1st, 1898 Commodore Dewey sails into Manila Bay to end Spanish rule in the Philippines and begin the American Era.
2nd, 1935 Peasants of central and southern Luzon staged a mass protest against the government on the eve of the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth.
4th, 1917 Birth of Nick Joaquin, Philippine National Artist in Literature
5th, 1860 Birth of Gregorio Aglipay founder of Philippine Independent Church popularly known as ?Aglipayanism?, a native church alternative to Catholicism.
10th, 1886 Birth of Felix Manalo, founder of Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) now one of the largest non-catholic churches.
30th, 1892 Birth of Fernando Amorsolo, painter of idealized Philippine rural life who influenced a generation of painters of the so-called ?Amorsolo school?.
?It was May, it was summer, and he was young—young! —and deliriously in love.? In this passage from ?May Day Eve?, short story writer and novelist Nick Joaquin (d. April 29, 2004), celebrates the mating rituals that bring on the month of May. In sheer contrast to April?s austerity and dryness, May explodes in flowery gumamela red, fire-tree orange and bougainvilla pink. There is good reason why the ?Flores de Mayo? is called such ? a parade of pretty young women bedecked with flowers of May. It is also the month for fiestas and trips to once-rural Antipolo (a quiet retreat during pre-Marcos Manila), activities which gave abundant excuses for young men and women to get together at the Shrine of Our (Brown) Lady of Fortune and Good Voyage or at a picnic table by the Hinulugan Tak-Tak. (Water falls).
May is about fertility and bountiful earth harvests. The Tagalogs have a term for minds endowed with similar abundance berdeng utak (fertile mind). Several very creative people were born in this month. Fernando Amorsolo, born on the 30th in 1892, glorified the colors of the earth in his famous paintings about harvesting and planting of rice. His idealized depiction of the rural dalaga remains a metaphor of Filipina beauty. He left behind an “Amorsolo school” of followers who became prominent in their own right. Amorsolo’s paintings are now collected like precious jewels. Amorsolo enjoys the honor of being the first National Artist, a title bestowed by the government for being one of its national treasures. May is also the birth-month of women writers Estrella Alfon and Magdalena Jalandoni. Long over-shadowed by their male counterparts, Alfon and Jalandoni, are now given their due credit in Philippine literature as pioneering women writers. This is also the birth-month of the father-son Julio and Juan Nakpil. Julio, the elder, was born on the 22d in 1867. Juan was born on the 26th in 1899. After Andres Bonifacio was executed by Aguinaldo’s men on May 10, 1897, Julio Nakpil then married his widow Gregoria de Jesus. Nakpil was Bonifacio’s trusted commander and was also the composer of the Katipunan anthem Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan (Honorable Hymn of the Tagalog Nation). Juan, their offspring, later became the foremost Filipino architect and was accorded the honor of National Artist, joining fellow May-born Amorsolo.
For a country that remains primarily agricultural, the rites of planting and harvest mark the high point of the farmer?s calendar. Coming at the heels of the dry season, the month of May and the rainfall it brings signals a period of feasting, the honoring of saints of the earth in the ?fiesta? and a general sense of well-being that farmers hope the month will set for the rest of the year. But for the children all that matters is to pig out on fruits like the lanzones, mangoes, duhat, aratiles, santol, kaymito and other goodies. In towns like Lukban in Quezon Province, May 15th, honors St. Isidro Labrador and the whole neighborhood is dressed up in edible colored leaf-like decorations made out of rice-wafers. Homage to St. Isidore, it is hoped, will guarantee a bountiful harvest,.
Saints figure strongly in Filipino life and the Earth’s bounty is unmistakably associated with religion. Spanish friars forever in search for religious examples, ascribed blessed-ness to earth?s fruits. The lanzones, for example, a fruit with a flavor known only to those who have tasted it, is associated with the Blessed Virgin Mother who is believed to have turned an otherwise bitter fruit into a most favored summer delicacy. The importance of saints in Filipino culture, did not deter the rise of anti-Vatican indigenous churches. The Philippine Independent Church which was founded by Gregorio Aglipay, who was born on the 5th in 1860, With direct links to the Philippine Revolution, Aglipayanism as it was popularly known, became an alternative religion to Roman Catholicism. Another religious founder who was May-born was Felix Manalo, born on the 10th in 1886. Manalo founded the Iglesia ni Cristo, now, one of the largest Filipino churches and claim membership in both the Philippines and the U.S.
The Philippines like most European countries celebrate May 1 (Mayo Uno) as its Labor Day. More significantly for Philippine history, this was the day, in 1897, that Commodore Dewey sank the Spanish Armada in Manila Bay (Cavite actually). Thus, in 1897, began the love-hate relationship with the U.S., a common theme for Mayo Uno political rallies. On the eve of the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth, thirty years later on May 2,and 3, 1935, the farmers of central and southern Luzon, protesting against labor exploitation and political corruption was quelled by government soldiers. Later to be known in history as the Sakdalista Uprising, it was remarkable for its anti-American flavor and pro-labor union aspirations. The Philippines has finally caught on with world-wide capitalist agricultural economy and the beginnings of modern globalization. Ironically, Commowealth status was the first step towards Philippine independence from the U.S. By that time, some 40,000 Filipinos have already migrated as laborers to the farms of Hawaii and California seeking better fortunes.
After WWII, national elections were always held in November. Since Cory’s election in February 1896, it has eventually moved up to May. Coming at the heels of the holy month of April it may mean the symbolic cleansing of political sins, or perhaps, a subconscious wishful recognition that May is the month of renewal, of labor and of creative work.
Suggested Readings
Nick Joaquin, May Day Eve. Reproduced in http://www.geocities.com/icasocot/joaquin_may.html
Estrella Alfon, ?Magnificence? . From The Best Philippine Short Stories. Isagani R. Cruz, Editor. (Manila: Tahanan Books, 2000)
David Sturtevant, Popular Uprisings in the Philippines, 1840-1940. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1976)
Alfred Yuson and Juaniyo Arcellana, “Nick Joaquin, 86: Passing of an era”. http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl100289.htm
—
:
