Lesson 1

Traditions and
Locations:
The Filipino Poem
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GUIDE QUESTIONS

1. How do the characters in the legend correspond

to the behavior of the volcano in real life?
2. What does knowing the legend do to your
appreciation of the volcano?
3. How would the legend of Daragang Mayon be
told today? What changes would there be in
how the story is told?
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 MAYON 6

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 mlawak na itong sementeryo
Ng abo, ng tao. Manganganak na kaya ito?
Tinitigan ko ang nakangangang bulkasn – binabalot
Ng ulap at ng sariling usok ang tuktok, gatas sa labi.
Baka sakali, magpakita, nang may silbi ang kamera.
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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 ng iyong pagpasok.

Translated from the Bikol by the author

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Kristian Sendon Cordero

“The Volcanic Poet” / “Enfant Terrible”

Multiple Palanca Awards in poetry, fiction, and

essay
Well – anthologized poet

Filmmaker
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Kristian Sendon Cordero

 As a translator, he has translated the works of
Rainer Maria Rilke, Jorge Luis Borges and
Oscar Wilde. His first
film Angustia (CinemaOne Originals, 2013)
was recognized as one of the Best First Films
by the Young Critics Circle of the Philippines.
He teaches at Ateneo de Naga University and
Mapua University (Intramuros).
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Pit Stop
Allusion
Under the literary firmament,
the word Allusion means
“reference”.

To refer to something or
somebody is called allusion.
 Poetry
֎ Sublime experiences by artists
֎ “The root and crown of language”
–Gemino Abad
 Poetry
writing that formulates a concentrated
imaginative awareness of experience in
language chosen and arranged to create a
specific emotional response through
meaning, sound, and rhythm (Merriam –
Webster Dictionary)
History
of
Poetry
Pre –
Hispanic
Times
History of Poetry
Pre-Hispanic Times
 Awit or song
 Bugtong (riddle) – used talinghaga or a metaphor
that actually convey the answer
 Salawikain (Proverb) – a.k.a. sawikain are proverbs
that were used to express pieces of wisdom or beliefs
that were important to Filipino society.
History of Poetry
Pre-Hispanic Times
 Epiko (epic) – major pre-Hispanic
poetic form
- long, episodic, chanted
poems which told a story
- legendary hero and his
adventures
History
of
Poetry
Spanish
Times
History of Poetry
Spanish Times
 Baybayin was suppressed
 Pasyon – first popularized by Gaspar
Aquino de Belen perpetrated by Mariano
Pilapil
 Poetry – Francisco Baltazar’s Florante
at Laura
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History of Poetry
Spanish Times

FRANCISCO BALTAZAR a.k.a

BALAGTAS

The AWIT became EUROPEAN

ROMANCES
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History
of
Poetry
America
n
Times
History of Poetry
American Times

 Introduction of the New Educational

System
 English as a medium of education
 Free Verse and New Criticisms became
the buzzwords of poets