Considered the "William Shakespeare" of the Philippines
Wrote "Florante at Laura"
1838
Balagtas
Nickname: Kikong Balagtas/Kiko
Born: April 2, 1788
Parents: Juana dela Cruz and Juan Baltazar
Born in Barrio Panginay, Bigaa (Bulacan)
Youngest of his 3 siblings, Felipe, Concha, and Nicholasa
Balagtas' education
1. Attended a parochial school
2. Was a houseboy for his tita
3. In 1812, he graduated with degrees in Crown Law, Spanish, Latin, Physics, Christian Doctrine, Humanities, and Philosophy
4. Was taught by Dr. Mariano Pilapil and Jose de la Cruz on how to improve his poem writing
In 1835, he found his muse for his poems
Maria Asuncion Rivera
He spoke of Maria Asuncion Rivera in Florante at Laura's first chapter as "Selya" and "MAR"
He was imprisoned by Mariano Capule, a rich and influential man who was also in love with Maria
While imprisoned, he heard that Maria and Mariano got married despite Maria saying that she'd wait for him to be released from prison
It was then that he wrote Florante at Laura
Originally, Florante at Laura was written in Tagalog, but this was during the Spanish period, so he translated it into Spanish. He published Florante at Laura in 1838
For 16 years, he became a translator
He met his second love
Juana Tiambeng
They met in Orion, Bataan, and got married on July 22, 1842. They had 11 kids (somehow)
In 1849, Governor-General Narciso Claveria declared that every Filipino should have Spanish last names. This is when he became Francisco Baltazar
In 1856, he was imprisoned AGAIN because he cut off his housemate's hair (in reality the Spanish had something to do with it)
Died at the age of 74
February 20, 1862
His last wish was for none of his 11 children to follow in his footsteps and become a poet/writer
He even went as far as to tell them it would be better to cut their hands off than let them be writers
This was because he didn't want his children to experience the same hardships that he had faced solely because they were writers
