-hi
spani
cformswer
ethebugtongorr
iddl
eandthesa/awi
kainorprover
b.

Thebugtongwasar i
ddlethatusedtalinghagaoramet aphort
hatactual
l
yhelpedconveyt
heanswert
o
theriddl
e.Thesawikainorwer eprov erbsusedt oexpresspiecesofwisdom orbel
i
efsimport
antt
o
Fil
i
pinosociet
y.Theseformswer eal
l donei nver
seormet ri
cal
wr i
ti
ng.

Themaj orpre-hi
spanicpoet i
cform, howev er,
wast heepikoorepi c.Epicswerel ong,episodic,chanted
poemst el
li
ngst or
ies,normal lyaboutl egendaryher
oesandt hei
radv entur
es,of
tencont endingwi th,and
al
sobei ngaidedby ,super natur
alcreat ur
esandspi r
its.Thesewer echantedatf eastsandr i
tual
s,often
toinspi
reandent ert
aint hosewhol istened.Thus,thesest ori
eswer eseenasi mpor t
antpar tsoft he
cul
turesandbel i
efsoft hesesoci et
ies.Whi l
etherehav ebeenepi cspr eserv
edandt r
anscribed,thereare
sti
l
l manyoutt her
et hatremai nonlyint hememor yoft hestoryt
ellersandhav eyett obewr i
tt
endown.

Toknowmoreaboutthehist
oryofFi
l
ipi
nopoet
ry,
cli
ckt
hel
i
nkVSmar
tSchool_21stCent
uryLi
ter
atur
e
Module101i
ntheresour
cebelow.

Regi
onsandRegi
onalCul
tur
e

A
v
iewoft
hemaj
est
icMt
.May
onandt
heCagsawar
uinsi
nAl
bay
,Bi
col
.

ThePhi l
ippi
neshasauniquecul t
ural l
andscape,oneshapedbyamy ri
adoflanguagesandtradi
ti
ons
deter
mi nedbythei
rgeographicalandlingui
sticr
egions.Fi
li
pinocul
tureisnotj
ustoneli
near
devel
opment ,buti
scomposedofmanydev el
opment swit
hinspeci
ficethni
ctradi
ti
onsthatcompri
se
thecolorful
tapest
rywecalltheFili
pinonation.

Asdi scussedbyNat i
onalAr ti
stBi env eni
doLumber a,ther easonf orav eryMani l
acent r
icv i
ew of
Phili
ppinecul tureandcul turaldevel opmenthast odowi ththef actthatMani laremainst hecenterof
poweri nt hePhi li
ppines.Whi l
eMani l
aisdef i
nitel
yst i
llthecent er"ofthecount ry
,itcannotbedeni ed
thatthel argerterri
toryoft hecount ryl i
esoutsidet hiscenter,int he"
periphery,
"asi twere,ofnational
consciousness.Theper i
phery'seffectont he" center"isinevi
tableast hesev ari
ousregionsdoi nt
er act,
theref
or eexer t
ingsomef orm ofinfluenceov erMani laaswel l
.
Lumber af urtherstatedt hat"asi tt urnsout,lit
erary,musi cal,visual
,andt heaterartsawayf rom t he
primateci t
y( Manila)form aconsi der ablepartoft hecul t
ureoft heFili
pino.Nowi thasbecomeal lt oo
clearthatt hequest i
onofanat i
onali denti
tyfort heFi l
ipi
nocannotbedi scussed,muchl essresolv ed,

2
onlywi thint henar r
ow conf i
nesoft heCent er.Andsot heneedt o' decent er."Ourexpl orationinto
Phi l
i
ppi nel i
terature,ther efore,wi l
lbeade- cent eredone, expl or
ing
regionalwr i
tingt oseenotonl yhow i tdi ffersf rom whati snor mal lyseeni nMani la,butal sohow i t
cont ri
but estoPhi l
ippinecul turet hroughi t
suni quev oiceandst yle.
Tot headv ant ageanddet rimentofBi kol anos, agoodnumberoft hem ar emul t
ili
ngualandar enormal l
y
proficientnotonl yinBi kol,theirr egionall anguage,butal soi nEngl ishandFi li
pino.Pr ominentwr it
ers
suchasscr eenwr i
terRi ckyLeeandpoetMar neKi l
atesar ebot hnat iv esofBi kol ,vetarenotknownas
Bikolanowr iters.Itisal sosadt hatt herear ev eryf ewPr e-Hi spani cBi kolwor ksthathav ebeencol l
ected
andpubl i
shed.Whathasbeenl eftbehi nd,howev er,ar esomef or mswhi chst illexisttoday .Ther eare
sti
llthepr overbs, ri
ddl es,andsav i
ngst hathav er emai nedi nuse, suchas" Anmat akotsador on/Dai ng
aanihon"and " Thoseaf r
aid ofl ocust s/Wi llnothar vestany t hing."Ther ei sal so thet raditi
on of
ti
gslkanoragameofcr eatingwi tty
,v er
si fiedi nv er se)ext empor aneoust oast sdur ingar oundof
drinking.Bi kolwr i
tershav eadopt edf ormsofl it
erat ur ef ort heirownenj oy ment ,howev er .Therear e
manycor ri
dosandr eligiouswor kscomi ngf r om t hepr essownedbyMar ianoPer fecto.Theseev entuall
y
l
edt ot hecr eat i
onandenj oy mentofot herf ormsofent ertainmentsuchast hecomedi aandt he
zarzuel a,inthe1800sandear l
y1900s.Ther ewor ksinBi koldur ingt hi stime, ast herewer eBi kolbased
publicat i
ons, andsot hepr oduct ionofpoemsandf ictiongr ew.Li terar yproduct ioncont inuedv iav ar
ied
publicat i
onsunt ilthe1960swhent hel astBl kolmagazi neceasedpr oduct ion.Pr oductiont hensl owed,
butdi dnotcompl etelyst op.I thassi ncepr oceededsl owl y,butper sistentl
y ,owi ngt ot her enewed
i
nt erestofschool s and wr i
ters who hav e si nce embr aced t he t askofbui l
ding on t heirl i
ter
ary
achiev ement sandar ewr i
ti
ngnewwor kssuchast het extwehav ef ort hi
smodul e.

AboutMay
onVol
cano

May onVol canoisr enownedar oundt hewor l

df oritsnearlyperf
ectshape.I ti
salsooneoft hemost
activevolcanoesi nthewor l
dander uptsregularl
y.Provi
ncesnearMountMay onar
eal r
eadyv er
y
accustomedt oev acuatingperi
odicallybecauseoft heeruptions.Despitetheconstantthr
eatofdanger,
howev er,thevolcanor emainsonet hemostpopul art
ouristdesti
nationsinthePhil
ippi
nes.Likemany
l
ocat i
onsi nthePhi l
ippines,MountMay onhasaf asci
natinglegendt hattel
lsthest
oryofitscreati
on.
"TheLegendofDar agangMagav on"isar omant i
candexci ti
ngst orythattel
lshowthev ol
canocamet o
be.
Tor eadthepoem May onbyKr ist
ianSendonCor dero,cl
ickthelinkVSmar tSchool
_21stCent ury
Lit
erature_Modul e102bel ow.Tol earnmor eaboutMt .May on,y oumayal sologonto
httpsWwww. voutube.com/ watch?vzCxivli
21cRg.

Aboutt
hePoem

Anat i
v eofBi col,Cor derowr it
eswi thacer t
ainleveloff ami l
iari
tywi ththeMay onVol cano.Hi spoem i sa
ver yrichone,car ryingav erydi stinctiv
ev i
ew oft hev ol
cano.Thepoem pr esent sthev ol
canof i
rstv i
a
allusion,r eferri
ng t oi tsmy th,par ti
cularl
yt o Pagt uga'sar row thatki ll
ed Magay on.Thedeat h of
Magay onandherl overPangi noroni nt hepoem becomesmor et hanjustanendbutal soabegi nning.
Thepoem pr oceedsbyusi ngani mageofdeat ht oi mpl ypossi bi
lit
yandl if
e.I magespl ayav ery
significantrol eint hispoem,ast hev olcanoi sdescr ibedi nmanydi f
ferentway s.Imagesar enotonl y
visual;t heycanpr esentt heirsensor yimpr essi
onsusi nganyoft hef ivesenses.Thesei magesdomor e
thanj ustpr esentsensor yi mpr essi onst other eader,butgobey ondt hat,expandi ngf rom beingmer ely
descr iptivetobecomi ngf i
gurative.Thei magesv arywi dely,from hav i
ngt helipsofay oungchi ldint he
thirdst anzat ohav ingthel av aoft hev olcanol ooklikeexcr ementorhav i
ngt hesamei magel ooklike
bet elnutj uice( nganga)i nt hesamest anza.Whatbecomescl ear,byt helastst anza,ist hatal lthe
i
magest ieint oget her.Ther ei st hei mpr essi
onofbeaut yanddanger ,ast hef inali mage,t hatofa
beaut ifulsecur i
tyguar dwai tingt of ri
skt hev i
eweroft hev olcano, becomi ngbot hwar ningandi nvit
ati
on
att hesamet i
me.

Aboutt
hePoet

AVol
cani
cPoet

Kr
ist
ianSendonCorderowasoncedescri
bedbythepoetMarneKil
atesasthe"
enfantter
ri
ble"ofBi
kol
wr
iti
ng.Theter
m enfantter
ri
ble(
associ
atedwi
ththeFrenchpoetArthurRi
mbaud)usual
lyrefer
stoa
3
personwhoi scont rov er sial,of tenbybei ngi nnov ati
v eandquest ioni ngoft heest abl i
shment ,bot hof
whi chCor derohasdone.Asi def r
om maki ngi tt ot hemai nst r
eam andv ent ur ingi ntoi ndependent
publ ishing,hehasal soi nnov atedbyi nt ell
igent l
ypar t
icipat ingi ncr i
ticaldi scour sei nhi sr egion.Hehas
mul tiplePal ancaawar dsi npoet ry,fi
ction,andessay .Ot hert hant hePal anca,hehaswonahostof
otherawar dsi npoet ry ,suchast heNat ionalComi ssiononCul tureandt heAr tsWr iter'sPr izef orBi kol
poet ryin2007, the6t hMadr i
gal Gonzal esFi rstBookAwar d, t
heMani ngni ngMi cl atPoet r
y
Prizei nFi l
ipinoi n2009,t hePr emi oTomasAr ej olaLi ter aryPr i
ze,andt heHomel i
fePoet ryCont est.
Cor der oisawel l-anthol ogi zedpoetandhaspubl ishedcol l
ect ionsofhi sownsuchasCant i
cos:Apatna
Boses( USTPubl ishingHouse,2013)andLabi( At eneodeMani laPr ess,2013) .Hei sal soaf il
mmaker ;
hisf ilm Angust iawasr eleasedi n2013.Hehasedi tedanumberofcol lectionssuchasTheNagaWe
Know, acol l
ect ionofessay scoedi tedwi thPazVer dadezSant os, andSagur ong, whi chhecoedi tedwi th
Sant osaswel l.
Cor der oisaneducat orbei nanassi stantr ofessoratt heAt eneodeNagaUni versi ty.Hewr i
tesacol umn
i
nt heBi col Mai l.Hei sanact i
v eadv ocat ef ort hegr owt hofBi kol li
terat urebey ondi t
scur rent
BikolLi terature—ATr adi t
ioni nTr ansit
ionCor dero' swr i
ting, bot hi nt ermsofhi spoet i
csandhi sar t
icles,
point st oat ur ni nt hedev elopmentofBi koll i
ter ature.Whi lei tsst rongwr itingt radi ti
onwasst ymi ed
underSpani shr ule,itr etur nedwi thacr iti
calat titudeascanbeseeni nBi kolwr iterMar i
anoPer f
ect o's
AnPaggui aokanmgaPast orescanPagcamondagniJesusdumansaPor talsaBel en.Thi spl ay
present st heawakeni ngoft heshepher dsdur ingt hebi rthofJesusandj uxtaposest hei ronyofCat hol ic
faithfulnessoft heFi lipinoandt hef ait
hl essnessoft heSpani ar ds.Bi kol wr it
ingal sof eat uredt hecor ri
do
andt hecomedi a,t hef ormerbei ngamet eredr omanceandt hel at terbei ngpl ay sper formedt olocal
audi ences.Ty picaloft heBi kolwr it
er,t hecr it
icalat tit
udemani fest edi tselfi nt hewr iti
ngofpr otest
comedi as.Ev endur ingt hehi ghl ypr oduct iveCommonweal thper iodwhenBi kolwr i
tingf lourished,
poemssuchast her awi tdawi tcont i
nuedt oshowcaseaBi col anopenchantf orexami ningandcr i
ti
cizing
soci ety.Nowaday s,wr i
ter shav econt inuedt heBi kolanocr iticalat t i
tude,andCor der ot akesast ep
forwar dbyf ixingacr i
tical eyeonBi colitsel f
.Inar ecentpaperhedel iv ered,het racedt hemov ement sof
BikolLi teratur ev iat r
ansl at i
on,say i
ngt hatt hei nf luenceoft heCat hol icChur ch—gi vent hatt herewasa
prev alenceofwor kst r ansl atedi nt otheBi coll anguagedur i
ngt heSpani sher a—nonet helessal sopoi nt s
toacont inuingt raditionofl iterar yproduct i
oni nt her egion.Whi l
et het ranslat i
onshav ebecomeakey
partoft hel it
er atur eofBi col,heal socont endst hatt hisi st her easonf oritscont inuedsur vival,eveni n
thel ightofwhathasbeenseenasa" t
hi n"lit
er arypr oduct ion.

Regi
onalPer
spect
ivesandPr
act
ices

Thislessonexploredregionalli
ter
arypracti
cesv iathepoetryofKri
stianSendonCor dero.Hispoem
aboutMt .Mayonusedi magest orevealaperspectiveaboutthevolcanonotof t
enseenorwr it
tenabout
byotherwr i
ter
s.Ineffect,weareablet oexperi
encet hevolcanoonceagai nfrom adiff
erentsetofeyes.
Hiswr i
ti
ngrefl
ectsat radit
ionofcrit
icalvi
ewpoi nt
sheldbywr it
ersoft her
egion,whichhei salsocri
ti
cal
of.Lastl
y,hi
sabili
tytopr esentuswithbothposi ti
veandnegat i
verepresentat
ionsofthev olcano
showcaseshi sownnegat i
vecapabili
ty,atr
aitthatpoets,accor
dingtoKeat s,
shouldpossess.

•Havey
ouseenMountMay onupcl
ose?I
fyes,
howdi
dyour
eactwheny
ousawi
tfort
hef
ir
stt
ime?I
f
no,
howwouldyourr
eact
ionbe?

•Whatot
herev
ent
scanhav
ethesameef
fectonusasav
olcani
cer
upt
ion?Cany
ounamesome?

•Whatot
herv
olcanoesi
nthePhi
l
ippi
nesdoy
ouknow?Resear
chandt
akenot
eoft
hei
rhi
stor
ies.

d.f
our
th

4
MODULE2:REPRESENTATI
ONANDTHEPHI
LIPPI
NECANON
I
NTRODUCTI
ON:

I
nt hi
smodul einthe21stcentur
ylit
erat
ur ecour sewar
e,youshoul
dbeabl etoi
denti
fyrepresentat
ive
t
extsandaut hor
sfrom eachregi
on,appreciat
et heuseofpoeti
cdevicessuchasdramati
csi t
uationin
t
hedev el
opmentofmeani nginapoem, andr espondcrit
ical
l
ytothepoem andconsequentl
yarticul
ate
t
hisresponsethr
oughav isual
i
zat
ionofthepoem.

Byt
heendoft
hismodul
e,y
ouar
eexpect
edt
o:

•I
dent
if
yrepr
esent
ati
vet
ext
sandaut
hor
sfr
om eachr
egi
on.EI
N12Li
t-
lb-
22

•Appr
eci
atet
heuseofpoet
icdev
icessuchasdr
amat
icsi
tuat
ioni
nthedev
elopmentofmeani
ngi
na
poem.

•Respondcr
it
ical
l
ytot
hepoem andconsequent
lyar
ti
cul
atet
hisr
esponset
hroughav
isual
i
sat
lonoft
he
poem.

TheDr
amat
icSi
tuat
ionandt
hePer
sonas

ThePhi
l
ippi
nes:
ati
nyar
chi
pel
agoi
ntheSout
heastAsi
anr
egi
on.

Oppr essionisaf amili

arwor di nt heFilipi
nov ocabular
y .Therehav ebeenmanyUsesf orthist erm,
whet heritdescri
bestheoppr essionoft hel esspr ivi
l
egedbyt heel i
teortheoppr essi
onofgenderbya
pat r
iarchalsoci
ety.I
naway ,Fili
pinoshav eal way shadt of aceoppr essi
oni nsomef orm oranot her
,
beginni ngwithourownhi storyofcol onizati
on.Ev entual
ly,thesecol oni
zerswoul dpropupt hemsel ves
atourexpense.Oppr essionandt hest ruggleagai nstitar
ecommont hemesinPhi li
ppi
neliter
ature.Jose
Rizal'sclassi
cNoliMeTanger eandElFi libusteri
smower eexampl esofearlyFili
pinowrit
ingex pressing
i
tselfagai nstoppr
ession.Her menegi ldoFl ores's"HibikngPi li
pinassaI nangEspany a,"MarceloH.Del
Pilar'
s" SagotngEspanvasaHi bikngPi li
pinas,"andAndr esBoni facio'
s"KatapusangHi bikngPi l
ipinas"
wer el i
kewiseli
ter
aryexpressi onsofwhatwer eperceivedt obeabusesbyt hecolonizi
ngpower .To
readmor eaboutt hi
stopic,cl i
ckt hel i
nkVSmar tSchool_21stCent ur
yLiteratureModul e201i nt he
resour cebelow.

THI
RDWORLDGEOGRAPHYbyCi
ri
loF.Baut
ist
a

Toreadthepoem, Thi
rdWorldGeogr
aphybyNat
ional
Arti
stCi
ri
loF.Baut
ist
acl
i
ckt
hel
i
nkVSmar
t
School21stCent
uryLit
erat
ure_Module202int
heresour
cebelow.

5
 THI
RDWORLDGEOGRAPHYbyCi ri
loF.Baut ist
aMani
l
a
Acount r
ywi t houtmi racles
sitsheav yont hemap,
t
hinki ngofbananat reesr otti
ng
i
nt hesunl ight .
Themanwhowat chesov erit
hascommandeer edal lhopes,
placedt hem i nasack,
andt ieditsl ooseend.
Hegoesar oundcar ryingi t
onhi sback.
Whenaskedwhati sinsi de,
hesay s,“Justahandf ul off eathers,
justahandf ul off eather s.”
That ’showl ightt hebur den
ofgov ernmenti si npeacet ime—
anyt yrantcant urni ti ntoamet aphor .
Youkneel ont hepar chedear t
h
andpr ayf orrice.Onl ythewi nd
hear syourusel esswor ds.
Thecount r
ywi thoutmi racles
tr
iest ogetupf rom t hepage,
butt hebol dinkandshar pcol ors
holditdown.

Expl
aini
ngt
hePoem

Baut ista'
spoem i srichwithimager y,figuresofspeech,andal legory,allai medatcr eatingasol i
d
i
mpr essionont hereader.Thef i
rstallegoricali magei st he" country,
"whi ch,int hiscase,i sthe
Philippines.Thepoem per sonifiesthePhi l
ippines,t rappedbyi tsownwei ghtandi sl efttomuse
helplesslyabouti t
sowndecay ingstate.Anot heral legoricalimagei st he"manwhowat chesov erit
,"
ref
er ring tof ormerPr esi
dentFer di
nand Mar cos,hi s act s of" commandeer i
ng"hope and t urni
ng
gov ernancei ntowhatseemsl ikel i
ghtdut y(thei mageof" feat hers")ref
erringt ohiscont r
olov erthe
i
nfor mat ionbei ngr el
easedtothepubl icatthet i
me.Theshi ftinr eferr
al,addingt hepronoun" you"tothe
poem,cr eatesashi ftinhow ar eadermi ghtv iew thepoem;i tisadr amat icmonol ogue,wi ththe
personar eferringtosomeoneel sewhomayormaynotbet her eader.Intheend, i
tist hecount ry'
sown
i
mage,i t
sbol dinkandshar pcol orsthatholdi tdownf r
om r ising.Allegoryandsy mbolar erelat
edbut
arenotexact lythesame.Bot hfunct i
onbyr eferringtosomet hingel se,butallegoriesar emor especi f
ic.
Inthecaseoft hispoem,thecount r
yandt hemanar eal l
egor icalbecauset heyar epar ti
culartoone
pointofr ef erence.Symbols,ont heotherhand, mayr efertomor et hanonepoi ntofreference.

AnEpi
cofaPoet

NationalAr tistf orLi t

eratur eCi ri
loF.Baut i
stai soneoft hePhi l
ippines'mostawar dedandmost
respect edwr i
t ersandcr it
ics.Bor nin1941, heachi evedhonor si
nev eryl evelofhi seducat i
on, fi
nishing
anABLi terat ur edegr eef rom t heUni versityofSant oTomas( magnacum l aude)i n196B.Het hen
proceededt ogetanMALi terat
ur edegr ee( magnacom l aude)from Sai ntLoui sUni versi
tyinBagui oi n
1968andaDoct orofAr tsi nLanguageandLi t
eraturef r
om DeLaSal l
eUni v er
sity—Mani l
ain1990.He
receivedaf ellowshi pt oat tendtheI nt ernati
onal Wr i
ti
ngPr ogram att heUni versityofIowa.Baut i
stawon
numer ousawar ds,includi
ngt heCar losPal ancaMemor ialAwar dsHal lofFame.Ot herthant hese,he
wont hePhi l
ippi nesFr eePr essAwar dsf orficti
on,t heMani laCr iti
csCi rcl
eNat i
onalBookAwar d,t he
GawadBal agt asf r
om t heUny onngmgaManunul atngPi l
ipi
nas, andt hePabl oRomanPr izeforNov el.
Hewashai ledast heMakat angTaoni n199Bbyt heKomi sy
onsaWi kangFi l
ipi
no.Hewaswi dely
anthologizedandpubl ishednotonl yi nt hecount ry
,buti nt
ernationallyaswel l
.Hewasal soagr eat
l
iteraryadv ocat e,bei ngamemberofl i
terar
yor ganizat i
onssuchast hePhi lippineLiterar
yAr tsCounci l,
theMani l
aCr iticsCi rcl
e,thePhi lippineCent erofI nternationalPEN, andt hePhi l
ippineWr i
tersAcademy .
Hewasal soPr of essorEmer i
tus
ofLi t
er at
ureatt heCol legeofLi beralAr ts,DeLaSal leUni ver
sity
—Mani l
awher eher eti
redasUni versit
y
Fell
ow.Her emai nsoneoft hemosti nfl
uentialli
teraryf i
guresinthecount rytoday .

6
CanonandRepr
esent
ati
veWr
it
ers

Mar cos'arrestofwr i
tersandi ntel
lectualsdur i
ngMar ti
alLawwasar ecogniti
onoft heiri mpor tancei n
shapinghowacount rythinks.Byt r
y ingtocont roltheproduct i
onofar t
andl it
eratur edur ingt hater a,hewast ryi
ngt or eshapet hecount ry'
scul tureintoonet hatwoul dbe
favorabletohi sregi
me.I nor dert omaket hisendeav orhappen,t hewor ksofwr iterssuchasBaut ista
arer ecogni zedasi mpor tant ,andt husar eseenascanoni cal,orbelongingt oacol l
ect ionofwor ks
considered t o be v aluablet ot he Phi l
ippine soci et
y.Thi s coll
ecti
on ofwor ks cal led a canon i s
determinedbyv ari
ousi nstitutionsseenascapabl eofdeci dingwhi chwor kscar ryv alueornot .Of t
en,
thesear eeducat ionalinstit
ut i
onssuchast hemaj oruniversit
iesinthecount r
yorwr i
ters' organizations.
Mar costriedt oskewort wi stt hecanont of avorhim andhi sv i
ewsbycont roll
ingt hesei nst i
tuti
onsand
thepeopl ei nt hem.
Manyi ntellect ualswer eforcedt ocompl ywi ththeMar cosr egimeorbear rested.Deci dingoncanoni cal
value,howev er,isnotsomet hingt hatisdi ct
atedbygov ernmental one.Ther i
seofmanywor ksof
protest—whet herov ert,int hef orm ofpl aysandpoemsr eciteddur i
ngpr otestr alli
es,ormor esubt l
e
hintsgiveni nf i
lmsandwor ksofar t—showst hatt hesentiment softhepeopl ewi llcomeoutt i
meand
ti
meagai n, despi t
eanyat t
empt sofr epr
essi on.Society,i
ntheend, determineswhati scanoni cal
.

MODULE3:WRI
TINGI
NTHEREGI
ONS(
ESSAY)
I
NTRODUCTI
ON:
Inthi
smoduleint he21stcenturyl
iter
aturecourseware,youshouldbeabletoval
uet hecontri
buti
onsof
l
ocal wr
it
erstothedev el
opmentofr egi
onalli
terarytr
adit
ions,i
denti
fyhowtoneisrelatedtoli
ter
ary
styl
eandhowbot hhelpcr eat
eauni quemeani ngintheessay,andrespondcri
ti
call
yt otheessayand
consequent
lyart
iculat
ethisresponsethroughaf i
v e-
minuteski
treenact
ingt
heaf t
ermat hoftheMt.
Pinat
uboerupti
on.
Byt
heendoft
hiscour
se,
youar
eexpect
edt
o:
•Val
uet
hecont
ri
but
ionsofl
ocal
wri
ter
stot
hedev
elopmentofr
egi
onal
li
ter
aryt
radi
ti
ons.EN12Li
t-
lc-
23
•I
dent
if
yhowt
onei
srel
atedt
oli
ter
aryst
yleandhowbot
hhel
pcr
eat
eauni
quemeani
ngi
ntheessay
.
•Respondcri
ti
cal
l
ytotheessayandconsequentl
yarti
cul
atet
hisr
esponset
hroughaf
ive-
minut
eski
t
reenact
ingt
heaft
ermathoft
heMt .Pi
nat
uboer upt
ion.
Regi
onalWr
it
ersandRegi
onalLi
ter
atur
es

7
Asceni
cvi
ewoft
heMt
.Pi
nat
ubocr
aterl
akeshoti
n2008.

Thousandswer eaf fectedbvt heer uptionandbyt heflowsofl ahar,whi chcont i

nuedf oryear saf t
er.The
effectoft hedisasterwentwel lbey ondt heimmedi at
eandt hephy si
cal ;itaff
ectedpeopl e'smi ndsand
sensibil
it
iesaswel l.Thedi sasterchangedt helivesofsomanypeopl e,andi nsodoi ng,t hecont extof
thoseaf fectedbvt heer uptionwer echangedaswel l
.Cont ext,asdef i
nedbvt heMer r i
am- Webst er
dicti
onary,is"thei nterrelatedcondi t
ionsinwhi chsomet hingexi stsoroccur s.
"Cont ext,t herefore,is
whati saroundust hatinf l
uencesusj ustaswei nfl
uenceit.Wr i
tershav eusedcont exttocr eatev ari
ous
formsofwr i
tt
enwor ksuchaspoet ry,fi
cti
on,drama,andessay s.Wher ewear ebornandwher ewe
grow upf orm par tofourcont ext;int hecaseofmostFi l
i
pinos,t hei rregi
onal sodet er minest heir
context.Wewi lltacklet heessayi nt hischapterasawavofseei ngandunder standinghow cont ext
,
parti
cularl
yasar egional writer,becomesar t
,orinthiscase,howamemor ybecomesanessay .

HowDoesSt
yleandToneAf
fectanEssay
?
Onewaybywhi chwr i
tersareabl etoturntheirstoriesintouniqueandi nteresti
ngpi ecesisbyhav inga
uniquestyle.Style,
byitsdefinit
ion,alr
eadycont ainsuni quenessaspar tofit
snat uresincestylecan
meanauni quewayofexpr essingonesel f
.Thus, anessaywr it
teninapar t
icul
arst y
lewoul dmakean
essaydi f
ferentfrom t
heot hers.Inanessay ,creatingani ndivi
dual st
ylewillmeant hatthewr it
erwoul d
havet ousehi sorherskill
sinwr i
ti
ngandl anguaget oproduceauni queeffectinther eader.Tone, the
att
itudebeingconv eyedbyt hel anguageusedbyt hewr i
ter,i
sanessent i
alpartofcreatingadi sti
nct i
ve
styl
e.Thet onei nwrit
ingisalsov eryimportantinhel pi
ngt hewr it
erconv eymeani ngt othereader .How
thewr i
terfeelsaboutapar ti
cularperson,idea,orobj ectinhisorheressaycanr evealhowt hewr iter
thi
nksaboutt heseaswel l
.Tone, then,carr
iesmor ethanj ustfeel
ing,butitcandi r
ectar eadert o
meani ng.
Expl
aini
ngt
heEssay
Wi glev'saccountofhi sreturntoAngel esshor tl
yaf tert heer upt i
onofMt .Pinatubohi ghli
ghtshis
par t
icularstyleofwr iti
ng.Theessayi swr it
teninv erysi mpl e, almostconv ersational l
anguage.Wi glev'
s
tonehascl earhumori nit,ascanbeseeni nhisr etell
ingofhi scr ossingoft her i
ver,carri
edbya
"cadav er-
looking"bar ker,aswel lasi nhisdescr iptionofhi smot her,whoi shappyt oseehi m butisalso
seemi ngl
yunaf f ectedbyal l t
hechaossur roundingher .Asawayofcr eati
nghi sdef i
nit
est yl
easawr it
er,
Wi gleyintersper sesKapampangan, thel anguageoft her esi
dent sofPampanga, i
nt hedialogueofhi s
essay .Thisaddsl ocalcolort othedi aloguet hatheusesi nfl
eshi ngoutt hescenesi nhisessay ,
maki ng
thel anguagemor eauthent i
c.Theal iensoundsoft hel anguagemakef oraricherenv ir
onment ,
enr i
chingwhatwoul dhav ebeenr athermundaneconv er sati
ons.Wi gley'sessaymakesuseofscenes,
whi char edivisionsi nwr it
tenwor kswher eanact iont akespl acewi thoutabr eakorsepar ati
onint i
me.
Hepr esentshi sessayi nsev eralmaj orscenes, onei nMani l
a, oneatt heAbacanr iv
erwhenhear rivesin
Pampanga, andt hefinalonewhenhef inall
yar r
ivesathi smot her'
shouse.Thi sal l
owsf oramor e
organi zedpr esent ati
onoft heev ents,muchl i
kewhatonewoul df i
ndinawor koff icti
on.
APor
trai
tofanEssay
ist
8
JohnJackG.Wi gl
evi st hedi rect oroftheUni versityofSant oTomasPubl ishingHouseandi sal soaf ull
-
ti
mepr ofessorinCI ST.Whi legr owingupi nAngel es, Pampanga, hehadt ost ruggl ewi tht heident i
tyof
beingwhathasbecomeknownasa" C.I
.baby ,
"ort hechildofanAmer i
canser vicemanandaFi l
ipina.
Hef i
nishedhi sPhDi nLiteratur e,CLIml audeandhast hedistinctionofhav i
ngt hef irstcreative
nonfi
ct i
ondi ssertationatLI ST.Hi smemoi r,
Fal lingI ntotheManhol e,i
sahumor ousexami nati
onofhi s
experienceassomeonewhowasal way s"dif
f erent .
"Ashehi msel fsaysinhi sexpl anat ionofhi spoet i
cs
i
nt heUni versi
tyoft hePhi li
ppi nesWr it
er'
sWor kshopof2013, "Lookingback, Ir ealizenowt hatthese
hurdl
eswer eblessi ngsi ndi sgui se.Theyhav ebecomet herichmat eri
alIneededf orwr iti
ng.Ihav e
analyzedt heinterrelati
onshi pofr ace(becauseIam hal f-
whi t
e),class(becauseIwasbor npoor ),and
gender( becauseIam gay )
, howt hesest ructureshav eshapedmyexper i
encesandhowt heyhav e
provi
dedmewi tht he' voice'Iam ( using)intel l
ingmyst ori
es."Wi glevi
sal it
erar yessay ist,onewhoi s
notonl yconcer nedwi t
hexpr essi nghi mself,butal sowi thexami ningwhatheexper ienceswi thtongue
fi
rmlyi ncheekandwi t
hey eswi deopent ot her ealiti
esthatsur roundhim.Wi glevi ssomeonewhoi s
veryawar eoft hei mper fectionsofmemor y,andt hussay s"thewor kthatIam wr i
tingr eplacest he
memor iesthatIkeepaboutmypast .Ididmybestnott omi srepresentthi
ngs, t
obeast ruthfulasIcan
be."
Ov
ercomi
ngHar
dshi
ps
JackWigley'sessayabouthisexper i
encewiththeer
upti
onofMountPi natubogivesusapoi ntofvi
ew
thati
squitediff
erentfr
om thecommonst or
ieswehearfrom otherpeople.Hischosenst yle,
using
humorasawayofr el
ati
nghi sexperi
ence,color
sourunderstandi
ngofhi sessayandal lowsust oadopt
apointofviewmor eeasilythaniftheessayhadnotusedt hestyl
isti
ctechniquesthatitdid.Howelse
haveweusedhumoror" sty
led"ourstori
estoallowf
oradi ff
erenttakeonanexper ience?

MODULE4:TRADI
TIONSANDTRENDS
I
NTRODUCTI
ON:
Inthismodul einthe21stcentur
ylit
eratur
ecourseware,y
oushoul dbeablet
oappreciat
et he
contri
butionsofthecanonicalFi
li
pinowr i
ter
stothedevelopmentofnati
onall
it
erat
ure,rel
atehowplot
andpl otdevi
ceshelpcreatethereadingexperi
encei
nwor ksoff
icti
on,
andrespondcrit
icall
ytot
he
storyandar t
icul
atethi
sresponsethroughaskitonthestor y.
Byt
heendoft
hiscour
se,
youar
eexpect
edt
o:
•Appr
eciatethecont
ri
but
ionsoft
hecanoni
cal
Fil
i
pinowr
it
erst
othedev
elopmentofnat
ional
li
ter
atur
e.
EN12Lit
-lc-
2/-4
•Rel
atehowpl
otandpl
otdev
iceshel
pcr
eat
ether
eadi
ngexper
iencei
nwor
ksoff
ict
ion.
•Respondcr
it
ical
l
ytot
hest
oryandar
ti
cul
atet
hisr
esponset
hroughaski
tont
hest
ory
Fr
om Regi
onalt
oNat
ional
Fict
ionisdefi
nedi ntheMerri
am-Websterdicti
onaryas" wr
it
tenst ori
esaboutpeopl eandev entsthatare
notreal"or"
li
teratur
ethattel
lsst
ori
eswhi char eimaginedbyt hewr i
ter
."Fict
ionalwor ks,therefor
e,are
theproductsoft heimaginat
ionofthewr it
erandarenotsupposedt obeseenasf actualwor ks.This
doesnotpr eventawr i
ter
,however
,from usingar ealcontextorwhati scurrentl
yhappeni ngint he
surr
oundingsoft hewrit
erasasourceforst or
ies.Whatisclearwi t
hfict
ion,howev er
, i
st hatitisal
way s
i
magi ned.

Fr
om Regi
onalt
oNat
ional

TheI l
ocosr egionisoneoft her i
chestregi
onalsourcesofFi l
ipinof
ict
ionevendat i
ngbackt othepr e-
Hispanicti
mes. Il
ocanowr i
ti
ngi scall
edKurditanSamt oy,whichmeans,r oughly ,
“ourlanguage,writt
en
here.”Theepi cBiagniLam- ang,anepi corasungpoem,wasbel i
evedtohav ebeenper formedl ong
beforethearri
valoft heSpaniards.
Oneoft her i
chestregionalsourcesofFilipinof i
ctionistheI l
ocos
regi
on,whi chhasal wayshadast ronglit
eraryheri
tagedat i
ngbackt opre- Hispanictimes.Ilocano
writ
ingiscal l
edKur di
tanSamt oy,whichmeans,roughly,“ourlanguage,wri
ttenher e.”Theepi cBiagni
9
Lam- ang,anepi corasungpoem,wasbel ievedt ohav ebeenper formedl ongbef oret hear rivaloft he
Spani ards.Whi leear lyon,mostoft hepubl ishedl iteraturecomi ngf rom t her egi onwer epoems,f iction
begant ogai npr omi nencei nt hel atery ear soft he19t hcent urywi t
ht hepubl icationofElI l
ocano,t he
fi
rstr egionalnewspaperi nt hePhi lippines.ElI locano,t hef ir
str egionalnewspaperi nt hePhi l
ippi nes
publishedbot hpoet r
yandf ictionandt hef irstIlocanoshor tstory“ TiLangi tTiI nanamt ay
ao”( TheGl ory
ofOurHopes) ,wr it
tenbyt hef ounderoft henewspaper , r
enownedwr iterIsabel odel osRey eswhowas
thesonofpr omi nentI l
ocanopoetLeonaFl orent i
no,t hef i
rstinternationallyr ecogni zedFi l
ipinopoet .
Thist r
aditi
onofwr iti
ng and publ icationr esul t
ed i nwhati spr obabl yI l
ocano l i
ter at
ur e’
sgr eat est
cont r
ibutiont oPhi li
ppinewr iting:Bannawagmagazi ne.Thepubl icationser ializedwhatwoul dbecome
someoft hecl assicsi nIlocanof i
ct i
on.Themagazi ner emai nsinst r
ument alt odayasbot hasour ceof
Il
ocanol i
terarywor kandasani nspirationt oI l
ocanowr it
erswhowi sht opur suet heircr aft.Inf act ,the
magazi nei spr omi nentl
yment i
onedi nt het extwear et akingupf ort hismodul e,showcasi nghow
i
ngr ainedandi mpor t
antBannawagmagazi nei st ot heIlocanol i
teraryreader .Whi l
ewear ef ocusi ngon
thewr i
ti
ngsofr egions,wecannotf or gett hatal lthesecont ri
butet oani deaofa“ nat ionallit
er ature. ”I
t
canbear guedt hatthet rulynat ionall it
erat urecanbef oundi nt her egions,r athert hani nt hecent er
,
whichr emai nsheav il
yi nfluenced,pol iti
cal lyandcul turally
,byt heWest .Nat i
onalAr t
istBi env eni do
Lumber amakesadi sti
nct i
onast owhatmat eri
alcanbeconsi der ed“ nationall i
teratur e”
—t hati tmust
conf r
ontorpr ov oket heFi l
ipi nor eader“ withi deas,subj ectmat ter,andsoci alandpol iti
calissuest hat
servet opr ovokeanemot ionalori ntell
ect ualr esponse,i fnotnecessar i
lyposi t i
veact ion.”Thi si s
refl
ect i
veoft hei deat hatf oral iteraturet obet r
ul ynat i
onal ,itshoul dal sobenat ionalist,int hati t
discussesi ssuest hatareaf fectingt henat i
on.

