GROUP 1

“MAYON”
Kristian Sendon Cordero
Camarines Sur
Ayon sa alamat, lason ng pana ni Pagtuga,
ang lumikha sa bulkan – libingan ito
ng dalagang namatay sa isang digmaan.
Ngayon, ano ang tutubo sa paanan ng
Mayon
gayong nagiging malawak na itong
sementeryo
ng abo, ng tao. Manganganak na kaya
ito?
Tinitigan ko ang nakangangang bulkan –
binabalot
ng ulap at ng sariling usok ang tuktok,
gatas sa labi.
Baka sakali, magpakita, nang may silbi
ang kamera.
Sa ilang retrato na ibinebenta ng mga bata
sa Cagsawa
lusaw na tae ang nagliliyab na lava,
dumadaloy pababa.
Matandang nag-nganganga ayon naman sa
isang makata.
Sa isang lumang postcard na nakita
ko sa Antigo Merkado –
Kapag sa malayo, isa siyang
magandang sikyung nakatanod,
Handa sa pagkapkap, naghihintay sa
iyong pagpasok.
 Respond critically to the following questions
and worksheets to process the selection.
1. According to the poem, what led to the creation of the
volcano?

a. The arrow used by Pagtuga

b. A war which led to Magayon’s death
c. The poison of the arrow of Pagtuga
d. The legend of Daragang Magayon

Answer: b. A war which led to Magayon’s death

2. In the second stanza, the area around Mayon’s foot is
described as

a. graveyard
b. a farm
c. a disaster zone
d. a myth

Answer: a. graveyard
3. What is the persona in the poem waiting for in the third
stanza?

a. For the volcano to erupt

b. For the volcano to show its peak
c. For the volcano to blow more smoke
d. For the volcano to be covered in clouds

Answer: b. For the volcano to show its peak

4. List at least three images found in the poem. Cite the lines
where they appeared.
Answer:
 Graveyard – 2nd stanza
Ngayon, ano ang tutubo sa paanan ng Mayon
gayong nagiging malawak na itong sementeryo
ng abo, ng tao. Manganganak na kaya ito?
 Persona / Makata (Unnamed Poet) – 4th stanza
Sa ilang retrato na ibinebenta ng mga bata sa Cagsawa
lusaw na tae ang nagliliyab na lava, dumadaloy pababa.
Matandang nag-nganganga ayon naman sa isang makata.
 Security Guard – Last stanza
Sa isang lumang postcard na nakita ko sa Antigo Merkado –
Kapag sa malayo, isa siyang magandang sikyung nakatanod,
Handa sa pagkapkap, naghihintay sa iyong pagpasok.
5. State the dominant physical sense being used by the poem
to create the images you found from the previous question.

Answer:
Graveyard – The persona used the image of graveyard in the second
stanza because there are people who have died and buried alive in the
surrounding of Mayon when it emits lava.
Persona & Makata (Unnamed Poet) – The persona described the lava
flowing down from the Mayon looks like a poop or human waste. The
unnamed poet or makata interprets the Mayon as an old person who chews
betel nut or areca nut.
Security Guard – The author used a security guard as the final image in
the poem because it described Mayon as the security guard who will be the
eye of the people and protector of the people.
6. Examine the images in the poem and determine whether the
impression being conveyed by the image is positive or
negative. List those images in the table below.

POSITIVE NEGATIVE
 Graveyard
 Makata or Unnamed Poet
 Persona
 Security Guard
7. The first stanza of the poem showcases the death of
Magayon as the cause of the birth of the volcano. Carrying
this reasoning through to the second stanza, what is the
persona implying with his use of the image of a graveyard?
Discuss.
Answer:
Based on the persona he/she used the term ‘graveyard’
carrying the reasoning of the death of Magayon because the
places around Mt. Mayon looks like a graveyard wherein there are
many victims who have died every eruption happened back then.
The persona is trying to implied that the victims of the eruption of
Mt. Mayon are covered and buried by the lava it emits.
8. The fourth presents an image of the poem which was viewed
differently by two different people – the persona and an unnamed poet, or
makata – who gave a very different interpretation of the image. Defend
the choices of both poets in light of how Mount Magayon is seen in the
poem.

