lesson 1

• Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar

  Famous Filipino poet and author
• Prinsipe ng Manunulang Tagalog

  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 on February 20, 1862, at the age of 74
• 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