Thef eat
uretextinthismodule“Voi
ceTape”byArielS.Tabágrespondst
othecont
ex toftheOFW,
presenti
nganexperienceoft
heOFW phenomenonthathasbeentol
dinmanyst
ori
esbefore.ButTabág
usesacl ev
erplott
ocr eat
emyster
yandexci
tementi
nt hest
ory.

Thef
eat
uret
exti
nthi
smodul
e“Voi
ceTape”byAr
ielS.Tabág

VOI
CETAPEbyAr
ielS.TabágCagay
an
Nitongpi nakahuli
ngbakasy onkosaSant aTeresitasaCagay an, mistulangbumat aakongl abingwalong
taondahi lparangbumal i
kakosat aonnamaynangy arikayAngkelAt o.Noonghi nahanapnami nni
Nanangangmgaser ti
pikokobi langBesti nMat hsael ement aryaathay skulatnangmaymai bigayako
sapr i
nsipalngpi nagtuturuankongpubl i
cschoolsaCubaopar asakar agdagangpunt ossaaki ng
kakay ahanatnangmapabi l
i
sdi nangpag- akyatngaki ngr anggo,siyempr ekasamanangaki ngsahod,
maynahanapkami ng“ibangbagay .”SabiniNanang,i ni
lagayni yaangmgaser ti
pikosai sangbagna
mani pisnapal apadnamaymar kang“ LA,”angbr andngsi gar i
l
yoniTat angnoongchai n-
smokerpai to.
Napunonakasiangdi ngdi ngngmal ii
tnami ngbahaysamgaser tipikongnapanal unankosamga
paligsahansapagsusul at.It
ongbagnai t
o,naisasamgapi nagpali
tanniNanangsamgadaan- daang
pinagbalatanniTat angngsi garil
yoniya,angbinuksannami n.Subalitwal aangmgaser ti
piko.Iyonpala,
nakar ol
yoatnakasi li
ditosai sasamgaapatnapi rasongbuhonapi naglagyanniNanangngami ng

10
birthcer tif
icat e—t at l
okami ngmagkakapat idper oapatnat ubodahi l i
nakal angmakakaapatsi langt at ay
(dahi lsahi rapngbuhayni l
a,siTat angangnaki usapsakany apar amagpa- ligat enasaApar ri)
.Per o
naunanami ngnaki tai tongbagsakai l
al imanngi sangdr awerngapar adornadahi lnagkagasgasnasa
kalumaan,i nilagaynani laniTat angsanag- iisangkuwar tosai baba,doonmal api tsakusi na, kungsaan
i
ni l
alagaydi nangi bapanggami tniTat anggay angspr ay er, tatlongkl asengi tak, panabas, kur ibot ,ang
mgabungkosngi ba’ ti bangbi nhigay angmai s,angi nuki tni yangt ikbal angmul asapunongsant ol
(nani niwal a akong nakuha ni y a ang kany ang pagi ging ar tistsa madal as ni y ang pagbabasa ng
Bannawag) , atoo, angl agpas- taoangt aasnai ni ponni yangkopy angBannawagnapi nagpat ongpat ong
saal muhader a.I ba’ tibaangl amanni t ongl umangapar ador :mgal umangl itrat onakar ami hanayang
mgapumanaw namahalsabuhayni naNanang,mgal umangdami t,babasagi ngpl at onagi nagami t
l
amangt uwi ngmaybi si t
angmat aasnaur ingt aogay angmgapol i
t i
kongbumi bilingbot o,angmga
papelnami nngaki ngmgakapat i
dnoongnasael ement ar y aathay skulnamaymar kang“ 100%” …Per o
anoi tong“ ibangbagay ”nai to?Angv oi cet apenamaymar kang4myone&onl il abATOnasabini
Nanang aynakuha ni ya sa i l
al i
m ng unan niAngkelAt o na kapat id ni y ang sumunod sa kany a,
kinahapunannoongar awnanabanggai to,opagkamat ayni yasaumagangi yonngPebr ero16,1992.
Nakabi hi snaakongpapasoksaeskwel a,kat unay an,nar oonnaakosat abingkal sadadahi lkahar ap
l
amangngPookTact ac,kungsaannar oondi nangami ngbahay ,angmagdadal awampungekt aryang
bakur anngSt .Fr anci sAcademynapi napasukankonghay skul .Nasasecondy earnaakokay amar ahi l
,
mal akasangaki ngl oobkahi tmadal asakongma- late.Gay angor asnai y onnanagpasy aakong
magkubl isaI ndi ant r eenasi ntangkad nang mgamat at andasat abing nat i
onalhi ghwaydahi l
magsi si mul anaangf lagcer emony .Nangbi gl anal angmayl umagat aksamaykanl uran.Par angmay
nagsuwagangmgat or ongkal abaw,masmal akasngal amangi t ongsampungbeses.Pagkar aa’ y
nagsi si gawannaangmgaest udy ant eati bapangmgat ao— mar ahi laypupunt aangmgai tosa
palengkedahi lMar tesnoon, ar awngpal engkesabay an—nagmamadal isi langpumunt asahar apanng
bakant eatmat ubi gnal ot ekungsaankaminangunguhangkangkong.Nag- umpukansi ladoonsa
l
ikur anngi sangbusnaMannyTr ans.“ Nakupo!Nabanggana! ”Buongl akasnasi gawngdikomaal ala
kungsi nongmat andangbabae,naangdudako’ ysiMa’ am Usi tadahi lkat abil angni laangbakant eng
l
ot eatnakapagr etironar inkay anapapansi nnani y aangl ahatngnangy ay ar isapal igidni ya, naki taman
onababal itaanl amangni ya.Mal ibansal agikongnaaal al aangt i
ni gni y adahi lmadal asni yaakong
pagal itannoongt i
t serkopasaGr adeThr ee.“ Pat ayna!Pat ayna! ”Ki nut ubanako.Nabaghanakodahi l
noonl amangakonakadamangganoongkut ob— kakai badahi ldikomanl angi tonar amdamankahi t
madal asumi yaksiNanangnoongnadukotngmgaNPAsiAngkelCef erino,nakapat iddi nni yana
sinundanngbunso( bal epang- l
imasaani m namagkakapat id);onoongi niy akanniTat angangkai sa-
i
sangkal abawni y ananal unodsabagy onoong1989.Nakupo!SiBoy ingy atanakai biganko!Taghoyng
akingl oobdahi lkapar ehokosi yangmadal asdi ngma- latesaf l
agcer emonyatgust ong- gust oangmag-
i
st ambaysa kabi lang gat e ng paar al an nami n,sa bandang kanl uran na hal os kat apatl ang ng
pinangy ari
hanngaksi dent e.Bakal amang,nai sipko,pagl abasniSi sterCar i
dadnapr insipalnami nsa
kumbent oni la, sakagust uhangdimaki ta, bakakumar ipassiBoy ingngt akboatdini y anamal ay anang
pagdaanngMannyTr ans.Nakupo!Tumakboakopabal iksabahaynami n, hindisaumpukan.Nar atnan
kosiNanangnanagbubunotngsahi g.Sakabi langaki ngpaghi ngaldahi lsapagodatt akot ,sabiko:
“Nanang,maynabangga!Par angsi … par angsi …”Hi ndinanag- uriratpasiNanangkungsi noang
nabangga.Tumakbongpumunt asi yasakal sadaatnakal imut anpangmagsuotngt sinelasokahi tman
l
angsanapi nuy odangmedy omahabangnagt itikwasangbuhok.Hal ospat akbor i
nakongsumunodkay
Nanangkahi tsobr angkabakona.AnggagongsiKal bonal angsana!Sumpakosal oob- l
oobkonaang
nasai sipko, angCAFGUnanambugbogatmunt ikbumar ilkayAngkelMul ongnakapat i
ddi nniNanang
atsi nundanniAngkelCef eri
no.Mabai tkasisiAngkelMul ongdahi lkungmanghuhul isi yangi sdasa
Cal acungan,nag- iiwansi yanggust ong- gust okongsugponasi nlakinghi nl alakingpaa—atl agi ngmay
l
uno—atsamar alnasi nlakingpal adniTat ang.Per onagul atakopagkar at ingniNanangsamay
umpukan,kaagadsi yangumi y akngpasi gaw.I naawatni ladahi lsobr aangkany angpagwawal a.Wal a
akongi bangnai ntindi hansamgai sinisigaw ni yakundiangmagkakasunodna“ Di yoskopo!Di yosko
po! ” Nanghi l
akbot ako. Nagt ay uan ang mga bal ahi bo ko. Si gur adong hi ndisiBoy i
ng ang
nabangga—hi ndi ganoonangmagi gingast ani Nanangkungangkai bigankodahi lmal ay ongpamangki n
nasi yangnanayko.E,si no?SiTat angkay a?Per oal am konghi ndi ,dahi lsamgaganoongor asna
mal ambotpaangsi katngar aw,kat ataposl amangdal hinsai l
ogangkal abawni y a;athi ndidadaansa
nat i
onalhi ghwaydahi lnai bent ani yaangkai sa- i
sangbi si klet ani yaati pi nambay adsakl i
nikaatsamga
gamotniNanangnanakaapakngbubognoonghi nabolni yaangi nahi nnaki nat aynami nnoong
kaar awanniTat angnagi nawani l
angar aw ngpag- aalalasamgakal ul uwangmganamat aynami ng
11
mahalsa buhay.Hi
ndiri
n naman ang mga kapat
id ko dahi
lnasa si
l
angan ang el
ement
ary
ang
pi
napasukanni
l
asaGradeSi
xatGradeOne.

Nagt akaakokungsi nodahi lganoonnal amangmagwal asi Nanang.Atpar aakongnakasagi ngespi r

it
u
dahi lnapakal i
wanagsaaki ngpandi ni gangt il
anagmul asai lali
m ngl upangpanaghoyniNanang:
“Kapat i
d ko!At o!Kapat i
d ko!At o! ”Kahi tnoong nai l
ibing na siAngkelAt o,madal as akong
nahi hintakut ankungmaaal alakoangmal agi m napag- i
y akniNanang.Mag- aal asdosnangmagpar ada
angkar ongpuner ar yasar oughr oadngbar angaysahar apanngl otengmag- anakni naNanangna
nasagi tnangpookngmgaPal or . Sot eloangapel yidongamani naNanangnanagmul asaSt o.
Domi ngo,I locosSur ,atnakapag- asawanggal ingsaangkanngmgaPal orngVi lla.Hal o-halongmga
i
y akangnaghat i
dsamaki slapnaput ingkabaongniAngkelAt osasal angbahayni la.Subal itmas
l
umut angnanamanangpag- iyakniNanangati nawatpaniTat angdahi lhi nihilanangnanaykoang
kabaong.Nag- alalangaakonabakamaapakanpaniNanangangsi gasahar apanngbakur anni na
AngkelAt o,sal il
im ngmat andangmangga.Agaddi ngpi nat abimunaniAngkelMul ongangmga
nakapal i
botsat atlongmesananagl alar ongt ongitsatpusoydos.Naunapangasi l
akay sasabangkay .
(Hanggangngay on,pugadngmgamahi hili
gmagl ar ongbar ahaangbar y onami n.)“ Sakana’ yan
atupagi n’pagnai ay osna! ”medy omabi gatangt enorngbosesniAngkelMul ongnangdi kaagadt umabi
ang mga kal alakihang nagsusugalna diko al am kung t aga- saan.Diko noon mai ntindihan na
pagkat aposmai aky atangkabaong, atpagkat aposmaki pag- usapangmgat aga- puner ary akayNanang,
kaagaddi nni langbi nuksanangkabaong; tinakpanngput ingkumot ,sakahi nangoangbangkay .“Din’ yo
manl angt i
ningnan, apo! ”pagmamakt ol ni Tat ang.’Yong‘ apo’ niy a,masmayt onongpanunumbatkay sa
paggal ang kagay a ng kung aksi dent eng naapakan ko ang kany ang paa kung nakahi ga sa sal a,
sasabi hi
nni ya“ Paki -tingnannamanangi naapakann’ yo,apo! ”Mgai l
angl inggopagkat aposngl ibing,
i
pi naliwanagni Nanangnanagkamal iangmgat agapuner ar yasagi nami tnakabaong—nagkakahal agang
sampungl i
boangput tingmaki nt abnaunani l
angpi nagl agy ankayt i
y o.Anopa’ ti pinahi gamunaang
ti
y osasal assai taasngbahay ,sai ni latagnabani gnabul iatnasapnanngput inghabi ng-Ilokona
kumotnasabiniNanang,’ yongni regal oni yaki naTi yonoongi kinasalsi l
angasawani ya.Dahi lang
panganayni l
angsiAngkelAl f
redoaynagda- drivengsi xbysi xnapang- l
oggi ngsaAur or a( hindikopa
alam noonkungsaangl upal opngmundoi to),samant alangangbunsoni l
angbabaeaynasaI l
okosna
l
ugarngkany angnapangasawa,atdi nukotnamanngmgaNPAangsi nundanngbunsonasiAngkel
Cef erino,at“ nor eadnowr it
e”namansiAngkelMul ong,siNanangnar inangnagabal angpumunt asa
muni sipyopar ai habl a angMannyTr ansatnagt ungosaApar r
ipar at umawagsaasawaniAngkelAt o.
Nag- ar ki
lasi langt ray si keldahi lsi gur adongwal anasi langmasasaky anpag- uwil al o’tmangi l
an- ngi l
an
pal angnoonangmaydy i
p—Sar aoangt awag—saSt a.Ter esi t
a.Nar oonnar inangmgakamag- anakng
asawangt iyosubal itgi nawangdahi lanangmgaapatnasunodsunodnamgapi nsankonababant ayan
nilal alona’ tkungmai sipanngi sa,sabay -
sabaysi langmagi yakan.Dahi lakoangpi nakamat andasa
ami ngmagpi pinsan,akoangnaat asangmagbant aysabangkayngt i
y osasal as—kasamakoangapat
nakandi laatmgai l
angi nsektongl abas- masoknanagl i
liparansabi nt anasat abingki nauupuanko.
Naal alakongay onkungpaanot umi gasangmgapangaatbi ntiathi takosapangi ngi nig.Hi ndiko
namanmat agal angi bal i
ngangaki ngpani nginsal abas,samganagsusugal ,samgapar ati
ngatpaal is
nakamag- anaknami n,sasi ga,samat andangmangganamal api tsanagsi simul anangmabul okna
l
umangbahayni naNanang,sapagl ubogngar aw.Nat at akotkasiakonabakadikomamal ayan,nasa
l
ikur ankonaangmul tongt i
y oathi ndi koal am kungpaanoakot atakbosahagdanansamayl i
kur anko.
Kay a’tnapi lit
anakongpal agingnakahar apsanakumut angbangkay .Hi ndikomat agal angt ingnanang
bandangul odahi lnaal alakoangkuwent oniLi longMar tinnoongt anghal ingar awnai y onnasi y aay
magt utulinadi umanoaysi yaangdumakotsakumal atnaut akniTi yoatsakai nilagaysakal ti
k( itoang
tawagnami nsapl ast iknabasy ongl angi sngCal tex)ot abo.Atdahi lnasabikongnagbal i
knanaman
l
ahatsaaki ngal aalaangpangy ay ar ingi to,dikot alagamai wasangpar angbumabal i
gt adangsi kmur a
ko.Magdi dili
m nanoongdumat ingsi naNanang.Dumi retsonanamansi yasasal asatnagdu- dung- aw.
Gani toangmaal alakongdung- aw ni ya:Ay ,Ato,ay a,kapat i
dkongubodngkabai tan,baki tkanaman
pumanaw nadimanl angnagpaal am?Si nongay onangt i
tinginni tongapatmonganak?Habangang
asawamo’ ydinamanmakauuwimul angAbuDhabi ngpi nagt atrabahuan“ Hi ndimakauuwi ?
”naul inigan
kongmaynagsabisai baba.“ Eh,dibakaaal i
slang? ”maysumagotnasi nundanngbul ungansakaang
hiyawanngmganagsusugalsal abas.Nai iyaknaako.Pat alil
isakongbumabaathi nanapkosiAngkel
Mul ongatnagpabi l
iakongsopdr inkdahi lnasusukananamanako.Digay ani naAngkelAl fredoat
AngkelMul ong,hi ndiakobi nibigy anngper aniAngkel At o.Kungmay roonmangpagkakat aong
binigy anako,hi ndikomaal ala.Si y angaanghumi ngisaaki nngpabor .Kunghi ndiakonagkakamal i
,

12
dalawangl i
nggol amangmul anangmakaal ispapunt angabr odangkany angasawa,mi nsan,i sang
haponhabangnagr e-r
ev i
ew akopar asai kal awangper i
odicalexam,sabini yasaaki nsamababang
boses:“ Dante,gawangat ayongsul atparasaant imo. ”“Tay o,”sabini yanaangi bi
gsabi hi n,ididikta
niyaangi susulatko.Si guradongnapansi nniNanangangpagl apitsaaki nngkany angkapat i
ddahi l
biglasiyangl umi t
aw samaypi ntuanngkusi nanamayhawakpangsandok.Ti nanguanakoathi ndi
natuloyangpagsi mangotkol alopa’ tmgaEngl i
shatFi l
i
pinonapar ehongkahi naankoangpagsusul i
t
nami ngkinabukasan.Napansi nkongkagagal i
ngl angsabuki dsi Angkel Atodahi lbukodsaamoy -pawi s
atnakasuotpangmahabangmanggas, nakabi ti
npasabay wangni yaangkany angi t
ak, hal
uki pkipang
salakotatdal asal ikodangkany angkal upi.“ Sigeho, ”dumaansai longangsagotko.Pi pi
lasnasana
kosanot ebookkongAspennamaypabal atnaRobi nPadi ll
a,per opi nigi
lanako.Ki miangkany angmga
ngiti
ngnagbabangkany angkal upisakai ni l
abasangnakasupotnai sangr eam ngmabangongl inen.
Wal anakasi ngkopy angkany angsul atnapuwedekosanangsi yasati
nngay on.Kungngay onsana
ginawa,maaar ingnaipasokkosakompy uteratnai -saveko.Angnangy ari
,kunganoangdr af t
,siyana
ri
ngi pi
nadal anami ndahi lbawatpangungusapopar i
ralananat ataposnami n,i
pinapabasasaaki n.At
ganitoangmaal alakongni lalaman:DearMahal ,Kumust akanadi yan?Hi ndikabanahi lonoong
sumakaykangbus, sakasaer opl ano?Ano, kumust aangamomo?Si r
aul oba?‘Wagsi yangl oloko- l
oko
kungay aw niyanggul o.Kumust anamanangpagkai nmo?Si ya,kungdimokay aanghi rapdi yan,
umuwikana’ tmagkasamat ay ongmagt it
iyagangmakaahon. Al agaanmongmabut iangsar il
imo.‘ Wag
mongal alahaninangmgabat adahi langt atlonglalaki,kay anani l
angmagsai ng,magpast ol,atmag-
ayosngbahay .Panayanghi l
ingni nai nang( angbi yenanni yangbabae)nadoonmunasakani latiti
r asi
Princess.Per odiba’ tnapag- usapannanat i
n‘ yannoon? Naakoangmagi gi
ngama’ tinani l
a?Dahi lsi
Princessnganamanangpumapawisapangungul i
lakosa‘ yo.Sabawatar aw nal umi pas,laloki tang
nakikit
asakany angmukhaatki l
os……‘ Wagmomunangal al
ahani nangpagpapadal amodahi lsabi
namanngat enabanggi ti
nkol angsakani lakungmaykai l
angankami .It
ongmahalmonal agi ng
nangungul il
asai yo,Ato

P. S.SiDant eangpi nagsul atkopar amasmal i

wanagmongmabasa. Akoangnagmungkahisa“ P.S.”
dahi lbaka, ‘kako, may roondi nakongpasal ubongmul asaasawani ya.Kunghi ndi akonagkakamal i
, may
tat l
ongsul atkami ngnagawa.Mai iksi.Kagay adi nngkany angpagsasal ita—mai i
ksi .Atmat i
ningang
bosesni y
a.Hi ndibagaysakat awanni yangpar angsiRol andDant es—magkamukhangasi la;wal anga
l
angbi got esiAngkelAt o.Gay anoongi paalam ni yakinaNanangnani nakaw angi sasamag- asawa
niy angkal abaw( di panakapag- abr odangasawani yanoon) .“Makapapat ayako! ”mahi nasubal i
tmat aas
angboseskay a’
tkamunt ikangpumi yok.Per onwal anasi yangsi nabi pa.Nagul atsi naTat angatNanang.
Mabut iatsumamasiAngkelMul ongatsi y aangnagpal i
wanag.Ni nakaw ngar aw angkal abaw ni
AngkelAt o nanakat alisadul o ng kany ang buki ri
n.Pagkat aposng mahabang sandal ing disi ya
nagsal ita,tumi khi m atsakasabi :“ Paut anginn’ yongaako.Sasagl itlangakosaI lokos. ”Bakasakal i
ng
makal i
mot ,sabi niNanangkayTat angnoongnag- uusapsi l
aisanggabinamar ahil,pang- alokayTat ang
dahi lipinaut angniNanangangi papambi l
isananiTat angngabuno. nNagul atnal angkaminang
dumi r
etsosiAngkel Atosabahaynami npagdat ingmul aSantoDomi ngo, IlocosSur ,kungsaannakat ira
angmgakamag- anakni l
asaama.I ni utosni yangi saradoangmgabi ntanaatpi ntuansamant alangal as
trespal amangnghapon.Hi ndisumagotnangt inanongniNanangkungbaki t.Ani mo’ ynagbubungkal
nggi ntosapananabi khabanghi nahangoangmgabungangmal unggaymul asadal aniy angsako.
Sakamayhi nangosi yangbar i
l.Kaagadkongnapansi nnabar i
langhawakni yang mapusy aw na
mani l
aw- nil
aw dahi lnapanoodkonanoonsabet amax.“ Pambi hir
akanaman,At o,”sabiniNanang.
“Isipinmonamanangmgaanakmo. ”Mangi yak- ngiy
aknasiNanang.“ Babay ar ankongbi gaski na
pinsan, ”sabini yaati sinukbi tsat agilir
anangbar ilsakawal angpasabi ngt i
nahakangpi l
apilsal ikuran
ngbahaynami npat ungosapookni lasamayt imog.Mabut inamanatwal akami ngnabal itaang
hinamonni y agami tangkany angbar i
l.Napal t
ikpal a.Mgai langbuwankasipagkat apossi yangi l
ibing,
nal amanni Angkel Mul ongnadi napal apumuput okangl okongbar i
l bukodsamay roonnangkal awang.
Ibangkasonamanangbal i
tabagopamanni nakaw angkal abaw niTi yo;namaynadi sgr asyasi ya.
KasapingCHDF2angnagi ngbi kt i
mani ya.Lasenggoatbast anal amangnananapakkungmaydi
nagust uhanggawi , omaynagust uhangsampal i
n.I sasamgamakai langul itnasi napakni tongCHDFsi
AngkelMul ongnal umal akinar i
ngl asenggo.Mi nsan,nasobr ahanni t
ongCHDFangumi nom,mag- i
sa
i
t ongumuwisakamponi l
ananasat imognabahagingbar yo.Nagkasal ubongsi laniAngkelAt osa
medy omaki potnadaan.Wal angnakaal am kunganoatpaanoangnangy ar i
.Bast anal amangkumal at
angbal itananamat aysat agaangCHDF.Mi ssingi nact i
on,sabinal angdaw ngmgakasamahang
CHDF.Atangpangy ay aringi to,pal i
him nai nami nniAngkelAt okayAngkelMul ongnanasabi ri
nnaman

13
nghul iki naNanang,i langt aonnaangnakar araanmul anangmamat aysiAngkelAt o.Maagangnag-
asawasiAngkelAt o.Hal oskasasapi tpal angni yasaedadnal abing- wal onoongmagpaal am ki na
Nanang.“ Mag- aasawanaako, ”sabir aw ni yami nsan,i sanghapon.“ Maymapagsi simul annakay o? ”
tanongniNanang.“ Langgam nga,kay apangmabuhay .”AngsabiniNanang,ay awl angniAngkelAt o
angmagi ngt aga- awatni naAngkelAl fredoatAngkelMul ongdahi lnagsi simul ananoongl umabansi
AngkelMul ongkayAngkelAl fredonapanganay ;okay a, nat utonar i
nsiAngkelMul ongnamagsi gar il
y o
atmagl asi ngkagay angpanganay .Nagt ulong- tulongsi langmagkakapat idatangmgakamag- anak
nami npar amai sakat upar anangkasalni naTi y o.Masasabinamangenggr ander inkahi tpapaano:may
soundsy stem nat umugt ognangmagdamagsabi sper asatmaghaponsami smongar aw ngkasal ,
may roondi ngi langmgani nongatni nangkasamanaangkapi tanngbar angay .Mar amir innaman
sil
angnat anggapnar egal o.Mar amir i
ngnai sabi tsakani langpapeldebanko.May roondi ngpul ang
tel
onnapi nagsabi tanngnagt ut ukaangkal apat inamaymar kang“ Renat o&Magdal ena. ”Nahagi sandi n
sil
angbi gasatbar yanangpapasoknasi l
asaf ami l
yhouseni naNanangpagkagal ingsasi mbahan.
Pagkar aanl amangngi l
angbuwannapagt irani l
asaf ami lyhouse,i pinaal am naniAngkelAt oang
pagtat ay oni yangsar il
ingbahaysal otesamaybandangsi langan.“ Dimagt at agal,bubukodnakami ,
”
gany ani pinaal am niTi yoki naNanangi sanghapon.“ Siy a’ngpi nakamat inosai ny o,
”pagbi bironiTat ang
kayNanangki nagabi han.Ki naumagahan,maagakami ngnagt ungoniNanangdoonsapagt at ayuanng
bahay .Kasamanangt atlokongt i
yuhinsiLi longI llonakar pi nt er o.Nagbungkalsi langpagl alagy anng
pangunahi nghal igi.Hi nagi sanngbar yaanghukay ,pi nat ul uannghi nyebr aatdugongmanoknaput i
angmgapaa.“ Par amagi ngmagi nhawaangbuhayni la,”sabiniNanangnoongnagt anongako.Ganoon
dindaw anggi nawani l
anoongi pi natay oangbahaynami n.Umaganangl umi patsi naAngkelAt osa
bagong- tay ongbahayni la.Par angmasMal akil angngkaunt isabahay -
kubonal i
trat osaakl atkosa
GradeOne.Nakahar apsasi l
anganangmgabi nt anapar ar awpapasokanggr asy a.Hi ndi rinmagkat apat
angpi ntuansahar apatpi ntuannapapasoksakusi na.“ Magt at agal ,”sabiniTat angdahi lkamagong,
mat andangbay ugi n,atpi nili
ngkugonanggi nami t.Unangi pinasokni naTi yoangi sangmal aki ng
tapay anngbi gas,i sangbangangt ubig,t i
g- isangpal ay okngbagoongatasi n,lar awanngSagr ada
Pami lianapi nil
asniNanangmul asal umanami ngkal endar y o.Angi sangpal ayoknabar yaang
i
pinahawaksaaki n.Nangmai babako, palihim akongkumuhangi sanggi nt uingpi sosubal i
tagadkong
i
binal i
knangmagkakasunodangt i
khim niAngkelAt onanasal ikurankol angpal a.Nag- alaysi l
asa
salas.Sakanagpadasalsi lakayLi l
angBal ling.Pagkat apos,ki nai nnami ngangsumannat i
rasai nial ay
namaykasamapangkapemul asasi nangagnabi gas.Per oanonamanangmaaasahanmosa
dalawangel ement arygr aduat el angl al
ona’ tpapat aposnaangdekadaot sent anat umat aasnar inang
mgakai langangpapel espar amakapasokngt rabaho?I sangkahi g, i
sangt uka, gay angkasabi han.Dahi l
kutser onamanangamani naNanangatnapakal iitnamanangl upangmi nanangnanayni la—dahi lnga
babael ang—maki tidlamangangl upangsi nakangTi yo.Oo, att umanggapsi yangmgasasakahi ngl upa
namay“ pangi noon. ”Per okakai baangkany angasawa.Gal ingngai tosat ahi mi knanay onnguni t
nakar atingangkaar tehansal ungsod.Bal itakongnamasukansaMay nilanoongdal agi tapa.Ang
mahi rap,hi ndinamanni yanagawangmaar ter inangbahayni la.Atnoonnausosabar y onami nang
pagpunt asaAbuDhabidahi lmaymag- asawangdikosi gur adokungsi laangmi smongr ecr uiteromay
kaibigansi l
angr ecr uitersaMay nil
a.Angmaal alako, maykadal ianangpagpunt asanabanggi tnal ugar .
Sunod- sunodangmgaumaal isnakababar yonami nkahi tmgadal awangkal abawobakal amangang
naibebent a.Nal aman ko na l amang na nagpapat ulong ang Ti yo kay Nanang na maghanap ng
mapagsanl aan sa mumunt i ni y ang si nasaka—pandagdag sa i binent a na ni yang babaeng
kalabaw—i y ongasawangkal abawnani nakaw.Mabut iatmay roonnasi yanoongi sangmagbi binat ang
kalabaw nat i
nut uruannani yangmag- arar o.Atnakar at ingngasaabr odangasawani y a.Hanggang
ngay on,nai pinagpapasal amatkosaDi yos,hi ndinaakonai lapi tpasai bapangnakabur olgay ang
karanasankosapagkamat ayniAngkelAt o.Noongnamat ayangl olokonat atayniTat ang, angl ol ako
angnagbabadsapagbabant ay .Noonnamangnamat aysiAngkelAl fredonapanganayni naNanang,
nataonnami ngnag- aar alnaakosaNat ionalTeacher s’ Col l
egeatdumat i
ngnal amangakonoongar aw
nangl ibing.May roonakongmgadimai pal iwanagnapangy ay ar isabur olniAngkelAt o.Gay ang
pagbabawalngmgamat atandangbabaesapagwawal ishabangmaynakabur ol.Magkakar oondawng
mar ami ngkut oangsi numangsusuwayni to.Per okar ani wansabi nat i
lyo,kunganoangsi nabi ng
masama,par angnapakasar apgawi n.Li him nawi nal iskoangkusi nani naTi yodahi lnandi diriakosa
mgat inikatmumogsai lalim ngmesal alona’ thi ndisement adoangsahi gni l
a.Pagkar aanngdal awang
gabi,panay -panaynaangpagkakamotkongul o.“ ‘
Wagkangmagkamotatmasama, ”sabi pani Nanang.
Talaganamangnagdusaakosakat ingaki ngul o.Ki nahapunanngl ibing, sinuy ur anakoniNanang.Ang
dami ngkut o.“ Maybaonsi l
a,”gay angkasabi hansaami ngl ugar .“ Angt i
gasngul ongbat ang‘ t
o,”paul i
t
14
-uli
tnasi nabiniNanang.Atangpagkamat ayngt i
y o,iyonpal angnamanangkai sa-i
sangpagkakat aon
nanakar amdam akongsi nasabini langmul t
o.Atnapat unayankonakakai bat al
agaangpani ngi nat
pang-amoyngaso.Noongki nuhakoangmgadami tnami nsabahay ,saradol ahatangmgabi nt anaat
pintuandahi lnapakahi rapnamanangnamat ayannanga,nanakawanpa.Per onakadagdagpai y ansa
pagkat akotko.Saka, nasal oobngbahayangasonami ngsiSamsonnai pinangal ansabi dangsi katna
dramasar ady o.Mabut iatmaymal i
itnabutassakusi nanami nkungsaansi y adumadaankungt ataeo
i
ihi.Binuksankoangi sangbi nt anaatpi nt
uan.Subal i
tnangi naayoskonaangmgadami tsabag, laking
gulatkonangbi glangt umaholangaso,nahi ndinamannakahar apsaaki nbagkussadakokungsaan
umuponoonsiAngkelAt onoonggi nawanami nangunangsul atniya.Atpi natunayanniNanangna
tuwingani bersaryongkamat ay anniAngkelAt o,maynaaamoysi y angamoy -kandi l
a,sadakokungsaan
naroroonangl umangapar adorkungsaankonakuhaangsi nabikongpal apadnabag.Si nabitul oyni
Nanangnadal hinkonal angsasement ery
oangv oicet ape.“Si
geho, ”wal asal oobangsagotkodahi l
maynabubuosai sipankonamagpapal i
wanagsaaki nngbuongpangy ay ari.Talaganghi ndinakauwi
angasawaniAngkelAt o.Di tounangumusbongangasarkosapag- aabrod.Napakahal aganamanng
perang’ yanatdimanl angumuwipar amakitasahul ingsandalangkany angasawa?Si yempr e,hindiko
namannai ntindihananghi rapngkal agayanni y
adahi lngai l
angbuwanpal amangsi yasaAbuDhabi .
Noonggabibagoangl ibing, napagkasunduannat itiraangdal awakongpi nsansaami ngbahay .Atang
dalawapa,doonnamansamgabi y
enanngt iyo.AngAngkelMul ongnamanangt i
ti
ramunasabahay
ninaAngkelAt o.Noongi l
alabasnaangkabaong,naunaangpaanan.Noongnahi rapansi l
angi l
usotsa
bintanadahi lhindinamankal akihanangbi ntana,maysumi gaw naay aw par aw ngt iyoangumal is.
“Talaganggust onghi ntayin,”naul ini
gankosal i
kuranko.“ Pugutannakasiangmanok! ”maysumi gaw.
Gagawi ndawi topar awal anangsusunodsakany anamamat aysapami lya.