Answer:
Makata or Unnamed Poet
 According to the Makata, the interpretation of the image was Mayon
Volcano is like an old man.
Persona
 According to the persona, the interpretation of the image shows how
the lava of Mayon Volcano flows down.
9. Discuss why the author used a security guard as the final
image of the poem. What does this seem to imply about how
security personnel are viewed?
Answer:
The author used security guard as the final image of
the poem because it represents the Mt. Mayon means that the
volcano is like a security guard to the residences of Albay.
Mayon Volcano
– renowned around the world for its nearly perfect shape
– one of the most active volcanoes in the world and erupts
regularly
Provinces near Mt. Mayon are already very accustomed to
evacuating periodically because of the eruptions which occur.
Despite the constant threat of danger, however the volcano remain
one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines.
Mt. Mayon has a fascinating legend which tells the story of
its creation. The legend of Daragang Magayon is a romantic and
exciting story telling of how the volcano came to be.
A VOLCANIC POET
Kristian Sendon Cordero is widely described as the “enfant
terrible” of Bikol writing. The term enfant teribble usually refers to
a person who is controversial, often by being innovative and
questioning of the establishment, both of which Cordero has done.
Awards:
Palanca Awards in poetry, fiction and essay
National Commission on Culture and the Arts Writer’s Prize for
Bikol Poetry in 2007
6th Madrigal Gonzalez First Book Award
Maningning Miclat Poetry Prize in Filipino in 2009
Premio Tomas Arejola Literary Prize
Homelife Poetry Contest
 Kristian Sendon Cordero is a well – anthologized poet;
and has published his own, such as Canticos: Apat na Boses
(UST Publishing House, 2013) and Labi (Ateneo de Manila
Press, 2013). He is also a filmmaker; his film Angustia was
released in 2013. He has edited a number of collections,
such as The Naga We Know, a collection of essays co-edited
with Paz Verdadez Santos, as well as Sagurong which he co-
edited with Santos as well.
He is an educator, being an assistant professor at the
Ateneo de Naga University. He writes a column in the Bicol
Mail. He is an advocate for the growth of Bikol Literature,
not only in terms of the form flourishing in number, but also
in terms of it growing beyond its current traditions.
Bikol Literature – A Tradition in Transition
Cordero’s writing, both in terms of his poetics and his
articles, point to a turn in the development of Bikol literature.
The region has always had a strong writing tradition predating
the arrival of the Spanish. While stymied for a time under
Spanish rule, when the tradition did return, it did with the
critical attitude as can be seen in Bikol writer Mariano
Perfecto’s An Pagguiao kan mga pastores can Pagcamondag
in Jesus duman sa portal sa belen. This play was about the
awakening of the shepherds during Jesus’s birth, but also
stated that while the Catholic faith was embraced by the
people, the Spaniards were not.
 Bikol writing also featured the corrido and the
comedia, the former being a metered romance and the latter
being plays performed to local audiences. Typical of the Bikol
writer, the critical attitude manifested itself in the writing of
protest comedias. Even during the productive Common –
wealth period, when Bikol writing flourished, poems such as
the rawitdawit continued to showcase a Bicolano penchant
for examining and criticizing society.
 Nowadays, writers such as Cordero have continued the
Bikolano critical attitude, though with Cordero, he brings it a
step further by fixing a critical eye on Bicol itself. In recent
papers, he delivered he traced the movements of Bikol
Literature via translaton, saying that the influence of the
Catholic Church, given that there was a prevelance of works
transalted into the Bicol Language during the Spanish era,
nonetheless also points to a continuing tradition of literary