Roselle May Advincula

 El Filibusterismo: Rizal’s Second and Last Novel The ire of the Spanish government and church towards Jose Rizal and his family upon the release of Noli Me Tangere wasn’t unexpected. It was a time when the once solid grip of the Spaniards in the country was slowly weakening. The Filipinos were gaining national consciousness and attempts of revolutions had been made. The fate that Noli Me Tangere suffered—being banned by the colonial government and criticized as heretic, unpatriotic and anti-Catholicism—plus the persecution that extended even to his family, made Rizal even more determined to continue the story. Publication History Rizal started writing El Filibusterismo, sequel to his first novel Noli Me Tangere, in Calamba in 1887. He then continued and made revisions in 1888 while he was in London. The writing went on for a while with Rizal transferring from one city to another—Paris then Brussels, until finally completing the novel in Biarritz on March 28, 1891. The publication of the book, however, wasn’t easy. Rizal’s roommate in Belgium, Jose Alejandrino—who would later become a general in the revolution—helped the novelist by canvassing for a printing press. He found F. Meyer van Loo in Ghent and was the one who delivered El Filibusterismo’s proofs and revisions to the printer. It can be assumed that Alejandrino was the first person, aside from Rizal, to read the novel. Rizal initially financed the printing by selling his belongings. In a letter he sent on July 09, 1891 to his friend in Hong Kong, Jose Basa, Rizal wrote the following: “For the past three months I have not received a single centavo, so I have pawned all that I have in order to publish this book. I will continue publishing it as long as I can; and when there is nothing to pawn I will stop …” The next letter Rizal sent to Basa bore a sad news. The printing of his second novel was halted because of inadequate funds. Then came Maximo Ventura. Credited as Fili’s savior, he financed the continuation of the novel’s printing. Ventura was one of the writers who agreed to help Rizal with his first proposed novel. Maybe it was because of his unfulfilled promise that made him feel somehow obligated to help Rizal. But even with his monetary assistance, Rizal still had to cut the novel down into 38 chapters, a huge difference from his 64-chaptered Noli Me Tangere. He removed 47 pages from the original 297 pages to save money. El Filibusterismo was finished by September 1891. Rizal gave Ventura the novel’s original manuscript, an autographed printed copy and a pen. Alejandrino, who was the first one to help Rizal in publishing the novel, received El Fili’s original proofs and the pen Rizal used to make the corrections. In 1925, the original manuscript was bought by the Philippine government from Ventura for Php 10,000. Regrettably, the historical souvenirs given to Alejandrino were either lost or destroyed during the revolution. The Story of El Filibusterismo The story picks up 13 years after the supposed death of Crisostomo Ibarra. A man named Simoun, a wealthy jeweler, returns to the Philippines. Simoun is very influential, having connections within the Spanish ranks and even considered a “consultant” by the governor general. It was later revealed, however, that the man who returned as Simoun is actually Ibarra. He came back to execute his revenge against the church and the government that maligned him, and to save Maria Clara from her miserable life in the convent. He uses his close connection to the governor general by advising him to implement stricter and even more oppressive policies, with the aim to anger the citizens and indirectly, encourage them to revolt. In his plot for revenge, Simoun allies with a man named Kabesang Tales, a former cabeza de barangay who suffered mistreatments from the priests. He also recruits Basilio, the son of Sisa from Noli Me Tangere, now a medical student through the aid of Kapitan Tiago. Basilio knew from the start that Simoun is Ibarra. He initially didn’t want to take part in Simoun’s plans, but after a series of injustices that he himself experienced and the death of his lover Juli, who chose to take her life than be abused by the friar Padre Camorra, he eventually conceded. Simoun’s first attempt at an uprising didn’t materialize. On the night of the supposed attack, he learned about Maria Clara’s death and decided not to give the signal that would start the uprising. Simoun then made his second attempt on the night of Paulita Gomez and Juanito Pelaez’s wedding. He planted explosives around the house where the party is being held and gave the newlyweds a beautiful lamp. But the lamp, once lighted, will explode. Should his plot be successful, it would kill all the invited guests which are mostly friars and elites. But the plan turned out as a failure. On that same evening, Basilio goes to the party to inform his friend Isagani about the impending doom. Isagani, still harboring feelings towards his ex-lover, Paulita, snatches the lamp just a few moments after it was lighted and threw it in the river where it explodes. Simoun’s plans for revolution, along with his real identity, was unveiled. He was hunted and was seriously injured during his escape. He found help from Padre Florentino, a kind man and not like his fellow friars. But a civil guard lieutenant found out about Simoun’s hideout and informed the friar that they would arrest Simoun in the morning. Not wanting to be caught, Simoun drinks poison. While waiting for his death, he confesses to Father Florentino his identity and plans for revenge through revolution. Noli VS El Fili Compared to its prequel, El Filibusterismo is much darker. Both novels speak of an oppressed society, but unlike Noli, El Fili has less idealism and aspirations and more spite, anger and revolt. The second novel, in a sense, is much more radical. While Noli Me Tangere’s printing and distribution were strictly prohibited, copies of El Filibusterismo, due to its more revolutionary content, were outright destroyed upon its arrival in the Philippines. In terms of quality and literary competency, some of Rizal’s friends like Ferdinand Bluementritt and Garciano Lopez Jaena thought El Fili was better than Noli. Rizal, on the other hand, was pickle. He once believed that El Fili is more superior than Noli, evident in his letter to Basa when the second novel’s printing was paused: “It is a pity because it seems to me that this second part (El Fili) is more important than the first (Noli).” But when El Filibusterismo was published, Rizal seemed to agree with Marcelo H. Del Pilar’s opinion about the novel. He wrote him a letter that expressed his appreciation for Del Pillar’s criticism towards El Fili and said that he himself also thinks that the novel is indeed “inferior” to Noli. Dedication to the Filibusteros In his letter to Bluementritt, Rizal explained that the word filibustero is rather unknown to Filipinos. Bluementritt didn’t understand the word when he read it in Noli Me Tangere so Rizal explained it on his letter: “The word filibustero is little known in the Philippines …I heard it for the first time in 1872 when the tragic executions [of the Gomburza] took place. I still remember the panic that this word created. Our father forbade us to utter it, as well as the words Cavite, Burgos (one of the executed priests), etc. The Manila newspapers and the Spaniards apply this word to one whom they want to make a revolutionary suspect. The Filipinos belonging to the educated class fear the reach of the word. It … means a dangerous patriot who will soon be hanged or well, a presumptuous man.” Rizal dedicated his second novel to the GOMBURZA martyrs—a fit for the word where he derived his title El Filibusterismo. In context, the word filibustero pertains to someone who is revolutionary, treasonous and subversive. Exactly how the colonial government saw and presented the three priests despite the lack of investigations. The dedication says: “To the memory of the priests, Don Mariano Gomez (85 years old), Don Jose Burgos (30 years old), and Don Jacinto Zamora (35 years old). Executed in the Bagumbayan Field on the 28th of February, 1872 … I have the right to dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil which I undertake to combat…” Rizal was sincere in his intentions, despite the inaccurate details in his mention of the priests. Gomez was 73 when he was executed along with Zamora, who was 37 and Burgos, who was 35. But El Filibusterismo is also a product of Rizal’s hopes for his countrymen. In another letter he sent to Bluementritt, Rizal wrote: “I have not written in it (El Fili) any idea of vengeance against my enemies, but only for the good of those who suffer, for the rights of Tagalogs ..." In the novel’s foreword, the hero wrote a short yet powerful sentence: “To the Filipino people and their government.”