Sigengapo, Diyosko, hilingkosal oob- l

oobko.Pi nugutanangt andangnat alisay i
n.Tumal si
kangdugo
atnapat akanangkabaongatmgadami tngi langnagbuhatsakabaong.Sakabast anal amang
bini
tawanangwal anangul ongmanokatkungsaansaangdakoi tonagt ungoatnangi say .Perodipar i
n
mai l
usotangkabaong.Kahi tsapi ntuan, masi kip.Wal angl amanangkabaongnoongi pinasokni l
akay a
mal amangnapi natagi l
idni la.Wal asi l
angnagawakundipi nutulanangbi nt ana.’ Yonangunangkagat
ngpagkasi rasabahayniAngkelAt o.Dahi lnoongt umirasiAngkelMul ong,dinamanni y ainay osang
bintana.Sakanoongdumat ingangasawaniAngkelAt o,t umi r
asi langmag- ii
nasapami lyani to.
Hanggangsaunt i-
unt inal angnasi raangmunt ingbahayniAngkelAt o.Pagkat aposmaal ayanngmi sa
angbangkayngTi yo,naki takongki nausapngmgabi y
enanngTi yoangpar i,siFr .Ed.Kasaping
samahanngmgadebot ongbabaeoapost oladaangt i
y ahinngasawangTi y oatkahi tisaakong
sakristan,hindikougal iangnaki ki
alam sausapanngi bangt aol alona’ tmat atandasi la.Pagkat apos
nil
angmag- usap,maypahabolnaser monsiFr .Ednagani toangbuod:“ Anghi lingkol amangsamga
mayki nauukulannamasmahi rapsamgabat akungmaghi hiwa- hiwal aysi la.Lal onangay onnaang
kanilangt i
bayaynakasal al aysapr esensiyangbawati sasal ahatngor as. ”Samadal ingsabi ,tumi ra
angmgapi nsankosamgabi yenanngt i
yo.Papat aposnanoonangMar soatpaki war iko, mgal i
mang
besesnangnagpabal ik-bal iksiNanangsahusgadonanag- aay osnghabl al abansakumpany angbus,
nabanggi tngi sakongkabar kadaangumi ikotnaal ingasngassabar yonami n.“ Kusangnagpabangga
daw angTi y omo,p’ re,”sabini ya.Hi ndikaagadakonakapagsal i
ta.Hi ndidahi lnagul atako.I niisipko
kungsasagotakoohi ndi .Inal alakoanghapongi yonbagonabanggaangTi y o.Pumunt asi yasal ikur an
ngbahaynami n.Umuposanakausl ingugatngkamat si
leatnakat uonangpani nginsamal awakna
bukirinnanagsi simul anangmat uyoangmgadamo.May a’ tmay anaki nakausapniNanangper ohi ndi
sumasagot .Hinay aannal angdi nniNanangnangl umaon.May a’tmay ar i
naysi nisili
pkosaawangng
dingdingngkusi nanami n.Akal amoayest atwaangTi yonadimanl anggumagal aw.Papal ubognaang
arawatnasi sil
awpar i
nakosamgasi nagnat umat agossamgasangangkamat sil
e,atsakabuuanng
ti
yoatdikonangamaal al aanghi t
sur ani yadahi ldikonamanmaani nagangul oni ya.Tahimi kang
pali
gi ddahi lnapakai nnanoonniNanangangmgababoy .Kahi tkami ngmgamagkakapat i
dnanasa
kusinal ang,napakai ngatngmgaki l
osnami n.Mi nsangnagt awanankaminangwal angt unogosabi hin
nanat i
ngt awangpi pi ,bi nigy ankamingt i
g- isangmal utongnakur otsasi ngi t.Mar ahil
,i nakalani yang
ang t i
y o ang pi nagt atawanan nami n.Na hi ndinaman.Hi ndiko nga l ang maal ala ngay on kung
ano.Nabasagangkat ahi mi kanngpal igi
dnangbi glangmayhumuni ngsul sulbotsakapoksakanl ur an
nami n.Humi yawsiNanang.“ Madi li
m nanga, eh!”Inakalay at angTi yonasi yaanghi niyawanniNanang
atbi glanasi yangt umay osakawal angpasabinanagt ungongt i
mog.“ Anongmasasabimo,p’ re?”
nagsal i
tananamanangkai biganko.Hi ndiakosumagot .Nagpat uloysapagkukuwent o.“ Maagadaw
nanakauposawai t
ingshedangt i
yuhi nmo.Sabingmganagt iti
ndangpandesal .Naki tanamandawng

15
mgaest udy ant eangpagt alonni yasahar apanngbus. ”Mgai l
angbuwanpagkat aposmai l
i
bi ngangTi yo,
tumay oakosal ugarkungsaansi yanabangga.Naki takoangl umal abonangmant sangdugosaput i
ng
sement adongkal sada.Habangbi nibi l
angkoanghakbangko—l imampu—hanggangsaki nubl iankong
Indiant reehabangmayf lagcer emony ,i nii
sipko naangmadal asnapakayniAngkelAt o kung
napapagawinghi l
agangbar y onami n, pupunt asabahaynami n.Atdumadaansamgapi l
api lngbuki ri
n
napagi tanl amangngami ngpookatngkani l
angpook.Atbaki tsi yat atawi dsahi lagakungsaan
naroonangeskuwel anami ngay ongnasat i
mogngkal sadaangmaki potnadaanpapunt asabahay
nami n?Bi nanggi tkokayNanangangsi nabingkai biganko. n“ Wal anay atangal am namat i
nonggawai n
angmgat ao,”sabiniNanangnamangy ak-ngiy ak, “kundiangmagpakal atngdiwast ongsal ita.”Par ang
mayi dinaangnapakal ami gnadul ongkut sil
yosaaki nggul ugod.“ Ba’ tkapaapekt okungdit ot oo? ”
kumuhasiTat angngi sangbasongt ubigpar akayNanang.“ Lalokangpi pikuni nkungsasagotka. ”Hi ndi
konahi nintayangsagotniNanang.Pumunt aakosal ikuranngbahay .Humar apakosadakongbahay
ninaTi y o.Pat awar inmoako,Angkel ,sinabikohabangpal ihim akongumi yak.Dumat ingangasawang
tiy
onoongpat aposangMar songsumunodnat aon, mgai l
angl i
nggopagkat aposmakuhani naNanang
angbi y ent emi lnapi nang- ar egl okayTi yo.Nagkat aonnanasasi mbahanakonangumagangi yondahi l
nagsilbiakongsakr istanngmi sa.Dipanoongaanongnagsi si mbaangnanaykoatnagkasundosi l
ang
hipagni yanapumunt asaApar ri.Bahagy aakongnagi singnangmaynar ini
gakongal ingasngasng
bagongdat ing.Nakahi gaakosamahabangsopasasal angami ngbahay ,subal itdikomapi gilanang
paghi l
asaaki nngant ok.Mahapdiangmgamat akosubal i
tt umambadsapani nginkoangnakaupong
asawangTi y osakat apatkongsopa.Nakasuotngdi law nabest i
da,atnapakaput i.Dumi l
at -dilatako.
Sakaakobahagy angdumi lat.“ Hay an, gisingnaangat ingbi nat a,”sabini y aatagadnat umay o.Lumapi t
siyaathi nal i
kanangpi sngiko.Kakai bapal aangpabangongmgaAr abo,nasabikosasar iliko.
Nahi masmasanako.Lal onanangmaki takosaaki ngpaananangbagongapar adornamapusy awna
pulaangkul ay .“Binilinami nsaApar ri,
”sabini ya.“ Di tol angmunadahi lbagaysabahayni y o.”Tumawa.
Ngumi til angako.Dahi llumal akasangt ibokngdi bdi bko.Pagkar aa’ yl umabassiNanangmul asa
kusinanamaydal angnakabasongsopdr i
nk.“ Nasa’ nangmgakapat idmo? ”“ I
ihil angpoako, ”sabiko
sahal i
patdal i
-daliakongnagt ungosakasi lyassapal i
kur an.Bagoakobumal iksaMay nilani tong
nabanggi tkonahul ikongbakasy on,sahal ipnapumunt aakosasement eryopar at uparinangut osni
Nanangnai susunodkonasapunt odngTi yoangcasset t
et ape, nagpunt aakosal otengnamay apang
siAngkel Atonapar angbi nisitakol angsi Angkel Mul ongnanag- asawanar inatnagpat ay onangmal i
it
nabahaysadat i
ngki natat ay uanngkani l
angf ami lyhouse.Tumay oakosal ugarkungsaant ant iyako
nakat apatngki naupuankonoongbi nant ay ankosiAngkelAt o.Nakat uonangpani ngi nkosat ant iyako
namangkat apatngbangkayni yananabal otngput inghabi ng- I
loko.Subal itangnar oonaykamadang
mga sanga atkahoyna nasal ba sa nakar aang bagy o na pi nagkukuhaan niAngkelMul ong ng
panggat ongni ya.Subal i
tki nilabut anako.Nani ndigangmgabal ahiboko.Per odikoi nisipnanar oon
angespi r
itungTi y
o.Mar ahi l,gawal angngmagkakahal ongdamdami n,l al onangaki ngpagkal umbay .
Noongi abotniNanangangcasset tet apesaaki n, naal alani y aangdi nat nannami nsabahayngt iyona
nag- i
i
y akanangmgapi nsankosabakur anni la.Napakagul ongsal a.Atdipanai ligpitanghi ni gaan.
Kay a’
tumi iyaksiNanangnanagl igpi thabangi naliwkoangmgapi nsanko.Nagpunt akamisat indahan
sat abingkal sadaati bi
nilikosi l
angkendinawal angsapl otatzoom zoom.SabiniNanangnanaki t
a
niyaangcasset tet apesai lalim ngunanngTi yo—hal atangangt atlongnagpat ong- pat ongnaunanang
hinigaanni ya.Nasakusi nanamanangr adiocasset tenahi niram ni y asaami n.Pi naki nggandawni na
NanangatTat angangl amanngcasset t
et ape.Naangl aman,mat agalnasi l
angapatl amangang
nakaaal am:si laniTat ang,angy umaongsiTi y o,si yempr e,atangkany angasawa.Hanggangni tong
kamakai lan,akonaangpanl ima.Dahi lsabiniNanang,maysapatnaakongpag- ii
sip.Mabut iatmay
l
alagy ani t ongcasset tetape.Atmal iwanagangbosesngasawangTi yosakabi langkany angmgahi kbi
:
“Patawar inmoako,Mahal .Dikogi nusto.Papat ay inakokapagl umabanako.I sipi nmonal angna
makakamt annar i
nnat i
nanghi nahangadmongmagandang ki nabukasanpar asamgaanaknat in.
..
Mat ataposdi nangkont r
at ako…

Aboutt
heSt
ory

Ari
elTabägdoesnott el
lthest oryoft hedeathofhisnarr
ator'
s"AngkelAt o"inchronol ogi
calorder;
i
nstead,heUsesapl otdevicecall
edf l
ashbackasawayoff l
eshingoutthechar act
ersinhi sst or
y.Plot
devicesaret
echniquesusedbyanaut hortocr
eativ
elymovetheeventsinthestoryforwar d.I
nt hi
scase,
aflashbackall
owst hewr i
tertobeginatadi ff
erentpoi
ntint
imeint hestory
,enabli
ngt hest orytostart
atamor eexci
tingori nt
eresti
ngpoi nt.Thestorythengoesbackwardsi ntime,revealingev ent
st hat
happenedearli
erasawayofr eveal
ingmor etothereader
.Creat
iveuseoff l
ashbackscr eateasenseof
16
my steryt other eader ,si
ncet hewr i
tergiv essomeoft heinf ormat ionthathappenedi nthepast ,butnot
allofit.Thef lashbacksi nt hest or
yal sof leshoutt heset t
ing, whi chisinruralCagav an.Thedi scussion
ofsomesuper sti
tionsandbel i
efsalsor einfor
cest hebel iev abil
ityoftheset ting,suchast he" ghost"
storyt henar ratorr elatesandt hepr acticesofspr eadingt hebl oodofchi ckensoncer tainoccasi ons.
Thenar rator'
sownf amilyi saf armingf ami l
y,andt hef actt hatNanangbr eaksouti ntoat radi t
ional
Il
ocanomour ningsong, adung- aw, addsmor eregi
onalcol ort othest or
y.Inthecaseoft hest or y,most
ofitact uall
ytakespl aceint hepast, whichl eavesuswonder ingwhatwasi nthatdi scoveredv oicet ape.
Thef lashbacksal l
ow ust omeett henar rator
'sfami l
y,andt husunder standt heper sonali
tiesoft he
charact ersbet t
er,aswel last hecircumst anceswhi chleadupt othedeat hofAt o.Anot herplotdev ice
usedi nt hest orywasf oreshadowi ng,whi ch,muchl ikef lashback,gi vescl uest oev entst hatmay
happeni nt hef ut ure.I nt hiscase,ani nstanceoff l
ashbacki st hatmomentwhenAt ositsatt he
narrator'syard,silentandst i
ll
.Whilest i
l
lamy ster
y,thereist hati mplicat
ionthatAt owi l
ldie,andwi lldie
undersuspi ci
ousci rcumst ances.

Aut
hor
'sLocalCol
or

ArielS.Tabägi samul ti-

awar dedwr i
teri nbot hI l
ocanoandFi li
pino.Hei sanat iveofSt a.Ter esi
ta,
Cagay anandi st hepoet ryedi torfort heI l
okanol i
terarymagazi neBannawag.Hi sawar dsinclude
sev eralCar l
osPal ancaMemor ialAwar dsf orhi sf iction.Hei sal soamemberofGungl odagi tiMannur at
ngaI l
okanoi tiFi
li
pinas( GUMI L) ,ali
teraryor gani zationofI l
ocanowr i
ter
s.Hei stheauthorofKar apote,
anant hologyofshor tstoriesandt heshor tnov elAy !NiReber en!Hei sal somusi ci
an,hav ingplayed
bassgui t
arwi t
hunder groundbandPi loandI locanor ockbandManongDi ego.Tabägshar edhi sown
opinionsonI l
ocanol it
eratur eandwhatt hef uturehasi nst oref oritinani nter v
iewwi thhisf r
iend,fell
ow
Il
ocanowr it
erMi ghtyC.Rasi ng.Asst atedi nt hei nter v
iew,heseesI l
ocanonotasadi alectbuta
separ atelanguage, represent i
ngauni quecul t
ur e.Hi sv iewoft heFi li
pinocult ureisdiff
erent,nuancedby
hisownposi ti
onasanon- Tagal ogspeaker :" Kahi tpasabi hi ngmayi sangnat i
onall anguage,wal a
namang i isang kultura ang mga Fi li
pino.O wal a namang kul t
ur ang Fil
ipino kundiang mer on ay
kulturangI lokano,kul t
urangTagal og,kul turangBi sav anaangwi kangmgai toaywi kangI l
ocano,
wikangTagal og,atwi kangBi say a.
"Thi sv i
ew—t hatI locanoandt heI l
ocanocul tureisauni queand
distinctcul t
uref r
om Tagal ogandVi say ancul tur es—r evealsapoi ntofv i
ew t hatopenst hespacef or
manycul turest ocoexistint hePhi li
ppines.Fi lipinocul ture,ther efore,isacol l
ecti
onofmanycul tures,
deter minedbyv ar
iousr egional languages.

TheFut
ureofI
locanoWr
it
ing

Tabägal sobel i
evesi nensur ingt haty oungerr eader sar eablet orelatet ot heircul t
ur alheri
tage.He
tal
kedaboutt r
yingt ofeatur ey oungerwr iter si nBannawagsot hatyoungerr eaderscanr eadsomeone
withthei rownv oice:"Kay aanggi nagawanami nI saBannawag) ,hi
nihikayatnami nangmgay ounger
writ
ersnamagsul at.Nagbi bigaykamingl ect uresatwor kshopspar asamgay oungerwr i
ter
s.Aty un,
bukasangmgapahi nangBannawagsal ahatngakdangmgay oungerwr i
ters..
.Dagdagpa,saaki ng
paniniwala,ang mgakabat aanang si y
ang pi nakamaykar apatannamagdokument o sakani l
ang
henerasy on.Si l
aangmagsusul atpar asakani langhener asyon.Masmai intindi
hanngmgay ounger
readerskapagangnagsul atehy oungerwr iters.Yun.Maspaborakonamagsul at'Yungmgakabat aang
I
lokano. "Tabäg'sv i
ewi sref l
ect edi nthest or ywer ead.I tishisownt ranslati
onofast oryheor igi
nally
wrotei nI locano.Thepoi ntoft het r
ansl ationwassummedupi nhi sintroduct i
ont oSamt ov,the
anthologyi n whicht hest ory" VoiceTape"appear s:"Sapag-ako nami n ng pangangai l
angan ng
pagsasal inpar amai ambagdi nnami nang Pani t
ikangI l
okano samgahi ndiI lokano,i to ayi sang
napakasal imuotnguni tmasay ang pagl alakbay .Atsa pagl alakbav na i to,magmumul a kamisa
Ami anan—angI lokandia,angpookngmgaI l
okano—pat ungosaPani tikangPambansa,saPani ti
kang
Pandai gdig."Asar epresent ati
v eofI l
okanol i
ter at
ur e,Tabäghonor sitst r
aditionofl i
teraryproduct i
on
andadv ocatesfort herecogni tionoft hiscul tureasav i
brantandgr owingpar tofPhi l
ippineculture.

17
MODULE1:EMERGI
NGTRENDS:CREATI
VENONFI
CTI
ON(
ESSAY)

I
NTRODUCTI
ON:

Thiscourseaimst oengagest
udentsint
heappreci
ati
onandcri
ti
cal
studyof21stCentur
yLi
ter
atur
e
fr
om thePhili
ppinesandtheWor l
dencompassi
ngthei
rvar
iousdi
mensions,
genres,
element
s,
str
uctur
es,contexts,
andt r
adi
ti
ons.

Byt
heendoft
hiscour
se,
youar
eexpect
edt
o:

•Compareandcontr
astthevar
ious21st-centur
yli
t erar
ygenr
esf
rom t
hoseofear
li
erper
iods,
cit
ing
thei
rel
ements,
str
uctur
es,andtradi
ti
ons.Ell
12Lit-
ld-25

•Cont
rastt
heni
del
ement
sandconv
ent
ionsWi
thPhi
l
ippi
neessay
sfr
om ear
li
erper
iods.

•Respondcr
it
ical
l
ytot
heessayandar
ti
cul
atet
hisr
esponset
hroughaPower
Poi
ntpr
esent
ati
on.

Whati
sCr
eat
iveNonf
ict
ion?

Anessayi ssi mply"ashortpieceofwr i

ti
ngthatt ell
saper son'sthought soropinionsaboutasubj ect,
"
accordingt ot heMerriam-Webst erdi cti
onar
y.Al mostanyt y
peofwr it
ingcant echnicall
ybeconsider ed
anessay ,aslongasi tisshortandaboutasubj ect.Thiscanl eadtot hemi sconceptionthatessaysar e
easyt owr i
teorofl esserimpor tanceasaf orm ofl iterature,whichi snott hecase.Theessayi n
Phili
ppinewr i
tinghasapar t
icularhi stor
yandt rajectory.Thef ir
stessay swer ewr i
ttennotbyFi l
i
pinos
themsel ves,butbyt heSpani shf ri
ar swhoar ri
v edint hecount ryandwer etaskedt odocumenti tfor
thosewho r emainedi nSpain.Someoft heear l
iestwor kswr i
tt
eni nthePhi li
ppinesthatcanbe
consideredessay si
ncludeAr t
eyr egl asdelalenguat agal abyFr .FranciscoBlancasdeSanJose, whi ch
wasat reatiseont heTagal ogl anguage.Fili
pinowr it
erswoul dalsoadoptt hef orm.Somepar t
icular
exampl escomi ngfr
om TomasPi npinwhowr oteLi brongPag- aaralannangmangaTagal ognang
UicangCast i
la.Fr.ModestodeCast ro'
sPlat
icasDoct r
inaleswasconsi der
edal andmar kwor kinthatit
helpedf ormal i
zewhatwoul dcomet obeknownas" Fil
i
pinov al
ues."

Theessayfoundi t
shomei nPhi
li
ppinewriti
ngduri
ngthel at
eryearsofSpani shrul
e,par
ti
cul
arl
yduring
theri
seoft heref
ormi stmovement.Personali
ti
essuchasFr .JoseBur gos,PedroPater
no,Marcel
oH.
delPil
ar,
andofcour se,JoseRi
zal,
allawarenessoftheabusesoft hecolonialr
uler
softheti
me.During
therevol
uti
on,AndresBoni f
aci
o'
s"AngDapatMabat i
dngmgaTagal og"andEmi li
oJaci
nto'
s"Li
wanag
atDil
im"wer ej
ustsomeoft heworksbeingreadbyFili
pinosinthecountry.

Whatt
heni
sCr
eat
ivenonf
ict
ion?

Creat ivenonf i
cti
oni sa21st -centuryli
terar yform.Cr eati
venonf i
ct i
oni sseenmor easacat egoryora
met hodofcl assificati
ont odi f
ferenti
atei tfrom ot hertypesofessay s.Forawor ktobeconsi dered
creat i
venonf ict
ion, i
tmustusecr eati
vewr iti
ngt echniquesmor ecommonl yf oundinf i
ction.Essay sthat
hav ecl earnar rati
v eelement sorusef ictiont echniquessuchasdi alogueorchar acteri
zat i
onar e
classi f
iedascr eativenonf i
ction.Theear l
ieressaybyJohnJackWi gleymayal sobeconsi deredcr eat i
ve
nonf icti
onbecauseoft hepr esenceoft hesai del ement s.Creativenonf ictionisseenasacont entious
term becausewhi leitseemst o be r ef erri
ng to a br and new genr eofwr it
ing,iti sof ten used
i
nt erchangeabl ywi ththet erml i
terar
yessay ,andsomest il
lquest ionwhet heritisinf actal egiti
mat e
genr e.Genr esar ecl assifi
cationsorway sofdi ff
erent i
ati
ngonet hingf rom anot her.Genr esar enot
static;t heycanchangeov ert imet or ef l
ectt hechangesi nsoci et
y.Forexampl e,dur ingWi l
li
am
Shakespear e'
st i
me,hi spl ayswer enotseenashav i
nghi ghliteraryv aluebecauseofhi stendencyt o
i
nnov atebey ondt heest abli
shedconv ent ionsofdr amaatt hattime.Now,howev er,hi
swor ksar eseen
as" classics"witht i
melessv al ue.

FI
VEBROTHERS,
ONEMOTHER

f
rom "
ManyMansi
ons"

byExi
eAbol
aMani
l
a

Taur
usSt
.,Ci
ncoHer
manos,
Mar
iki
na

18
TheMar iki
nahousewasn' tf i
nishedy et ,butwi t
hanul t
imat um hangi ngov erourheads,wehadno
choi cebutt omov ei n.Justhowunf i
nishedt hehousewasbecamebr uisi nglycl earonourf irstni ght.
Ther ewasnoel ectri
cityy et,andt hewi ndowsdi dn' thavescr eens.Ther ewer emosqui toes.Icoul dn't
sleept hewhol eni ght.Mysi stersl eptonacotouti nt heupst airshal linst eadofherr oom downst airs,
may bebecausei twascool erher e.Ev erysoof t enshewoul dt ossandt ur n, wav ingbugsawaywi thhal f-
asleephands.Isatbesi deherandf annedher .Shehadwor kt henextday .Int hemor ningsomeonewent
outandboughtboxesandboxesofKat ol.Wor kont hehousewoul dcont inue, buti tremai nsunf inished
eighty ear sl ater .Al lthei nter i
ors,af teraf ew y ear sofi nt ermi t
tentwor k,ar edone.Butt heext eri
or
remai nsunpai nted,st i
llthesamecementgr ayast hedaywemov edi n,t houghgr i
mi ernow.Mar ikina's
fact ori
esar en'tt oof araway .Thegar denr emai nsungr eened;ear th,st ones,weeds,andl eav esar e
wher eIsupposeber mudagr asswi l
lbeputdownsomeday .I nmyey est heMar ikinahousei san
attemptt or et urnt ot hesuccessf ulGr eenmeadowspl an,butwi thmor emodestmeansatone' s
disposal .Thel ivingr oom oft heCi ncoHer manoshousef eat ur esmuchoft hesamef urni t
ur e,asi mi l
ar
l
ook.Thesof aandwi ngchai rsseem ateaseagai n.Mymot her '
sgr owi ngcol lect ionofangelf igur inesi s
thenewt wist .Butt herei sl essspacei nt hisr oom, asi nmostoft her oomsi nt heMar ikinahouse, si nce
i
ti sasmal lerhouseonasmal lerl ot.Theki tcheni scar ef ullypl anned,aswast heear lierone,t he
cooki ngandeat i
ngar eascl ear l
ydemar cat ed.Ther ei sagai naf ormaldi ningr oom,andt henew one
seemst ohav ebeendesi gnedf ort hel ongnar radi ni ngtabl e,al ovel yDesi gnsLi gnai tem,per hapst he
onemostbeaut i
fulpi eceoff urnit
ur ewehav e, boughtont hecheapf rom r elativ esl eav ingt hecount ryin
ahur rywhenwest i
llwer eonHer onSt reet .Upst airsar et heboy s'r ooms.Thebedswer et heones
cust om-madef ort heGr eenmeadowshouse, thesameoneswe' dsl epti nsi ncet hen.I twasal of toran
attic,mymot heri nsist ed,whi chi swhyt hest ai
r shadsuchnar row st eps.Butt his" at t
ic,"cur i
ousl y
enough,hadt wobi gbedr oomsaswel lasawi dehal l
.Tot hoseofuswhoact ual lyi nhabi tedt hese
rooms,t hecur iosi tywasanannoy ance.Ther ewasnobat hr oom,soi fy ouhadt ogot ot het oileti nt he
mi ddleoft heni ghty ouhadt ogodownt hest airsandcomebackupagai n,bywhi cht imey ouwer eat
l
easthal fawake.Per hapst her ewasnodi ffer encebet weent het wohousesmor ebasi candmor e
dramat ict hant hei rlocat ion.Thi spar tofMar i
ki nai snotqui tet hesameast heswankypar tofOr tigas
wei nhabi tedf orf i
vey ear s.Ci ncoHer manosi sspl itbyar oad,cut ti
ngi ti nt ot wophasest hatl eadson
oneendt oMaj orSant osDi zon, whi chconnect sMar cosHi ghwaywi thKat i
punanAv enue.Theot herend
oft her oadst opsatOl andes,adensecommuni t
yofpedi cabs,nar rowst reet s,andpov erty.Thenoi se
from t het r
icy cles, thechat teringont hest r
eet , thet ruckshur tli
ngdownMar cosHi ghwayi nt hedi st ance,
thebl ar i
ngoft hel oudspeakeratourst reetcor nerputt herebyeager -beav erbar anggayof f
icial sdi spel s
anyi l
l
usi onsonemi ghthar borofhav i
ngr etur nedt oast at
eofbl iss.

Thef irstfloorisdesi gnedt ocr eateacl earsepar ationbet weent hef ami lyandguestar eas,soonecan
entertainout siderswi t
houtdi sturbingt hehouse' si nhabitants.Thi spr i
nci pl
eowespr obabl ymor etomy
mot hert hanmyf ather.Af t
eral l,shei st heent ertainer,thehost .Thel i
vi
ngr oom,pat i
o,anddi ning
room—t hepl aceswher eguest smi ghtbeent ertai
ned— mustbecl eanandneat ,t
hi ngsi nt heirplaces.
Shekeepst heki t
chenachi nglywel l
-organi zed,whi chiswhyt her earel ot sofcabi net sandadeep
cupboar d.Andsheputt hem t ogooduse.Accor dingt oTitus, thef ourt
h, whoaccompani edherr ecent l
y
whilegr ocer yshopping, shebuy sgr oceriesasi fallofusst i
llli
v edt her
e.Idon' tr
ecal lthecupboar dev er
beingempt y.Thatbecameherwayofmot her ing.Aswegr ewol deranddr i
ftedfartherandf art
heraway
from hergr asp,def i
ningourownl ivesout si deoft hehouse,mymot hermusthav ef eltthatshewas
l
osi ngust of r
iends,jobs,lov es—for cesbey ondhercont rol.Per hapsshef i
gur edthatf ood,andacl ean
placet ost ay,waswhatwest il
lneededf rom her .Soov erthel astt eny ear sorsoshehasbecomemor e
i
nv olvedinhercooki ng, moreat t
ent ive,better .Sheal sobecamef ussieraboutmeal s,aski ngi fyou'llbe
theref orlunchordi nnersosheknowshowmucht ocookr epr i
mandi ngt heonewhodi dn'tcalltosayhe
wasn'tcomi nghomef ordinneraf teral l
,ort heper sonwhobr oughtguest shomewi thoutwar ning.Ther e
wasmor et oitthanjustknowi nghowmuchr icet ocook.

Iknowi tgivesherj oytohaverelati

vesov erduri
ngt heregularChristmasandNewYearget -
togethers,
whichhav ebeenhel dinourhousef orthepasthal f-decadeorso.Shebr ingsoutt hespeci
aldi shes,
cupsandsaucer s,plat
ter
s,glasses,bowl s,coastersanddoi liessheher sel
fcr ochet
ed.PerhapsI
understandbetterwhyherChr ist
masdecorhasgr ownmor elavisheachy ear.Afterseei
ngoffthel ast
guestsaf t
erthemostr ecentgatheri
ng,shesi ghed,"Angkal atngbahay !
"Idi dn'
tseeherface,butI
couldhearhersmi l
ing.Myfat
herr epl
ied,"
Masay akanaman. "Itwasn' tasecret.Sundayswecomeov er
tothehouse,ev eryonewhohasmov edout,andhav eluncht ogether.Sundayl uncheswereal way s
dif
ferentl
yesteemedi nourhousehol d.Now t hatsomeofushav el ef
t,Isenset hatmysi bl
ingst ry
19
har
derthantheyev
erdi
dtobet
her
e.IknowIdo.It
rynott
odepr
ivemymot
hert
hechancet
odowhat
shedoesbest.

Aboutt
heEssay

Theessaycl earlyusesel ement st hatbelongi nashor tst or y

.Theseel ement sal l
ow t heessayt o
transcendbeingsi mplyther ecoll
ectionsoft heaut hor,andal lowst hereadertoshar ei nthememor i
es
i
namor eacti
veway .Giv
enhowAbol a'sessayisheav il
ydependentonourabi l
itytoimagi nethehouse,
descripti
onbecomesessent ialinconv eyi
nghi sint endedmeani ng.Hededi catesal ar
gepar toft hi
s
excerpttodescr ibi
ngt hev ari
ousr oomsi nthehouse,mi xingt hephysicalaspect swi t
hmemor iesof
whatt heseplacesmeantt ohi m.Thissof t
enswhatcoul dhav ebeenv eryclini
caldescr i
pti
onsandgi ves
theplacesadeepermeani ng.Apartf rom descri
ption, heal sousesnar rati
onorel ement sofst ory
t el
li
ng
i
nt heessay .Ther earesmal lanecdot esorper sonalst oriesi nt heexcer pt
,whichaddmor etextureto
hisdiscussionofhi shome.Hi sparent sarenotjustpar tsofhi smemor i
es;theybecomechar actersin
hisessay ,completewi t
hspokendi alogue.Wear enotonl ybei ngt ol
daboutt hem,butweact uall
yhear
them speak.Al ltheseelement stoget hermakef oranessayt hatengagesus,becausei tal l
owsust o
reli
ve someone el se'
s memor i
es,and hel ps us under st and t he author'
sr eflect
ions aboutt hese
memor i
es.Inthisway ,t
heaut hordoesnotj ustrelatehi sexper iencesbutsharest hem wi t
hus.

Exi
eAbol
aandHi
s"ManyMansi
ons"

Alexis"Exie"Abol aisanawar d-
winningfi
ctionistandessay i
st.Apr oductofAt eneodeMani laUni
versit
y,
wher ehef i
nishedhi sbachel or'
sdegree,andt heUni versi
tyoft hePhi l
ippi
nes,wher ehecompletedhis
mast er'
sdegr ee,hecur r
entl
yteachesatt heAt eneoandcont i
nuest owr it
e.HehaswonaDonCar l
os
PalancaAwar dincr eativewrit
ingforhisessay" ManyMansi ons!'Asi def r
om t his,hehaswonawar ds
forficti
onandj ournalism.Hisbookofessay s, Traffi
ckingi
nNost algia,waspubl i
shedi n2012.Areview
ofTr aff
ickingi nNost algi
aintheonlineli
terarymagazi neKalatassay st hat"Abol aredefi
nesnostalgi
ain
hisbook,notonl ybybr avel
ylookingatexper ience,butalsobyr efiningt hegest ur
eofr emember i
ng
throughcar ef
ulcr aftsmanship."Abola,t
her efore,isnotonl ypar ti
cipatingi nwhathasbecomeal ong
tradi
tionofessaywr iti
ng;heisalsochangi ngit, addi
ngt oithisowni nterpretat
ionsonwhatessay sare
andhowt heyshoul dbewr i
tt
en.

Cr
eat
iveNonf
ict
ion:Cr
aft
ingt
heRealt
hrought
heFi
cti
onal

Mor epr eci

sely,Abolaisseenasacr eat i
veorl it
eraryessayist,onewhoempl oystechni quest hatbelong
i
not hergenr essuchasf ict
ion.Thedi stinctionisnecessar ybecauseoft hewi desel ect ionofwor kst hat
canbecal l
edessay s.Whatdi f
ferent
iat esacr eati
ve,li
ter
ary,or,assomehav et er
medi t, i
nformalessay
from otherforms, suchasnewsr eports, academi cpapers, andopinioncol umnsi nt henewspaper ?One
wayi tcanbeseeni si ntheuseofcr af tinthecr eationoftheessay .Wor ksl ike" ManyMansi ons"require
notonl ytechnicalwr i
ti
ngski l
l,
butcar ef uluseofel ement sborrowedf romot herl i
terar ygenr estocr eate
i
tsef fect—thatofr ef l
ecti
ngont hepast ,whi leallowingreader stopar ticipatei nr eachi ngani nsight
alongwi t
ht heaut hor.Abol a'
swor ki sanexampl eoft hecont i
nuingev oluti
onoft heessay ,andi s
refl
ectiveofhi stime.Tr aci
ngbackt hehi storyoft heessayf rom thet i
meofSpani shcol onizat
ion,one
canseet hattheessayhasser vedmanypur poses:academi c,report
or ial,pr opagandi stic,andsoon.I n
mor erecentt i
mes, thedemandsont heessayhav echanged.Ther ei
snowaneedf oramor eengagi ng
formforamor ediscr i
minati
ngr eadershi pwi thagr eateri
nterestinper sonal discov ery .

Modul
e2-TheLanguageofLi
ter
atur
e(Essay
)

I
NTRODUCTI
ON:

Thismodulei scov ersthest udyandappr eciat

ionoftheli
ter
atureoft heregionwheret heschoolis
l
ocatedinrelati
ont otheli
teratur
eoft heotherregi
onsofthecountr
y .Inthismoduleinthe21stcent ury
l
it
eratur
ecour seware,youshoul dbeabl etoinferli
ter
arymeani
ngf r
om l it
erall
anguagebasedonusage,
descri
behowl iter
arymeani ngiscr eatedintheessaybywayofchar acteri
zati
onandstructur
e,respond
cri
ti
call
ytotheessayandar ti
culatet hi
sresponsethroughapresentationofashor tbi
ographyofal ocal
womanwr it
erf rom yourar
eaorr egion.

Di
scussi
on
20
Readi
ngs

Bi
onot
es

Li
terat
urehasalway
sdistinguisheditselffr
om day
-to-daylanguageuse.Poetr
ymakest hediff
erence
mor eappar
ent
—apoem,wr it
tenperhapsi napar t
icul
arr hymeschemeorpat ter
n,easi
lyshowshow
l
anguagecanbecont ainedi npar t
icularparametersofpoet iccraft
ing.TheEngli
shlanguage,for
i
nstance,i
susedtoputt ogetherapoet i
clinet
hatcreatesar hythm outofst
ressedandunstressed
sy
llabl
es.

Fil
ipi
nopoet rymaynotut il
izethesest resses, buti ti
sgov ernedbyanast uteandi ngenioussetofr ules
ofend- r
hyme, datingbackt othepr ecol
onial era,ascodi fi
edbyJoseRi zal,LopeK.Sant os,andVi rgi
lioS.
Almar i
o.TheSchoolofRussi anFor mal i
sm i nl i
teratur
ebywayofi t
sav owedt erm" defamili
arizati
on,"
positsthatlit
eratureutil
izeslanguaget hatisbasi callynotthepredictable,defaultlanguageofev er
yday
l
ife.Itisprecisel
yi tslanguaget hatmakesi tliteraryanddi ffer
entfrom t helanguageofmedi aort he
l
anguageoft hest reets,forinstance.Onedoesnotspeaki nr hymeandmet erwhenpay ingpassenger
fareinaj eepneyori nqui ri
ngaboutt helatestgadgeti nashoppi ngmal l
.Howev er ,somer ecentpoet ry
attempt stomi micev eryday ,
conv ersati
onall anguage.Thekey wordint hisdiscussi oni smimi c,butnot
mi micryasmer ely"copy ing"thesoundofspokenl anguage( t
houghitmaybepar toft heploy),butalso
mi mickingthelil
tofwor dsast heymakemeani ng.

Thet ypeofl i
ter arylanguageandcr eati
vet oolsusual l
yassoci atedwi thpoet rycanal sobef oundi n
prose.Pr oseal soengagesusbyt el
lingast ory.Ast orymakesusbel i
evei nthepl otandev entsev enif
theyar eficti
onal .Thisi sper hapst heef fectofst ori
esbegi nningwi th" onceuponat ime."Apar t
icul
ar
ti
mei sr ecreatedandr ecoll
ected,andi ncidentsar emeani ngf ull
yconnect edwi t
honeanot her.Thr ough
l
anguage,t hedi sjointedorchaot i
cev entsofr eallif
ecanbeconnect edorr earrangedintoacoher ent
narrat
ive.Accor dingt onov eli
stJoanSi l
ber( 2009) ,t
hisiswhatmakesf i
ctiondifferentfr
om r eali
ty—in
fi
cti
on, "
li
fecanbeseenasi ntell
igible.
"Thi sal soappl i
est ononf i
ctionorst oriesderivedf r
om t rue
events,asi nhist oryorbi ography.Towr itethest oryofr ealper sons,awr i
terselectsthemosti mpor t
ant
detail
soft hei
rl i
v esandwor l
ds,char acterizingthem andal lowingt her eadert oknowt hem.Li t
erature
stri
vest omakel i
fecompr ehensibleandi ntelli
giblebyi t
scr eativ
euseofl anguagei napl ot—t hrough
descripti
ons, scenes, di al
ogue, andmor e.Thi suseofl anguagecul ti
vatest heli
terari
nessofapar t
icul
ar
work.

Aboutt
heLi
ter
atur
e

Readi
ngs

Thesel ect i
onf orthisl essoni sanessayr ecreatingt hecol orf
ulandmy steri
ousl i
feofMagdal ena
Jalandoni ,awr i
terfrom West ernVisay as.Itr eadsl ikehi story,sincei tment i
onsbiogr aphicaldet ail
s
aboutt heper son.Howev er,italsor eadsi ntot hemi ndoft heest eemedaut horandliterarymat r
iarch
who" remai nedsingle,andwr ote37nov els,f
iveautobi ogr aphies,eightnar rat
ivepoems, sixcorridos,ten
plays,213l yri
cpoems,132shor tstories,nineessay s,andt enmel odramas. "Thecat alogueofherl i
fe
wor kalreadysuggest sherpassi onfort hewr i
ttenwor d; i
talsoconnot est hesolit
udeshehaschosenas
apr i
cef orherpr oli
ficlit
erar yproduction,andwhi cht hewr iteroft heessayf oundtobeani nterest i
ng
subject.I nthisessay ,aut horand Hi li
gaynon liter at ureschol arWi nton Lou Ynion usesl anguage
creati
velybyal mostt urning Jalandonii nt
o af i
ct iv echar act
er.Yni on exploresJal andoni'swor ld,
speculatingonherst orybey ondwhati sment i
onedi nconv ent i
onalbiogr aphicalaccount s.Heper f
orms
thistocr eateadi ff
er entexper i
enceofr eadingJal andoni '
sst ory.Thr ought hiscreati
v enonf icti
on,he
humani zesJal andoni,ast houghaf i
ctionalchar act er ,andr epresent sheri nt oarelatableimagi nat i
ve
fi
gure.

