LITERARY ART

*Music*

And for someone who wants to understand the Filipino culture, then a look at the folk songs of the country should be in order. The folk songs and the music in generally reflect the everyday life of the common folks in the country, rather than the day-to-day activities. If the old folk songs are to be analyzed, the lyrics of the folk songs tell stories and these are the stories of the common folks in the provinces, their simple lives and how they go about with their everyday lives. And just like with the many folk songs of many Asian countries, the lyrics and the topics of these folk songs are linked to nature. The popularity of the Philippine music and its folksongs is only a testament to how great the Filipino musicians are. When understanding the music and partly the lyrics of these folksongs, then a look at the vocal music and the vocal style should be in order. The vocal part is an important part in the study of the folk songs of the country.
 
*Novels*

Lualhati Bautista

Bata, Bata Paano ka Ginawa?
 
Main characters

  • Lea – the protagonist and heroine in the novel
  • Maya – Lea’s daughter to Ding
  • Ojie – Lea’s son to Raffy
  • Ding – Lea’s live-in partner, Maya's father
  • Raffy – Lea’s husband, Ojie’s father
  • Johnny – Lea’s fantasy and co-worker
The novel begun with an introductory chapter about the graduation day from kindergarten of Maya, Lea’s daughter. A program and a celebration were held. In the beginning, everything in Lea’s life were going smoothly – her life in connection with her children, with friends of the opposite gender, and with her volunteer work for a human rights organization. But Lea’s children were both growing-up – and Lea could see their gradual transformation. There were the changes in their ways and personalities: Maya’s curiosity was becoming more obvious every day, while Ojie was crossing the boundaries from boyhood to teenage to adulthood.[1][2][3][4][6]
A scene came when Lea’s former husband came back to persuade Ojie to go with him to the United States. Lea experienced the fear of losing both her children, when the fathers of her children decide to take them away from her embrace. She also needed to spend more time for work and with the organization she was volunteering for.[1][2][3][4][6]
In the end, both of Lea’s children decided to choose to stay with her – a decision that Lea never forced upon them. Another graduation day of students was the main event in the novel’s final chapter, where Lea was the guest-of-honor. Lea delivered a speech that discusses the topic of how life evolves, and on how time consumes itself so quickly, as fast as how human beings grow, change, progress and mature. Lea leaves a message to her audience that a graduation day is not an end because it is actually the beginning of everything else that will come in a person’s life.[1][2][3][4][6]

Dekada '70

Dekada '70 is the story of a family caught in the middle of the tumultuous decade of the 1970s. It details how a middle class family struggled with and faced the changes that empowered Filipinos to rise against the Marcos government. This series of events happened after the bombing of Plaza Miranda, the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus, the proclamation of Martial Law and the random arrests of political prisoners. The oppressive nature of the Marcos regime, which made the people become more radical, and the shaping of the decade were all witnessed by the female protagonist, Amanda Bartolome, a mother of five boys. As Amanda's sons grow, form individual beliefs and lead different lives, Amanda reaffirms her identity to state her stand as a Filipino citizen, mother and as a woman. Dekada '70 introduces the new generation of Filipino readers to a story of a family from a particular period in Philippine history. Its appeal lies in the evolution of its characters that embody the new generation of Filipinos, as well as being the story about a mother and her family, and the society around them that affects them. It is a tale of how a mother becomes torn between the letter of the law and her responsibilities as a mother.

Amado V. Hernandez  

Luha ng Buwaya

Luha ng Buwaya or, "Crocodile's Tear" in translation, is a 1983 novel written by Palanca Awardee and Filipino novelist Amado V. Hernandez. It consists of 53 chapters. The story is about poor farmers uniting against the greedy desires of the prominent family of the Grandes. In Filipino idioms, "crocodiles" were used to symbolize those people who are corrupt. The "buwaya" (crocodile) in the title refers to the Grandes family, who were greedy for money.

Luha ng Buwaya, together with Hernandez's other novel Mga Ibong Mandaragit, was based on his personal experiences while imprisoned in the New Bilibid Prison from 1951 until his release on parole in 1956.[1][2]
The novel was about peasants from a barrio and their leader, in the person of a school teacher, fighting against oppression and greed. Through their action, the people find renewed belief in their capabilities.[3] In a larger persepective, Luha ng Buwaya was Hernandez's realistic embodiment of the socio-political crisis happening in the Philippines during the 1930s until the 1950s.[4]
Hernandez wrote the novel employing an "easy style" and contemporary Pilipino language. While writing the manuscript for Luha ng Buwaya, Hernandez was also acting as the editor of the prison newspaper named Muntinglupa Courier.[2]

 Mga Ibong Mandaragit

Mga Ibong Mandaragit or Mga Ibong Mandaragit: Nobelang Sosyo-Politikal (literally, Birds of Prey: A Socio-Political Novel) is a novel written by the Filipino writer and social activist, Amado V. Hernandez in 1969. Mga Ibong Mandaragit was described as Hernandez's masterpiece about the neocolonial dependency and revolt in the Philippines.[1] Also reflected in Mga Ibong Mandaragit was Hernandez's experience of being a guerilla intelligence officer when the Philippines was under the Japanese occupiers from 1942 to 1945.[1]

Through the narrative, Hernandez yearned for change and the elevation of the status of Philippine society. The book narrated the living conditions and livelihood of the Filipino people. Upon the arrival of the middle of 1944 in the Philippines, the armed forces of the Japanese Empire was already weakening. The Japanese would soon be losing in the Second World War in Asia.[2]
The novel had a connection with Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El filibusterismo. There was a part in the novel wherein the protagonist Mando Plaridel was tested by Tata Matyas, an old revolutionary, on his knowledge about Rizal and Rizal's novels. The pattern of Hernandez's Mga Ibong Mandaragit also had a similarity to Rizal's novel, wherein the main character looked at the Philippines from the outside by traveling to Europe then coming back.[3] Hernandez's novel also tackled the lead character's search for Simoun's treasure, showing it as a continuation of Rizal's El Filibusterismo. It further tackled the state of the citizenry upon the onset of industrialization brought forth by the Americans in the Philippines. Mga Ibong Mandaragit had been translated into English and Russian.[2]


 Banaag at Sikat 

Although a work that discusses politics in the Philippines,[5] Banaag at Sikat is the only novel included by the Filipino critic Teodoro Agoncillo to a list of important books about Tagalog literature in 1949, because according to Agoncillo the book has a weakness but it started the system of writing a Tagalog novel.[6] Thus, this book of Lope K. Santos paved the way on how to write other Tagalog-language novels[6] which has a combined themes about love, livelihood, and the truthful and moving status of society.[7][8] Furthermore, despite of being one of the first long narrative in the Philippines that provoked the mood of society, it also motivated the cause of the Hukbalahap (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon, literally the “people’s army against the Japanese occupiers” during World War II).[9]The novel is about two friends: Delfin and Felipe. Delfin is a socialist, while Felipe advocates the works of an anarchist. As a socialist, Delfin believes and wishes to spread the principles of socialism to the public, where the citizens could have more right in all the businesses, properties, and other national activities. Although he is poor who studies law and works as a writer for a newspaper, Delfin still strongly believes that a society inclined to the cause of the poor through peaceful means, a challenge that could be achieved through violence.[1]
On the other hand, Felipe – who advocates anarchy – believes in the forceful way of destroying the existing powers and cruelty harbored by the rich landowners. He wants to dispel the abusive members of society who rule society. Even though he is the son of a rich town leader, Felipe hates the cruel ways of his father. He would rather see a society with equal rights and equal status for all its citizens: where there is no difference between the poor and the rich classes.[1]
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