The American Regime
(1898-1941)
Historical Background
The Filipino Revolutionists won against the Spaniards who
colonized us for more than 300 years. Our flag was hoisted on
June 12, 1898 as a symbol of our independence. Gen. Emilio
Aguinaldo was elected the first President of the Philippine
Republic but this was short-lived.
The Fil.-American was resulted in the defeat of Gen. Miguel
Malvar in 1903.
The peace movements started as early as 1900. Many Filipinos
started writing again and the nationalism of the people
remained undaunted.
Filipino writers went into all forms of literature like news,
reporting, poetry, stories, plays, essays, and novels. Their
writings clearly depicted their love of country and their
longings for independence.
The active arousal in the field of literature started to be felt in
the following newspapers.
1. EL NUEVO DIA (The New Day). Established by Sergio Osmeña
in 1900. The American censors twice banned this and
threatened Osmeña with banishment because of his
nationalistic writings.
2. EL GRITO DEL PUEBLO (The Call of the Nation). Established by
Pascual Poblete in 1900.
3. EL RENACIMIENTO (The Rebirth). Founded by Rafael Palma in
1901.
There were also plays written then but after the first and second
presentations, the Americans put a stop to this because of the
consistent theme of nationalism. Included here were the following:
KAHAPON, NGAYON AT BUKAS (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow).
Written by Aurelio Tolentino depicting the suppression
done by the Americans and their plan to colonize the
Philippines.
1. TANIKALANG GINTO of Juan Abad.
2. MALAYA by Tomas Remigio.
3. WALANG SUGAT by Severino Reyes.
During the first year of the American period, the languages used in
writing were Spanish and Tagalog and the dialects of the different
regions, but Spanish and Tagalog predominated.
In 1910, a new group started to write in English. Hence, Spanish,
Tagalog, the Vernaculars and finally, English, were the mediums
used in literature during these times. While the three groups were
one in their ideas and spirit, they differed in their methods of
reporting. The writers in Spanish were wont to write on
nationalism like honoring Rizal and other heroes.
The writers in Tagalog continued in their lamentations
on the conditions of the country and their attempts to
arouse love for one’s native tongue. The writers in
English imitated the themes and methods of the
Americans.
A. Literature in Spanish
The inspiration of our Filipino writers in Spanish was
Rizal not only because of his being a national leader but
also because of his novels NOLI and FILI. These two
novels contained the best qualities of a novel ever
written, in English or in Filipino. Those who were
inspired to write in praise of him were Cecilio Apostol,
Fernando Ma. Guerrero, Jesus Balmori, Manuel Bernabe
and Claro M. Recto.
Filipino Literature
FLORANTE AT LAURA of Francisco Balagtas and URBANA AT FELISA
of Modesto de Castro became the inspiration of the Tagalog writers.
Julian Cruz Balmaceda classified three kinds of Tagalog poets: They
were:
1. Poet of the Heart (Makata ng Puso). These included Lope K. Santos,
Iñigo Ed. Regalado, Carlos Gatmaitan, Pedro Deogracias del Rosario,
Ildefonso Santos, Amado V. Hernandez, Nemecio Carabana, and Mar
Antonio.
2. Poets of Life (Makata ng Buhay). Led by Lope K Santos, Jose
Corazon de Jesus, Florentino Collantes, Patricio Mariano, Carlos
Garmaitan, and Amado V. Hernandez.
3. Poets of the Stage (Makata ng Tanghalan). Led by Aurelio
Tolentino, Patricio Mariano, Severino Reyes, and Tomas Remigio.
The people one should not forget in the field of writing are the
following:
1. Severino Reyes. Father of the Tagalog drama and author of the
immortal WALANG SUGAT.
2. Aurelio Tolentino. The dramatist in whom the Kapampangans
take pride. Included in his writings were LUHANG TAGALOG, his
masterpiece, and KAHAPON, NGAYONG AT BUKAS that resulted in
his incarceration.
3. Hermogenes Ilagan. Founded the group Campaña Ilagan that
presented many dramas in Central Luzon.
4. Patricio Mariano. Wrote the novel NINAY and ANAK NG DAGAT (Son
of the Sea), his masterpiece.
5. Julian Cruz Balmaceda. Wrote BUNGANGA NG PATING (Shark’s
Mouth). This gave him much honor and fame.
The Tagalog Short Story
Two collections of Tagalog stories were published during the American
Period. First was the MGA KUWENTONG GINTO (Golden Stories)
published in 1936 and) KUWENTONG GINTO ng 50 BATIKANG
KUWENTISTA (50 Golden Stories by 50 Noted Storytellers) in 1939. The
first was written by Alejandro Abadilla and Clodualdo del Mundo that
contained the 25 best stories according to them.
The second was written by Pedrito Reyes. PAROLANG GINTO
(Golden Lantern) and TALAANG BUGHAW (Blue List) of Abadilla
became popular during this period.
Tagalog Poetry
Almost all Tagalog writers during the American Period were able
to compose beautiful poems which made it difficult to select
the best. Even if poetry writing is as old as history, poetry still
surfaces with its sweetness, beauty, and melody.
Literature of the Kapampangans
Two stalwarts in the literature of the Kapampangans stand out: they
are:
1. Juan Crisostomo Soto. (Father of Kapampangan Literature). The
word CRISOTAN (meaning Balagtasan) in Tagalog is taken from his
name.
2. Aurelio Tolentino. He truly proved his being a Kaampangan in his
translation of KAHAPON, NGAYON AT BUKAS into Kapampangan
which he called NAPON, NGENI AT BUKAS.
Visayan Literature
The following are the top men in Visayan literature:
1. Eriberto Gumban. (Father of Visayan Literature). He
wrote a zarzuela, moro-moro and a play in Visayan.