I
nPhi l
i
ppinehist
ory,mostofourheroeswereal sowrit
ers.Apartfrom fi
ghti
ngi nbat
tl
es,manyoft hem
uti
li
zedt hepoweroft hepentocommuni catet hei
rideasaboutf reedom andnat i
onalidenti
ty.Their
preferr
ed lit
erar
yf orm was the essay,since bot ht he intel
l
ectualilustr
ados and the fighting
revoluti
onari
esinvol
vedthemsel
vesi npr
opagandaandj ournali
sm.Thegr eatpropagandi
stMar celoH.
DelPi l
arledt heeffor
tsinSpainasedi t
or-
in-chiefofLaSol i
dari
dad,replaci
nganotherpr opaganda
l
eader ,Graci
anoLopezJaena.Ont hehomef r
ont ,AndresBonifacioandEmi li
oJacintoattr
actednew
member sbyt hethousandsbyputti
ngoutt henewspaperKal ayaan.Bonifaci
o,whowasapoetand

21
thespian, wasknownt ohavepennedthetr
anslati
onintoTagalogofJoseRi zal'
s"MiUlti
moAdi os."The
youngJaci nto,ast hesupposed"Brai
nsoftheKat i
punan,
"wr otetheorganizati
on'sKart
il
yaorcode.
Wr i
ti
ngi sverymuchpar tofourhi
story
,anditisnotsur pr
isi
ngt hatthegreatestofmartyr
domsJose
Rizal
'sexecut ionin1896—wasi npartspur
redbyhi stwonovel
s, NoliMeTanger eandElFil
ibuster
ismo.
Rizalisournat ionalheroandf or
emostwr i
ter,andwehav ehear dorr eadsomuchabouthi slife.
Occasi onall
y,weal solearnthi
ngsabouthislif
et hatarenotty pi
call
yment i
onedi nhi
story,butwhich
i
mmedi atel
yprompti nt
erest
.

TheLov
eofMagdal
enaJal
andoni

Readt
hef
oll
owi
ngessay
.

THELOVEOFMAGDALENAJALANDONI

byWi
ntonLouG.Yni
on

I
loi
l
o

Magdal enaJal andoniwasf i

vey earsol din1896whenherf ir
stl ovewassent encedt odeat hbyf i
ring
squadbyt heSpani shauthoriti
es.Theman,whowasknownasJoséRi zal,wasanopht hal
mol ogist
who,inhi st imesofpassi on,wr oter ef
ormistnov elsthatpr ovidedani ndeliblemoment um fort he
Phil
ippineRev oluti
oni n1898.Hi slifehasbeenaccent uatedbywomenofdi ff
er entlanguages.Hel ef t
LeonorRi vera, hi
schi l
dhoodlov e,whenhi sfamilysenthimt oEur opef orf
urthermedi cal st
udies,onlyt o
fal
linlovewi t
haGer mandamei nt hepersonofJosephi neBr acken.Whenhev isit
edJapani n1888, he
wroteawomannamedO- Sei-Sanaboutt heequat i
onofherbeaut yandt hatoft hebl oomi ngsakur a.
Therewer eot herwomen;someoft hem wer ekepti nsecrecyal ongwi t
hJosé' sindecentencount er s
whil
esoj our ningwi thotheril
ust r
adoswhoest ablishedrelat
ionshi pswithwomenofEur opeanl i
neage.
Hislookswer eor dinary;
Fil
ipi
nos, infact,f
eltdeceivedwhenheoncecamehomeandpackagedhi msel f
asadokt orAl eman.Buthewasgent leand,perhaps,romantict hatMagdalena, heiresstot heincredibl e
for
tuneofFr anciscaGonzagaandGr egori
oJalandoni,fel
linlovewi t
hhim.

Magdalena'sfatherdiedwhenshewast wo.Herbr otherLuiswasonl ythreemont hsoldandhermot her

was onlyt wenty-thr
ee.Af t
erGr egorio'
s deat h,the Gonzagas suppor ted t
he Jalandoni
s,sendi ng
Magdalenat oCol egi
odeSanJose.Atni ght,shewoul dhearstor i
esfrom hermot her
.Atoneinstance,
sheaskedi fthehappeni ngsandsi t
uat i
onsi nt henarrati
vewer etrue.Hav i
ngbeent oldthatt he
stor
ytel
lerimaginedt hestory,Magdalenar esolvedtomakeone.Andt hehouseholdwasamaz edt hat
shenarratedast orythatsheorigi
nal
lyowned.Att en,shewr oteherf i
rstcor
ri
do, Padr
eJuankagBeat a
Maria(FatherJuanandMot herMaria).At13,shehadf ouroft hesamegenr e.Manuscri
ptsoft hese
weresubmi tt
edbyhermot hertoLaEdi tor
ialinIl
oiloCity,whichpubl i
shedthem in6"x8"sof tcover
newspri
ntedi t
ion.

WhenMagdal enawassi xt
een,al mostt eny earsafterherf i
rstlove'sdeat h,shewr oteherf i
rstnov el,
MgaTunocsangI sacaBul ac(Thor nsofaFl ower).Itwasbecomi ngev i
dentt hent hatshewoul dbea
well-known wr it
erl i
keherJosé.Butwr it
ing wasa mal e-domi nated spher e,so Magdal ena was
prohibi
tedbyhermot herf r
om pr oduci ngmor el it
eratur
e.Shewoul dwr i
teatni ghtandkeepher
notebooksunderhercl othesinhert runk.Whenshewas18, hermot herwant edhert ogetmar r
ied.The
botheredFr anciscahadchosenapr ospect i
vehusbandf orherdaught er.Magdal ena,outofobedi ence,
agreedt omar rythemanofhonor ar ystat ur
e;butshehadoneunj ustpr econdition,thatheshoul dwr i
te
anov elwithinthey ear
.So, Magdal enar emai nedsingle,andwr ote37nov el
s,fiveaut obiographies,eight
narrati
vepoems,si xcorri
dos,t enpl ays,213l yri
cpoems,132shor tst or
ies,ni neessay s,andt en
melodramas.Notov erJosé,shet ransfor medintopai nt
ingallthatwasi magi nedbyhi minhi snov el s.
Alongwi thherdi oramasofFi l
i
pi nol if
e,soci et
y,cultureandhi storyar estri
kingcanv assesofscenes
fr
om Nol iMeTanger eandEl Fil
ibust eri
smo.

From herroom,Magdal enacouldv i

ew t
hequar t
ersoftheSpanishpri
est
srul
ingtheAr chdi
oceseof
Jaro.Shewassor el
i
gioust hatsheornamentedheri nher
it
edhousewi thwoodstatuest hatshe
personal
l
ycarv ed.I
npr esentIl
oil
o,thehouse,l
ocatedatNo.84Commi ssi
onCivi
lStreetinJaro,no
l
ongerbear sthesophisticat
ionofMagdalena'sisol
atedworld.Per
hapseventhelocalgov er
nment

22
l
ackedt hefundstopr
eservethegr andeuroft hehistor
yofJaro.TheJalandonihousewasamongt he
bal
aynabat ostyl
edafterEuropeanar chit
ecture,andwasamongt hemansi onsthatdecorat
edthe
vi
cini
tyofthebellt
owerandt heCat hedralofSt.Eli
zabethofHungar
ywher ethestatueoftheNuest
ra
Sei
oradel aCandelar
iacanbef ound.Ont hestreet
sofJar o,f
ormerl
yknownasSal og,r
umbledthe
car
ruajesdri
venbycocheros.

Thef eastoft heSefi

oraortheLadyofCandl ehasbeencel ebratedost entati
ouslywi t
har ei
na,afest
ival
queenchosenf rom amongt hedaughtersoftherichestandt hefamousofI l
onggof amili
es.Sheisoft
en
consideredasbi nukot(l
it
erall
ymeans" isol
ated"
)orf amilytreasure,forheraf f
ili
ati
onwi t
ht hepowerf
ul,
usuallythroughmar ri
age,couldbri
ngmor eaffl
uence.Cont empor aryIlonggoscont inuetoobservethe
spiri
tual
ityandessenceoft heVir
gin,beli
evedtohav ebeendi scoveredbyaf ishermani nthebanksof
Il
oil
oRi ver.Itwasonlyaf oothighthenbutwasdr eadfull
yheav yunt i
lfolksdeci dedtobr i
ngittoJaro.
Sincethen, shehashadt hehabitofdisappeari
ngi ntheearlymor nings.St or
iessayt hatabeautif
ull
ady
withlonghai rhadbeenseenbat hi
ngherchi l
datt heartesi
anwel l
atthepl aza.

TheCandel ari
a,asi twascol l
oquial
lyknown,cal ledf oranext r
avagantpr ocessionofJar o'smat erial
assets,apr acticet hatIl
onggoswer enotabl etopr otr
actal ongt heonsetofi nequit
iesinacol onial
society.Unwr i
tt
en,i tmustbecel ebratedev ery2ndofFebr uaryt ocommemor atethepr esentat
ionof
Jesusatt heTempl eandt hepuri
fi
cationoft heBl essedVi rgin.Once,per hapswasj usti magined,when
theweal t
hyf ami l
i
eswer ebrokeandcancel edthef east,Gr eatFloodcame.Thel ineage, weal
th,opulent
l
ifesty
le,andpr omi nenceofaf fl
uentper sonagesofJar ol argelycontri
but edtothegl or
yofI l
oiloast he
"QueenCi tyoft heSout h."Init
sst r
eet sfi
guredt hegem- bathedmansi onsoft heLopezes,Mont inolas,
Ledesmasandofcour set heJalandonis.Butt hehei rscoul donl yimitatethear roganceofcol onial
model sthatJarol ostfrom thetrackofdev elopmentandpr ogress.

Whenshewas75,Magdal enawr oteaboutt hi

sleit
mot i
fofl ossesandf indsinJuani taCruz,hermost
maturenov elaccordingtoscholarLuci laHosil
los.Consci ousoft hedepreciati
ngaf f
luenceofJar o,she
wroteaboutJuani t
awhowasabi nukotofherf amil
y,atreasur ekeptbyherf at
herforthehighestbidder
who offerst he greatestwealth and power .Butshe f ellinl ove with a poorchoi rmaster,Elias.
Disi
nheri
ted,shedi sguisedher selfasCel iadeAsi s,wentt oMani l
a,f oundasur r
ogat efamil
y ,and
becamehei ressofherf ost
erpar ents.Juanit
awasr eunitedwi t
hEliasi
nt heend, onl
yt odiscoverthathe
wasinvolvedi nt
her evolut
ionarymov ementagainstSpai n.Hewaski l
ledi nav i
ctor
iousbat t
leandnow,
Juanit
a,theoldwomanwhot el
l
st hest ory
,orMagdal ena, confrontsEl
ias'smonumentatt heplaza.

Ont he70thanni v
er saryofherfi
rstl
ov e'
sdeath,Magdal enawr oteaboutanundyinglove—whetherfi
li
al,
agape,oreros,itwasapassi ontowardacount ryfi
ndinggol denmeani ngsoutofitscentur
iesoffeasts.
From herglasswi ndows,Magdal enami ghthav ehadi nt
er nali
zed,morethanev er
,herli
feroleofa
bi
nukot,i
solatedandunt ouched.In1978,80y earsaft
ert herealizat
ionofJose'
sdr eam,Magdalenadied
attheageof87.Sher emainsthereinaofHili
gaynonliterat
ur e.Nooneknowsi fsheoncehaddr eamtof
hersel
fasar einafort hefeastofCandelari
a,orifsheev erimagi nedJoseescort
ingherdownt heplaza.

Aboutt
heEssay

Theessay"
TheLov
eofMagdal
enaJal
andoni
"specul
atesont
hel
i
feoft
he"
rei
naof

Hil
igay nonliterat ure"bygoi ngbey ondwhati susuall
y"knowabl e"or" r
esear chable"aboutherhi storical
ly.
Here,t hewr iterst retchedt hepossi bili
tyofthestorybychar acterizi
ngJal andoni,lendingherl if
eand
mot i
v ati
ont hroughst ri
kingdet ai
ls.Theseaf for
dusagl impseofJal ondoni '
sinnerl i
feasawomanbor n
i
nt he cusp ofchange,whose cr eati
vit
y came up agai nstt he r estr
icti
ons ofherconser vative
environment .Bi ographiesl ikethisempl oywhatwecal lchar acteri
zat i
on,whi chi susedi ncr eative
nonfictionorl iteraryessay si nasi milarmannerasi nfict
ion.Char acteri
zat i
onist helit
er ar
ycraftingof
personal i
tyt hroughv ari
ousmeans.I tmayconsistofext ernalqual i
ties(phy si
calat tr
ibutes,tastef or
cl
othi ng),orinter nalqualit
ies( motivati
ons,acti
ons,behavi
or).

I
nst eadofst r
aight
forwardlyintroduci
ngJalandonitoreaders,theauthorusedspecif
icdetail
stoport
ray
herper son.I
n1896, Jalandoniwasf i
veyearsold,andtheyearsi gnal
edwhatwoul dbeasensi bl
edetai
l
aboutherast hesubjectofthisessay .JoseRizalwasgivenapr omi nentrol
eherebypor t
rayi
nghim as
Jalandoni's"fi
rstl
ove."Thi slov eisusedt oexplainandi ll
ustrateherpassionforlit
eratur
eandher
prolif
icoutput,aswellasheri nsist
encethatherprospecti
vehusbandwr i
teanovelwithi
noney ear
.

23
AsJalandoniwascharacteri
zedforusthroughherast oni
shinglif
estor
y,herwor l
dtoowasr ecreat
ed.
Theoldwor ldofJar o,theJalandoniresidence,thechurch,andt hepr ocessi
onsoft hefeastof
Candel
aria—ever
ythi
ngwer eatoncerecal
led,albei
tnostal
gical
ly,t
oresurr
ectthememor yofawoman,
consi
deredinhercul
tureasabinukot,anuntouchedJuanit
ai nhermostmat urenovel
,Juani
taCruz.

Wi
ntonLouYni
onandMagdal
enaJal
andoni

WintonLouYni onwasay oungpoet,f

ict
ioni
st,
cri
ti
c,andt eacherf
rom Iloil
owhohaswor kedonv arious
aspectsofHi l
igaynonli
terat
ure.Hepassedawayi n2009.AsaPhDst udenti
nPhilippi
neLiter
atureat
theUniversi
tyoft hePhili
ppinesDil
iman,hewasknownf orhisintell
i
gentdiscoursesont heFi l
ipino
novelanditsrelati
ontonat i
onali
sm.Iti
snotsurpr
isi
ngt hatMagdal enaJalandonieventual
lyfi
guredi n
hisdiscourses,alongsi
deanot herHili
gaynonnoveli
st—t heesteemedRamonMuzones,aut horof
Margosatubig,thestor
yofaMusl i
m pri
nceseeki
ngtor eclaimthekingdom usurpedbyt heenemi esof
hisfat
her.

BothJal andoniandMuzonesf ascinatedYni onnotonl ybecauseoft hei

rstr
ongposi ti
oninr egi
onal
l
iter
ature,butalsobecauseoft hepoweroft heiri
maginat
ion.Jalandoniwasalsoconsideredexempl ar
y
bymanycr i
ti
csl i
keYni onf
orover comi ngtheli
mi t
ati
onssocietysetonwomen.Accor di
ngtoanaccount
byLour desVar ela( 1976)
,itwasnotJal andonibutherbr otherLuiswhowasencour agedbyt hei
r
mot hertowr it
e:" (w)omenhadt of ulf
il
lpur elyornamentalanddomest icfunct
ionsandf ort hem,
therefor
e,therewer et hefemi
ni near tsofpai nti
ng,embroidery,sewing,andcooking.
"Jalandoniwas
abletotranscendt heseimposedl imit
at i
onsandshowhert ruebril
li
anceasawr it
er.

Focusi
ngonHi
li
gav
nonLi
ter
atur
e

Readi
ngs

Leadi
ngHi
l
igay
nonwr
it
erandl
i
ter
arycomment
atorLeonci
oP.

Deriadacont ext ualizesJal andoni '

spl acei nt her egionalt radi ti
onaspar tofwhatmaybecal l
edt he
"GoldenAge"ofHi ligaynonl iterature.Begi nningwi thAmer ica's" benev ol ent "assi mil
ation,unt i
lt he
Japaneseoccupat i
on, thi
spr oduct iveper iodf oundJal andoniandsev er alot herwr i
ter sproduci ngwor ks
thatwer e"didact icandRomanCat holi
ct houghst rongl ynat ional istic."Der iadaexpoundedont hi s,i
nan
arti
clef ortheNat i
onalCommi ssi onf orCul tureandt heAr ts:" Ther elat i
v elyshor tper i
odf rom t he1920s
tothecomi ngoft heJapanesei sconsi deredt heGol denAge.Thi spr oducedAngelMagahum ( nov elist
forBenj ami n,thef i
rstHi l
igay nonnov el),poetDel finGumban, poetSer api onTor re,poet -t
ransl ator( from
Spani sh)Flav ioZar agozaCano,essay ist-j
our nalistRosendoMej ica,zar zuel amast ersJoseMa.I ngal la
andJoseMa.Nav a,pl ay wr i
ghtMi guelaMont el i
bano,nov elist-poetMagdal enaJal andoni ,essay ist
Augur ioAbet oandAbeGonzal es,andt hey oungnov eli
stRamonLMuzonesandpoetSant iagoAl v.
Mul ato.Thet riumv irateofGumban, Torre,andZar agozaCanor ul
edi toutf ory ear sinpoet ry,t
hei rr i
v alry
magni fi
edbyt hepubl i
cbal agt asanorpoet icj oust .Theest ablishmentofHi ligay nonmagazi neby
Liway wayPubl icati
onsi nMani laandoft heMaki naugal ingonPr essbyRosendoMej i
cai nI loiloCi ty
furt
herst r
engt henedHi l
igay nonl i
terature."Der i
adapl acedt hesubj ectofouressayast heonl yrose
amongt het hor ns,sot ospeak—t heonl ywomani nt hemal edomi natedl i
terar yscene—whohad
cont i
nuedt owr i
tet hrought heJapaneseoccupat i
onupt ot hef iftiesandsi xties.Jal andonii st obe
furt
herknownf orherhi ghl yant hol ogizedshor tst or y"SiAnabel l
a,"descr i
bedbyCor azonVi ll
ar ealas" a
nost algi
ct ri
pt ot he' 30s"wher e" (t)hebeauser enadeshi sl ov ewi thav iolinonamoonl itandst ar ry
night,"andwher e" t
heydancei nt hespaci oussal aofhi spal at i
al homet ot hest rainsofaf ullorchest ra."
Inthisst or
y ,"they( thel ov ers)ar et heenv yofev ery oneont hedancef l
oor .Buthei sr ichandhi smot her
takeshi m awayf r
om hi sl ov er.Anabel l
a,howev er,wai tspat ient l
yf orhi sr et urnandev entuallyt heyar e
reunited."Someeasi lyassi gnJal andoni '
swor kt ot her omancemode;butcr iti
csl i
kef ell
owHi li
gay non
Rosar ioCruzLucer o( 2007) ,her selfaf i
ctionist,cl aim Jal andoni 'swor kas" rev olutionary,"especi allyi n
thewayi tdepi ct sandaddr essest hepl aceofwomeni nahi ghl ypat r
iar chal soci ety.

Locat
ingWomeni
nPhi
li
ppi
neCul
tur
e

Onewayofl ocatingtheplaceofwomeni napar ti

cularsoci
etyisbylooki
ngfort
hem i naspectsof
cul
tur
e.Cult
ure,fir
standforemost
,ist
hecollect
ivepracti
ceandwor l
dvi
ewofaparticul
arsoci
ety,and
thewaysoci etytreat
swomeni sespeci
all
yembeddedi nv ar
iouscult
uralpr
act
ices.Thest or
yof
MagdalenaJalandonipoi
ntsustoaparti
cul
arconservati
vetimewhenmenandwomenwer eexpected
24
toper
form cer
tai
nrol
es.Howhassocietychangedsincet
hen?I
nwhatway
sar
ewomenmor
efr
eet
han
bef
ore,andinwhatwaysdotheyst
il
lfaceli
mitat
ions?

Modul
e3:Phi
li
ppi
neLi
ter
aryTur
nsandTr
opes(
Poet
ry)

I
NTRODUCTI
ON:

Thismodulei scov er
st hest udyandappr eciat
ionoft helit
erat
ureoft her egi
onwheretheschoolis
l
ocatedinrelati
ontot heli
teratureoftheotherregionsofthecountry.Inthismodulei
nthe21stcentur
y
l
iter
atur
ecour seware,youshoul dbeabletoanalyzethefigur
esofspeechandot herl
it
erar
ytechni
ques
anddevicesint hepoem, underst andhowthesefiguresanddev i
cescontributet
othelar
germeaningof
thepoem, r
espondcr i
tical
lytot hepoem andconsequent l
yarti
culat
et hi
sresponsethr
oughareportt
hat
will
engagest udentsi
nadi scussi ononcli
matechange.

Whati
saTr
ope?

Thr
oughouthi
stor
y,t
hest
orm hasf
igur
edi
nthei
magi
nat
ionof

Fi
li
pinowrit
erspr
imar
il
ybecauseofit
sgeogr
aphi
clocat
ion.Whati
sconsi
der
edt
obet
hev
eryf
ir
st
publ
ishedpoem,"
MayBagyoma'tmay

Rili
m"byt heunnamed" UnaPer sonaTagal a,"usedt heimageoft he"bagyo"topraisethegoodwri
ting
("ni
tongmabut i
ngsulat"
)ofthefriar
-wr
iterFr anciscoBlancasdeSanJose, authorofthebookMemor ial
delaVi daCr i
sti
anaenLenguaTagal ai
nwhi cht hepoem appeared.Thel i
feofthepersonaasheseeks
theChr i
sti
anGodi st umult
uousandst ormy ,andt hebookbeingpr aisedint hepoem becomest he
speaker '
sstronghol
d( "
aqui
ngsasandat ahin"), l
i
ght("..
.i
toangli
uanag"),l
if
esaver("t
imbulangi
cal
i
gtas"),
andst aff("t
oncodayinil
aan").

Therei salsoaTagal ogsal awikain( prov

erb)thatdr amati
zeswhatseemsl ikeouri ronicblitheness:
"Nangangbagy o'
ymakar aan,sakapamandi nnagsuhay "(Afterthest orm hadr avaged,onl ythenwas
thehousepr opped) .Thef i
gureoft hest orm hasani mat edourlegends, li
ket heoneofMar iangMaki li
ng,
whoRi zaldescr i
bedasonewhol ov edt owalk"afterast orm...runni ngacr osst hef i
eldsandwhenev er
shepassed,l i
f ewasr eborn—orderandpeace. "Int hePanayr egion,t het earsoft hemy thicTungkong
Langitlongingf orhiswi f
eAl unsinaar esaidtobet hecauseofr ain.Ther ear emy t
hsaboutpower ful
stor
mst hatcreatedlakesl i
ketheonesi nPaoay,I
locosNor t
eandSampal oc, Laguna.St ormshav eoften
repr
esent edaspect sofourdai lyli
ves.Ast ormisaphenomenont hatbr ingsaboutdev astati
on, aswel l
ascr eati
ve,transformat i
vepot enti
al .Inthe1970sf orinstance,t hepol i
ti
calunr estl edbyt hey outh
againsttheMar cosr egimewascal ledt he"Fi
rstQuar terStorm."

Wehav eal soi maginedt hestorm ast heformidableforcethatdef i

nesourgeogr aphi
ccondi t
ion, atthe
disast
er-pronef r
ingesoft hePacifi
c.Intheageofcl imatechange, t
hestorm hasbecomeawake- upcal l
ofsor t
s,showi ng humani tythev i
olentconsequencesoft aking ourenv i
ronmentf orgrant ed f or
generati
ons.Thest or m hasalsobecomeal it
eraryturnortropeembody ingcurrentFili
pino(andgl obal)
experi
encesofnat ur alcalamiti
esandourshar edsmal l
nessint hepresenceofnat ur
e.Weal way stur n
toouri magi nati
vewel l
spr i
ngev eryti
meast orm unsettl
esus,asi nthepoem f ordiscussi
oni nt his
l
esson,"TheHai yanDead"byMer li
eM.Al unan.Ami dstthehav oc,peoplecollecti
vel
yshar et heirpai n
andgr i
ef.ForusFi lipinos,thestormr epresentssomanyt hingsinourlivesasi tmakesusconf r
ontour
ownmor tal
it
yandt hechangeabi lit
yofourEar th.

Whati
saTr
ope?

Atropei sthecreati
veuseofl anguagemostlyfoundi nl
iter
ature.Truetoitset ymology,t
ropeschange,
tur
n, oralt
erlanguage,makingi tnew,refr
eshi
ng, andthusli
terary.Fi
gurati
velanguageusest r
opesand
fi
gur esofspeecht oalterourexper i
encebyt urningourat t
entiontosi milari
ti
es( asinsimileand
met aphor)
,representat
ions( asi nsynecdocheandmet ony my),andcont radicti
ons( asinironyand
paradox).Ani maget ur
nedi ntot r
ope,inpri
nci
pl e,i
snotsi mplyitsel
f,butsomet hingelseaswel l,as
seeni ntheimageoft hestor
mi nourexample.Ast rope,
itbecomesmeani ngfulbyst andi
ngforaspects
ofthehumanexper i
ence.

25
THEHAI
YANDEAD

byMer
li
eM.Al
unan

Ley
te

donotsl
eep.

Theywal
kourst
reet
s

cl
i
mbst
air
sofr
oof
lesshouses

l
atchl
esswi
ndowsbl
own-
offdoor
s

t
heyar
elooki
ngf
ort
hebedbyt
hewi
ndow

cockscr
owi
ngatdawnl
i
zar
dsi
ntheeav
es

t
heyar
elooki
ngf
ort
hemen

whol
ovedt
hem atni
ghtt
hewomen

whomadet
hem cr
awl
li
kepuppi
es

t
othei
rbr
east
sbabest
heyhel
dinar
ms

t
heboywhocl
i
mbedt
reest
heHai
yandead

ar
elooki
ngi
nther
ubbl
efort
hechi
l
d

t
heyoncewer
ethey
out
htheyoncewer
e

t
hebr
idewi
thf
lower
sinherhai
r

r
ed-
li
ppedper
fumedwomen

whi
te-
hai
redf
athergap-
toot
hedcr
one

sel
l
ingpeanut
sbyt
hechur
chdoor

t
hedr
unkbyast
reetl
ampwai
ti
ng

f
orhi
shouset
ocomebyt
hegi
rldr
eami
ng

undert
hemoont
heHai
yandeadar
e

l
ooki
ngf
ort
hemoonwashedout

i
nat
umul
tofwat
ert
hatmel
tedt
hei
rbodi
es

t
heyar
elooki
ngf
ort
hei
rbodi
est
hatonce

mov
edt
othedancet
opl
ay

t
other
hyt
hmsofl
ovemov
ed

i
nthesi
mpl
eway
s—bef
orewi
nd

l
i
ftedseaandsmashedi
tont
hel
and

ofbr
eat
htal
kwor
dsshapi
ng

i
nthei
rthr
oat
sli
pst
ongues

t
heHai
vandeadar
elooki
ng

f
orasongt
heyusedt
olov
eapoem

apr
ayert
heyhadr
aisedt
hatseahad

swal
l
owedbef
orei
tcoul
dbesai
d

t
heHai
yandeadar
elooki
ngf
or

t
heey
esofGodsuddenl
ybl
i
nded

26
i
nthesuddenmur
kwhi
tewi
ndseet
hing

wat
ersal
tsandbl
acksi
l
t—andt
hati
swhy

t
heHai
vandeadwi
l
lwal
kamongus

endl
essl
ysl
eepl
ess

Aboutt
hepoem

Thepoem " TheHai y

anDead"byMer li
eM.Al unanmemor ial
izesthosewhoper i
shedi nthesuper
typhoon.Thepr i
maryt r
opeempl oy edher eiscompar ison,oftenseent hroughsi milesandmet aphor s.
Thesemayappeari nthelinesoft hepoem orasal argerpoet i
cconceptt hatdrawssi gnifi
cantinsight s
aboutexper i
ences.Asi mileisacompar i
sont hatut i
lizesconnect i
vewor ds( i
.e.
,l i
ke,as,so,et c.).A
met aphordi r
ectl
ycompar eswi thoutt heconnect i
vewor dsandi sdescr i
bedbyl .A.Ri chards(1936)as
composedoft hetenor(thesubj ectoft hecompar isont owhi chcharact eri
sti
csar eat tri
buted)andt he
vehicle( the obj
ectwhi ch owns t he attr
ibuted char acter
isti
cs).The compar ison cr eates a new
perspective,part
icul
arl
yfort hetenor ,whichisascr ibedwi tht
hev ehi
cle'scharacteristi
cs.Themer ef act
thatthedeadseem t ocomet olifeinAl unan'spoem suggest sanat tributi
onofl if
eandt hecapaci tyto
"l
ook"( t
osear ch,toscour )tothedeadbei ngremember ed.I
nt hisregar d,thedeadher ear enotl iteral
ghosts(t houghtheycouldbe, givent hecircumst ances)butmor eamani f
estati
onoft heliveslostint he
vastdev astati
on,ofhowl i
feoncet hriv
edi nthatlocalit
ybef or
et hestorm.

Aboutt
heAut
hor

OnMer
li
eM.Al
unanandHerChr
oni
clesoft
heSt
orm

MerlieM.Al unani soneoft hemor einfl

uent
ialandr espectedwr i
tersintheVi sayasr egion.Asonewho
experiencedTy phoonHai y anfir
sthandi nTaclobanCi ty,Leyt
e,wher eshei spr ofessoremer i
tusatthe
Universit
yoft hePhi l
i
ppi nesVi sayas,shewr oteext ensivel
yaboutt he" chaosandt err
or"andt he
chal
lengesofr ecover
ingf r
om t hecalamit
ydur ingt heearlyday sofdev astation.Peopl ef ol
lowed
thr
oughonl i
nenewshert rav
ailswi t
hherf amilyr ising up f
rom t hest
or m whent herewasscant
i
nformat i
onont hewor seningcondi t
ionsinthel ocality.I
ntheweeksaf t
ert hatst orm,sher el
eased
onli
net hepoem " TheHai vanDead, "whichwassubsequent l
ytranslatedint
odi ff
erentFi l
ipinolanguages.

HerGMANewsOnl i
neaccount soft hestorm grippedr eaders,andt heimagesofhav occonj uredinthis
excerpteasil
ysuggestwhatmayhav ecompelledt hewr i
tingoft hepoem:" Thr
eet ofourhour sthewind
ragedand, wheni tleft,t
hel andscapehadt urnedi ntoahol ocaust;
gut t
ed,roof
lessbui l
dings,rubbleand
debri
spi l
edont hest r
eets,hundr edsoft housandsl efthomel ess,childr
enor phaned,mot her sdazed
l
ament ingforthei nfantst hatthest orm surgehadt ornf rom thei
rar ms,oldpeopleber ef
tofsuppor t
.
Thelivi
ngwander edt hestreetslooki ngfortheirdeadorf ortheirl
ov edonesamongt hecorpsesoft he
drownedt hatli
tt
er edt hecity.Thewounded,t hemai med,t hesickhadnowher et ogof ortreatmentf or
evenhospi t
alshadbeenwashedout ."

Asacont empor aryv oi

cewr i
ti
nginEngl i
shandCebuano,Al unanrepresent stheVisayasr egi
on,i nthat
parti
cul arinstancewher eitneedsampl e"strengt h"to"healandr ebuil
d."Asaut horofcel ebr
atedpoet r
y
coll
ect i
ons Hear tstone,Sacr ed Tree,Ami na among t he Angel s,Tal es oft he Spiderwoman,and
PagdakopsaBul alakaw, shehaspower f
ull
yar ticulatedtheVi say
an" Southern"experiencebyr eiter
ating
that"(a)wayf rom t hecent er
,southernli
feway st hri
veonthei rown.Thesel i
fewaysy i
eldt hei
rownst ories
andbr eedt heirownuni quemodesoft hinkingandseei ng."Heruni queper spectivehadi mmedi at
ely
l
ocat ed t heexper i
encei ntheVi sayan terr
ai n asonet hati sbadl yhi tbuthast hecour ageand
determi nationt oemer gef rom thedev astationcausedbyt hestorm.Herwr it
ingsonHai y anbear
witnesst ot heVisay ans'andcol l
ecti
veFili
pinos'—desi retoendur eandr enew.

Vi
sav
anPoet
ryand"
Sout
her
nConsci
ousness"

Readi
ngs

Vi
sav
anPoet
ryand"
Sout
her
nConsci
ousness"

Thearchi
pel
agiccondi
ti
onofthecountr
ycall
sf ormorespecif
icassessmentandappreci
ati
onofthe
mult
if
ari
ousli
ter
atur
escomingfr
om thePhi
l
ippineregi
ons.ForAlunan,
Visay
anli
ter
atur
e,whichcov
ers

27
allthel iterar
ypr oductionsi nt hedi ffer entl anguagesoft her egion( Cebuano,Hi ligay non,Kiniray-a,and
War ay,tonameaf ew), maybeunder st oodbywhatshecal l
st he" souther nconsci ousness. "Inherbook
Fer nGar den:WomenWr i
tingi nt heSout h,Alunanpr oblemat izest hei deaofwr iti
ngi nthesout hasa
responset oageo-cul turalposi tioni ngbr oughtaboutbyt he" i
mper i
al i
sms"oft heMani l
aandLuzon
cent ers.I naninterviewwi tht heliter arywebsi teKal atas,sheel abor ates: "
(t)
hesout hi sasoci o-polit
ical
i
dea.I timpl i
esadomi nantnor thwher er esources,talent ,exper tisear econcent rated,wher epowerand
aut horit
yemanat e, wherequal i
tyofper f
or mancei sassessedandaf fi
rmed.Fort hesout hernwr iter,
the
conceptoft henor thincludesacol oni zingnat ionallanguagewhi chr educest her egionallanguagest o
secondar yst at
us."Whi l
eemphasi zingspeci f
iciti
esofexper ienceandper spect i
v e,thisemphasi son
"sout hern consci ousness"as t ypi fying t he Vi sayan exper ience may be seen as ar ti
culating the
cont inuingpr oj
ectoff ormi ngFi l
ipinonat i
onalident i
tyi ndiver sity."Ther hythmsofsout hernspeechar e
asdi verseast hel anguagesspokeni nt hemaj orVi sav ani sl
andsandamongt hemanyt r
ibesof
Mi ndanao.Thedi versi
tyofl anguageal soi mpliesadi v ersit
yofat ti
tudeandhabi t
soft hi
nking,
"shesay s
i
nt hesamei nterview.Thepoem i nt hi sl essonembodi esanexper iencet hati sspeci fi
call
ylocatedi nthe
Visay as,andy etdeepl yembeddedi nourcol l
ectivenat i
onalconsci ousness.Wer esonat ewi tht hi
s
exper iencenotj ustbecausewehav eal l exper i
encedst orms, butbecauset heimageoft hestorm st ands
asacommonr emi nderofourabi lityt or iseupt ochallenges, nomat terwher einthecount rywel ive.

St
ormsasMet
aphorofFi
li
pinoLi
fe

Summar
y

Inthislesson,wehav eseenhow apoem embodi esanat ion'simagi nat

ionofpar t
icul
arnat ur
al
phenomenabydeal i
ngwi t
hanev entofacatastr
ophi
cst or
m.Int heearl
ierpartsofthi
slesson,wewer e
i
ntroducedtoper specti
vesonst ormsi nearl
yandcont emporaryPhil
ippineliter
atur
e.Whathasbeen
hammer eddowni nt hecourseofthediscussi
onisthatstormsrepresentaspect sofourdail
yli
vesand
experi
encesasFi li
pinos.Inwhatot herwaysdoFili
pinosuset heimageoft hest or
m asamet aphor
embody i
ngFili
pinoli
fe?

Ref
lectont
hisquest
ion:
Howar
ecur
rentconcept
ionsoft
hest
orm di
ff
erentf
rom ear
lyt
imes?

Modul
e4:WhatSur
roundst
heLi
ter
aryText(
Nov
el)

I
NTRODUCTI
ON:

Thismodul ei scov ersthest udyandappr eciati

onoft hel i
ter
atureoft her egi
onwher etheschooli s
l
ocat edinrelat
iontot heli
teratureoftheotherregionsoft hecount r
y.Inthismodul einthe21stcentury
l
iter
at ur
e coursewar e,y ou shoul d be ablet o expl ai
nt he li
terary
,bi ographi
cal,li
nguist
ic,and
sociocultur
alcontext sanddi scusshow t heyenhancet het ext
'smeani ngandenr i
cht her eader'
s
under st
anding,for
mul atekeyi deasaboutthegenr eoft henov elasanat ionalnarr
ati
veinfor
medbyt he
afor
ement i
onedext ratextualelementssurroundingitswr iti
ng,andr espondcr i
ti
call
ytotheexcer ptof
thenov elandconsequent lyar t
icul
atethi
sr esponset hroughagr ouppost erexhibi
tcampai gningfor
l
astingpeacei nMi ndanao.

