Landfall in Masbate
While the inaugural galleon trip bound for Acapulco departed from Cebu, the first locus, in what would be known today as Luzon, where the conquistadores made landfall was Masbate. Mateo del Saz and Martin de Goite reached Masbate in 1567. They failed to establish any contact with the natives. In 1569 Captain Luis Enriquez de Guzman with the Augustinian Fray Alonzo Jimenez traced del Saz and de Goite’s route and disembarked in the island of Masbate and encountered what del Saz and de Goite missed: the natives who they found to be cordial and friendly. Paradoxically, Masbate, in Spanish can mean, “It is better to fight” (Malanyaon, 1991; 343). The natives would prefer to fight first than simply surrender to any invading force. It didn’t mean though that they could not be cordial and friendly absent any sign or attempt at conquering them.
Then de Guzman and Jimenez crossed over to the islands of Ticao and Burias. In the accounts of Blair and Robertson, Masbate would be called Masbat. In some other books it would be tagged as Masbad. Ticao was Tigaw (Tiago in Malanyaon’s) but Burias was already Burias. At this point, it is interesting to note that sometime in the history of Bikol, constituents of Rajah Soliman and Rajah Lakandula who were captured when Manila fell to the Spaniards, were dumped in Burias as the latter sailed back to their headquarters in Cebu.
From Burias and Ticao islands they hopped on to a bigger mass of land disembarking in a settlement called Gibalon. The settlement, now a sitio bearing another name, exists to the present. It is in the town of Magallanes, Sorsogon. It is still popular for its ancient name, Gibalon. Gibalon is recognized as a national historical landmark. Here’s a little more about Gibalon: “It is in Magallanes where Gibalong (now sitio San Isidro) is located, at the mouth of Ginangra River, reputed to be the place where the first Christian mass in Luzon was celebrated. The name Ibalon or Tiera de Gibalong, which is also used to identify the Bicol region at the time, came from the name of the place—Gibalong,” From there they went farther inland and hit upon the thriving balangay or duluhan of Kamalig (kamalig, understood by the Spaniards as camarin, wherefrom the term Camarines was derived to refer to the region that Captain Juan de Salcedo would later conquer. Kamalig is now the town of Camalig, Albay).
But the Spaniards did not lodge in Kamalig or in what they would also call Ibalon or Yvalon and later as Camarines because they heard stories about a kingdom farther up north which had more gold. Maynilad, as that kingdom turns out to be. In May 1570, Legazpi ordered an expedition, with Martin de Goite and Juan de Salcedo, to Maynilad. That would only be several months after the Spaniards turned up in Kamalig. Ibalon or Yvalon was the ancient name of what would later be known as Albay and then the Bikol Region. Ibalon was sometimes applied to the entire island of Luzon.
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Disembarking in Gibalon
Local historians have different stories as to what place Ibalon was first attributed to. This seems due not so much as to some confusion with historical information but more because of unwieldy personal pride of place among Bikolanos. This is observed even among today’s local scholars. In time, this will be sorted out. Hopefully. But as written in The Philippine Islands, “Yvalon (or Ibalón) was the ancient name of Albay; it was sometimes applied to the entire island of Luzón,” (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 3; 171). On the other hand, the Gibalon of Magallanes in Sorsogon is a story that should not be missed. In fact, it needs wider broadcasting.
Historically however it can be claimed, without doubt, that the Spaniards first set their hempen sandals and cowhide shoes in Luzon in the Bikol Peninsula, particularly in Masbate. The Bikolanos were the first in Luzon to be Christianized. Likewise, the first to bear the heavy and oppressive yoke the conquistadores would sling on the physical and cultural shoulders of the Filipinos.
In 1570, Captain Andres de Ibarra, again with Fray Alonzo de Jimenez, took on from where Captain de Guzman left off in Ibalon. They reached what are now the towns of Bato and Nabua at the banks of Lake Bato. That Spaniard, de Ibarra, was very cruel to the natives. Fray Diego de Herrera, in a series of complaints to the Viceroy of Mexico, wrote, among others, that “. . . he (de Ibarra) robbed the natives, burned their villages, dispersed their population, massacred them, and did other evil things,” (Reyes, 1991; 87). Still, quite fortunately for the Ibalon natives, Legazpi ordered de Ibarra and his garrison in Ibalon to return to Panay due to his abuses. But Ibarra ignored the orders three times. Sensing that Legazpi would use force to carry out his command, Ibarra sent Legazpi a gold chain weighing ten taels, a small vessel of rich gold, and a gold comb. Thus, Ibarra was able to evade punishment (Dery, 1991; 40). About those “gifts,” de Herrera wrote, “. . . all of which I hear, the Governor is sending to his Majesty,” (Reyes, 1991; 87).