2. Magdalena Jalandoni. She devoted her talent to the novel.
She wrote ANG MGA TUNUK SAN ISA CA BULACLAC.
C. Philippine Literature in English
In a way, we can say that we can trace the beginnings of Philippine
literature in English with the coming of the Americans. For this
purpose, we can divide this period into three time frames, namely:
1. The Period of Re-orientation: 1898-1910
2. The Period of Imitation: 1910-1925
3. The Period of Self-Discovery: 1925-1941
(1) The Period of Re-orientation (1898-1910)
English as a literary vehicle came with the American occupation in
August 13, 1898 and as they say, a choice bestowed on us by history.
By 1900, English came to be used as a medium of instruction in the
public schools. From the American forces were recruited the first
teachers of English.
By 1908, the primary and intermediate grades were using English. It
was also about this time when UP, the forerunner in the use of English
in higher education, was founded.
Writers of this period were still adjusting to the newfound
freedom after the paralyzing effect of repression of thought
and speech under the Spanish regime. They were adjusting
the idea of democracy, to the new phraseology of the English
language and to the standards of the English literary style
Writers had to learn direct expression as conditioned by direct
thinking. They had to learn that sentence constructions;
sounds and speech in English were not the same as in the
vernacular. They had to discard sentimentality and floridity
of language for the more direct and precise English language.
Not much was produced during this period and what literature was
produced was not much of literary worth. The first attempts in English
were in two periodicals of this time:
(a) El Renacimiento: founded in Manila by Rafael Palma in 1901.
(b) Philippines Free Press: established in Manila in 1905 by R.
McCullough Dick and D. Theo Rogers.
POETRY
In 1907, Justo Juliano’s SURSUM CORDA which appeared in the
Renacimiento was the first work to be published in English.
In 1909, Jan F. Salazar’s MY MOTHER and his AIR CASTLES were
also published in this paper.
It was also in 1909 when Proceso Sebastian followed with his poem
TO MY LADY IN LAOAG, also in this same paper.
(2) The Period of Imitation (1910-1924)
By 1919, the UP College Folio published the literary compositions of
the first Filipino writers in English. They were the pioneers in
short story writing.
They were then groping their way into imitating American and
British models which resulted in a stilted, artificial and unnatural
style, lacking vitality and spontaneity. Their models included
Longfellow and Hawthorne, Emerson and Thoreau, Wordsworth and
Tennyson, Thackeray and Macaulay, Longfellow, Allan Poe, Irving
and other American writers of the Romantic School.
Writers of this folio included Fernando Maramag (the best editorial
writer of this period) Juan F. Salazar, Jose M. Hernandez, Vicente del
Fierro,
and Francisco M. Africa and Victoriano Yamzon. They pioneered
in English poetry.
ESSAYS
The noted essayists of this time were: Carlos P. Romulo, Jorge C.
Bocobo, Mauro Mendez, and Vicente Hilario.
Their essays were truly scholarly characterized by sobriety,
substance and structure. They excelled in the serious essay,
especially the editorial type.
The next group of writers introduced the informal essay, criticism and
the journalistic column. They spiced their work with humor, wit and
satire. These group included Ignacio Manlapaz, Godefredo Rivera,
Federico Mangahas, Francisco B. Icasiano, Salvador P. Lopez, Jose
Lansang and Amando G. Dayrit.
SHORT STORIES
In the field of short stories, DEAD STARS by Paz Marquez Benitez written
in the early 1920’s stand out as a model of perfection in character
delineation, local color, plot and message. Other short stories published
during this time were but poor imitations of their foreign models.
The UP College Folio was later replaced by the Philippine Collegian.
Newspapers and periodicals also saw print during this time like the
Bulletin, the Philippines Herald (1920), the Philippine Review, the
Independent, Rising Philippines and Citizens, and the Philippine
Education Magazine 1924.
D. Period of Self-Discovery and Growth (1925-1941)
By this time, Filipino writers had acquired the mastery of English
writing. They now confidently and competently wrote on a lot of
subjects although the old-time favorites of love and youth persisted.
They went into all forms of writing like the novel and the drama.
1. POETRY
Noteworthy names in this field include Marcelo de Gracia Concepcion, Jose
Garcia Villa, Angela Manalang Gloria, Abelardo Subido, Trinidad Tarrosa
Subido and Rafael Zulueta da Costa. They turned our not only love poems
but patriotic, religious, descriptive and reflective poems as well. They wrote
in free verse, in odes and sonnets and in other types. Poetry was original,
spontaneous, competently written and later, incorporated social
consciousness.
2. THE SHORT STORY (1925-1941)
Probably because of the incentives provided by publications like the
Philippine Free Press, The Graphic, The Philippine Magazine and college
publications like the UP Literary Apprentice, poetry and the short story
flourished during these times.
ESSAYS AND OTHER PROSE STYLES (1925-1941)
Essays during this period improved with the years in quality and
quantity, in content, subject and style. Essayists like Carlos P.
Romulo became even more eminent editorial writers.
The notable writers of essays during this period were:
a. Political, social reflective essays: Through their newspaper
columns the following became very popular: Federico Mangahas,
Salvador P. Lopez, Pura S. Castrence, Vicente Albano Pacis, Ariston
Estrada and Jose A. Lansang.
b. Critical essays were espoused by Salvador P. Lopez, I.V. Mallari,
Ignacio Manlapaz, Jose Garcia Villa, Arturo B. Rotor, and Leopoldo
Y. Yabes. An example of this is Maximo V. Soliven’s THEY CALLED
IT BROTHERHOOD.
c. Personal or Familiar essays were written by F.B. Icasiano (Mang
Kiko), Alfredo E. Litiatco, Solomon V. Arnaldo, Amando G. Dayrit
and Consuelo Gar (Catuca).