Whati
stheNov
el?

Readi
ngs

Whati
stheNov
el?

ThescholarCarol
i
neS.Hauoncesai dthatPhil
i
ppinehist
oryiscl
oselyint
ert
winedwi t
hPhi l
ippine
l
it
eratur
e,withthe l
att
erconst
antl
yint
erveni
ng thr
ough imagi
nat
ive ar
ti
cul
ati
ons oft he nation'
s
predi
caments.I
nherbookNecessaryFi
cti
ons(2000),astudyofFil
ipi
nonovelsfrom JoseRi zalto

28
ManodeVer dadesPosadas, sheel abor at
edont hisconj ecturebynot i
ng" someoft hecent r
alconcer ns
andmot i
fsoft heso- cal l
edPhi l
i
ppinel it
erarytradi tion.""Amongt hem, "shewr ote, are" t
hecommi ngling
ofl i
teratur e,hist ory,andnat i
onalism;t heneedf ort ransformi ngconsci ousnessandsoci ety;andt he
truthful
,r eal i
sticdepi ction ofPhi l
ippinesoci et y
."Bei ng thrice-colonized,Fi li
pi no cul turei scl ear l
y
affl
ictedbywhatResi lB.Moj ar
es( 2002)descr ibedasa" haunt i
ngt hatcomesf rom f eel i
ngsof
displacement ,dispossessi on, decenteredness, (and)di sembodi ment .
"Inr evaluingt hewor ksoft hel ate
Nat i
onalAr t
istf orLi teratur eN.V.M.Gonzal es,Moj aresbasi callybr oughtt ol i
ghtt hepr oblem oft he
l
ossofa" nat i
onalsoul ,
"adi rectconsequenceofourl onghi st oryofsubj ugat ion.Thi ssoul -l
ossi nt urn
becameaper sist entsubj ecti nmanyofourl i
ter atures,since,asMoj aresplacedi t
,"col oniali
sm i st he
traumaofPhi li
ppi neliterat ure,"andt his" t
raumai sdef i
nednotj ustbyt hespeci fic, manifol dchar acterit
tookandt hesi tei nwhi chi twaspl ay edout ."ForMoj ares,thel ossoft henat i
onal soul,andbyext ension,
nationali dent it
y ,hashaunt edt heFi l
ipinowr it
er ,andy etthi
s" haunting"mayal sohel pbr ingaboutt he
recov eryoft hi slosti dent ity."Whi l
ei tisasoulawr iterseeks, "Moj areswr ot
e, "i
ti sint hehaunt ingofi ts
absencet hathedoeshi sbestwor k.Thi spointaboutt hehaunt inghammer sdownHau' sposi ti
onabout
thei nti
mat er elationofl iteratureandhi story.Accor dingt oHau," Literaturecant eachi t
sr eader smuch
aboutFi li
pi nosoci etyev enasi tisalsoasoci alar ti
factshapedbyt hesoci etyitseekst or epr esent .
"

Thenov el,wi t
hitsext ensi v
ebr eadthandnov elt
y,hasbeenusedi nmanycount ri
esov erthecent uriesto
expressnat ional
istsent i
menti nv ariousf orms.Amongl it
erarygenr es,thenov elhasbeencl osestt othe
expressionofpat ri
oticf erv or
,aswel last heexpl orat
ionofnat ionali
stnar rativesanddi scour ses,all
because of i t
s exposi tory nat ure, wher e wor l
ds may be i magi ned as r efl
ect i
ng and
embody i
ngtumul t
uoushi stori
esandr eal
it
ies.I nar evi
ew inQuiPar l
e( 1992) ,t hepost colonialcr i
tic
HomiBhabhawasquot eddescr i
bingt he" sy mboli
cstructureofanat ion...
wor k(i
ng)likeapl otofa
reali
stnov el,
"andnar rati
on,t hefor emostmodeofdev elopmenti nanov el,as" linki
ngt oget herdi ver
se
actsandact orsont henat i
onalst agewhoar eent i
rel
yunawar eofeachot her."Cl osert ohome, thisv i
ew
makesper fectsensei nt hecaseofRi zal
,whochoset henov elinsteadofanyot hergenr ei nexposi ng
the"il
ls"ofhi snati
on.Thenov elalreadysi gnal showwhat" sur rounds"al iter
ar ytextshapesi tandcal ls
i
ti nt
obei ng.Cont ext ,ort heext rat extualel ementsofawor k,informswhathasbeenconsequent ly
craft
edi nt heexer ciseofwr iti
ng.Awor kcannev erbedev oidofcont ext;i tnecessar i
lyexi stsi na
parti
cularjunctureofhi story.

Thenov elexcer pti nt hisl essonnar ratesabl eakst or

yf rom Mi ndanao.Mi ndanaoi sapl acet hat
holdsmanyassoci at ions,owi ngt oi tscompl exhi stor yupt ot hepr esentday.Int hisnov elbyt helate
Antoni oEnr iquez, themai nchar act er,AlbertoGonzal esf r
om ZamboangaCi ty,j
oinsat eam ofsur veyors
i
nst al
lingt riangul ationt ower sint heCent ralMi ndanaohi nterlands.Hi steam facesr esistancef rom the
Magui ndanaoMusl ims—t he" Mor os"r eferredt oi nt hest ory—whoconsi dertheirent r
yasi ntrusioninto
i
ndigenoust errit
or y.Theuseoft hewor d"Mor o"hasbecomepol i
ti
cal l
yproblemat i
casi thar ksbackt o
thecol oni almal aiseagai nstt heI slami cpeopl eswhower ehi stori
cal l
yabhorredbyChr istianSpai n,and
weref urther" demoni zed"dur i
ngt heChr i
st i
ani zationoft hear chipelago.Stil
l,thewor dsi gnifi
est he
vari
oushost i
lit
iespr esenti nt her egion,whi chunceasi nglyuphol dsi t
sr i
chI slamict raditions,and
rei
terat est he i nher entand hi stor i
calv ariousnessofPhi li
ppi ne cul t
ure.Howev er,wi tht her ecent
adopt ionoft he" Bangsamor o"( li
terall
y,thenat ion,bangsa,orbansa,oft heMor opeopl e)ent i
tyto
replacet hecur rentaut onomousgov ernmentofMusl i
m Mi ndanao,t hewor d" Mor o"i sr edeemedt o
embodyacul t
ur al i
dent itylongdi sembodi edbyy earsofst r
if
e, neglect,andoppr ession.Thenov elGreen
Sanct uarywi l
lbr i
ngusbackt ot hehear tlandofMi ndanaoi nat i
mewhent echnol ogy ,al ongwi th
rapidur banism, ser i
ousl yt hreatenedt he" greensanct uary
"oft heLiguasanMar sh.Itwi l
lal soshowhow
resi
st ancepl ay edani mpor tantr oleinsi gnifyi
ngcul tur eandi dent i
ty.

Fort heRussi anliterarytheoristMi khai lBakht i

n( 1981),thenov elisthemoder nwor l
d'sreinv enti
onofa
classicalgenr e—t heepi c.Thecl assi calepi c,asweknow i t
,nar ratesst or
iesofher oicdeedsand
adv entures,muchl ikethenov el
.Howev er,thenov elhasf undament al
lyswer vedawayf rom t heher oic
focusofanabsol utepast ,aswel lasf rom aspect sofdi vinei ntervent
ion( asint heI l
iadandt he
Ody ssey )
,todr amat i
ze" contempor aryr ealit
y,"toquot eBakht i
n.Whatal sochar act er
izest henov el
,
despi t
emai nt
ainingt hefiguresoft heher o, isthati ttr
ansformedcl assicalheroicody sseysorj ourney s
i
nt ost ori
esofi ndividual
sj ourneyingi nt odiscov eryorself-actualizati
oni nthemoder nwor ld.Thenov el
,
accor ding to Bakht i
n,isa" di
scour se ofa cont empor ar
y ,abouta cont empor ary addr essed t o
cont empor ari
es."Thi sisoneof thet hingst hatmakest henov elnew,or" nouvel"asi ni t
sOl dFrench
etymol ogy.Insteadofher oeswi thext r
aor dinarypower s,thenov elfeaturespeoplef acedwi t
hconf li
cts.

29
Theirst r
uggl est oov ercomet heseconf li
cts(orbeov ercomebyt hem,i nt hecaseoft ragedy )are
exploredinanext endednar rati
vemadeupofchapt er
sorsect ionst hatcov erl ongertimef ramesand
l
argerspaces( incont r
astt ot heshor tstory).ForBakht in,onet hi ngt hatconst i
tut
esanepi cisi t
s
"nati
onalt r
adi t
ion,"wherea" nati
onalher oicpast"exist
ed,"awor ldof' beginningsandpeakt imes' inthe
nati
onal history."Thenov el,asment i
onedear li
er,hasbeenusedt o"nar r
ate"thenat i
on,tocallitfort
h, t
o
namei t
swoes, thewayRi zaldidt hroughhi sNoliMeTanger eandElFi l
ibusterismo.Whi lethecl assical
orindigenousepi cextolst hegl oryofacul t
ureinthef i
gureoft heher o, t
henov elexposest heaf fl
ict
ions
ofanat ion,recapi tul
ati
ngi t
sl ostv al
ues, cal
li
ngf orthere-imagi nationofi tsexi stence.Thus, thenov el
andt heepi c,thoughdi fferingi nfor m,ar estil
lthesamespeci es,respondi ngt ot hesituat
ionoft heir
respectiveti
mes.

Li
ter
ary
,Bi
ogr
aphi
cal
,Li
ngui
sti
c,andSoci
ocul
tur
alCont
ext
sandt
he

Nov
el

Expl
anat
ion

Inthisl esson,wear ecov eri

ngt hef ourbasi ccont extst hatconcer nt henov el.Thel it
erarycont ext
pertainst ot henat ureoft hegenr ebei ngdi scussed.Wehav et alkedaboutt henov el
'sf orm andhowi tis
atitscor ei nnov ati
ve,whi ler ecalli
ngt henat ionali
sticv einofi tspr ecur sor ,thecl assicalepi c.The
biographi cal context,meanwhi l
e,poi ntst ot her el
ati
onbet weent hewr i
ter
'sl i
feandwor k.Anexampl eof
thisist hewayt hatsomecomment ator seasi l
yr elatet hemai n char acter'sexper iencei n Gr een
Sanct uarywi tht heaut hor
'sr eal-
lifest inti nLi guasanMar sh.Thel i
ngui sti
ccont extr elatest ot he
l
anguagespr esentint henov elast heaut horor chestratesapar ticularartisticef fect .Bakht inmai ntains
thata nov eli s heteroglossic,as can be seen i nt he nov elexcer ptst udi ed i nt hisl esson.The
sociocultur alcont extmeanwhi le suggest st he int
imat er elat i
onshi p bet ween t he wor k and what
surroundsi tsocialcondi ti
ons, cul
tur e,wor l
dv i
ewand, hi
story .Inst udy i
ngt henov elGr eenSanct uary,we
aret ranspor tedt oMi ndanaot oexami net hecondi ti
onoft heof t
enmi sunder stoodormar ginali
z ed
Musl i
m Fi l
ipinosorMor os.Readi ng t henov elisan exer cisei n cont endi ng wi tht hesecont ext s,
anchor edbyt hetext.Int heend,t hesecont extsareact ualltobedi scover edasar toft het extandar e
notsear atef rom it.Thegenr eoft henov elbestill
ustratest hissetofr elations, enr ichingt her eadi ngof
thet extandal sol endingdeeperunder standingoft hecompl expr ocessofhow hi storyshapesour
consci ousness.Thenov elmustbeseenf r
om now onasanar ti
factofconsci ousnessandasa
chronicleoft hevicissi
t udesofl i
fe.

GREENSANCTUARY

Readt
hef
oll
owi
ngexcer
ptf
rom Enr
iquez'
nov
el.

GREENSANCTUARYbyAnt
oni
oEnr
iquez

Zamboanga/ Mi sami sOr i

entalPikitwast heoldesttowni nCotabato,theysai d.Andt het ownsf ol
ksai d
toot hathundr edsofy earsago, aSpani shshiphaddr oppedanchori nt hePul anggiRiver, andwhi lethe
awedMor oswat ched,Spani shsoldiersi nironclothes( mailcoat)camedownhergangpl ankand
discov eredthet ownbehi ndt hecogongr assandundert hegreatbal etetrees.TheSpani shsol diers'
faceswer ewhi t
easpaper ,withst r
aighthi ghnosesandgl isteni
ng,unst ainedt eethwhi chbor eno
reddishst ai
nf rom thej ui
ceofmamä( betelnutchew).TheSpani ardsappar entlyhadnotst ayedlongi n
Pikit
,forAl bertohadnotseenamest izoormest i
zaint ownsi ncehisar ri
valsomet hreemont hsago.
Thiswasnotatal llikehishomet own,Zamboanga,wher etheSpanishconqui stadores( andl i
centious
fri
ars)hadsownsomanyseedst hatmest i
zasbloomedwi dl
yl i
kebougai nv i
ll
easf l
ower s,andt heol d
peopl espokef l
uentCast ell
anoandt hest r
eetswerenamedaf tersaintsorpl acesinSpai n.Notsol ong
agot hecommer cialbusnev erstoppedi nPi ki
t;notevenlongenoughf oritscloudofdustt oset tl
eback
ont hehi ghway .Instead,itdisgorgedi tspassengersatt henear estsmal lvi
llage,andt heyhadt owal k
aboutt wokilomet erst othet ownpr opercar ryi
ngtheirbaggageont heirbacks.Thosewhor efusedt o
getof foraskedf oraf arerefundwer eki ckedoffthebusbyt heconduct or
s,divestedoft heirluggageor
cargo,andwer ef orcedt owal kbarefoott othenearestbar r
iowher et heybr oughtslipper sorr ubber
shoes.

I
fabusstoppedinPiki
t,theysai
dt heMor osther
edefl
atedthet
ir
eswi
tht
heirwoodenclubs,smashed
t
hel
ight
sandwi ndshi
eldstosmithereens.Thenmarketgoer
sandstor
eownersst
rippedoffi
tswooden
30
partsandburnedthem f orf
uel
;thetownsf
olkdismantledthechassisandengineandsoldthemetalby
thekil
oinCot abatoCityoverahundredki
lometersaway .Onlyt
heskel etonofthebuswasleftonthe
roadtorustandcor r
odeunderthesunandr ai
n,andforthenakedchildrentopl
ayallsor
tsofgameson.
Butwhatt hechil
drenlovedtoplaymostwasbei nggrown-ups,r
eplayingthepar
tsthetownsfol
khadin
dismantl
ingthebus.

Upal ongt heroadandj ustbefor ethemar ketplace, anabandonedt ruckchassis,orwhatwasl eftofit

,
wascov er
edwi thvinesandcl imber swhoset entacleswoundr oundandi nter
twinedwi thitsst eeland
i
ronf rame.Theygr ewt hi
ckandl uxuri
ouslygreen, andhereandt hereflowersbloomedast houghonan
abandonedandf or
got t
engr ave.Thef lowerswer eor ange,yel
l
ow, andr ed,andearlyinthemor ningt hei
r
ti
nypet alsgli
stenedunderbeadsofdew andwer ewonderfult olookat .Longbef oret heCer deza
Survey i
ngCompany mencame,t heysaidthebushadbeenhast il
yabandonedont hehighwaywhena
datuf rom Mat alam or deredt heChr ist
iansdownandr akedt hesi deoft hebuswi thbul lets.The
automat i
ccarbi
newentt at-t
at-tat-
tatandmadehol esont hesideoft hebusasbi gast humbs.Af our
-
year-
ol dchi l
dabandonedbyt hemot herdiedt her eont hebus,hi sheadbl ownof fandhi sscal p
plast
er edont hewoodenbackr estofhi schair.

Atsixo'cl
ockev er
yev ening,thesari-
sarist
oresandcar i
nderiasal
ongt heroadwereclosedandbarr
ed
withwoodenboar ds.Noonewal kedt her
eaf terthi
shour ,andt hepoli
cemanonbeatchangedhi s
unif
ormi nt
oci v
ili
ancl othesanddr ankwi t
hhi sbuddiesi noneoft hetubastoresfarfrom t
hetown
proper.Andthenther atsandt omcatsemer gedf r
om theirhi
ding,
andt hedogsscavengedthegar
bage
dumpsf orcrumbs.Onl yDat uMant el
,theysaid,walkedthemai nroad,hi
s.45-
cal
ibrehandgunhangi
ng
l
owf rom hi
ship.

Oneni ghtadr unkardlosthiswayhome,andont hemai nst reetDatuMant elshothi m neatl

ybet ween
hiseyes.Likethebodi esofothermurder edmen,thedrunkar d'scorpsewasnotf oundt henex tday ,and
thechiefofpol icedidnotsendapol icemanaf t
erthedat u.Becauseoneev ening,aweekbef orethe
murder ,whil
et het woofthem wer edr i
nkinginabar,Dat uMant elslappedhi m acrossthef aceand
chall
engedhi mt odrawhisgun.Thechi efofpoli
ceknewt hatwi thonehandDat uMantelcoul ddr aw
andatt hesamet imecockhis.45-cal
ibrehandgunwhil
ei twasst i
lli
nitsholster
,ast houghitwer eat oy
gun.Sai dDatuMant elt
othechi efofpol i
ce,"
Now Iam t hechi efofpol i
ce."Thatwashow,t heysai d,
DatuMant elbecameunof f
ici
all
yt hechiefofpoli
ceofPikitwi thoutanappoi ntmentf r
om thegov ernor.
Andt henextday ,thetownsfolksaw him wear i
ngthekhakiuni form ofthepol icechief
,althoughhe
neverwor eabadge.

Therewasnopl acetogoi nPi ki

taf t
erni ghtfall
,andt heonemov iehouseopenedi nthemorningand
closedintheaf ternoon.I
tshoweddoubl e-program warf eatures.Inonef i
l
m,Fer nandoPoeJr .3,the
GoldenBoyofact i
onpictures,wi thaut omat icmachi negun,moweddownhundr edsofMor osona
slope.Uponseei ngthismassacr eont hepict urescreen,Dat uMant elstoodupf r
om hiswoodenbench,
drew his.45-cal
ibregun,andpr ompt lyper foratedthepi cturescr een."There!"hesaidt onooneIi n
parti
cular
,"youar enow dead! "Ev ery
onescamper edforsaf ety,andt hemov iehouseownerst opped
showingsuchf i
l
msagai ninPi kit
;thereafter,theysaid,heshowedonl yAmer icanwarmov i
es.Whent he
fansofFer nandoPoeJr .demandedt oseet heirmov i
ei dol,theowneroft hemov iehousesaidtheyall
knewhewasshotdeadbyDat uMant el andnowl ayburiedi nthehillsofPulanggi.

Aboutt
heNov
el

Whati scl earl

yobser vableint hisexcerptfrom Gr eenSanct uaryisi t
sseet hingr ealism.Atonce, weget a
senseoft heter rorandv i
olencedepi ctedinPi ki
t—at owninCot abat o,closet ot heLiguasanMar sh,and
thepr imaryset tingofthenov el
.Real i
sm inf i
cti
oni sof t
endescr ibedasanaut henticrendit
ionofr eality
asi tis,af ullandunadul teratedexposi ti
onofwhati soutt hereint hewor l
d,usi ngt helanguageof
l
iterature.Themosti mpor tantqual i
tyofr eal
ism inl it
erat
ur eisv erisi
mi l
it
ude,ort hequal i
tyoff eeling
real(veriisrelatedtot heLat i
nv eraort r
uth,whilesimi l
isconnot essi mi l
ari
ty).Var i
ousf ormsofr eali
st i
c
fi
ction,l i
ke nat urali
sm ( whi ch holds the pessi mi st
icv i
ew t hatsoci al,her edit
ary,and hi st
or ical
condi t
ionsar ei nescapableandt husshapet hehumanst ruggle),andsoci alr eali
sm (whichcr it
icizes
oppr essivesoci alstr
ucturesbyf ait
hful
lyrenderingt hem inlit
erature) ,
aspiref ort r
uthfuldepict
ionst hat
donotgener allyexaltanyv irt
uesofcul ture.

Howev er
,whil
ereal
ism aspi
restofai
thf
ulness,i
tisalsoli
mit
edbythepoi
ntofvi
ew.I
nt henov
el
,Enr
iquezhasposi
ti
onedAlbert
oGonzal
esast hepoi
ntofvi
ewfr
om whi
chwef
oll
ow t
hest
ory
.

31
Gonzal
eswasapar
toff
orcesi
ntr
udi
ngont
heLi
guasanMar
sh,
whi
chal
readyposi
ti
onshi
m asan

"other
ing"presence.Hisperceptionoft hesituat i
oni nPiki
tiscondi tionedbyv ariousfactors,includi ng
hisbeingaChr i
sti
anf r
om ahi ghlyChr i
sti
ani zedt er
ri
toryofMi ndanaoandhi sbeinganout sider
unfamili
arwi t
ht heMusl i
m cul t
ureoft helocal i
ty.Therepresentat i
onofr eal
it
yi nthenov elmaybe
deemedpr oblemat i
cthen,asitisli
mi t
edandshapedbyt hefact orsment ioned.Howev er,Enriquezmay
bemaki ngast atementthroughhi snov elbyut i
li
zingGonzal es'sterri
fiedandof t
enti
mesdi sorient ed
pointofv i
ew.Somuchoft hecontextofr esistancei nthi
sr egioni smi sunderstood,andt henov eli
st
mayact ual
lybei nvi
ti
ngusr eaderstomakef ullsenseoft hev i
olenceandst ri
fethatpervadesMi ndanao,
thenandnow.

Encount
eri
ngBangsamor
o

"Bangsamor o"hasbeenav erycont entiousterm asi tsignif

iesmanyt hi
ngsf orpeopl ef rom Mi ndanao
andf orpeopl ef rom outsidei t.Onamor edenot ativel ev
el,i
tiswhati tmeans,qui tesi mpl y:thenat i
on,
bangsa,orbansaoft heMor opeopl e.Butt hev astnessofMi ndanaocompel sf oramor enuanced
appreciati
onoft heterm Bangsamor o,whi chal sor eferstothear eaundert headmi nistrati
onoft he
AutonomousRegi oninMusl i
m Mi ndanao( ARMM) ,aneconomi candpol it
icalent i
typr ovidedbyt he
Phili
ppinegov ernmenti n1989t hr
oughRA6734f ort heMi ndanaopr ov i
nceswi thsi gnifi
cantI slami c
populationsandcul tur
es.I nt ermsofcur rentlegislation,anattemptt of urt
herst rengt hent hisr egi onal
entit
yiscar riedoutt hrought heBangamor oOr gani cLaw,asi mil
arlegislati
vemov et or eplaceARMM
andest abli
shanewaUt onom0USpol iti
calentit
yknownast heBangsamor oAut onomousRegi on, which
i
st houghtbysomepar ti
esasonet hatwi llf
inall
ysol vestri
feinMindanao.Asi def rom itsgov ernment al
andgeogr aphicdenot ation,i tmayal soembodyt hel ongst r
uggleofMusl im Mi ndanaof ori nclusi ve
growthandcul turalr
ecogni tion.

Ant
oni
oEnr
iquezasNov
eli
stofMi
ndanao

FictionistAnt oni oEnr i

quezwasbor nin1936andr aisedi nZamboanga.Hei niti
all
yst udiedmedi cinein
Mani l
a,onl ytor eturnt ohishomet ownmanyy ear sl ater.Ashewast ryingt of i
ndhi msel f
,hewor ked
oddj obs,ev ent uall
yl andingaposi tionwi thasur vey i
ngf i
rmi nCot abat o.Hi sexper i
encesi nt he
prov incepr ov edger minalf orhiswor kandbecamet hebasi sofhi sawar d- winningshor tst ori
esand
nov els.A f el
lowshi pt ot he highlyest eemed Nat i
onalWr i
tersWor kshop ( hosted byt he Sil
li
man
Univ ersit
yi nDumaguet e,Negr osOcci dental)broughthi m backt oschoolandl aterearnedhi m adegr ee
i
ncr eat i
vewr iti
ngandat eachingposi t
ionwi tht heuni versit
y.From t here,hewr otesev eralbooks,
i
ncl udingt henov elsSubanonsandTheLi vi
ngandt heDead,andt heshor tst orycol l
ectionsSpot son
Thei rWi ngsandDanceaWhi teHor setoSl eep.Bef orehepassedawayi n2014, hepr oducedt hreemor e
books:TheAct ivist
,TheSur viv
or s,andTwi ceTol dSubanonTal es.Hi sst oriesandnov elsreceived
accol adesf ort heirhonestbutpi ercing arti
culation ofMi ndanao'
scompl exexper iences.Not hing
seemedt oescapehi sey easa" consummat estory tell
er,"saidJacobWuofAsi aweek.Accor dingtoWu,
"(a)par tfrom t heski ll
wi t
hwhi chheweav eshisst ories,Enr i
quezbecomesmel anchol ywhendescr i
bing
thesmal l,i
ndi vidual cr
uelti
esofet hnicmi sunder st
andi ngorst upidi
ty.
"

Suchwast het enororhi sv eryfir

stnov el,TheSur veyor soft heLiguasanMar sh,ev ent
uallyreti
tledas
GreenSanctuar y
, whichwont heGr andPr izeforthenov el from t
heCar l
osPal ancaMemor i
al Awar dsf or
Lit
erat
urein1982.Fi r
stpubl i
shedi nAust ral
iaandr erel
easedi n2003, t
henov elwaspr ai
sedbyNat ional
Arti
stforLi t
eratureN.V.M.Gonzal esf ori t
sst rong " casest udyoft hei mpactonacul tur eof
modernizat
ion."Gonzal essai d,inal ettertoEnr iquez:" Yourpar t
iculars,theMor os,provideal ev elof
my t
ht othest ory,andr ightlyshould,becauset hatishow st ori
esar eatt heirbest .Themar sh,t hus,
becomesasanct uar y,aholyofhol i
es,apenet ral
ia,ofourbel i
efsaswel last hoset hatyourchar act ers
l
iveby."Thisnov elrepresent sEnriquez'ssterl
ingoeuv re, whichfaithfull
yrender shumanexper iencesi n
themidstofant agoni sm andmar ginalizati
on.Thenov elal sorepresent sMi ndanaoandl endsv oi cet o
i
tsdiversecult
ures, otherwisesilencedbycol l
ecti
v emal aiseandst ructuraloppression.

TheTr
adi
ti
onoft
heFi
li
pinoNov
el

TheFi
li
pinonovelissaidtobeconstantl
ypayinghomaget oRi
zalandthesocialcri
ti
queofhi
sNoliand
Fi
li
.Fi
l
ipinonovel
ists,
thenandnow, haveparti
cipat
edincount
ry'
sil
ls,
whi chonl
yseem tohaveev
olved
i
ntodi
fferentf
ormst hroughouthi
stor
y.Itappearsthatt
heFil
ipi
nonov elhastendedstr
ongl
ytowards

32
socialreal
ism becauset hev erycondi tionofsoci et ynecessi t
atedi t.TheFi l
i
pinonov elt
hr i
vedbecause
i
tf earl
esslyappr oachedPhi l
ippinehi storyandsoci alreali
ties,breakingev entsandissuesintonarrat
ives
sot heycouldbescr uti
nizedandexposed.Enr iquezi sbutoneoft hemanyFi l
ipinonovel
iststofait
hfully
renderourcondi t
ions and aspi r
at i
ons as a peopl e.He j oins sev er
alot hers whose wor ks are
remember edf orar t
iculati
ngt hedi verseexper iencesoft henat ioni nt herealistmode:LopeK.Sant os
(BanaagatSi kat);AmadoV.Her nandez( MgaI bongMandar agit);theMgaAgossaDi syertogroupof
Rogel i
oR.Si cat ,Edgar doM.Rey es,Domi nadorB.Mi r
asol,EfrenR.Abueg,andRogel i
oL.Or donez;
StevanJav el
lana( Wi t
houtSeei ngt heDawn) ;F.Si onilJose( thef i
ve-partRosal esSaga);JoseF.Dalisay
(Kill
i
ngTi mei naWar m Place) ;andmanyot hers.Thesenamesar ejustsomewhomakeupt he
cont i
nuingtraditionofPhi l
ippiner ealistwr i
ti
ng,at radit
iont hati srichandbol dinexami ningsoci al
eventsandconcer ns.

Rei
magi
ningMi
ndanao

Mindanaohasl ongbeenconsi deredan" Other"bythev ariouscent ersofPhi li

ppinecul t
ure.The" Ot her"
i
saconceptf oundi nEdwar dSaid'slandmar kbookOr i
ent al
ism (1979) ,whichdiscusseshowpar ticular
perspecti
vesor" centers"arepr i
vil
egedt oassi gnmar ginalpositionst oot herperspect i
ves.Mi ndanao
hasbeenan" Other"histori
call
y,andthisot hernessdoesnotnecessar i
l
yser veitsdiversecultur
eswel l
.
Mindanaohasbeenassoci atedwi t
himagesofexot icness, hosti
lit
y ,
andst r
if
e.Itsindigenouscul turei s
oft
enr ecall
edi npopularculturetoconjur ethenat i
ve,usual lyoutofcont ext.Mindanaohadal sobeen
seenashost i
let err
it
orybecauseoft heconsi st
entnar rati
veofr esistancet oitsbeliefsandcul tural
val
ues.Thoughef f
ortshav ebeenexer tedbyt hestate,muchwor kisst i
lltobedonet oav er
tf ut ure
str
ifeint her egion.Mi ndanaoi sbeingi magi nedandr ei
magi nedconst antlybecausei t
snar rative
changes.Onemayr eadChi ldr
enoft heEv er-
changingMoor :Essay sbyYoungMor owr iter
sedi tedby
Gutier
rezMangansakanI l
toseet henewnar rati
onsofMi ndanao.

MODULE1:THEREGI
ONI
NTHENATI
ON(
STORY)

Regi
onal
it
y

Thei deaoft her egioni sanimpor tantf acetofourcount ry'

sar chi pel
agicst ate.Asanat i
onofmor et han
7,000i slands,par tofthepr ocessof" imagi ni
ng"our selvesasanat i
oni sbywayofourgeogr aphically
designat ed r egions.The r egion def ines t he nation because i tcharact eri
zes t he div er
si t
yoft he
Phili
ppi nes.Ther egionnotonl ypoi ntst oaFi l
ipi
no' sphy sicalpl aceofor i
gi n;italsodef i
nesone' s
l
ingui sti
c, hi
storical,andindigenousbackgr ound.Inspi teofthenegat iveimpl i
cat i
onsof" regional i
sm"i n
history( beingassoci atedwi thdi v
isivenessorexcl usion),theconceptoft her egionisabui ldingbl ock
thathel psi nar ticul
at i
ngFi l
ipinonat i
onhoodandi dent i
ty.Atsomepoi nt,wehav etobegi nl ookingat
regionsasger mane t ot he under st anding ofPhi l
ippine cul ture.These ar e notmer elyt errit
or i
es
occupi edbygr oupsofpeopl espeaki ngpar ti
cularl anguagesorpr acticingspeci f
icbel iefs.These
regionsr efl
ectt hedi ver
sityofani ndi vi
dualFi l
i
pino'smake- up.Forexampl e,acar efulgeneal ogi cal
tracingofanI l
ocanocany i
eldahi storyoff ami l
ymov ement sf rom onepl acet oanot her(toPangasi nan
orPampanga;i tisnowondert hatbot hpr ov i
ncesbel owt heI locosr egionhav eanI l
ocanopopul ation).
TheFi l
ipinoPeopl eMappubl i
shedi n1974showst hatwhi leav astareaoft hecount rywasef fectively
Chr i
stianized,agoodnumberofconcent ratedlocalesr emai nsi ndigenousi nf ait
hpr acti
ces( most lyin
Nor thernLuzonandCent ralMi ndanao) .

I
nt er msofmov ement ,regionalit
y( beingdef inedasar egionorasbel ongingt oapar ti
cular
geographicgr ouping)compel ssomeofourkababay anst omov efr om onel ocali
tytoanot herusual ly
,
thecit
y,givingr i
set orapidurbani zati
onandt hesubsequentdebasementoft helocalit
y .Ther eismuch
debateov erwhet hergov ernancei nt hecount ryist oocent ral
ized,t hatitundermi nesot herr egi
ons
whereoppor tuniti
esand i nvestment sar eof ten scar ce.Thi saf or ementioned mov ementf rom t he
regi
onst othecent ersofpowerandcommer cealsodef i
nest henat ion-regi
ondy nami c,andof tenpai nts
agloomypi ctureofhowt hecent ercont i
nuest omar ginal i
zet heper iphery.Anat i
onisasum t otalofall
i
tspar t
s,andi tdoesnotper f
orm wel lifitsregionsar el ef
tout .Thosef rom theregionshav el ament ed
thi
ssadr ealityandexposedmani festationsofmar gi nal
ityorbei ngsetasi de,inpol it
ics,economy ,
cult
ure,and ot heraspect s.Many i ssues ar e being addr essed,butt he pr oblems st i
llper sist
,
necessit
atingsol utionsthataccountf ort hecompl exitiesofourbei nganar chipel
agicnat ion.Li t
erature
probl
emsst i
llper sist
,necessitat i
ng solutionst hataccountf ort hecompl exi
tiesofourbei ng an

33
ar
chi
pel
agi
cnati
on.Li
ter
aturepar
ti
cipat
esinmakingsenseoft hispecul
i
arFi
l
ipi
noexper
ienceby
dr
amati
zi
nghowthi
snati
on-r
egi
ondynamici
simagi
nedandint
ernal
ized.

I
nthest ory"promdi @mani l
a"byGenev i
eveL.Asenj o,acosmopol i
tanwomanf rom thepr ovi
nce
ofAntiqueper formsbei ngaf ull
-f
ledgedMani l
eöa,butr emember speopl ebackhomet hroughan
encounterwi that ownmat ewhoasksf orherhelp.Bei ngawayf r
om homef oral ongt i
me,shehas
al
readysituat edheri dent i
tyint hecitywher ehereducat ionandt echnologicalli
teracymakeper f
ect
sense,andher" urbanized'valuesadher etopr eferredt astesandi nterest
s.Howev er
,sher emains
noti
ceablyr ootl
essi ntheci t
y,despi t
eherpenchantf oritslabelsandf orms.Herchar acterremember s
andrecov ersherr ootsassheencount ersthefami l
ymani kurist
ai ntheci ty
,whohadendedupasa
kasambahayoradomest ichelperl i
kemanywomenf r
om t hepr ov
inces.Whatl edthi smani kuri
stato
fi
ndhopei nt hiscit
yofdr eams?Thepr omdi (
li
ter
all
y" from thepr ovi
nce, "apopularTagal ogexpr essi
on)
i
nMani lafindsoutbywayofaused- upplotofsurvi
v al,anddi scover
s( bywayofsuggest i
on)t hatsheis
notanybet ter.

Readt
heshor
tst
ory
.

pr
omdi
@mani
la

byGenev
iev
eL.Asenj
o

Ant
ique

NAKAUPOSi vasakama,magkadi
ki
tangmgapaa, kandongangbigatngkanyanglaptop."
Odet o
MyFami ly"ngCr anber
ri
esangnakasal
angsaCD.Sumasabaysat ugtogangkany angul o'
tbal
ikat
habangsumasay adsakanyangdil
aangini
tngcappuccino,takeoutmulaStarbucks.Studi
otypeang
kanyangnir
erent
ahan.Nasa6thfl
oori
tongisangbi
l
dingsakahabaanngGi lPuy
atAv enue.

Sari
-sari
nghugisatlakingbulbsatlampl
i
ghtsangnakaposi
syonsai ba'
tibangsulok.Mag-aal
as
nuwebenggabi .Repl
eksy
onngmapupusy awnapulaatdi
lawangnakapokussaf ol
dingtabl
esacenter
fl
oor
—kinatatayuanng dalawang basketng st
asisatpotpourr
i—kinapapat
unganng har dbound na
dal
awanggabinani y
angbi nabasa,angRichDad,PoorDad:WhatTheRi chTeachThei rKidsAbout
Money—That t
hePoorandtheMi ddleClassDoNot!ni
naRobertKi
yosakiatSharonLechter.

Gumagapangangkany angpaningi
nsakabubukasnae-mail
.Gali
ngitosakany
angAt eJane,
i
sangnursesaCambri
dgeMemor i
alHospi
tal
.Bumibi
sit
adawpal
agiangkanyangMamasaI nqui
rer
.net
atPhi
lst
ar.
com.Nagbabakasakal
iit
onamakitaSiv
asamgapictur
essaanti-
Erapr
all
i
es,l
alonaangsa
Ayal
a.

NapalunokSi
vanglaway.Naisi
pni
yangt
hreey
ear
sinCanadai
stooshor
tngat
otameherMom.
Act
ivi
sti
to,katul
adngkanyangPapa.

Galitangsumusundotsakanyasatuwingmaalalaangpagkamatayngkanyangpapa.Tumunog
angkany ang6210.Newmessage.SiDaxangnai sipniy
a.Suit
orniyai
to,i
sangwebpagedev elopersa
Ort
igas.Al am niy
ang kukumust
ahin ni
to ang r
esul
ta ng shoot
ing ni
ya kani
na par
a sa i
sang TV
commer cial.