Now, talk about when pernicious bribery ever set foot in this country! Some accounts would have it that de Ibarra settled at Ibalon Bay, somewhere in what is now Sorsogon. He must have found paradise in the early Kabikolan, something more palpable and real than Juan Ponce de Leon’s search for the delusive fountain of youth in the vastness of South America.
Conquest by the barrel of the arquebus
How could Captain Andres de Ibarra do what he did to the early Bikolanos who, according to Spanish Governor General Guido de Lavezares in his letter to King Philip II, “… are the most valiant yet found in these regions: they possess much good armor as iron corselets, greaves, wristlets, gauntlets, and helmets. . ..” (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 3; 273). Augustinian Fray Martin de Rada supported the observation of Lavezares, with a letter to the Viceroy of Nueva España (Mexico) he told the latter that, “the people there are the most valiant and the best armed men of all these islands… Although they never attacked the Spaniards, still they defended themselves in all their villages and would not surrender unless conquered by the force of arms,” (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 34; 286).
Andres de Carchela and Salvador Aldave also reported to the King of Spain, that “the men are warlike and well-armed for Indians—for they have corselets of buffalo hide, iron greaves, and helmets set with fish bones and stout shells which no weapon except what arquebus can damage,” (Reyes, 1992; 89).
The arquebus must have been the secret of the conquistadores which the minasbad(cutlass) and budyak (spear) of the natives could not surmount. In other words, the conquistadores packed weapons which mocked naked bravery. The early Bikolanos, brave warriors they might have been, accepted defeat only after the enemies proved their superiority; after not one among their braves remained standing, anonymously perishing in lopsided battles.
Fray Martin de Rada wrote to Viceroy Martin Enriquez that “. . . all the villages were entered in the same way, by first summoning them peacefully and to pay tribute immediately unless they wished war. They replied they would first prove to those to whom they were to pay tribute and consequently, the Spaniards, attacking them, an entrance was made by force of arms and the village was overthrown and whatever was found was pillaged. Then the Spaniards summoned the natives to submit peacefully. When the natives came, they asked them to immediately give tribute in gold and in an excessive amount, for which they promised to give them writs of peace. Therefore, since all the people defended themselves, more have perished in that land than in any other yet conquered,” (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 34; 287).
The conquest of Ibalon required 120 battle-ready arquebus-wielding Spanish soldiers under the command of Captain Juan de Salcedo. It took only 45 of those Spanish soldiers to bring Northern Luzon to its knees (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 34; 286-288). Salcedo is said to be the last of the conquistadores in the mold of Francisco Pizzaro who set foot in the land of the fabled Incas in 1527. Pizzaro sent the Incas to their knees and got their gold.
Salcedo’s conquest of Ibalon was full-scale. Fray Martin de Rada in his letter to Viceroy Martin Enriquez wrote that all the villages were overthrown and whatever was found was pillaged (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 34; 286-287). “While other regions of the Philippines were able to record the identities of their native chieftains, like Tupas of Cebu and Lakandula and Sulayman (Soliman) of Maynilad, the chronicles of Bikol are ominously silent on the native chieftains who resisted conquest. Obviously because even before the Spaniards could identify them, those native chieftains perished in the ensuing battles,” (Reyes, 1992; 88).
Could the early decimation of the Bikol braves be the reason why there is no account of a strong native leadership at that point in Bikol history or why there are no oral literature or oral history or even orality on how they conducted themselves among themselves and in the face of the murderous physical and cultural onslaughts of the Spaniards? Only the Spaniards were left with stories to tell. We can only know what perhaps they wanted us to know or see what they might want us to see. What could have been significant to the natives might have been nonsensical to the invaders.
The early Bikolanos left not a lonely word for their progenies for celebration or simply to fantasize on. Even the Ibalong Epic was delivered in fragment depriving the 21st century Bikolano of the story of himself.
A people of elegance and grace
Fray Jose Castaño observed that the pre-Hispanic Bikolanos were, “A race of great impetuosity and valor and fond of social dealings; more intelligent and vigorous, more active, industrious, and warlike; and adjusted to live in clustered, compact villages. . .” (Dery, 1991; 25).
The early Bikolanos were described as, “Of medium height with a complexion like stewed quinces; and both men and women are well-featured. They have very black hair, and thin beards; and are very clever at anything they undertake, keen and passionate, and of great resolution. All live from their labor and gains in the field, their fishing, and trade, going from island to island by sea, and from province to province by land . . .sweet and docile in disposition (and) although dark as bronze or burnt gold (they) hold themselves with elegance and grace,” (Reyes, 1992; 93).
