I was with some journalists in Balanga, Bataan, on April 1. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) invited the media to cover the event, called “Buwan ng Panitikan Ng Pilipinas” or National Literature Month, a monthlong feast around Filipino literature.
The celebration was spearheaded by the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF), with Virgilio Almario, National Artist for Literature, at its helm and the NCCA. There were events like the nationwide writing workshop and a “Balagtasan” or literary joust.
April 2 was set aside to honor Francisco Baltazar, the foremost literary poet, who was born in Bigaa, Bulacan, but resided and died in Udyong, now Orion, in Bataan.
We were up at 4 in the morning, with our breakfast scheduled at 5. We left the hotel to catch the laying of wreath and flowers at 7 a.m. before the bronze statue of Balagtas done by Julie Lluch. The ceremony, however, started late, with the heat of the day already on our backs. After the floral offering, a library was opened at the area called “Hardin ni Balagtas.”
That day, poets were honored, with Jose “Pete” Lacaba leading the honorees as the “Dangal ni Balagtas” awardee. The poet, journalist and noted scriptwriter of many significant films spoke of the martial-law years and how the period stifled the freedom of people to talk. Despite what people say about how there is not much change after the martial-law years, Lacaba disagreed, stressing how we could speak now about the tortures and atrocities inflicted on many people during those years.
Bigaa, the birthplace of Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar, is now known as Balagtas. Still, there are many aspects in the life of Balagtas that people have not yet known. It is significant to note that, cultural historians point to Balagtas as having inspired Rizal and other heroes. For all the sublime presence of the statue of the poet quiet and solemn under the shade of an old tree, his remains had not yet been found. It is said that Balagtas was buried in the Orion Church. It is also said that the bones of the author of the epic, Florante and Laura, and other awit or metrical romances and tales, are right there at the middle aisle of the old church. When and how this fact can be verified will all depend on those who will continue to commemorate this poet as a hero.
Bataan has the noble fate of having two wars waged in its territory. There was the Second World War, where soldiers, as history recalls, held on to a piece of land for many more days, if only to halt the surrender of a nation. Then there is the more epic battle of languages, as Tagalog/Pilipino/Filipino continues to fight for the supremacy in literature, in the process marginalizing other languages, and other literary forms.
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Image credits: Jimbo Albano