“A man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if he is to survive for even a short time.”
Entry: 006
// Literature //
Title: Rizal Without the Overcoat
Author: Ambeth R. Ocampo
Year: 1990 (first publication)
Even prior to entering my second year in college (when we have to take our mandatory Rizal course), I already have a “crush” on Rizal. If I’m not mistaken, I started to study about him for a contest that I was chosen to partake in when I was a college freshman. I was picked as a delegate for the annual National Rizal Youth Leadership Institute held in Baguio City, and I could still remember my most adored quote from Rizal, it was this:
“A life which is not dedicated to a great ideal is useless. It is a pebble lost in the field, not being part of an edifice.”
Growing up with a love for literature, I learned about Rizal’s talent and career as a writer, which fascinated me more than the fact that he was a doctor, sculptor, linguist and many more others that he was. I fell in love with his poetry and I truly believe that had I lived in the same timeline as him, I would have fallen head over heels for him. I am not even exaggerating. I would be helpless.
During this quarantine, a certain sweet friend of mine gifted me this book because she knew how much I adored Rizal and was burning my eyes by reading e-books (she also gave me my first manga, which was also about the life of Rizal – highly recommended). I credit her for the re-ignition of my love for the man, this book was able to show me the sides of Rizal that will never be talked about in classrooms, asked in examinations or written in textbooks.
FASCINATION, INFATUATION, ERUDITION
Being a Renaissance man who represented both the art and science of life, Rizal truly was salt to the earth. A huge chunk of my admiration for him was that he was a quintessential scholar. He studied every day about everything. He studied medicine, botany, interior design, art, agriculture and so much more. Somehow, a life like his is what I find ideal – the continuous pursuit of knowing. He loves his books dearly and was stingy about them – which made me realize that it’s not odd for me to be sensitive about my books. Haha. He was a bookworm and learned foreign languages to widen his education. He spoke at least five languages – Spanish, Tagalog, English, French and German. How will I be able to do that? If his sentiments weren’t so anti-clerical, he could have qualified to be the Pope with all the languages he knew. In this book, Guillermo Tolentino had a séance with the spirit of Rizal, and although we cannot prove that it truly was him – it certainly had his flavor.
The book also talked about Rizal’s popularity and how it was more of a disadvantage rather than an advantage, because he never asked to be glorified. In my opinion, one of the most remarkable detriment of his colossal popularity is that the other heroes are overshadowed. Rarely do Filipinos know that Bonifacio strived to be literate on his own, learned English because of his job and even has a beautiful handwriting. The now well-known Heneral Luna studied pharmacy, chemistry and was an active writer during his time (I find his pen name in La Solidaridad utterly adorable: “Taga-ilog”; in comparison to Rizal’s “Laong Laan” or del Pilar’s “Plaridel” that seemed as if hard thoughts were given to lol). Imagine how many more of our heroes would be admired as polymaths because of their talents? If only we gave time to study and appreciate each of them.
For as long as I could remember, Rizal could never be brought up in a conversation without Bonifacio’s name getting dragged in. It seems that a lot of people think that Bonifacio deserves the title of pambansang bayani better than Rizal because he was the one who fought the fight with flesh and blood.
Obviously, my opinion would be biased since I have a crush on Rizal. All I can say is that: they fought the fight they knew how to fight. If Rizal did not write those novels, who else would? He was an ilustrado, and was one of the few who was brave enough to write about the politics of the Philippines under the Spaniards. It was a fight he was well-equipped to fight. It was the fight he was built and trained to fight.
Another subject of dispute is that Rizal was not even well-versed in Tagalog (Filipino), he wrote the best in Spanish. Yet if you examine it closely, the irony is still present today: the book that I read was in English, the formal language in our country is English and this blog post that I’m writing is in English. Can we call him out on that without being hypocrites? The unfortunate truth is that this crevice remains open in our society. This colonial mentality still exists, just like how someone is labeled as “jologs” when she/he can speak better in Filipino than in English.
On the other hand, did Bonifacio need to write those novels? No. He did not need to – because he lived out those struggles every single day of his life in the Philippines. He was a born warrior. He fought the battles. It was the fight he knew how to fight. It was the fight he was made and meant to fight.
In my eyes, they had their own battles – both of which were within the grasp of their aptitude and proclivity.
It’s such a shame that majority of the youth barely care for the Rizal course, often finding it taxing and tedious because it’s history. Admittedly, including me, know very little of our own national heroes and of our own history.
Filipinos admire the culture of other countries instead of our own. With K-pop, Hollywood or Anime, our (yes, I’m also a victim) eyes are set on looking on other countries - not on our own. It’s heartbreaking. For a third world country, economy is put first before arts, culture or sports. Our country has so much potential, as evident in the natural resources, creativity, culture, agriculture, tribes and so much more. If only these will be focused upon, our country will be unstoppable. I have no doubt. But we cannot work with fixing these ideals if the basic problems are still existent.
Yesterday, I watched “Heneral Luna”. Such a beautiful film (how I wish more historical Filipino films would be produced, rather than cheesy predictable ones that are made just because they make money). What I find the most disturbing is that centuries and fifteen presidents later, the same problem of Heneral Luna still exists. The country is still fighting within itself; with Filipinos still putting their own desires rather than of the country. I wonder what the La Solidaridad and Katipunan members would think of our country today.