The men of pre-Hispanic Bikol were noted for their obedience and discipline and they were also reportedly the most valiant and best armed men of all the islands, and who met heavy losses against the Spaniards. Theirs were untold stories of bravery and valor even in very lopsided battles. The women were modest and honest. Persons of blood relations rarely did marry each other. They lived by a code of conduct and attended to their communal obligations with diligence.
Of their bravery and valor, these again were shown and shone at the dawning of the 20th century when on January 23, 1900, some 800 Albayanos held their ground and many of them perished against the very superior invading American forces in the lopsided historic Battle of Legazpi. It must have been exceedingly shameful for the Americans, if shame be any virtue to them, to use canons and high caliber guns against the Albayanos’ ineffective rifles and minasbad.
Except for their bravery and valor there was nothing more thrown in the way of the Americans to deter them or at least delay their bloody conquest of Albay and then the Bikol Region.
The Americans, under the command of Brig. Gen. William A. Kobie, appeared in the Albay Gulf in three warships, the Venus, the Castellan, and the Nashville. The Nashville immediately bombarded and pulverized the hastily prepared trenches on the shores of barangays Rawis and San Roque, Legazpi City. Soon after that four US infantry companies gained beachhead and attacked the defending Albayanos who had but three infantry companies, an engineering unit which had shovels instead of guns, and a bolo company. Of the 800 defenders, only about 170 had rifles which were malfunctioning. The rest had their minasbad, ancient shields made of animal hide, and anting-anting (amulets).
When the defenders had the opportunity to engage the invading force in a hand-to-hand combat at their last line of defense, the San Rafael Bridge, the Americans had a taste of how fierce Bikolanos could get. There was no other way to end this story but in tragedy. It was a massacre. Later the Americans would try to romanticize this native bravery perhaps to cover their atrocity. But it was good that a local historian, Mariano Goyena del Prado, lived to tell what happened. Like the Spanish arquebus, the American artillery was too much for naked bravery; simply too much to ignore shock and awe over superiority riding on the wings of ruthlessness.
Still about native audacity, in the ‘60s I heard stories of “takòdan ki paha” (interlacing or knotting the belts or waist bands of two males) in barangay Tagas, Daraga, Albay. To settle differences, protagonists agreed to a duel armed with knives with their belts being interlaced or tied together. There would be no escaping for either of them, no separating even. They would hit and stab each other until one or both of them succumbed. Surrender was not an option. The Bikolano historian Dr. Luis C. Dery told me sometime in 2004, that he witnessed such a gory duel in the vicinity of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Station at Peñaranda Street, Legazpi City in the late ‘50s. Such bravery, such fearlessness to stare death in its ruthless crimson eye.
About how the early Bikolanos conducted themselves, The Spanish historian and educator Fray Francisco Colin, S.J., one of the pioneers in the Philippine missions, furnishes in his Labor Evangelica (Madrid, 1663) a valuable account of the native races and their customs. He has a more co-lorful description. He wrote that:
“The inhabitants devoted themselves to the cultivation of their lands; they harvested palay; they knew how to make farm tools with which they tilled the soil. They used a coarse mortar to separate the grain from the husks of the palay and at the same time, it served to whiten and polish the rice. They had instruments for fishing and household utensils made of bamboo and wood.
“[They] wore clothing which they themselves wove from cotton and pineapple. They didn’t go around naked, rather they wove collarless robes which . . . were well-made, the length of which reaches until the ankle. They were always reserved and careful in covering their persons with extreme diligence, circumspection and modesty in which point they excel all nations.
“The woman, very prudent and modest, is stranger to any form of triviality. The attire is modest and elegant. The man carried on his head a sort of turban or small girded cloth, called putong, made of fibers of abaca and pineapple,” (Dery, 1991; 25).
The social and civil order in the pre-Hispanic settlements was maintained by the observance of a socio-political system in most villages locally known as duluhanesor balangays. The duluhanes were inhabited by three classes of citizens based on their respective socio-economic status. These were the maguinoo(noble class), the timagua or timaua (free men), and the oripon(the dependent class). The maguinoo were on top of the social ladder. The timagua ranked next. The oripon was at the bottom. The oriponwere not generally slaves and that there was a sub-class among them who were known as pandoan (Gerona, 2011; 31). Each class member reputedly behaved as expected and performed their roles befitting their social status therefore insuring stability in the community.
There is another interesting account of social stratification among the early Bikolanos. Dery wrote that, “When the Spaniards came, they found the ancient Bikolano society already composed of four distinct classes: the dato or principal; the aratagon or freemen; the dulujan or workers which constituted the majority of society; and the oripon or slaves, which was composed of captives of war, debtors, criminals, etc.” (Dery, 1991; 24-25).