Saedadna25,Si
vasiJuli
aSebast
ian,Assi
stantCreati
veDir
ectorngHarr
isonCommunicat
ions
nanasaHSBCEnter
pri
seBuil
dingsaAyal
aAv enue.Copywr i
tersi
yaforthr
eeyearsbagona-pr
omot e.
GUDPM.KMUSTA?CTERAYDYAJUL.NONGGAWAMO? .T.B.

Umasi
m angkany
angmukhasapagbanggaanngkany
angmgaki
l
ay.Wr
ongsendee!Er
ase
message?

Napati
gilSi
va.Bi
nasaniy
auliito—tunogKi
naray-
a—atisal
angangTer avnaki
lal
ani
y a.SiTer
ay
nakapitbahaynil
asaAnt i
que.Manikuri
stanil
angmagkakapati
dnoonghay skul
.Napangi
tiSivanang
maal
alang20l angangpedicur
eatmani curenoon.SiFredangasawani
to,angmaest r
okarpint
erosa

34
kanil
angbarangaynagitar
istaniyanoongel
ementar
ysamgasi ngi
ngcont ests.Mahil
i
gatmagaling
dingkumantasiTeray.Si
vaangnagt ur
osakanyang" Gr
een,Gr
eenGrassofHome"niTom Jonesat
"Countr
yRoad"niJohnDenv er.Noongi
ka-
50t
hbir
thdayngkanyangPapa,naalalani
yangnag-
duetsil
a
ng"TopoftheWor l
d"ngCarpenters.

Ki
nutubansi
yangnakiki
pagtsi
kahansiTer
aysamal aki
ngbahay
.It
oangtawagngmgat aosa
ki
nal
akhannil
angancest
ralhousenapagmamay -
aringkani
l
angLol
aAsunnanamataynangi
panganak
angkani
langPapa.

Nag-
textbackSi
va:
klang.kmust
akay
o?

I
pinagpalibanniyaangpagr
eplysae-mailngnakatat
andangkapati
d.Ay awni yangmaki pagt
alo.
Hindipani y anapapag-isi
pankung magsasabosesdinSi vang Erap,Resign!sakal y
eatav enyu.
I
kinai
insomy ani yaangP62.80$1.
00;angcostcutti
ng,pag-
pulloutngil
angkl i
yente.Iki
naii
yakniyasa
pootangmi ly
un-milyongni
lust
aysamahjong,mansion,mistr
esseshabangnaaal alaang500,000+na
budgetpar asawat ersyst
em sakanil
angbarangaynaf orseveraly
earsbinali
k-balikanngkany ang
Papasagov ernor'
soffi
ce.

Ni
l
akasanniyaangv
olumengCD.I
sinandalangul
o'
tli
kodsamal
alaki
ngunansal
ikur
an.I
nil
i
pat
sagil
i
danglaptop.I
ti
nuwi
dangmgapaa.Inihagi
sangplast
iccupsat
rashcansapaanan.Dii
tona-
shoot
.

DI
TOKOFORTBONI
FACI
O.

LI
BREKABURAS?PWDESUNOMOKOSI
MBHANBCLARAN?

GUSTOKOKASIPUNTACALOCAN.

BumangonSiva.Isi
nigaw angkino-
composenareply:wtzurbsnesdr
?!dnttelm k21ungka!
Napakatandanani
Teravparasakany a.Al
am ni
yangmal
alakinaangmgaanakni
to.Kababat
aniyaang
panganaynit
ongsiGerr
ynanat atandaanniy
angmagali
ngmag- dr
awi
ngatmag-l
etter
ing.Walasi
yang
bal
it
adito.

Sumagisakany angi
sipnamaar i
nghindimai
nti
ndi
hanniTeravangpagka- composeniyang
message.Kaagadniy
ai t
ongbinura.Nagpasal
amatSi
vanahindini
yait
onai-send.Sat ononi
to,baka
masaktanl
angniyasiTeray
.Af t
erall
,kunglumuwasmanitoparamagingkatulong,naisi
pni
yangit'
s
noneofherbusi
ness.

Yakap-
yakapangt hr
ow pil
l
ow,naal
alaniyangnoongbataSiva,i
dolni
yaanglahatnagal
i
ng
Mani
l
a.Kasi l
ahatnangbagongdati
ng,
pumutiatmagaganda'
tusoangmgadamit
.Sakamayper
a.

Bagomagpy est
a,tuwingPaskoatbakasyon,ugongngpapar
atingna76Lineranginaabangan
ngbuongbarangay.Nakahil
erasil
angmgabat asagili
dngbakod.Panayangkal abi
tni
lasaisa'
tisa
habangibi
nababangmgakal alaki
hanangmgabagaheatl ata-l
atangbiskwi
ts.Sunod-
sugodsi l
a
kaagadsakabahay
anparasaM. Y.SanatRebi
sco.

"
Punt
ari
nakongMani
l
apagl
aki
ko.Atbi
bil
iakongnapakar
ami
ngt
inapay
."

Tumawa noon ang kanv

ang Papa,saka bi
nuhatSi
va atpi
nisi
lsa i
l
ong."
Sa Mani
l
a ka
magkokol
ehi
yo.I
kawangbabawi saTat
aymo."

Nang unang l
umuwas Siva para mag-
aralsa UP,pinagtat
akhan niy
a kung saan-saan
nanggagali
ngangIi
bu-l
i
bongnaghahabul
anatnagsisi
ksi
kansady
ip,bus,atCRT.Nabi
glaSi
vasat aas
ngpr esyongmgagul ayatprutas.Munti
knasiyangmabanggasaKat i
punannangmat ul
alasiya
mataposihagi
sngbatangkal
yeangpisongi
nil
i
mos.

Pagbisi
ta sa mga kamag-anak ang naging r
it
walni ya noong unang buwan sa kol
ehi
yo.
Natukl
asanniyasapaki
kipagkwentuhannapawisngpakiki
pagsapalar
anbil
angmgaf act
oryworker
,et
c.
angnagpati
kim sakany
angl at
a-l
atangti
napay
.

Bi
nasani
yaul
iangmessage.

Nag-
pout
ingl
i
psSi
va.

Tumav
oSi
vapar
ai-
tsekangi
skedy
ulsanakasabi
tnacal
endarpl
anner
:

35
SUNDAY830-
10:
00Gy
m

Ci
neEur
opa,
Shangr
il
a—Fl
oresdeOt
roMundo(
Spai
n)

6:
00Speaki
ngi
nTongues(
Dul
aangTal
yer
),Aust
ral
i
anCent
re

Cal
l
/textRol
iforconf
ir
mat
ionbef
ore12:
833-
2490/
0916-

2552438

LastdaynangCineEuropa.Fl
oresdeOt roMundoi saf i
lm byAl
modovaratayaw ni
yangma-
missit
o.Sundayl
angangarawnamaki ki
-cl
aim ni
yaforhersel
f.Pi
napa-
rev
iew namanniRol
iparasa
TodayangSpeaki
ngi
nTongues.Atstr
ict
lybyinvi
tati
onit
o.

Nag-i
i
sipsiya—palakad-
lakad;dinampotsait
aasngdr aweranghairbr
ushatsinukl
ayangbobcat
nabuhok;bi nuksanangcl oset,bini
langngmgamat aangnaka-hangernamgasi gnaturecl
othes;
tumayosahar apngst andingmi r
roratnapangit
isarefl
eksyon:5'
4",34-
25-35,hear
t-
shapednamukha,
shavednaki l
ay,malil
i
itnamgamat a,il
ongnakatamtamanangt angos—bakamaykabar angaysi
yang
avai
lableparasumundoathumat i
dkayTer aysaCaloocan.

Naal
alani
yaangdat
ingdi
rect
orynanakat
agosacl
oset
.

Ti
nawaganni
yaangnumberni
Boy
,secur
it
yguar
dsai
sangwar
ehousesaEDSAext
ensi
on.

"
Thenumbery
oudi
ali
snol
ongeri
nser
vice.
"

Si
nubukanni
yaangnumberni
Rose,
kababat
ananagt
atr
abahosaGol
dil
ockssaLi
ber
tad.

"
Pang-
umaganaSi
va,
e."

NapabuntunghiningaSiv
a.Walasiyangcellnumberngmgai to.Hi
ndinaSivadumadal
awsamga
kamag-anakatnaki kipagki
ta sa mga birt
hday
s,atkung anu- ano pang gat
heri
ngs.Pal
agisi
yang
nauut
angan na hindinababay ar
an.Pal agisiyang naany
ayahang maging ninang.Ayaw ni
yang
magkaroonnginaanaknadi ni
yafeel
.

Tandang-
tandapani ya.1992i
von.Mag-
eeleksyon.Tumat
akbobil
angMay orangkanyangPapa.
Bumisi
taSiv
asaCal oocan,kinaUncl
eTonyniy
a,pinsanngkanyangPapa.Bir
thdayngkanyangti
yuhi
n.
Gal
anteit
opagdatingsai numinatpulut
ankayahalosdoonlahatngkal
alaki
hanngbarangay.Gabiat
masayaangkwentuhan.

"Jul,hal
i
kadito."Pasi
gawnakawayngkany angUncle.Mal
aki
ngtaoi
to,
nasakal
agi
tnaang50.Buyand
sellangpinagkakaabal
ahan.Lumapi
tSi
va.Balakni
yangsumakaysamaari
ngpagbi
bir
oopang-aal
aska
nit
o.

Tsk.
..t
sk..
.byutianbr eyn'tongpamangklno.er
oewanol angkungmakakatul
ong'tosaaki n.Si
Papamo?Huh, wala'v
on, kahitmanal opaSivangay
on.Kulangsadi
skart
e,Jul
,wal
angdiskartesiPapa
mo.Mahina.Hamakinmo, ha,Vice-Mayorsa100bngsiyam nat
aonperowalamanlangniisangkamag
-
anaknanaipasoksamuni sipyo.Pwe! '

Nagpant
ingangkany angtai
nga.Nangini
gSiva.Lumuksoangil
angbotengbeer,Plat
o, atti
nidor
salakasngkany angpagsi
pasamesa.Nabi glaatnagul
antangangkar
amihan.Kaagadsi
yangpumasok,
ki
nuhaangbagpar abumal i
ksadorm.Hi ndiSiv
anagpaawat.ChancepassengerSi
vasaf i
rstfli
ghtng
PALkinaumagahan.Mat agalbagonagkabatisi
l
angkany angUncl
eTony.

KUNGPWDELANGSANA.KALANGANKONAKASI
NGUMALI
SDI
TO.

I
dinayalni
ya ang numer
o.Lal
akiang sumagotsa pangat
long r
ing."
SiTer
ay?I
to ba ang
pamangkinniy
a?Sandal
il
angha..
."

Hi
ndiniyaitoiki
nabi
gla.Kani
napani yanaisip namaari
ng naki
ki
suyolang siTer
ay.Per
o
nai
i
ntr
igaSi
va.Ki
los-
pagmamadaliatpabul
ongnapag-uusapangkany
angnari
ri
nig.

"
Jul
?Uh,siTeraydya.Te,pwede' kaw?SasimbahanlangngBaclar
an.Mal
i
li
gaw na'
kopag
l
umampaspady an.
"Tumawai t
o.Kont
rolado."
Parangdikonangamatandaanmasy
ado,e.MayMRT
nakasi
.Al
asdy
es...
?Dipwedengmaaga-agapa?"

Nai
i
nisSi
vadahi
lhi
ndiSi
vanakasi
ngi
tatnakapaghi
ndi
.Feel
i
ngni
ya,i
twasasi
fnaki
ki
pag-
usap

36
l
angsi
Ter
aysa14-
yearol
dnaJul
i
a.

Peronat
atakotdi
nsiyanghindii
tosiput
in.Al
am niyangmagi-gui
l
tysi
yaincasemaymasamang
mangyarikayTeray.Sasabayan lamang niy
ai to hanggang Monument
o atpasasakay
in ng dy
ip.
Di
dir
etsonamanSivasaShangril
a,pagkat
apossaPaseosaAust ral
i
anCent
re.

I
nil
ipatni
yasal ow coolang air
con.Pinali
tan ng "PaintTheSkyWi t
h Stars"niEnyaang
Cranberr
ies.Nakiki
ta ni
ya sa isi
pan,habang naki ki
nig,ang kanyang Papa.Mal ii
tit
ong t ao.
Nagsasapatoslamangkungpapasoksasi mbahan.Kumpor tablei
tosasandal
yas,camisadechi no,
sl
acks."Magpasalamatkayoatpagserbi
syolangsaDi y
osatt aoangbisyoko.Hindiakoumi i
nom o
nanini
gari
lyoonagsusugalkayaonagsasabong. "Itoangst andardni
yangsagotkapagpi napansi
n
ni
langmagkakapatidangpagi
gingmapagbigaynit
o.

Barangaycaptai
npalang,takbuhannangt ul
ongangkany angPapa.Athindiit
omarunong
humindi
.Mapa-bi
gasmannilaopang-al
lowance.Magi
ngsakanyangorasnaminsan,
nakakal
i
mutanna
ni
tongmagpagupitngbuhokatmgakuko.Patiangmag-shav
e.

SweldongkanilangMamabi langhigh-
schoolpri
nci
pal
angbumuhayatnagpaar alsakani
la.Kaya
kapwaniyahinahangaanatkinamumuhi anangkabut i
hanngkanyangPapa.I pi
napasa-Di
yoslamang
nit
oangproblemasaper anainihahaingnil
angmagkakapati
d.Walasil
angari
-ari
an.Nakaranassiyang
magti
is ng noodl
es sa dorm;magpal i
pas ng gutom sa l
ibr
ary atmal
ls,pumi l
a atumabang sa
kakar
ampotnast i
pendgali
ngsagoby er
no.

"Well
,mag-ral
l
ykay o,
bastaako, Iwouldr
atherdosomet hingpr
ofi
tabl
e.Therewil
lal
waysber i
ch
andpoor.
"Ini
iwasanniy
angmaki pagdiskusyont
ungkolsaMar xism.Ayawniyangma-invol
vedsaNGOs
atv ol
unt
eerwor ks.Kagay a niJustine,ang kanil
ang bunso na isang Associ
ate Missi
onar
y of
Assumpti
onatnakadestinosaBukidnon.

Lumalim angpagsusumi
kapniyangmagkaperanangmamat ayangkany angPapa.Nag- oobser
ve
si
ya nang hapong iy
on sa mga leader
sna abala sa pagdi
-di
stri
bute ng sample ball
otssa mga
pumapasoknasuppor ter
s."Ambush.Pababanasil
angDanawan, "repor
tsat wo-wayr adiongisang
suppor
ter
.LumuksoSi vasagali
tatalam niy
angwithmoney ,t
herewi l
lbejusti
ce.Nakakulongngayon
angsuspek.Patuloyangimbest
igasyon.Magkakar
oonngpani bagonghear i
ngpagdatingngkany ang
Mama.

Isi
niksi
kniyaangkatawansanag-uunahangpasaher
ongCRT.Mahigpitni
yangyinayakapang
shoul
derbag.Magkapatongangkanyangmgapaasapagkaupo.Naka-
sleev
elessSivangiti
m,cotton.
Naka-
capripantsnabei
ge.Naka-
leat
hersandal
s.

Col
l
egepaSi
vananghul
i
ngt
umunt
ongngBacl
aran.

Al
as-
nuwebesasi
ndi
hanngmgakandi
l
aangusapanni
l
ani
Ter
ay.

Isinuotniy
aangAr manishadeshabangpababasai stasy
on.Takip-t
aki
pniyangKl eenexang
i
longatmgabi big.Nabi
bingiSivasaingayngmgadyip,
ngmganagsi sidaan,ngmgatindera.Naii
nit
an
Siv
asapagl akad.Paki
ramdam ni ya,tinut
usokSi
vang mgasi l
ahi
sng ar aw.Nasisi
kipan Sivaat
naguguluhansadaan.Kabilaanangdispl
ayngmgamumur ahingdamitatgamitpambahay.

Napa-sheetzSiv
a;nagsi
sisikungbaki
thi
ndinagtaksi
.Nal
i
lit
oSi vakungsaanl
i
li
kopapunt
ang
si
mbahan.Nagtanongsi
yasaisangmayedadnatinder
angmgapr utas.

Pi
nagmamasdanniyasiTer
aymulasapagkatayosapintuan.Malakii
tongbabae—mal
apadang
beywang—malulusogangmgasuso.Maykaput
ian."
Palagingpostur
a,"i
toangnatat
andaanni
yangsabi
ni
la.Hindii
tol
umalabasngbahaynawal
angli
psti
ck.Kahitpar
aumi gi
bngt ubi
gsaposoomagwal i
ssa
bakuran.

Kumikibot
-kibotangmgabi bi
gnitohabangnakatayosaharapngnakasindi
ngkandi
l
a,hawak-
hawakangr osar
y .Nakalapagsatabini
toangmaroonnat ravel
i
ngbag,giveawayngPNB.Umangat
angtinginniTeravatnagt amaangkanil
angmgamat a.Kaagadbinuhatni
toangbagatlumapi
tsa
kany
a.

"
Oy,
Jul
,kani
nakapa?Nag-
gwapakanagi
dbal
a."

Ngumi
tiSi
va."
Syempr
e,dal
aga.Kumust
a?"

37
 "Het
o,mabut
iathindinadi
sgr
aya.Mayawapangar
inangDi
vos.Dibasakokosa'
yosaFor
t
Boni
faci
oako?Haynaku,
daigkopaangprisodoon.
"

Papalabassi
langsimbahan.Al
am ni
yangt
uloy
-tul
oynaangpagkukuwent
oniTer
ay.Gustona
niyangmaupo.Nat anaw ni
yaangGol di
l
ockssakabil
angkalsada.Gut
om nasiyasabreakf
astna
toastedbreadataspar
agussoup.

"
Gust
omol uncht ay
o?""
SaJoll
ibee?""I
kaw.""SaJol
l
ibeenal
ang,Jul
.Par
apag-
uwikomay
i
kuwent
oakongnakakai
nakongfri
edchickenniAga.
"

Tumawasi l
a.Maya-
may a,pinahir
anni Teravngpany oangnamamasangmgamat a.Alam ni
yang
hindiiyonluhangkanilangpagt awa.Nakar amdam si yangbi gatngdibdib."DumatingkasisiRonnie,
'
yunganaknaar myniCondringnakayBer t
o.A,hi ndimonasi guronaabutan.Nagpapahanapdawng
katul
ong ang kany ang boss.Fr ee naman ang pamasahe at2, 000 ang sweldo.E,di ,syempre
naenggany oako,ano.Peroay awt al
aganiManongFr edmo.Al am monaman' y
un.Magkakwar entay
saisnakamiper ogustopar ingsweetl angpal agi.Sabiko,anim nabuwanl ang,paramabawas-
bawasanangut angsaCoop.Aynaku, Jul,
pat ung-patongangut angnamin.Paano,syempre,Cooplang
angt akbuhan.WalanakasiangPapamo. "

Napat
igi
lSi
vasapagsubongspaghet
ti
.Napat
ingi
nsal
abas.

Ti
nakpanni
Ter
avngkamayangbunganga.Napal
unokngl
away
.

"
It
'sokay
."I
ngi
nusoni
yaangdi
panauubosnaf
renchf
ri
es."
Kumust
asi
Ger
ry?
"

"
Ay,abaw,Jul
,salamatatnakahanapSivangsponsor.Semi nar
ianSiva,saSt.Peter
's.SiAcay
naman,HRM saSt .Joseph.Scholardi
nkayalangmasakitparinangl i
ngguhangall
owance.Hi ndina
kasinamamandaysiManongmo.I naat
akenapalagi
ngrayumaatul cer
.Dal
awanaangapokoJul .Nag
-asawanakasisiTi na,hi
ndipanakatapos,nabunt
isna.Mabutilangatmasi pagnamanangasawa.
Haynaku,angkukulit
.Maka-Lola.Maynakit
angaakongl ar
u-l
aruandoonkani na.Muralang.Sabiko,
si
guradongmagugustuhannil
aito."

"
O,anonangnangy
ari
sa'
yodoonsaFor
t?"

"
Abaano,
kot
seangsumundosaaki
nsapi
er.Mgami
l
itar
ydi
n.Doonngaakodi
nal
asaFor
tBoni
faci
o.

Generalpal a ang boss ko.Tat l

o ang anak.Mal il
ii
tpa.Pagkat apos maymongol oi
d.Hay
napakasupl adangasawa.Akal amokungnapaka- gwapa.Kungwal asigurongmgamamahal i
ngcream
atlotion'yun,ewanl ang.Tatlopakami .Maykany a-kanyangtrabaho.Akoangt agali
nisatt agalaba.Sus
Ginuo,napakal aki
ngbahay .Taymst wongbahayny o!Angpinakamasakl ap,wal amanl angTV,wal ang
radyo,bawalgumami tngt el
epono,atbawalmaki pag-
usap.Di yosko,sabiko,mapapani spal aang
l
awaykodi to!Pagkataposkapagandy anangbabaeng' yun,parangsi ni
silabanako.Ki nakabahanl ang
akopal agi.Tutubuanakonangner byoskungt umagalpaako.Abaw,mabut il
angJulkasiI l
onggopal a
angi sangsecur i
tyguar d.E,alam monaman, ma-PR.Kay a'y
un, nakipag-t
extako.Ganunpal amag- text.
Pindot -
pindotkal ang,parangbr eakgame.7Nat ar ant
angaakokasipat agol ang.Noongi sangar aw
kasi,sinigawan' y
ungi sakasinakikipag-t
extdiny ata.Doonkodi nalasaCR.AnggandangCRni l
a,
magandapasat i
nutuluganko.Sabiko,hay ,mabutipanitosapr obinsya,mal ay aka.Tut al
,nakakakain
namankamidoonngt atl
ongar aw,uuwinal angako.Mayawar i
nangDi yos, mababay arandi nangmga
utangna' v
an."

"
E,saannasi
Ronni
ena'
von?
"

"
Yunnanga,
e.Par
angbul
angl
umaho.Pi
nagt
anung-
tanongkongasamgaguar
d,di
rawni
l
aki
l
ala.
"

"
Mabut
inamanatpi
nay
aganka.
"

"
A,kahitdisil
apumay ag,aalispar i
nako.Kahitwal
anangswel
do.Peronai
sipkona,aba,hindi
kasamasausapannai babal
ikko' yungpinamasaheko.Sobranamanakosakalahati
ngbuwankay a
dapatlangibi
gaynila'y
ungisangl i
bo.Aba, pambi
likopa'y
unngpasal
ubong.But
ilangatnat
aymingan
ko'yunglal
aki
.Wal anangtsetseburetse.
"

DumukotsiTer
avsabul
sangt
rav
eli
ngbagnanakapat
ongsaSi
l
va.Bi
nukl
atni
toangi
sang
y
ell
owpad.

Nagl
alamani
tongmgaaddr
essatcont
actnumber
s.
38
 "
Doon muna ako kina Manang Susan.Mga i sang l
i
nggo.Tut
aldi t
o na ako,diba?Malay
mo,makadelihensyapaako.But l
egnapant aloon,al am mo ba'yun?'Yankasiangmat agalnang
pi
nabibi
liniAcay.Bri
efsnamananggustokongi bi
likayManongmo.Atgust okori
nsanangmakabil
ing
bagongnipperat'yungmgausonakulaynaky uteks."

Nagtut
ubi
gangkany angmgamat asapag- i
-i
magi
nengmgagustongbil
hinniTer
ay.Alam
niy
angmasmal akipaangnagagast
osni
yasaisangtri
psaDer
mCl
i
nicodikaya'
tsaDavi
d'
sSalonsa
tot
alpr
icengmgai t
o."
Excuseme,mag-r
est
room l
angako.
"

Kahar
apngsalamin,naki
ki
tani
yasasar
il
ingmukhaangkanyangPapa.Magkasi
ngt
angosang
kani
l
angil
ong.Ki
napani
yaangATM atangHSBCcardsashoul
derbag.

TumatakbosaRoxasBoul evar
dangtaxinasi nasakyannil
a.Hawak-
kamaysi
l
asabackseat
,
sumasabaysaTheCarpent
ers:"
Allmybestmemories/Comebackcl ear
lyt
ome/Somecanev
enmake
mecry/Justl
ikebef
ore/I
t'
syest
erdayoncemore.
"Papat ungosi
lasaSM Mani
la.

Tr
ansl
atedbyt
heAut
horf
rom Hi
li
gay
non

Aboutt
heSt
ory

Theshortstor
y" pr
omdi@ mani l
a"byGenev i
eveLAsenjodramati
zest hel i
feoftwowomenwho
embodyl ongingforrootsaft
erbeingdisplacedandl uredbythepromiseofur banprogress.Bothare
"pr
omdi "i
nt heci
ty,butthecharacterJul
iaSebast i
anseemst ohav ei
ntegratedwel li
ntocityli
feaf
ter
yearsofbeingawayf rom Ant
ique—andquitewi ll
ful
ly,
afteranumberofstruggles.Shereconnectswith
herrootsthr
oughherencounterofTer aywho, unl
ikeher,hasnochanceofmov i
ngupi nthecity
.

Thenar ratorf oll

owst heconsci ousnessofJuls,butherst oryisi
ncompl etewithoutthecontr
ast
ofTer ay .Oneimpor t
antconcepti nchar acter
izati
onisthatofthef oi
l.Afoili
sachar acterwhostandsin
contrastt o anotherchar acter,usuallyemphasi zi
ng a particularatt
r i
bute ofa mor e pr
ominentl
y
charact eri
zedf i
gur e.Inthisstory,Teravisthef oi
loropposit
eofJul sbecauseshei stheexactfi
gureof
fai
luret hatthel eadchar acterisnot.Inthiscase,asinmanyot herinstances,thecontrastworksboth
way s,asTer aval somani f
eststhef ail
uresofJul s—ofemul atingways,asTer avalsomani f
eststhe
fai
luresofJul s—ofemul ati
ngat otal
lyurbanized(andconsumer ist
)personali
tyandt hussetti
ngaside
herv alues,orbasi callyforgett
ingwhoshei s.

Anot herimpor t
antel ementt obeconsi der edistheset t
ing.Theset t
ingisusual l
ydefinedast he
ti
meandpl aceaswel last hecul ture,poli
ti
cs,language,andv al
uesy stem thattheyent ai
lwheret he
storyunf ol
ds.Italsoconst itut
est hesoci o-
cult
uralcont extofthesaidtimeandpl ace.Inthi
sst or
y,the
ci
ty—Mani l
a—servesasacont rasttoAnt i
que,i
nt heislandofPanayi ntheVi sayas.Theci ty
-sett
ing
wher e Julscur r
entlyr esidesl ocatesherasone act ivel
yper f
orming herci tyl i
fe bywayofher
mot i
vationsandact ions,aswel lasherv i
ewoft hewor ldandofher sel
f.Theencount erwithTeravisan
encount erwiththespect erofherhomet own.Int hatshor ttr
iptohelpat ownmat e,Julsissomehow
abletor eki
ndleherlov eofherol dhomet own.

Genev
iev
eAsenJ0andHerRegi
onalNar
rat
ives

Ficti
onistinHi l
igaynonandFi li
pinoGenev i
ev eL.Asenj oi sanassoci at
epr ofessorofLi terature
andCr eativ
eWr i
ti
ngatDeLaSal leUni ver
sit
yinMani la.Hai
lingf r
om Dao,Ant i
que,sheal sowr i
tesi n
Kinaray -
aandof t
entranslatesherownwor ksintoFi l
i
pino.FellowKi nar
ay -
awr i
terJohnI r
emi lTeodor o
describesherNat i
onalBookAwar d-winningnovelLumbayngDi laas" aFili
pinof eministnov el
."Teodor o
emphasi zes Asenj o'
sr emar kablef eat:"bei
ng a woman wr i
terf rom t he v ernacularr ealm oft he
Phil
ippinenat ion(,
)shepushed,andi scont i
nuingt opush,t ot hef rontierofani magi nedFilipino
communi t
ywher ewomenar ef r
ee,wher egenderdoesnotpr ohibitany onef rom doi nganysmal lbut
vi
talrol einnat ionbuil
ding."HerWest ernVisayasr egi
onalorigin, aswel lasherl i
nguisticengagement s
andcul turalinvolvement s,i
nform muchofherwr i
ting.Theseincl udeapoet rycol l
ecti
on, PulaangKul ay
ngTextMessage,andt wocol lect
ionsofshor tstor i
es,KomposoniDandansoyandt aga-
uma@mani l
a
kagibapangapaki gsapalaran.Sheal sohasapi cturebookt i
tledSaAki ngPag-UWI .

Asenj
o,anhonoraryf
ell
owattheprest
igi
ousI
nternat
ionalWr
iti
ngProgram oft
heUniversit
yof
I
owaint heUnitedStat
es,i
sleadi
ngeff
ortstosust
ainKinaray-
ali
ter
atur
ebywayofhercel ebrat
ed
websi
tebalaysugi
danun.
com.Shedescri
besheronlinewor kasanexpl or
ationofthe"polit
icsof
39
possibil
it
y."Inaninter
v i
ew wit
hKal atas,shenot eshow herownent husiasm sust ai
nst hispr oject:
"Nabubuhayakosai deya,saimahinasyon,sav i
syon,atsamgaposi bil
idadngar t
ikul
asyonnito,lalona
sakongkr etoatpr
akti
kalnamgaaksy on.Isarit
oangl al
opangmapaki ta—kasinahawannaniSi rLeo
(Leoncio)Deri
adaatmganaunangmanunul atsarehiyonangdaan—angmar amiatibapangkakay ahan
ngKi naray-aatHili
gaynon(kasinagsusulatakosamgawi kangito)sapagbubuongmgabagong
komuni dad ng mambabasa sa panahon ng I nt
ernetatsoci almedi a.Mul ikong nai si
p ang
Publiko—ramdam koanghi gi
tnapangangai l
angangmaki pag-
usaplabassai vorytowerngakademy a.
Kay anaisipkoangPady aKinaray-
a."Today ,Asenjo'sbalay
sugi
dadun. com ( f
rom aKi naray-at erm,
"stor
yhouse" )conti
nuest obecomeahubofnar rati
vesarti
cul
art
ingt heKi naray-
aandHi l
igay non
experience.

Asenjo'sstory" promdi @mani la"comesf r

om al ongl i
neofnar r
ativ
est hatty pif
yt hepr omdi
experi
enceandexami net hemov ementf rom ther egion(oft
enconsi deredr ural
)tothenat i
onal"center"
(t
hecity,Mani l
a).Promdi -
t hemedst oriesinPhi l
i
ppi neli
terat
urehav ebeenhandl eddiff
er entl
y—from t he
comicandsl apsti
cki npopul arkomi ksandser ializednovels,todr amat icsocialcomment ar
y,asi n
EdgardoM.Rey es'sSaMgaKukongLi wanagandt hestori
esant hologizedint helandmar kMgaAgos
saDisyerto.Reyes'snov el,whichwast urnedintofilm byNationalArtistforFil
m LinoBr ocka, t
acklest he
tr
agedyofbar ri
olassLi gay aPar aisoandherl ov erJulioMadiaga,whoseeksherouti nthecityt hat
ult
imatelyconsumest hem bot h.Asenjo'spromdi ,ont heotherhand,of fersamor eredempt i
vev ersion
ofthefigure,despit
ebei ngal r
eadyi mmer sedinthedi git
alandconsumer istcult
ureoftheci ty.

Nar
rat
ingt
heRegi
onThr
ought
he"
Sugi
lanon"

Thestory"promdi@mani la"iscollectedinAsenj o'sbookKomposoniDandansoy .Thesubt it

leof
thebook,asidefrom usingt hecollecti
vegenr elabelmgakuwent o,alsousest het erm sugi l
anon,the
Hil
igaynontermf or"st
ory."Anobser vabler egi
onalr esponsetothenecessi tyofrei
teratingt r
adit
ionsis
theuseoflocaltermst odescribelocalpr acti
cesofwr i
ti
ng.Il
ocanowr it
ersusethewor dsar i
tabasicall
y
simil
artotheTagal ogsalita—torefertomostf icti
oni nthei
rlanguage.Bi kol
anowritershav ederi
veda
termfrom thewor dusiporosi p,meani ng" totellast ory
";usipon/osiponhasbecomeaby wor din
descri
bingBikolnarrati
ves.Thewor dsugi lanonisonet hattheHi l
i
gay nonssharewi t
ht heCebuanos,
andinseveralEngli
sh-Cebuanodi cti
onaries, t
hewor di mpli
esnotonl ynarrati
on,
butal sor ecounti
ngand
remember i
ng,andqui t
einteresti
ngly,r
elationandassoci ati
on.

Thev ar
iousnamesandl abel sforst ori
esascr eatedandr eadbypeopl ei nandf rom ther egions
signifynotonl yt hedi v er
sityofpr oduct ion,butal sot hedesi reoft her egionst oreit
er atet hei
rident i
ties
andcul turesascont ributingtot hedef initi
onoft hel argernat i
onall i
teratureandcul ture.Thev ar
ietyof
termi nologies—notonl yi nficti
on,buti nmanygenr esofwr i
ti
ngal sochar acterizeshowt hewr i
tersof
eachr egion,throught heiruseofl anguagei ncr eat i
v ewor k,cont i
nuousl yseekt oel ucidatetheirl ocal
history,ideas,andexper iences.Theusageofv arioust ermsbyFi l
i
pinowr iterst orefert ot hei
rf i
ctions,
particularlyshortst ories,alsoexpr esseshowl ocalwr it
inghassuccessf ully"Fi l
i
pinized"t hegenr eaf ter
adopt ingi tf r
om col onizers.Thesar ita,theusi pon/ osipon,andt hesugi lanon,amongot her s,ar e
statement sofnat i
veFi li
pinoor i
ginal i
ty.Asenj o'sf ell
owHi li
gay noncr it
icLuci llaHosi l
loshast hist osay
regar dingt hecapaci tyf oror i
ginalityofFi l
ipinowr i
ting,par ti
cularl
yint hef i
eldoft heshor tstory:"The
Fil
ipinizationoft heWest ernshor tst or
yi sacol lectiveef fortofFili
pinowr it
ers,especi all
yoft hosewho
tookupt hechal lenget oexperimentwi thitsf or msdur ingi t
sf ormat i
vest age.Thus,al thoughf or eign
i
nf l
uenceswer esemi nalandov erpower i
ng, t
heFi li
pinowr it
erhasst i
l
lbeenabl et otransmut ethem i nto
entiti
eswi thhisor i
ginal i
tythatmaycal l hi
sar tisticcr eati
onshi sownandt hatofor i
ginal i
tythatmaycal l
hisar ti
sticcreationshi sownandt hatofhi speopl e.”

LanguageasaMeansofI
magi
ningt
heNat
ion

Int hei mportantwor kI magi nedCommuni ties,Benedi ctAnder sondef i

nesthenat ionas" an
i
magi nedpol i
ti
calcommuni ty—andi magi nedasbot hi nherentlyli
mitedandsov erei
gn."Inthislesson,
we hav el ooked athow t he dy nami c bet ween t he region and t he cent erorcapi talwor ks i
n
context uali
zingt hedesi r
et odef i
net henat ion.Thr ought hest ory,wewer egi venagl i
mpseoft he
compl exexper i
enceofmov ement s,andhowt heseshapei ndivi
dualandcol l
ecti
veident
iti
es.Ther egi
on
i
sdef inednotonl ythroughet hni
candcul tur
albackgr ound,spi ri
tual
ity,andwor ldvi
ew.Languageal so
play
sani mpor tantpartindefini
ngt her egion,andawar enessandappr eciati
onoft hevari
ousPhi lippi
ne
l
anguagesampl ifyt
her elat
ionofpeopl esspeaki ngt heseso- call
edmot hertonguesandcont r
ibutesto
thecol orfulfabr i
cofournat ion'
sst ory.Ref l
ectont hisquest i
on:Howdot hevari
ouslanguagesf orgea
40
nat
ional
bond?

MODULE2:TEXTSANDCONTEXTS(
SHORTSTORY)

Readi
ngs

Text
ualCont
ext

Fort hemostpar t,thest udyofl iter atur ei sdev otedt ot he" object i
ve"qual it
yoft het ext —awor k
ofl i
teraturehast obeper ceivedasani ndependentor ganism, freelyexist i
ngandmaki ngmeani ngoni ts
own.Li t
er ature'sbei ng"or ganicallywhol e"i sal it
eraryv alue,especi allywhenawor kisconsi der edand
i
nt erpretedasanobj ectofr eadi ng,dev oidofot her" cont exts,"sot ospeak.Thecl oser eadi ngoft he
text —themai nmet hodoft his" objective"schoolofappr oachi ngl i
teraturei solatest het extf rom ot her
cont exts( etymol ogicall
y ,connect ions)bel iev i
ng t hatt he wor k mustsuccessf ull
yar ti
cul at eitself
wi t
houtconsi derationoft heaut hor'sint ent i
on, t
hewor k'shi storicalmi l
ieu, noritsimpactonapar t
icular
audi ence.Howev er,thecr i
ti
cM.H.Abr ams( 1953) ,inhi sst udyofRomant i
ct heor yandi t scr it
ical
traditi
on,del ineat ed fourbasi cl i
terar yappr oaches t oi nterpretati
on:expr essive( consi der ing the
aut hor'
scr eat iveintent),mi met i
c( consi der ingl iteratureasa" mi rror"oft hewor ldandr eality
), pr agmat ic
l
iteratureasa" mi rr
or"oft hewor ldandr eal i
ty),pragmat i
c( consider ingt heef f
ectofl iter atureon
reader s)
,and obj ective( consi der i
ng onl yt he wor k).He al so emphasi zed how hi stor i
cal ly
,t he
assumpt ionofoneexcl udest heot her s.Whi l
et heobj ectiveappr oachhasr eignedov ert heot hert hree
asar eadi ngpr actice(especi allyint hePhi li
ppi nes),theconceptofcont extev entuallyr eemer gedasa
necessar yt oolinenr ichi
ngl iteraryinter pr etation.

