Nalpay A Namnama

By Leona Florentino
Amangan a ragsac ken talecda
dagiti adda caayanayatda
ta adda piman mangricna
Cadagiti isuamin a asugda
Ni gasatco o nababa
Aoanen ngatat capadana,
ta cunac diac agduadua
ta agdama ngarud nga innac agsagaba.
Ta nupay no agayatac
iti maysa a imnas
aoan lat pagripriripac
nga adda pacaibatucag
Ilunodconto ti horas
nga innac pannacayanac
ta mamenribo coma a naseseat
no natayac idin ta nayanacac.
Gagayayec coma a ipalaoag.
ngem bumdeng met toy dilac
a ta maquitac met a sibabatad
nga ni pay ti calac-amac.
Ngem umanayento a liolioac
ti pannacaammon itoy a panagayat,
ta icaric kenca ket isapatac
nga sica aoan sabali ti pacayatac

REFERENCE http://ovelynflores.weebly.com/nalpay-a-namnama.html

Bigong Pag-asa
salin ni Isagani R. Cruz
Anong saya at ginhawa
kung may nagmamahal
dahil may makikiramay
sa lahat ng pagdurusa.
Ang masama kong kapalaran
walang kapantaywala akong alinlangansa dinaranas sa kasalukuyan.
Kahit na ako ay magmahal
sa isang musa
wala namang hinuha
na akoy pahahalagahan.
Isumpa ko kaya ang panahon
nang akoy ipinanganak
higit na mas masarap
na mamatay bilang sanggol.
Nais kong magpaliwanag
dila koy ayaw gumalaw
nakikita kong malinaw
pagtanggi lamang ang matatanggap.
Ligaya ko sanay walang kapantay
sa kaalamang ikaw ay minamahal
isusumpa ko at patutunayan
para sa iyo lamang ako mamamatay.

REFERENCE:

https://churvachos.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/nalpay-a-namnama-nasalin-ni-isagani-r-cruz/

Leona Florentino was the first Filipina poet in Spanish

and Ilocano languages. She was a poet at a time when women were regarded as
subordinate to men and were made to do household chores instead of getting
an education. She is considered as the "mother of Philippine women's
literature" and the "bridge from oral to literary tradition"
Her father is Don Marcelino, one of the richest men in Ilocos and her
mother is Doa Isabel Florentino, a civil-minded lady. Born to a wealthy and
prominent family in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, on April 19, 1849, the young
Florentino's intelligence and lyricism was obvious at an early age when she
began to write her first verses in Ilocano. Despite her potential talent, she was
barred from receiving a university education because of her gender. Florentino
was instead tutored by her mother and then a series of private teachers.

Although she could not enroll in universities, which were closed to all women
during the Spanish era, she learned a lot by reading books.
Impressed by her intelligence and writing prowess, Father Evaristo Abaya of
Vigan taught her advanced Spanish and encouraged her to write poetry. This
made her a master of both Ilocano and Spanish, a feat unsurpassed by no one
during her time. Her poems, which are widely quoted, were characterized by
their originality of thought and elegance of expression on topics such as the
glory of Filipino womanhood, and the romanticism of her nation.
Her lyrical poetry in Spanish, and especially in Ilocano, gained attention
with their exhibition in various international forums. Her literary contributions
were recognized when she was included in the Encyclopedia Internationale des
Oeuvres des Femmes (International Encyclopedia of Womens Works) in 1889.
Florentino was married to a politician named Elias de los Reyes at a young
age. She bore five children, including Isabelo de los Reyes who would later
become a Filipino writer, activist and senator. Due to the feminist nature of her
writings, Florentino was shunned by her husband and son; she lived alone in
exile and separately from her family. She died at the age of 35.

It was the same poems she dedicated to her fellow Ilocanos that were
exhibited in the Exposicion General de Filipinas in Madrid in 1887 and in the
International Exposicion in Paris in 1889. It won fame for the Philippines and
her works were included in the Encyclopedia Internationale des Oeuvres des
Femmes (International Encyclopedia of Womens Works) in 1889. Sadly, she
died at the young age of 35. However, Florentino left a wealth of literature such
as Rucrunoy (Dedication), Naangaw a Cablaw (Good Greetings), and Leon
XIII (dedicated to Pope Leo XIII).
While most of her works were lost over the course of time, some of the
original manuscripts have been preserved in Madrid, London, and Paris. Today,
natives of Ilocandia recognize Florentinos literary prowess by converting her
former home in the capitol into the Provincial Tourism Center (Vigan Heritage
Commission). And of course there is a restaurant named in her honor, the Caf
Leona, named by a scolar of her work, Genarorgojocruz, who studied

Florentinos poem in his literature class, wrote that the Ilocana was a pillar of
feminism in the country.
RECOGNITIONS
-

the countrys first Filipina poet

at a time when women were
regarded as subordinate to men
and were made to do household
chores instead of getting an
education.
a pillar of feminism in the
country
first Filipina poet in Spanish
and Ilocano languages
"mother of Philippine women's
literature"
"bridge from oral to literary
tradition"
first Filipina to be included in
Encyclopedia Internationale des
Oeuvres des
Femmes (International
Encyclopedia of Womens
Works) in 1889.

POSSIBLE FACTORS THAT

INFLUENCED HER WORKS
- living alone in exile and
separate from her family

REFERENCES:
http://www.poemhunter.com/leona-florentino/biography/
http://loqal.ph/loqal-artist/leona-florentino-as-mother-of-filipinofemale-literature/
http://www.viganfurniture.com/240589494/1630575/posting/
http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Leona_Florentino
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leona_Florentino