LESSON 1 21CLPW

• Around 5 million people speak variations of Bikolano dialect in the Bicol region
• Bikolano literature has flourished, providing a lively literary flavor unrivalled by any other literary tradition
• Transformation of Bikolano literature

  1. Roots in orally transmitted poems and mythical narratives

  2. Reflected the history of the people
• Mariano Perfecto


  First Bikolano writer who published Bikola newspaper, responsible for the development of the first printing press named "Imprenta de Nuestra Senora de Penafrancia"
• Bikolano literature was dominated by religious writing at that time
• Protest drama became a form of expressing the people's growing resentment of the Spanish rule
• Corridor


  Dramatic genre popular among the Tagalog-speaking folk, adapted into the local 'Bikolcorrido'
• Bikolcorrido


  Example: Magamang Pobre
• Luis Guevarra Dato


  • Filipino poet, writer, educator and politician from Baao, Camarines Sur
  • One of the first Filipinos to write and publish works in English
  • Considered an "authority on the Bicol language and culture"
  • Worked as a newspaperman for the Bicol Star, Naga times, and other newspapers
• Luis Guevarra Dato's works

  • Manila: A Collection of Verses (1926)
  • My Book of Verses, I (1936), II undated
  • The Land of Mai: A Philippine Epic, Volume I (1975)
• Marne L. Kilates


  • Published three books of poetry and nine books of translation of Filipino poetry into English
  • Active user of the new medium of the Internet, publishes and edits the online poetry & art magazine called Poet's Picturebook
• Damiana Ligon Eugenio


  • Filipino female author, had several publications in the field of Philippine folklore and a professor at the UP Diliman at the Department of English and Comparative Literature for the college of Arts
  • Graduated BSE from the University of the Philippines as Cum Laude
  • Completed her M.A degree in English Literature and folklore
• Ang Duwende is a Bicolano Folklore by Damiana Ligon Eugenio
• The story is about two sisters who were sewing their clothes for a morning mass, and their mother warned them to close the doors and windows at night to prevent the duwende (dwarf) from entering their house
• The duwende is described as a small creature with a red face, long mustache, and curly white hair, with small arms but large hands
• One night, the sisters forgot to close the doors and windows, and the duwende entered their house, causing a fire that burned their clothes
• After this incident, the whole town of Legaspi became more cautious about the duwende and started closing their doors and windows at night