Themast eryofcl oser eadi ng—ort heexpl i

cationoft hewor kdependsont hecl osenessofa
reader'
sappr ehensi onoft hei nt ernalel ement soft het ext.Apoem r equirest heexami nat i
onoft he
persona,dr amat i
csi tuation,imagesandf i
gur ativ
el anguage,andpoet i
ci nsight .Ast ory,ont heot her
hand,mustber eadconsi deringi tspoi ntofv i
ew,char acteri
zati
on,pl ot,conf l
ict
,andt heme.Ot her
genres—whet hert radi t
ionaloremer gental so need t o be consi der ed int ermsoft hei rparti
cular
element s.Howev er,ther eadi ngexper iencet ransformswhenext r
atextualcont ext scomei ntoplaywi th
thetext.Theaut hor'sbi ogr aphyandi nfluences,f ori nstance,maybeusedasar eferencei nfur t
her
understandingat ext .Anawar enessofhowawor kintersectswi t
hhi stor yhel pspr operlysi t
uateitina
parti
cularsociety.Thecr i
ticCat herineBel sey( 2014),ont heot herhand,r ecent l
yr evaluedpl easure—an
aspectt hatbel ongst ot her eader '
sex peri
enceoft hewor k—andencour agedl it
eraturet eacherst o
retur
nt oi tasaf undament all i
ter ar
yv al
ue.I tmustbeemphasi zed,howev er,thatal t hougheach
approachi nsomeway" excludes"t heot hers,eachoft hem isanchor edi nt hedi scussionbyt hewor k,
theobj ectofal lint erpret ati
ons.Onemustr emembert hatwhi l
et hewor kcanbei sol atedasan
i
ndependent ,"organi callywhol e"made t hing,i ts meani ngs ar e also cont i
ngenton i ts cont exts;
parti
cularlyinmoder nt i
mes,whent hewor d" t
ext"issai dt ohav eal r
eadyr epl acedt heconceptoft he
"work"whenr eferri
ngt oliteratur e.

I
nt hismodul e'sstor yfrom Cebubyf ictionistTemi stoklesAdl awan, wear eshownnotj ustl i
fein
thest r
eet s,butl if
ei nt hest reetsasmostpr obabl yexper iencedbyAdl awanhi msel f
.Thest ory,
consider edoni t
sown,al readyar t
iculatesexper i
encest hathar kbackt oauni v ersalconf l
ict—t he
endlessst ruggl ebetweent heol dandt henew.Adl awanexpl orest heconf li
ctbysi tuat i
ngitint hel i
feof
tri
cycledr iver sinCebu, whoseadv enturesbr ingusi nsightaboutt hechangi ngl andscapeoft hel ocali
ty.
Whatcanper hapsenr ichourappr eciationoft hest ory—wi t
houtt riv
iali
zingnorr omant ici
zi
ngi st hefact
thatthisf ictionalexper i
encei sv eryrealf orAdl awan, whowr ote" str
eetl i
fest ories"because, bywayof
i
nference, thest r
eetscapeofhi slocalit
yi nCebui shi sownuni v erse.Wewi llseei nAdl awan'scaset he
i
ntersect ionofani magi nedwor l
doft ricycledr ivers,andt her ealwor l
dofAdl awan,ashehi mself
shuttlesbet weenacommi tmentt ocr eativel i
fet hroughwr i
ti
ngf i
ct i
onandadai l
yobl i
gati
ont opr ovide
forhi sf ami lybydr ivingat ri
cy cl
e.I nt hisst ory,Adl awanchar acteri
zeshi sdr iver sashumanl yand
humanel yaspossi ble,leadingt opower fulinsight saboutl i
v i
ngi nt hef astlane,agi ng,andouri nherent
comi calimagi nat
ionasFi li
pinos.

Readt
hef
oll
owi
ngshor
tst
ory
.
41
 ONEDAYONTHEROAD

byTemi
stokl
esM.Adl
awan

Cebu

Thel
astpassengerhasgot
tenoff,
anoldwomancarry
ingasmel l
ybasket
,andnowI'
veamindt o
tur
nbackandgot hewayIcame.It akeaquickvi
ewofthesideoftheroadaheadofme,andanother
quicklookatt
heroadt omybackt ocheckforanycomi
ngtraff
ic,atr
uckoranyotherv
ehi
cleheading
towardsmysideoftheroad.

Thr
oughtheRay -
BanwhichIam usingtoguar dmyey esfrom t
hegl areandt hedustoftheroad,
I'
m gladtonotethatt heroadisclearonbot hsides—i
twoul dbeaci ncht ot urnback.Butanempt y
tr
icy
cledriv
esupbehi ndmeandposi t
ionstomakeaU- t
urn,wit
ht heint enti
on,Igat her
,togobackthe
samewayi tcame, pi
ckupanypassenger sont hewaybackt otownt ot hepar ki
ngpl acewhichthenew
mayor ,
theHonorableFerdi
nandM.Chi ong,i
splanningt
oimpr oveaccordi ngtot hebeststandar
d.

Myelati
onqui
cklyfades,
ov er
rul
edbyanotherf eel
ing—oneofdi
sappoint
ment.IfIgoonbackasI
hadplannedandInti
ng-Sana'ssonisgoingt
odot hesamet hi
ng—anydri
verwould,andasIof t
enhear
thi
stoldamongdr i
versthemselves—wewouldber acingeachotherdownthatroad,ar acetopickup
passengers,
andIam notsurethere'
dbeanyatthist i
me.Ori ft
her
eare,howmanywoul dt her
ebe?

Atthesametimei toccurst omet hatononehand,Icouldchoosenott ot ur

nback.LetInti
ng-
Sana'ssongoahead—f orIcertai
nl ywon'tal
lowhimtogetthebet t
erofmeont heroad—Imyselfwill
dri
vefart
herupthisr
oadt oSiti
oBuwabog, wher
ehopeful
l
yacr eat
urewiththefinest,
smoothestskinis,
att hi
s moment ,hanging out.Rel ax,take a br
eat
herf r
om t hi
st i
resome,wear yi
ng,dangerous
occupati
on—dr i
vi
ngat ri
cycl
e,at radethatmostpeopl
elookdownupon,t yrannizedatanyti
mebyt he
ri
dingpubli
c,andper
secutedbybi ggervehicl
esal
ongtheroad.

St
il
l,onanot herconsi
derat
ion,itwouldn'tber i
ghtformet oyieldhere,f
oraf t
erall,Igott oSi
tio
Inamo-anfirst
,thi
splacewhichispar tofBarangayLut ac,
thereforeIshouldbefirstonthatr oadbackt o
town.Thisisanunwr i
tt
enruleamongt ricy
cledriver
s—t orespecttheonewhoar riv
esf i
rstatapl ace,he
mustbeal lowedtobef ir
stonther oadback, apri
ncipleobeyedi npracti
ceandr ecognizedbyal ldri
vers
thefi
rstt
oar r
ivemustbegi v
enthepr iv
il
eget ogof i
rst
.Wi t
houtt hi
sprinci
pletoguideev eryone,itwould
surebemessy .

Ont hisconsi der at

ion,Idecidet ot urnar ound.If igurei ft herearenoot hertri
cyclesplyi
ngthe
roadahead,Icoul dpi ckupaf ewf aresatt hecor nerwai tingshedofSot on,thef i
rstsit
io,whereonceI
caughtagl impseofagi r
lshowi ngof fhersexybut tint heski mpi estofoutfit
s,anewonet omyey es;
twof ormerbar ri
ocapt ainsofBar rioPangdan,UndoI kotandBayKady oAliganga,allfri
endsofmi ne
alsol i
veher e.Thenextwai ti
ngshedi satSi tioHumay an,t hisiswher ethef areshav ebecomechoosy
aboutt hei rrides,start i
ngf r
om thet i
mewhensomeoft hei rrelativesbeganwor kingabroad.Andont o
thewai tingshedofSi ti
oGr eyRock( wher eImy sel
flive,int heonl yhousel eftstandingsortofaskewon
thesi deofahi l
l).Last ,thewai ti
ngshedofBar angayMai nit
,whi chanyol ddayi sabloom wi tht
he
presenceofmanypr ettygirl
s,suchasHopeCanal itaandal lhercousi ns,t
hesi stersHelenandJudi t
h
Say son,t heAl igangasi st
ersandmanyot her s,youf i
ndt hem al ongt hesideoft her oadatAl i
ce-Gar
y'
s
placeal lthewayt oCar men- SammyandSer i
a-Will
y.Idon' tev encountt hewai t
ingshedatBar angayNa-
aladbecauseI 'm surei nt heplacest hatI'
v ement i
oned,i ftherear eanyf ar
esatal l
,andifthereareno
othert r
icy clesplyingt hatroute,orturningbackf r
om Si ti
oI namo- an, I
'
dsurel
ybef ull
-housealready.

Igett
otheot hersideoft heroad,
theri
ghtsi
dethatleadsstr
aighttotown,aheadofInti
ng-Sana'
s
son,whosesmal ljuveni
lef acei salmostcomplet
elymaskedbyhi sdar kcheapsungl asses,li
kel
y
boughtfrom aMusl i
m hawker ,andwho, att
hatmoment ,
isstart
ingtotwisthiswheel.Ihaveami ndto
callouttohim,"'
DoSher win,justgivemeal i
tt
lel
ead,'
Do,don'tfol
lowsocl osebehindme. "Butital
so
occurstomet hatthisguy '
sbeent otheDonEmelioCanonigoMemor ialNati
onalBarangayHighSchool
i
nourbar ri
o,surel
yhehasenoughcommonsenset odot heproperthing.SoIstopmy selffr
om givi
ng
him mymi ndandsimpl ygoont odri
vepasthi
m.

Iam onf i
ft
hgearandcr uisi
ngat30kphonmyspeedomet er,easyascanbe, noprobl
emsi nthe
worl
d,absolut
elyrel
axed,thi
nkingtomy sel
f,thi
ssmallfel
l
ow,hel ookslikeachild(assmal
lasI nt
ing
hi
mselfwho'sevensmal l
erthanmyownf i
ve-f
ootfr
ame,puyrabuyag),butevenhemustknowt herul
es.
Heshouldtakecaretostaybehind,heshouldcauti
onhimself
,becauseifhestickscl
osetome, t
hetwo
42
ofusfol
l
owi
ngeachot
hersocl
osel
yont
hisr
oad,i
twoul
dnotbeagoodt
hingf
orbot
hofusi
cki
nu
far
es.

Dri
v i
ngonl owspeed,If eeleasy ,light,comf or t
able,enj oyingt hewi ndgener atedbyt hev elocity
oft hemot orcycle,alt
houghmyski nisst illpr i
cklingt ot hebi teoft heear lyaf ternoonheat .Iwhi stl
ea
l
ightai rtomy self,t
hinkingoft hepr ettylittlechi ckswhomi ghtbewai t
ingupaheadt or idewi thme.Al l
myf aressof ar,puyrasaway —becauseaf teral lI'
m nodi fferentfrom anyoft hem—wer eol dwomenwho
wentt otownt osel ltheirproduce,t heirbi gbasket ssmel l
ingoft i
nabal ,sal tedf i
sh,andsl i
ght l
yput ri
d
fi
shwhi cht heyboughtf ortheirownf ood.Fr om whi stli
ng,Isoonf indmy selfsingingl a-la-
la-laandhu-
hum hu-hum,anol dl ovesongi nEngl ish,Br endaLee' s"Losi ngYou, "asongIl ov ever ymuch,Iuset o
singi teverywher eIwent —thatwaswhenIdr oppedoutofschoolandbecameane' er-do- wel lrambl er,
mov i
ngoutofCebut oDav ao, Misami sOcci dent al
, thet woZamboangas, ther ewher eIf elli
nl ov ewi t
ha
l
otofwomen, wooedt hem fort heirlove, serenadedt hem, andal lofthem r ejectedme, sot hatnow, allI
coul ddoi sr uemyl oss,andexpr essmyl ongingf ort hem wi t
ht hi
ssongt hatt el
lsaboutl ostl ove.Al l
this,whileIbel i
ev emy selftobewel lahead, Iglanceatmyl eftsidemi rr
ort ocheck.Icl uckmyt ongueat
whatIsee." Thisdev i
lofaki d,he'saf termef ast."If eelt hreatenedi nmyhopet opi ckupf ar esint he
Sot onwai ti
ngshed.Igr ipthecl utcht obr i
ngi tlower ,hitti
ngbackt ofour thgear .Themot orgiv esal i
ttle
kickandt hespeedomet erpointercl i
mbst o35kph.Iwat cht hepoi ntrisehi gherasIgearbackt of i
fth,
keepi ngast eadypr essur eont hegas, glanci ngbackagai natt hemi rror,say ingt omy sel f
, "
Ammhh, see
i
fy oudon' thangy ourselfnow. "

Nothim.Wi t
houtasecondt hought
,whenhenot icesthesmokebel chingthi
ckerfrom the
exhaustofmymot or(whichhemusthav ebreat
hedin,alongwiththedustont hebrokencement
surf
aceoft heroadpavement)
,andheget swindofwhatIam doing,hefol
l
owssui t
,notwant
ingtobe
l
eftbehind.Itel
lmysel
f,"
Thiskid'
sraci
ngmef orfar
es,asifhehasaf amil
ytofeedandneedsal otof
money .

Ikeepthepressureuponthegas,t
wist
ingi
tmor
e.Myspeedi
ncr
eases,butt
hedev
ilt
akei
t,
Sher
wini
srightbehi
nd,cl
osi
nguponmyback.

There'
sstil
lr oom onthegas,butIdesi stfrom usingit,f
ir
st,becauseatt herateof50kph,i t
wouldnotbeeasyt omaneuv erav ehicl
erunningont hreewheels,ali
tt
lemistake,andit
'sthehospital
,i
f
notthecemet ery,fortheunfort
unat e;second,Ifeelthestressont hemachi ne,i
tcouldov erheat
,and
thepistoninsi
det hecy l
i
nderwil
lst opwor ki
ng;thir
d,I'
m stil
lsl
ightl
yaheadofSher win,I
'm closetothe
Sotonwai t
ingshed, andI'
m pl
anningt oslowdowni ncaset herearepassengers.

Rightenough,therearepassengers.Iam surethey'
rewaiti
ngf oraride,f
ortheygetoutoft
hewaiti
ng
shedandsi gnalformet ostop,t
woboy sandagi r
linshorts,butIhaven'
tseenthei
rfacesy
et.WhenI
am closeenought othem,Irecognizethegir
lasthesexyoneIgl i
mpsedaf ewday sagoint
hispar
tof
ourbarri
o,wearingthatski
mpyout fi
tandshowingof fherbutt
.

OfcourseIhavenotawhi tofaright
,norreasontofeelangr
yorjeal
ous—I
'
venorel
ati
onshi
pof
anyki
ndwit
ht hi
sgirl
,andI'
m sureshe'sneverlai
dey esonmeunt i
lnow.Iknownot
hingaboutwher
e
shecomesfr
om, hername,noroftheboywhoi swithher.

Iletgoofthehandbrakeleverwhi
chIhadprepar
edtotur
n,atthesametimeput
ti
ngmyr i
ght
footonthebrakepedal
,usi
ngt heclut
chtochangegearqui
ckl
ybackt ot
hir
d.Turni
ngt
hegas,Itel
l
Sherwi
n,slowi
ngdownf oranov er
taki
ngpaneltr
uck,whi
leIsl
ow downtowardsthewai
ti
ngshed,I
throwt
hesewordsathim:

"DoSher win,t
hey
'r
ey our
s.Ani
mal,t
hisgi
rl,l
ooksl
ikeshe'
sal
readytaken!
"Sherwi
ndoesnot
answer,butIbeli
evehewouldstoptopi
ckthem up.Whywoul
dheber aci
ngme?I tcoul
donl
ybefor
far
es.Herearetwosureones.

Well
,I
'm wrong!Hetai
lsme,li
keashadowr ef
usingtoleav
emyback,hedoesn'
tstop.Suspi
cion
r
isesinme—he'snotraci
ngmef orpassengersafterall
,hewantsacont
est
,machineagainstmachine
t
of i
ndoutwhichoneisstr
onger
,fast
er.Iam suddenlyafr
aid.

We'v
ethesameki ndofmachine—two-str
oke,sel
f-
mixingoraut
olube,Japan-made,buthi
sisa
bi
gger135cc,mineonly125cc.Icoul dgoupt of i
ft
hgear,however
,hecangouponl ytofourt
h.I
amposi
ti
veofmymot or
cyclespeed,abranddi f
fer
entfrom theoneIusedt ohav eandf rom what
Sher
winisnowdr
ivi
ng.Buttal
khasitthatSherwi
n'smodelisstr
ongandpower f
ul,asiti
salsosai
dthat
43
Sherwi
nisaspeedster,notonl
yonthetr
icycl
ebutalsoonthehabal-habal
.Imysel
f,who'
sbeenlongin
thi
sbusinessofrunni
ngat ri
cycl
e,l
ongbefor
eIr et
ir
edfrom work,mywi f
esti
l
lali
ve,myf ourchi
l
dren
sti
l
lunmar r
ied,
Imysel
fam wi t
nesst
othefactthatt
hiski
dcanreall
yspeedhist
ricy
cle.

Thisi
snottot ootmyownhorn,butbef
oreasidecarwasat
tachedtomymot orbi
ke,i
tcoul
dgo
upto120kphorev enmor e;
withasi
decar
,empty,
itcoul
dmake60kph; l
oadedi
tcouldonlydo40kph.
I
ftheload'
sheavy,itcanbarel
ymake40.IhavenoideawhatSher
win'
smot ori
scapableof.Myworry
gr
owsl i
keaboil
insideme.

Exceptf ort
hatcur venotf arf rom t hehouseofBayKady oAl iganga,thewai t
ingshedatSi tio
Humay anshoul dbevisiblenow.Iseepeopl ether e,andf artherof ffrom t hewaiti
ngshed, nearRamon' s
vulcanizingshop,Iseet wodumpt rucksf ol
lowingbehi ndapassengerbus.Iknowt her ear ecraterson
thecementr oadnearthewai tingshed,andIf i
gur ethatt hesel argev ehicl
eswi l
lbeonmeont hisbad
patchofr oad,soIletof font hegas.Fr om almost60kph,Iam downnowt o45kphaf tergear ingup
from third,butSherwin,unmi ndfuli
tseems,oft hecr acksont hepav ing,unmindfuloft heappr oachi ng
trucks,st or
mspastme.Por bida!Af terthatencount er—t hoset rucksboundf orthemount ain,thet wo
tri
cyclesgoi ngt ot
own—Iswal lowthedr ynessinmyt hroat,catchi ngagl i
mpseoft hreef ares,ally oung
women,get tingoutofthewai ti
ngshedandsi gnal i
ngf orSher wi nt ost op.ButSherwindoesn' tstopf or
them, andnowIam pr ettysur eofit
, he'soutf orar ace, machi neagai nstmachi netoprov ewhi chonei s
mor epower ful
.He'
snotr acingmef orpassenger s!

Thethreemadeahal f
-heartedef
for
ttostopme,nourgencyint heirgest
ure;insuchinstances,
onemayst opornot,itdoesn'treall
ymatt
er.Iam dri
vi
ngt
hroughthisar eawheret hepassengersare
choosyaboutthei
rri
des.Thetricycl
emustlookspi
ffy
,andt
hedriv
er,preferabl
ynotanoldman.

Well,IdecideIwon' tstopf orthem,notev eni ft

heywav ehardatme,Iwon' tstop.Eveni fmy
earni
ngsf ortheday ,from mor ni
ngt i
llnoon,isstillsmall.I
twouldhav ebeengoodt oaddt oit,butat
thi
spoint,mymi ndisnol ongersetonpi ckinguppassenger s.Awaynowf rom t
hecr acksandcr atersof
theroad,Igearupt ot hir
d, hol
ditup, gearupt ofour t
h,holditonsomemor e.WhatI '
m afrai
dofi sthi
s:
thatIwoul dbeputt oshamewhenIpassbyGr eyRock,t heplacewher eIli
ve,andIwoul dhearmy
rel
ati
vesandmynei ghbour sshoutingwhent heyseemebeat en,hangi
ngback:"Nggeee!Tr i
cycle,'
Noy
Miguel,BayMi guel,
ItsoMi guel
,Miguel ,
loser,l
oser,loser
!"Icl
enchmyj aws,but
..
.

Iam mar ki
ngspeedcl oset o60kphonf i
ft
hgear ,Iam mov i
ngf orward,butnotfastenought o
catchupwi t
hSher wi n.Howev er,thedi f
fer
encei snol ongertoobi g.Whichmeans,we' remov ingon
al
mostequalpower ,consideri
ngt hatIst il
lhaveaf ewmor eturnsleftonmygas.Iam wonder ingwhat
Sherwini skeepingback,I '
dr eall
yl iket oov er
takehim whenwegett oGr eyRock.Butt hecr acks
andcratersareont her oadagain,andt herearetwocur v
est onavi
gatebef oreandaftert
hewai t
ingshed.
Itr
ytokeepourdi stancedown, putt
ingupwi ththesmokeandt hedustwhi chhei smakingmeswal l
ow.
Thef earandt heshamepur suemeal lthewayt oBar angayMai ni
twher e,I'
m sure,Hope,Judit
h,and
Helenwi l
lwitnesstheev entandwi l
ljoinintheshout i
ng,"Wii
ii
!Loser!Loser!"

HadIanymor emuscl esleftinmyj awt oclench,Iwouldsurelyclenchi tnow.Loser, huh!Thisi s

Mi guelwho'slivedl ongenoughi nthiswor l
d,amanofexper ience,amanwhoknowsal ot,allthrough
hisownef f
orts,ev eni fhe'
sadr opout.Wi l
lheallowamer ehighschoolki dt obeathim?Hmm,l ethim
try.Hewi l
lsee.Thi sthoughti sgoingoni nsideme.Meanwhi l
ewear enowonast r
aightstretchofr oad
alongBar angayNa- alad,aft
erthecur venearSammy -Carmen,alongWi ll
y-Seri
a,pastNamat yasI nsek,
thepl aceofPent ingt hehealerandPul i
na-Tiago,intoandoutofMai ni
t,andatt hispointItaket hel ast
turnoft hegas,r am t hemot orwhi chI'
venev erev erdonebef or
e,goingf orbrokeatlast.Att hispoi nt
thisisnotaf i
ghtmachi netomachi ne,t
hisaf i
ghtforpr i
de.Pri
de!Pri
de!Wef lashpastvehicleswehav e
overtaken,evenmor eso, theonesweencount er.

Sureenough,IgetwhatIwant
.Atfour
thgear
,thespeedometerbegi
nstomov efr
om 60kphto
70kph,fi
ft
h,whichbri
ngsmeneckt oneckwit
hSherwin,t
henaheadofhim onthatst
rai
ghtst
ret
chof
roadi
nNa-alad.

Theydigmeupf rom aplowedlandbyt hesideoft her oadnearSi t

ioLuyo-Ment eryo,that
'
swher e
thepeopl epi
ckmeup, i
ncludi
ngSherwi n,thejeepowner ,Mel i
oYoy ot,BayJesusTol entino,BayMar cos,
andBayDor o,whosetri
cycl
esIhav eov ertaken,butcannotnowr ememberwher e.Ther ewasadump
truckthatSherwi
nandIencount er
ed,andaf t
erIhadov ertakenhim, Ialsotr
iedtoov ertakeanol d,
slow-
mov ingjeepbutIhi
titwit
hmysi decar.Ilostcontrolofthet r
icycl
ewhi chswungandl ur chedtotheside
44
ofther
oad.Agoodthingtheowneroft
hejeepstopped,andSher
winhimselfalsosloweddownand
st
eppedonthebr
ake,
notfoll
owi
ngwhatIdi
d.If
indthi
soutwhenalreadyr
ecappingtheevent
.

Thosewhoweretheretaketur nswi
pingt hebl
oodoffmyscr atchesandlacer
ati
ons,r
ubbi
ng
t
hosepar
tsofmybodywhichhur tfrom t
hef al
l,andever
yonewho'sthereissayi
ngthesamet hi
ng,
"
Pri
de,
pri
degott
hebet
terofyou.Luckythi
ngy ouwerefl
ungfrom y
ourtr
icycl
etothi
ssoftpl
owedsoil
."

Looki
ngatt hebadl
ydamagedt ri
cycl
et hewor dswoul
dnotcomeoutofmymout h:"Never
agai
n!"IdonotlookatSher
winwhenhesay s,
"Let'
stake'NoyMi
guel
tot
hehospi
tal
."Ial
sol
osttheRay-
Banwhi chhadbarr
edmyey esf
rom seei
ng.

Tr
ansl
atedf
rom CebuanobyMer
li
eM.Al
unan

Aboutt
heText

Thest ory" OneDayont heRoad"pr ovidesmor edi mensionsofst r

eetl i
febyusi ngl ocal color
.The
setti
ngi nt hiscont ext—thest r etchofr oadwher ether acetookpl ace—compl ement sthel if
eofMi guel
asat ri
cycledr iverbelongingt ot hatpar ti
cul arCebuanol ocali
ty.Thedev i
ceofl ocalcolori sgener all
y
usedi nfictionnotmer elyasanador nmentt othest ory
,butasar eiterationofv erisimi l
itudeand
probabi l
i
ty.Thi smeanst hatspeci ficdet ail
sar eplacedbecauset heyenhancet her eal
itycr aftedbyt he
story.Forexampl e,aset ti
ngi spar ti
cularizedbyt helanguageanddi ctionusedbychar acters.Inthis
story,onei mpor tantindicationofl ocalcol oristhei nserti
onofCebuanoi nterjecti
ons( puyr abuyag,
puyrasaway ,porbida),aswel last her eferencet opeopl eintheCebuanol anguage( asint hisdi al
ogue,
"Nggeee!Tr icycle,'NovMi guel ,BayMi guel ,ItsoMi guel,Miguel,loser,loser,l oser!"
).Languagei sa
primar yi
ndi catorofl ocal
ity,andAdl awancl earlyhasanearf orthel ocali
nf l
ection.Weknowt hatwear e
readingapar t
icularCebuanoexper iencebecauset helanguage—t hev esselofcul t
ure—isembeddedi n
thest oryt
elli
ng.

Locali
tyi
sal sov erymuchr elatedt opar ti
cul arity
, t
ot hespeci f
icit
yofthings, andt hestoryoperat esona
verypart
icul
arandspeci ficexper ienceof tent imesi gnoredbecauseofi tsordinariness—theex perience
ofast r
uggli
ngt ri
cycledr iver,whoi nthiscasenotonl ywor kshar dfort hesakeofhi sfamilybutal so
makesast andonhi sownposi ti
onasa" kingoft her oad.
"Whi l
ethest orypresent sMi guel
'sdayont he
road,wheret heser acesf or" f
ar es"( how t henarratorr ef
erspassenger sbywayofmet ony m)ar e
common,i tal sopr ov i
desagl i
mpseofnar rator'
si nnerl i
feashecomest ot ermswi thget t
ingol d,
valui
ngwhati sessent ialinday -
to- dayaf fairs,andseei nglifeinadi fferentlightafterthemi shapt hat
mayhav ecl aimedhi slife,allbecauseofpr ideandmachi smo.Thest ory,howev er,mustnotonl ybe
seenasacaut i
onar ytale.Ital sot eemswi thcomi cwi t,balancingtheheav yhandednessoft hest or y.
Cebuanol i
terature,likemanyot hert r
adi ti
onsf rom t hePhi li
ppiner egions,hasasi gnatur
ewi tt hat
enablesMiguelt ol ookathi sut terdef eatwi thlightness—al beitsubversivelightness.Thiswi t,pecul i
ar
toCebuanoandFi l
ipinocul ture,thwar tsf rustrationov erourcondi ti
onasaThi rdWor ldcountryt hrough
ahumor ous, r
eassur ingimagi nati
on.

Temi
stokl
esM.Adl
awanandCebuanoSt
reetLi
fe

A bisdak( bisayangdako,or" bigbi say a"bor nandr aised,t r

uebl uebi saya),Temi stoklesM.
Adlawanhai ledf rom Pangdan,Naga, Cebu, andwasapr oli
fi
cpoetandf ictioni st."Wr i
ti
ngmost lyinhis
vernacularCebuano, "wr itesscholarSam Ner vez," hi
swor ksar ewel l-
root edi ntohi smul ti
faceted
experiencesasabi sdak...
.Hiswriti
ngs,especi all
yhisf i
cti
on,ov erf
lowwi thl ocalcol or,creatingav ivi
d
paletteoft hel ocalculturallandscape. "Thislocalcol or,
asment i
onedear l
ier, notonl ypar ticularizesthe
l
ocal eofAdl awan' ssetti
ng, butalsot heper sonalit
iesofhisst ori
es, whomaybesai dt obecomposi t
es
ofhisownl i
feandst rugglesasat r
icycledriver.Adlawanhast woot herst oriest hatdealwi thlifeont he
road,asi def rom " UsakaPanaw"( theCebuanot itl
eof" OneDayont heRoad" )."TingogsaKi t
arang
Bagol "("
Soundoft heCoconutShel lGui tar
")isast oryofCar l
os, amot orcy clist, andhi sencount erswith
OstingBul ingon," agr ubbyol dmanwhoi sal way sseenwander ingont hest reet swhi l
est rummi ngon
hisugl y
,smal lguitarwithabodymadeofcoconutshel l
.""
Lumba"( "TheRace" ), meanwhi l
e, i
sast oryof
thesel f
-discov eryofanot hert r
icycl
edr i
vernamedJesus.Thest ori
esment ionedher eareonl yaf ewof

45
Adl
awan'
smostnotable wor
ks,whi
ch have ear
ned hi
m awardsf r
om the Cul
tur
alCent
eroft
he
Phi
l
ippi
nesandt
heUnyonngmgaManunulatsaPil
ipi
nas.Hepassedawayi
n2009.

ForNer vez,Adlawan" repr esent (s)abr eedofCebuanowr i

tersconsciouslyshapingandr eshaping
Cebuanoi denti
tybyconcept ualizing,negot iating,andremappi ngl ocalspacesmadebyt heCebuanoand
fortheCebuano. ""Thesewr iters,"Ner v ezadds, "secureawel l
-definednichef orCebuanosensi bi
li
ti
est o
occupyami dstaf ast-pacedwor ldsl owlyspinningoutofcont rol."Thest ory" OneDayont heRoad, "
alongwi t
hthet woot herst oriesment ioned, providereader swi t
hani mageofamanst r
uggl i
ng"tokeep
pacewi thther apidev ol
utionofawor l
dbot hwi thinhim andout si
deofhi m."Mi guelandhi sot her
character
s,accor dingt oNer vez,r epresentt he" v
ulnerablet err
ainsatr iskofbei ngsi deli
nedbyt he
encroachmentofhomogeni zingf orcesbr oughtaboutbyt hecapitali
stagendaofur banizati
on."Adlawan
wr ot
eaboutt hepl i
ghtofhi st r
icy cle-
lov i
ngf igures,theseki ngsoft heCebuanor oad,i
fonl ytoreit
erate
andv al
idatetheirexperiencesi nt hef aceoft he" ali
enatingconsequences"ofi ncreasi
ngur banism.

I
tsOwnCent
er:CebuanoLi
ter
atur
e

Asawi del yusedl anguageoft heFi l

ipinonat i
on,Cebuanohasv i
gor ouslyshapedi tsl i
teratures,
andt hrought hese,const ant l
yar ti
cul atedi tscul turali dentitydespitet hedomi nati
onoft heTagal og
cent er.Itwasacul tur
et hatcannotbequel l
ed,ani dent it
yt hatcannotbeobl i
terated,si ncei twasi ts
owncent er,wher el ocalimagi ni ngsr evol vedandcr eat ivi
tyf l
our i
shed." Cebuanol i
teratur eref erst ot he
bodyofor alandwr it
tenl iteratur eofspeaker sofCebuano,t hemot hert ongueofaquar teroft he
count r
y '
spopul ationwhol iveinCebu, Bohol ,Siquijor,Negr osOr i
ental,andpar tsofLey teandMi ndanao.
Assuch,i tisani mpor tantpar tofPhi l
ippi nel it
eratur e,"wr otet heCebuanowr iterandschol arEr li
nda
Kintanar -Albur o, echoi nganear li
erar ti
cul ationbyWi l
hel minaRamas( 1976) .Cebuanol iteratur eev olv
ed
alongsi deot herr egi onall i
teratur es,taki ngonl ay ersuponl ayersofcol oni zation,aswel lasi nnov at i
ons,
asi tengagedwi thi tssur r
oundi ngs,wi tht hesupposed" center,"andwi tht hewor l
d.Wi thitshumor ous
JuanPusongt alesandl ocall oresuchast hatofMar i
aCacao;t hebal ak( poet ry)andbal itaw (poet i
c
j
oust s)traditions,andmor e,wr itingi nCebuanohascomei ntoi tsowndespi teabar rageof inf l
uences.
Fori nst ance,asi def r
om cl ai
mi ngt heshor tst oryasi tsownbywayoft hesugi lanon,i thadal so
renamedt henov elassugi lambong, whi chusher edi nanexci ti
ngt imeofpubl i
shingf ictioni nt he1900s.
Themagazi neBi say acont i
nuest obepopul ardespi tewhatAl bur odescr i
bedas" t
her i
sei npr estigeof
Engl i
shandl at erTagal og."I nmor erecentt i
mes, collectiveef fortnour ishedt heCebuanol it
er aryscene
throughl ocalwr itingor ganizat i
onsl i
keLubassaDagangBi say a(Ludabi ),Bat halan-ongHal adsa
Dagang( Bat hal ad),andWomeni nLi ter aryAr ts( Wi l
a) ,amongot hers.Al socont ri
but ingt ot heliterary
fermentar eacademi cinst i
tutionsl i
ket heUni versityofSanCar los,Cebu,whi choper atest heCebuano
Studi esCent erandwhi chf oundedt heCor neli
oFai gaoMemor i
alWr i
t ersWor kshop.Today ,t hisabi lit
y
tor eiterateitsel f,tobei tsowncent er ,hasmadeCebuanol i
teratureaf or cetor eckonwi thinagr owing
national l
i
terar yscenewher eot hercent er sal soemer ge.

OnPoi
ntsofVi
ew

Thetit
le"OneDayont heRoad"al r
eadysignalsthedi r
ecti
ont hi
sstorytakes—itfol
lowedan
unfolding,adramat i
cpr esent,sot ospeak, t
hroughtheperspecti
v eofMiguel
,thev
eterantri
cycledri
v er.
Miguelgi v
eshi si
mpr essionsoft heplace, ofpeoplearoundhim, ofSherwi
n,andofthatcomicr acethat
mayhav eendedt ragicall
y .Miguel'
spoi ntofview,ortheperspectivefr
om whichwear ebeingt ol
dt he
story,iswhatwer efertoasl imited,sinceitonlyseest hi
ngsbasedoni t
sownper cepti
ons.Asaf i
r st
personpoi ntofview,Mi guellimitsoursensi ngoft hestor
ytot hepossibi
li
ti
esofwhathecanseeand
narrate.Thesearet hepoi ntsofviewandt heextentofthei
rperspecti
ves.

Fi
rstperson—t he"l"nar
rat
or;
necessar
ilyli
mitedandsubj
ect
ive,
especial
l
yifthespeakeri
spart
oforisr
ecoll
ecti
ngtheev entsoft
hestor
y;unreli
ablewhenheorsheisclear
lyonlysensi
ngexper
ience
thr
oughhisorherperspecti
ve.

Secondperson—aperspect
ivenotof
tenused,wher
ethevi
ewpointcharacter(andi
nef
fect
,the
r
eader
)isrefer
redtoas"
you"
;mayalsobethenarr
ator
,addr
essi
nghimselforherself
.

Thi
rdperson—acompar ati
velyobj
ect
ivepoi
ntofvi
ew;i
fomnisci
ent,i
sall
-knowingandableto
geti
ntothemindsofallthecharact
ers;mayal
socomei nt
hefor
m ofanobject
iveorreport
ori
alnar
rat
or
(asi
nnewsar t
icl
es),
fly
-on-t
he-wall
.

46
 Al
so,thi
sstoryfollowsaconv ent
ionalplotpatternt
hatrecal
lst
heclassi
calnarrat
ivestruct
ure
formulat
edbyAr i
stot
le,andconsequentl
y,Horace.Plotisbasi
cal
lythemovementofanar rat
ive,
known
nowaday sasthenarrat
ivearcdevisedbyGust avFreytag."
OneDayont heRoad"cert
ainlyfol
lowsthis
orderofnarr
ati
onill
ustr
atedasfoll
ows.

Exposi
tionint
roducest
hecharact
ers,
thesett
ing,andt
heci
rcumst
ancesoft
hest
ory
,whi
l
eri
singact
ion
escal
atesthecircumst
ancesi
ntoaconfl
ictortensi
on.

Cli
maxi sthepoi
ntwheretheconfl
ictortensi
onexplodesorheight
ens.Whatearl
ierescal
atesfall
sinto
adenouementwher eacti
onsubsidesf r
om t hecl
imaxandi ssuesgetdi
sentangledunti
litreachesa
resol
uti
onwherethestor
yconcludesinviewofat r
ansformat
ionorinsi
ghtf
r om t
hecharacterorforthe
reader
.Wi t
hthesei
nmi nd,canyout r
ypoi nt
ingoutthepart
sofTemi st
oklesAdlawan'sstorythatfal
l
undertheseel
ementsoftheplot
?

I
nCont
actwi
thCont
ext

Goingt hrought hislessongi vesusnecessar yinsightsintol i

terat
ure'srelati
onwi t
ht hewor ld.
Literature,thoughi tmaybeconsi deredorganicallywhol e,isincont i
nuousdi al
oguewi t
htheuni verse.
Wheni tdoesso,i tusuallycomment sonr eali
ty ,exami nesi tsbr okennessori mperfecti
ons,and
i
magi nespossi bil
it
iesforresolut
ion.Lit
erature'
spowerl iesinitscapaci tyt
obei ncl osecontactwit
ht he
wor ld,despiteitsbeingperceivedasmer el
yawor kofar t
istry,
at hingt hatyiel
dsescapi stpl
easure.Yes,
ther eisdul ce,sweet nessanddel i
ght,i
nl it
erature;butt heremustal sobeut ileorusef orit
.Inour
discussionofcont ext,wehav eseenhowl it
eraturet ranscendsi tselfbyembeddi ngt heworldinit
st ext.
Adl awan, i
nt hi
scase, embedshi sst r
eetlif
e,hisbei ngadr iv
er,hisbei ngbisdak,andhi sbeingFili
pinoin
hisst ories,so t hatexper i
encesoft hemar ginalmayal so ber epresented and form par tofour
cont empor aryawar eness.

Inthi
sact i
vit
y,youmustsear chforandview localnewsv ideosanddocument
ari
esdiscussing
thepl
ightofthetranspor
tindust
ry.Youmayl ookf orthem onr el
iabl
enewswebsit
esorv i
deo-shar
ing
websi
tes.Asahomeact i
vit
y,l
ookf orvi
deosconcerningthetransporti
ndust
ryi
nthePhil
i
ppines.Tryto
answerthefol
lowingquesti
onsusingtheinf
ormationthatyouhav egather
ed.

•Whataretheusualpr
obl
emsoft
het
ranspor
tindust
ryandhowdoest
hei
ndust
ryi
ngener
aladdr
ess
t
heseprobl
ems?

•Consider
ing t
he stor
y ofMi
gueland Sher
win,does t
he i
ndust
ry need f
urt
herr
egul
ati
on and
pr
ofessi
onali
zat
ion?

•Howi
sli
fei
nthest
reet
sofAdl
awan'
sst
oryandi
nthev
ideosy
ousear
chedsi
mil
ar?

47
MODULE3:SHORTSTORYRETHI
NKI
NGTHEPOWEROFBABEL

Tempor
ali
tyand21stCent
ury"
Wor
ldLi
ter
atur
e"t
hroughPhi
li
ppi
neLi
ter
atur
e

Clear l
y,t
heexpect at i
onsi nteachingthe21st -Centur
yWor ldLiteraturewoul dbenot hingbutall
l
iter ar
ywor kspublishedin2001onwar ds.Ifonedoest hearit
hmet i
c,thel i
terarywor kst hatwoul dpass
throught hiscat egorywoul dr oughl
ybel esst wodecadesol donl y.Muchso,ont hesi deoft he
Depar tmentofEducat i
on,desi gnati
ngt heteachingofsuchsubj ectpr esupposest hatt hest udentsare
alreadypr eparedt o appreci atet he21st -CenturyWor l
dLi t
erature,ast heyhav eal readyt akenthe
necessar ypr el
iminaryFi l
ipino and Engl ishsubj ect
s.Howev er,t hef undament alpr oblemsofsuch
cat egoryar ebot hpr act
icalandt hethiscategor ywouldbet her esour cesofl i
terar ywor ksf ormass
dissemi nation,whi chwoul dr equi reahugei nv
est mentfrom dif
ferentsect orstor eproducecopi esof
l
iter ar
ywor kspublishedwi thint helasttwodecades, andpayf ort heirrespect i
ver oy al
ties,whi chwould
costmor et hananar m andal egast heseso-calledwrit
ersofwor l
dl i
teraturear epai dindol lars.

Mor eov er,awr it

er'
sbodyofwor kget stobedepl etedbet weent hemostr ecentandt hepastas
thosewor ksar econsi deredint er
msofimmedi acy.Butinf act, i
fonepay sattent i
ontot hetimegapof
anaut hor'
spubl icationbet weentwobookspubl i
shedbef oreandaf ter2001,t hedi ff
erencescoul dbe
narroweddownt othebooks' year
sofpublicat
ion.Nev ertheless, t
heirissues,themes, andpl otsmaybe
consi deredascont inuousandconnect edev enbef oreandaf terthest artoft he21stcent ury.The
theoret i
calsi deoft hepr oblem indefi
ningt hepar amet er sof21st -Centur
yWor ldLiter
aturei sits
unrecogni zablef actt hatthe20t hcent
uryremainst obei nfluentialandpower f
uli nshapingitsdirecti
on,
andmuchso, the21stcent uryhasnotyetdepar t
edf ul
lyf r
om i tspastbecauset hesoci alsystemst hat
prevai l
edint he20t hcent uryarealmostthesameonesr unningt hepr esentwor ld.Inthiscase, t
he21st
Cent uryWor l
dLi terat ureisat emporal
it
yt hatharksbackt ot he20t hcent uryl i
terar
ypr oducti
onand
proceedsi nt hepr esentt i
me.

Ifournot i
on oft ime has t o expand int
oat empor al
ity,then t he worlditselfex pands beyond
geographicallocati
ons,andi tbecomesaspacef or medbysoci alexperienceswi tht heterr
itorial
bordersast hev erypreconditi
onsf orpeopletodevelopnet wor ksofsoci alandcul tur
alt r
ansactions
acrosst hegl obe.Asar esult,migrat
ionbecomest hei nsigni
aoft he21st -centurywor l
dandi ts
l
iter
ature.Sincesocialexperi
encesshapeanddef i
nethepr esentwor l
d,migrati
onofpeopl eenablesf or
socialexperiencestobepossi bl
e,whichget stobesust ainedt hroughf ormsoft emporali
tysuchas
i
dent i
ty,ci
ti
zenship,nati
onali
ty,homeland,andtheforeignnat i
ons.Theni talsomeanst hattemporal i
ty,
withther i
seofmassi vemi grati
on,canbenar roweddowni nter msofcat egoriesthatmayser v
eas
analyt
icalcategori
esdescribingthenatureandcharacteri
sticsoft hechangingwor l
d.

Int hiscase,mi grationaswel lisat emporalit

yt hatget st obemor especi fi
candpal pabl ewith
qualif
y ingt empor alit
iessuchasr acialorlabormi grati
onandot hercategoriest hatcanbeconsi dered
associ atedwi thit.Thus,wi t
hther ecentphenomenaofmi grat
ion,thewor ldisgr aduall
ybeingdef i
ned
bypeopl ewhol eavet heirrespectivehomel andsandt aket empor aryabodesi ntheirempl oyer
'shome,
theset t l
ement sint hef actorysites,orinapar tment sandcondomi ni
umswher et heyar epackedl i
ke
cannedsar dines.Muchso,ast hesemi grantssettleinf oreignlandsf orvariousr easonssuchasl abor
demands, asar efugeef rom awar , i
nexil
ef rom li
vingasapol i
ti
calfugit
ive,andot herreasons,thent he
kindofl i
teraturewi l
lbepr oducedi nthe21st -CenturyWor ldLi t
eraturecouldnotbeonl ylimit
edt hrough
ar epresent ationofsomeonebor nf rom aspeci f
ichomel and,butal sobymi grantswhohav ecol l
ected
socialexper iencesf rom one' shomel andt oanot herland,whi chmayei theracceptt hem as" proper
represent ations"ornot .

Withthewor l
dopeni ngitselftodiv ersesocialexper iences, Fil
ipinomi grat
ionacr osst heglobeis
oneoft hev i
talsourcesofl it
erarypr oductionthatcapt urethet empor alit
yoft heunf oldi
ngcent ury.The
phenomenonofFi li
pinostraveli
ngar oundt hewor l
dormi grati
ngt oanot hercount ryisacondi t
ionin
whi chthe21st -centuryworldunf ol
dsbecauset heirli
vesar esoci alizedi ntospacest hatdonotconsi der
them asi t
snat ivesbuthappent obepr esent,whi l
eal somaket hem compar i
sonsoft heirrespecti
ve
homel andsandhostsoci eties.Thewr it
er sincludedi nt hefollowi ngsel ect
ionsar ti
culateexper i
ences
i
nf ormedbyt heirsociali
zati
on,whi chev ent ual
lyemer gedast empor ali
t i
esofmi grantst hroughidentit
y
politi
csi nrelati
ont olocati
on.I not herwor ds,i ti
sal sot imet or eadt he21st -CenturyWor l
dLiterat
ure
from theper spect i
veofFili
pinomi grantsandt ravel
erswhohav esoci alizedwi t
hot herculturesandhav e
l
ivedat empor ali
ty,whichmadet hem seeandf orm anot herwor ld.

48
 Thecategor y"worl
dli
ter at
ure"i
sar atherfli
msyanddi ff
icultonetodefineandbuil
don.Forone,
ther angeandr eachoftheterm" wor l
d"i
sashugeast hegeogr aphi
centit
yitsel
f.Wearetal
kingabout
an umbr el
lat erm forhundr eds ofcount ries,a dozen orso maj orreli
gions,and t
housands of
diff
er ent
languages.Inthecaseof" worl
dli
terature,
"thi
sv aguenesscanbeseeni nthet
askofselect
ing
representati
vemat er
ialf
oradi scussi
onont hesubj ect
.

I
tisqui
tedif
fi
culttocomeupwi thacoherentpi
ctur
eofworldl
iterat
urebecausethelit
erar
y
t
radi
ti
onsoft
heworldvaryinmanyway s.Thi
sissobecausetheyr
unpar
allelt
otheworld'
shist
oryand
t
heshif
ti
ngofsoci
alandpoli
ti
cal
landscapes.

ClassicalGr eekl i
teratur
e,forinstance,pl aceskeenemphasi sont her el
ati
onshi pbetweent he
art
sandt hest ate.Forphi l
osophersl i
kePlatoandAr i
stot
le,
goodar thassocialandr eli
giousfuncti
ons.
Aspartoft heirfest i
vi
tiesinhonorofDi onysus, t
hegodofwi neandthearts,theGreekswoul dfl
ockt o
openamphi theat erstowat chcomedi es,tragedies,andsati
res.Ofthesethree,theoneconsi der
edt he
mostimpor tantwast r
agedy ,andf orArist
ot l
e,thebestexampl eofat r
agicstorywasOedi pusRex .In
Ari
stot
le'
sv iew,t hest oryoft hefallofKingOedi puswasnotj ustaperf
ectexampl eoft hewayast ory
oughttobest ructured;thev iol
entscenesi nthepl ayenabl
edapar ti
cul
arkindof" pur gati
on"(whathe
cal
ls"catharsis")thatwoul dcleanset heaudi encemember sofnegat i
vef eeli
ngst hat,ifchanneled
el
sewhere,coul dbecomehar mfulforthestate.

Themedi evalageinEuropesawani nterestingfusionbetweenl

it
eratureandChr i
stiantheology.
Theteachingsoft heChurchper meatedthel iterarytradit
ionofthemedi
evalwor ld,sucht hataesthetic
motif
swer einseparabl
ef r
om domi nantChr istiant hemes.I nthepoem " Dream oft heRood, "f or
example,oneencount ersatreet hatwill
i
ngl ygi vesi t
selftothewoodcuttersot hatitswoodmaybe
usedtocrucif
yt heLord—thethemeher ebeingt hati ti
sf i
neandnobletogiv eupone' sli
fef orthesake
ofChri
st.Oneoft hemor epopularstori
esfrom t hemedi eval
agewouldbeDant e'sInferno.

Chr
oni
cli
ngaman' sfi
cti
onaldescenti
ntothedarknessofhel
l,t
hisal
legor
icalmast
erpi
eceal
so
pr
ovedtobeanint
erest
ingdocumentofmedieval
,Chri
sti
anpoli
ti
calt
hought.

Thef usionofr eli

giousworldvi
ewsandl it
erarytraditi
oni snotconfi
nedtot heWestal one.The
I
ndianepi cRamay ana,fori nst
ance,isnotjustal ongst oryaboutRama' squestt orecl
aim Si t
aand
defeatRav ana.Hi ndusseeRamay anaasadev ot i
onalt ext,muchl i
kethewayChr ist
iansseet he
Gospel s.Ramai sbelievedt obeanav at
ar,orther eincarnationofagodi nthiscase,Vi shnu,the
preserveroft hecosmos.Assuch,Ramai snotjustseenasaher obutasanembodi mentoft he
dif
ferentv i
rt
uest hataHi ndumusthav e.TheHi nduscal lt hesetrai
tsdharma,looselytranslat
edas
"duty"or"moral r
ight
eousness. "

Thesignifi
canceofl i
ter
atureinthecivicformationofal eadercanbeseenint heteachi
ngsof
Conf ucius.Forthi
sphilosopher,partandparceloftheet hicalformati
onofafut
ureciv
icleaderwast he
readingoft heclassi
cs.Tobeast udentofConfucianteachi ngs,onehadtobewell
-ver
sedint hel
it
erary
arts.Thisisv er
ymuchconnect edt ohowt heChinesev aluedt r
aditi
on,ofwhi
chl
it
erat
urewasapar t.

Thecat egoryof" worl

dl it
erature,
"howev er,i
snotneut ralorfreef r
om bias.Acur sorysur veyof
ther eadingl i
stofwor l
dl it
eraturecour sesint hesecondar yanduni v ersi
tylevelsaroundt hewor l
d
revealssomet hingi nt
eresti
ng.Mostoft her equiredmat erial
sar eusual lyWest erntexts,wi t
ht he
except i
onofAsi anclassicsliket heRamay anaandt heAnal ectsofConf ucius.Studentsoft hese
cour sesspendagr eatdealoft i
mer eadingaboutt heexploitsofAchi ll
es,thehomewar djourneyof
Ody sseus,thedescentofDant eintohel l
,thequest sofKi ngAr thur
,theur banpoet r
yofT.S.El i
ot,and
mor e.Ther eisnot hingwr ongwi thst udyi
ngt hewor ksoft hesewr i
ters,butwhatcanbepoi ntedout
giv
ent hi
ssur veyofmat erial
sist hatthereseemst obeani nti
mat econnect i
onbet weenthecat egoryof
"wor l
dl i
ter
ature"andt heclassicsorwhatwei nl iterat
urecallthe"Westerncanon. "Forthelongestt i
me,
49
t
het
it
lesandcat
egor
iesof"
wor
ldl
i
ter
atur
e"and"
West
erncanon"hav
ebeenusedi
nter
changeabl
y.

Thus,t hecat
egoryof"wor l
dl i
terature"isnotneutralbutisinf actapr oductandf unct
ionof
power,int hesamewayt hateducationi ngener ali
snotdev oidofpoli
ticsort heappl i
cati
onofpower .
Whengener ati
ngareadi
nglist
,thechoi ceofwhatt oincl
udeandwhatt oexcludei sinit
selfapowerful
poli
ti
cal gestureont
hepartoftheteacherort ext
bookedit
or.Thisgesturetel
lst hestudent-
reader
,"Hey!
Thisisthegoodst uf
f.Ther
earet hi
ngs—v alues,wor
ldv
iews—i nthesestori
esthaty oucannotf i
ndinany
othertexts."

Thisisimpor t
anttoconsiderbecausewhati satst ake,mor ethanknowi ngaboutt hetal
eof
Achill
esorDant ei sthewor l
dvi
ew.Awor l
dvi
ew isawayofcompr ehendingreali
ty.Itencompasses
pri
nciples,val
ues,andphi l
osophiesthatshapet hewaywei nter
pretthet hi
ngsar oundus.I fwear e
exposedsol elytoWest er
nl i
ter
ature,nomat terhow i
nterestingandenr ichi
ngt hesestoriesare,our
worldvi
ewwi l
lbeli
mi t
edtoaEur ocentri
cone.Ourappreciati
onoft hewor ldwil
lbebasedpur el
yont he
phil
osophiesandi deasoftheWest ernclassi
calwri
ter
s.West er nworl
dv i
ewsar enot"bad,"buttheyare
nottheonl ywaysofv i
ewingthewor l
d,andwemustt akecarenott olimitourperspecti
ve.

Take,forexampl e,t
heplaybyWi l
li
am Shakespeareent
it
ledTheTempest.Whi l
etheconvent
ional
focus ofThe Tempestmay f allon how t he main charact
erProspero embodies the ty
pical
character
ist
icsoft he"RenaissanceMan,"cri
ti
cswhoadoptamor epost
coloni
alframeworkwillf
ocus
i
nsteadonhow Pr osper o'
smal t
reatmentofCalibancanbeseenasanal l
egor
yf ortheexperi
enceof
manyAsi anandAf ricancountri
esunderWesterni mper
ial
ism.

Thewrit
ersthaty ouwillencount
erint hisbookar eFil
ipi
nos,afarcryf r
om t heconv enti
onalvi
ew
of( cl
assi
cal,canonical
,West er
n)wor l
dl i
ter ature.Inf actbyst andar
d def i
ni t
ions,wemi ghtev en
categori
zethesewr i
tersundert heumbr ell
at erm" Phil
ippi
nelit
eratur
e"or" Asianl it
eratur
e."Wemake
theclaim,however,thatthesewor ksarethemsel vespar tandparcelofwor ldliteratureandwi t
hinthe
contextofthi
stextbook, 2I
st-
centurywor l
dliterature,becausetheyengagei ssuesoft hecontemporary
wor l
d— globali
zati
on,i denti
ty,technology,among ot her
s.By dev i
ating from t he conventi
onal
Eurocentr
icwayofl ookingatt hi
ngs,webr ingaFi li
pinoperspecti
vetot heappr eciationofsuchwor l
d
i
ssuesand2I st-
centuryphenomena,sowecanbet terunderst
andwhatt hesei ssuesmeant ousi na
l
ocal cont
ext.

Philippi
nel i
ter atur
e—wor ksproducedbyFi l
i
pi nos,whetherlocal lyorabr oad—cani ndeedbe
placedwi thinthecat egor yofwor ldlit
erature.Thehi storyandsocioculturalcont extofthePhi l
ippines
providether eadersofPhi li
ppinelit
eraturewi t
huniquel ensest
olookatt heissuesoft heworld.Letus
takeonepr eval
ent21st -
centuryconcer n:gl
obali
zation.Ourunder st
andingofgl obal i
zati
onisinformed
byhowweasFi l
ipi
nosent ert heglobalmar ketpl
aceandengagei ni
ntercontinent altr
ade.Currentl
y, we
offerandexpor tphy sicallabor(e.g.,
domest ichelpers, seamen,heal
thcar epr oviders)andthi
smodeof
globalinterfacecer tainlyaffectsthewaywei magineandar ei maginedbyt hewor l
d.A signif
icant
numberof ourworks, aswewi llseelateron,dealwitht hisphenomenonofmi gration.

Thi
st hen bri
ngs us t
othe sel
ect
ion t
hatwe wi
l
lbe r
eadi
ng f
ort
hisl
esson.We begi
nint
he
nei
ghborhood.

ADi
etI
dent
it
y

Tasteisapl easantorunpleasantsensationtr
igger
edbyt henerv
esi
nourt ongue.Buttasteis
notj
ustbiol
ogical;itcanbequi t
eper sonaltoo.Weallhaveourfavor
it
emeal
sor"guilt
ypleasur
es."We
al
sohavesomet hingcalled"comfortfood,"thenibbl
eswet ur
nt owhenwefeeldownorsad,bet hey
50
peanuts,chips,orothersnacks.Foodalsot r
iggerspar t
icul
armemor i
es.Ahotchamporadomealcan
remindy ouofr ai
nySundaysorofy ourgrandmot her'
sspecialr
ecipe.AlumniofAteneodeManil
aoften
gobackt otheLoy ol
aHeightscampust ot r
youtManang' sspeciall
iempo.AlumnioftheUni
versi
tyof
thePhili
ppinesDi l
i
mandot hesamef ortheirfavori
teisaw.Cany outhinkofyourf
avori
tedi
shandother
foodsthattriggergood(orbad)memor i
es?

Tast
ei salsosocialandcultur al.Countri
esar eassociatedwiththeuni queflavorst heyof f
erto
vi
sit
or s.Amer i
cansar eoftenassoci atedwi t
hf astfoodmeal ssuchasbur gersandf ries.Ital
i
ansar e
knownf ortheirwineandpasta.Sushi ,t empura,andmakicomet omi ndwhenwet hinkofJapanese
cui
sine.Theseassoci at
ionsaresigni ficantnotj ustfortour
ism butbecause,i nmanyway s,theyare
marker sofidenti
ty.Theassociat
ionbet weenAmer i
cansandf astfoodrevealsthekindofl ifest
y l
ethey
areknownf or.I
tali
ans'loveforwi ner eveal
st hei
rr el
i
anceont heirfr
uitindustryaswel last hei
r
i
nsistenceoncommunalconsumpt ion.Theamountoft i
mei ttakestoprepar eanaut henticJapanese
meal say ssomethingabouttheattent iont heJapanesegivetodet ai
landprecision.

Thesignifi
canceoftast etohumanexper ienceisseeni nourv ocabulary.Whenwedi sl
ike
someone'sfashionsense,wesayt hatourfri
endhasno" tast
einclothes.
"InFil
ipino,whenwel osethe
dri
vetodoany thingproduct
ive,wesay" walanaakonggana. "Whenweachi evesomet hingsigni
fi
cant
weof t
ensay ,"
angsar apngf eel
ing."Thesetel
lusthattasteisnotjustconfi
nedt othet onguebutin
manyway scanf uncti
onasapar t
icul
arkindofsightandsensation,auniquef orm ofaccesst othe
world.

Thef
oll
owi
ngst
oryt
haty
ouwi
l
lber
eadi
ngbui
l
dsont
hisi
deas.

AnEar
nestPar
abl
e

byMer
li
ndaBobi
s

Al
bay
/Aust
ral
ia

Asitwashi sturnt hatdayt olosehi st ongue,hehadf orbr eakf ast,thecr eamiestl at

ik,adishof
stickyriceincoconutmi lk,ser vedwithal arge, ri
pemango.Thenhesangt woser andesaboutl oveand
volcanoesi nthePhili
ppines.Hewasmaki ngt hemostofhi schancef ort ast eandspeech, because, an
hourl ater,hisSriLankannei ghborwoul dbeatt hedoor ,awai t
inghert urn.Al r
eady,shewoul dbe
dreami ngofpappadumsandhotcur r
ies,notqui teasspi cyasherdi alect,whi chwoul dmel tont he
much- awai t
edtongue.Thei rcommunalt ongue. BesselStreet '
smostpr estigiouspossessi on.Lastweek,
i
tl odgedwi ththeItali
anbut cherwhoear l
ierhadpi ckedi tupf rom theAust r
ali
ancoupl e.Thebut cher
wasnotonet owast et i
me.I mmedi ately,hel aidthissof t,pinkf l
eshmoi stwi ththepr ev i
ousowner '
s
steakandpepper corns,i
nsi dehi smout h.Thenher ant ot hemi rr
orwi thhi swi f
eandt hreedaught ers
andbegansav ouri
nghi sf irstwor dsaf terweeksofsi lence:" bell
isi
ma,bel li
sima!"Thewhol ef ami l
y
mar veledathow,l i
keapi nkani mal,thet onguer oll
edi t
st i
pt ot heroofoft hemout hinani nti
matecur l
i
sima. .
."Thent heypassedt het onguear ound, taki
ngt urnst or eli
shol d,nat ivesounds, afterwhicht hey
dinedonhome- madepast ainapi quantmar inarasauce.

Theresi
dent
sofBesselSt
reetwereki
nintongue.Thepinkfl
eshtouredupanddownthatst
reet
,
wenti
ntohomes,int
omout hsofdif
fer
entor
igi
ns.Therewast hebakerfr
om Turkey,t
heFi
l
ipi
nocook,
t
heAustral
i
ancouplewi
ththefi
shshop,theI
tal
i
anbutcher,andtheSri
Lankantai
lor.

Onet onguef orfiv

ehomes.Notr eall
yani nconvenientarrangement ,mindy ou.Ofcourse,when
thet onguewasaccommodat edelsewhere,onecoul dnoteatwi ththeusualj oysoft hepalat
e.Butt he
pleasureoft heearwasenoughcompensat i
on.Ev erytongue-owner '
ssoundi ngs,especial
l
ythoset hat
wer ehear dasf oreignnoises,seemedt oor chestrat
ei nev eryoneel se'
smi ddl
eeari ntosomet hing
i
nt i
mat eandcomf orti
ng.Thiswasi nevi
tabl
ef or,mutedatdi f
ferenttimes,t heylearnedhow tolisten
i
nt entl
yt owhoev erhadt hechancef orspeechorsong—andhow t heyspokeandsangandev entold
stories,usuall
ywi t
hbr i
efwor dsofbeaut yandki ndness.Themomentofspeechwast oodeart obe
wast edonl oose, heart
-l
esstalk.I
twasashamenott odoj ust
icet othel i
tt
le,pinkanimalmouth.

Thusev er
yonespoke,at e,l
istenedwit
hcar eandpassi on,andshar
edv ar
iouslanguagesand
del
i
cacies.Lastweek,f or
inst
ance,thewor d"bell
a"foundi t
swayi nt
oaTur ki
shdi t
tywhoser efr
ain
wouldlateri
nspir
et henew nameoft heAustrali
anfishshop,whi chsuppli
edthemussel sf ort he
but
cher'
s mar i
narat hatsneaked intot he Fil
ipi
no chef '
s kit
chen,wher eitwas bl essed—Di os
mabalos!
—asanaf ter
thought,wi
thadol l
opofcoconutcr eam andsomer edchi
ll
i
es,well
,togiveitteeth,
51
t
heSr
iLankanr
eckonedbef
oret
hedi
shwasr
esur
rect
edamongt
hepi
desoft
heTur
kishbaker
.

Indeed,onthei
rr especti
vedaysofowni ngthet ongue,eachoftheneighborscoul
dnothelpbut
echot hemout hofthepr evi
ousowner .TheItal
ianfamilyeventual
lydevel
opedat ast
efort
heoccasi
onal
cardamom t ea,t
heFili
pinoadv ent
urouslyspreadsomeVegemi t
eonhispandesaland, atonet
ime,the
Australi
ancouplest i
rr
edf i
shheadsi nt
ot heirsoursoup.Meanwhi l
e,theSriLankanbeganhosting
summerf eatsbytheBar bi
e,andt heTurkishbakerev enserenadedhiswi f
ewithsongsaboutl
oveand
vol
canoesashepr eparedat rayofalmondbi scott
ifortheoven.

Yousee,t het onguehadanexcel l

entmemor y.Evenwheni thadmov edtoanewmout h,itsti
l
l
evokedt hebreathofspi ces,sweetsandsy ll
ablesoft hef ormerhost.Itwasnev erknownt of or
get
anything,leastofal lthef actt
hatitwasoncet hesof tpinkf l
eshofaSout hCoastmol lusk;i
tyiel
ded
i
tselft oahi ghergoodonewi nternightwhent heoceanwasf ormi
dablywi l
d.Thesi xhouseholds
under stoodthisoriginint hei
rmout hs.Thetonguewast hegi f
tofthelandscape.Thepidesandgul ab
j
amuns,t hedai l
ybonj ournosandev enthehighlyspicedt akablet
angofAust ral
iansurfandgr i
t—and
tr
uly,l i
kesur f
,af t
ert hi
shomet r
uthwasdr amat izedonTV' slat
estculi
naryshow,t heheartofone
vi
ewi ngnat i
onswel ledandswel ledwi t
hpri
de.

Aboutt
heSt
ory

Oneoft hemor eimpor t

antaspect soft hisstoryisindicatedint heti
tl
e.Thestor
yispr esentedas
aparable.Popularl
yassoci atedwi threl
igioust extsli
ketheHol yBi bl
e,aparableisashortdi
dact i
cst or
y.
Bydidact i
c,wemeant hati tismeantt ogi v
eal essonorshowcaseapar t
icul
arpri
nci
ple.Parablesar e
of
tenal legori
calorr epresent ati
veoft hings.Char acters,whilet heyappearoractr eal
isti
call
y ,are
i
ntendedt orepresenteit
heragr oupofpeopl eorapr incipl
e.Thi sisof t
enseeninBibl
icalparables,for
i
nstance,wi t
hcharactersmodel i
ngdifferenttypesofsi nnersorbel i
eversordif
fer
entbehav i
ors.Tr yto
i
denti
fywhatt hecharactersi nt hestoryofMer li
ndaBobi srepresent.

Aboutt
heAut
hor
:TheFi
li
pinaDownUnder

Mer li
ndaBobi sisaFi l
ipinawr i
ternow basedi nAust r
ali
a.Shewasbor ninLegaz piCity
,Al bay.
Sheear nedherbachel orofar tsdegr eefrom Aqui nasUni v ersi
tyandherpost graduatedegr eesfrom t he
Universit
yofSant oTomasandt heUni v
ersi t
yofWol l
ongong.Shewr i
tesbil
inguallyandacr ossl i
terary
genres.Shehast wopoet rycol l
ections,Rituals:Select edPoems, 1985- 1990(1990)andSummerWasa
FastTr ainwithoutTer minals( 1998);twoshor tstorycol lecti
ons,Whi teTur t
le(1999)andTheKi ssi ng
(2001);threenov el
s,BananaHear tSummer( 2005) ,TheSol emnLant ernMaker( 2008),andFi sh-hair
Woman( 2011).Mostofherwor ksdealwi tht hei mmi gr
antexper ience,mostnot ablyfrom awoman' s
perspective.Foodandt astear eherdev i
cesofchoi cei nmanyoft hesest ori
es.Thenov elBananaHear t
Summer ,forinstance,isflavor f
ulmi xofhumanaspi rat
ionwi thgast r
onomi calmet aphors.Hershor t
story"FruitStal
l"isahardt aleofaf r
uitstallowner , once" sold"toanAust r
ali
anmanandi snowmaki ng
alivi
ngasami ddle-
ageddi vorcedwomani noneofAust rali
a'spromi nentredlightdistr
icts."AnEar nest
Parable"isanot heraccountofi mmi grantlife,thisti
mewi thahi ntofopt i
mism.

ADi
etofMul
ti
cul
tur
ali
sm

Tastei
sapr ominentdev i
ceinmosti mmi grantstori
esbecausef oodispartandparcelofthe
ev er
ydayexper i
enceofexi l
e.Ifyouhaveexperiencedl i
vingabroadforaprolongedperi
odoftime,you
mi ghtatsomepoi nthav edevelopedacravi
ngforf oodbackhome.Thi sisbecausefoodinmanyway s
functionsasamar kerofi
denti
ficati
onanddiff
erence.Asi defrom l
anguage,foodiswhatbri
ngspeople
from simi l
arcult
urestogether.HereinthePhil
ippines,youcanf indChineseorJapaneserestaur
ants
frequentedbyexpat sfr
om thosecountri
es,searchingfortheflav
oroftheirnati
vedi
shes.

I
nSi
ngapor
e,t
her
eisapr
omi
nentmal
lwher
eFi
l
ipi
noexpat
sfl
ockt
ocal
l
edLuckyPl
aza.I
n
52
LuckyPlaza,y
ouwi llf
indmanyeati
ngjointsthatserveadobo, si
sig,si
nigang,andotherdishes,
aswel l
asPinoyjunkfoodlikeChi
ppyandMr .Chips.Fil
i
pinosfrom al
lwalksofli
f ewhowor kinSingapor
eof t
en
gotoLuckyPl azaforthei
rfixofmeal
swi thtoyoandcal amansi.Gastr
onomycanal sobeamar kerfor
di
ffer
ence.Thepi pi
nghotI ndi
ancurr
yiscer tai
nlydi
fferentf
rom t heBicolExpresswear eallfamil
iar
wit
h.

Foodandt asteasr ecur

ri
ngtropesanddev icesforimmi grantexperi
encescanbeseeni nvarious
stori
es,poems,andnov el
s.Atthecent erofSkyLee' sDi sappearingMoonCaf ei stheWongf ami ly
,
reenacti
ng the problems and issues faced byChi nese immi grants as t
heyat t
emptt ointegrate
themselvesint
oCanadi ancult
ure.Muchoft heacti
ont akesplacei ntheWongf amily'
srest
aurant,the
Disappeari
ngMoonCaf e.Anotherinter
estingChinesei mmi grantstoryisTimothyMO' sSourSweet ,
wherewef indanewf amil
ynegoti
ati
ngmoder ni
tyandt radi
ti
onalism astheyli
vealongsi
dethegrowi ng
Chinesemaf i
ainLondon.

Thesedev i
cesar eempl oyedbyBobi si nherownst oryaswel l.Onecanseehowt ast
ewasused
asamar kerf ordif
ferencei nt heearlierpart
soft hest ory,i nthattheresi
dentsinthestoryal
lhadt heir
ownnat i
v edishes.Ev entuall
y,howev er
,wef i
ndsomet hi ngpecul i
arhappeni ng.Fl
avorsfrom t hese
uni
quedi shesev entual l
ybl endintoeachot her.Themar kerf ordiffer
enceandsi mil
ari
tyturnedi nto
somethingnewpr eciselybecauseoft hecommunal experienceofshar i
ng.TherewasnowaTur kishway
ofappr eciat
ingFi l
ipinof ood.Ther ewaspr eciselybecauseoft hecommunalexper i
enceofshar ing.
TherewasnowaTur kishwayofappr eciati
ngFili
pinof ood.Ther ewasnowanI tali
anwayappr opri
at i
ng
aSriLankandi sh.Not et hathisint
erest i
ngblendingoff lav orswasonl ypossi
blebecausethedi ff
erent
peopleint heneighbor hoodl earnedtoshar eandl i
stent ooneanot her.

Thisisarecurr
ingexperi
enceinmostmul t
icul
tur
alandi mmi grantexper
iences.Weoftendonot
fi
ndacul t
ureA,cul
tureB,andcultur
eCexi sti
ngindependent l
y,butaCul tur
eDt hatemer
gesfrom t
he
mixed and shar
edexperienceoft hei mmigrants.Thef inalsceneoft hest orymakesitt r
ulyan
Austr
ali
anstoryinasenset hatmuchlikethenewandf reshimmi grantswhocamet ol
iv
einthisci
ty,
Austr
ali
ainmanyway sisacountryfoundedont heexperi
enceofi mmi grat
ionandexi l
e.

Tonguei
nCheck

Finally,t
hestorymakesuseoft hetongueasal i
teralandsy mbolicdevi
cemakesani nteresti
ng
casef ort hest udyofwor l
dl i
ter
atur
e.Asr eadersofwor l
dl it
erat
ure,wear ei nmany way sli
ket he
resi
dent sofBessel ,eachonecomi ngfr
om auni quemi l
ieuandadi f
ferentcul
turaltr
aditi
on,usi
ngt he
tongue,orl anguage,diff
erentl
y.Simil
artothedenizensoft heneighborhood,wecanbe" kinintongue"
i
nasenset hatwedonothav et osacri
fi
ceourcul t
ureorgi veupourownnat i
v elanguageorpar rota
parti
cularv iew,butpar takeincommunalshar ingt hr
ought hecont i
nuousconsumpt i
onofst ori
es
andappr opriati
onofexper i
encesbasedonourowncont extandunder standi
ngoft heworld.

Takef
orexampl
ethi
spoem byEzr
aPoundent
it
led"
ASt
ati
oni
ntheMet
ro"
:

Theappar
it
ionoft
hesef
acesi
nthecr
owd;
Pet
alsonawet
,bl
ackbough.

Whil
et hispoem issetinaWest erncity,wecanseehowwecanappl ytheinsi
ght sspecifi
call
yto
ourowncont ext.Thoseofuswhor idet het r
ainorhav eexper i
encedcommut i
ngdur i
ngt herushhour( be
i
tajeepneyort hemet ror
ail
)knowhowpackedt hevehiclesareandhowseemi nglyl
if
elessthef acesare
soear l
yinthemor ni
ng.Yetwecanal soel evatetheexper i
enceandappr opr
iatethethemat i
cconcer ns
ofthepoem byf ocusi
ngnotjustont hev i
sualaspectsoft hecommut i
ngexper i
ence,butont het act
il
e
experi
enceofheatandsweatf rom trav el
inginat ropicalurbanspace.Thisisjustoneexampl eofhow
wecanappr opri
atet heexperienceofWest erntextsbyr espect
ingtheirthemat i
cconcer nswhi l
e
appreci
ati
ngt hem usingownl ensesandexper i
ences.

Ear
li
er,
wet alkedaboutt heuniqueper specti
veFil
i
pinoscanof f
erinthi
sl i
terarydial
ogue.Wher e
canwef i
ndthePhi li
ppinesensi bil
it
yi nthi swrit
ing?Wecanact ual
lyfinditint hedev i
ceitself
.As
Fil
ipinos,foodisani mpor tantaspectofourl i
ves,notjusti ntermsofnour ishmentbuti nt ermsof
communali nt
eracti
onaswel l
.Thisallegorizat
ionofwhati tmeanst oli
v ei
nagl obalcommuni tywas
renderedthroughapr act
icet hatisfamili
art omanyofus—r enderedthroughapr acticethatI
Sf amili
ar
tomanyotust heconsumpt ionoff oodandofeachot her'
sst ori
esinani magi
nedt ablethatcanst r
etch
asf arasthecoastsoft hewor l
d,butstil
lprovetobef amil
iartoallofus.
53
54