While there may be some variations in the presentation of historical accounts, still there is a very strong proof that the early Bikolanos were so much their own men and women. Their views of their lives and their future were very much their own. Unfortunately, Bikol history, as it were, are fading and blurring snapshots of what Gerona calls “a once rich civilization.” A comprehensive account still eludes us (at least) who are enthusiastic to know more about our past. Or, that account may after all cease to be comprehensive it having been muddled and mangled by the Spanish pueblo building programs initiated through the reduccion. There is so much in the past, especially the Bikolano’s past, that remains to be dug out and retold. The native’s memory is in a race against forgetting. And it is not winning.
The Bikol datus owned as much as four quintals (one quintal is equivalent to 101.44 lbs.) of gold dust and fabulous chains and filigrees of gold while ordinary inhabitants wore gold rings and gold bracelets. Because there was much gold, the early Bikolanos became noted goldsmiths and artisans who made chains, necklaces, earrings, rings for their adornment (Dery, 1991; 27). Gold would be the first thing demanded by the Spaniards from the natives, and more of it should be given, if the latter desired to live in “peace” and in “friendship.”
The pre-Hispanic Bikolanos were shipbuilders by profession, according to Fray Colin.
And so, the early Bikolanos were conquered not by the sword, not by the Cross but by the cold, ferocious, and unforgiving atrocity of the arquebuses that showed no appreciation for native indomitability.
Consequently, the Spaniards were free to do whatever they wanted, until Juan de Salcedo (1549 – March 11, 1576) set up the Villa Santiago de Libon with St. James the Apostle as patron. St. James the Apostle was also known in the 16th century Spain as “Santiago de Matamoros”—James the Moro Slayer. It is interesting to guess why Salcedo chose St. James the Apostle as the patron of his villa. Was it to announce or warn that he (Salcedo), like his patron, would not hesitate to swipe off with his iron fists any native who exhibited the slightest sign of belligerence? Afterall, Salcedo, exuding with pride and youth, was the last of the consequential Spanish conquistadores—young, proud, energetic, unyielding: grandson of the most powerful man in the land. He joined the Spanish military in 1564 for their exploration of the East Indies and the Pacific at the age of 15.
In 1569, upon orders from Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, Salcedo led an army of about 300 soldiers along with Martín de Goiti for their conquest of Manila. There they fought a number of battles against the Muslim chieftains in 1570 and 1571, for control of lands and settlements. Salcedo and de Goite won battle after battle against the natives. Salcedo even vanquished the 3,000 strong Chinese pirates led by Limahong who pestered the settlements in Manila, killing all the latter’s leaders.
Libon became the first Spanish special settlement in the Bikol Region, and one of the four special villas the Spaniards would set up during their rule over the archipelago. Even when Ibalon was on its knees, still Salcedo had to leave 70 soldiers, under the command of Captain Pedro de Chavez, to guard the Villa Santiago de Libon and tighten the stranglehold over the conquered Kabikolan and its people.
De Chavez completed the conquest of Kabikolan on behalf of Salcedo who was summoned back to Manila to attend to his ailing grandfather, El Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. Until Ibalon was forced to become the hub of the Spanish galleon building frenzy with four royal astilleros set up in the western coasts of the Bikol peninsula and another in Donsol, Sorsogon which served as a foundry shop.
Land of plenitude
Aside from the gold that the people of Ibalon possessed, theirs was a land of plenty. They attended to their domestic pursuits with earnestness. They tilled their lands the best way they knew. They were at peace with themselves, their environment, their gods, and their thoughts. “They have abundant stores of food,” reported Governor Guido de Lavezares to King Philip II (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 3; 273). The region’s climate is mild and nature is bountiful, the friar-chronicler Marcelo de Ribadeneira noted (Dery, 1991; 26).
Francisco de Sande in his “Relation of the Filipinas Islands” wrote on June 7, 1576 that, “The soil is very fertile—better than that of Nueva Espa- ña; and the rains come at about the same season. There is no such thing as a bad year unless some hurricane works damage,” (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 4; 67).
Luis Née, a botanist of the Capt. Alejandro Malaspina expedition which reached the Bikol Region in January 1792, wrote much about his extensive Bikol experience. Sorsogon, Née wrote, has numerous streams coming down the nearby hills . . . “the soil is generally good and suitable for every kind of grain. But now only rice is planted. First class woods for construction abound in the mountains while the people export abaca,” (Mallari, 1999; 58). Née was all over the Bikol Region as he wandered among and wondered about its rich flora.
He explored the base of Mayon Volcano. He went to Guinobatan, Ligao, and Oas and observed that “trees grew in exuberance making the foothills impenetrable in many parts.
“The various precious plants growing underneath,” Née noted, “would compensate for the botanist’s efforts for such breathtaking sight,” (Mallari, 1999; 61). Going to Pasacao, Née took note of the abundance of narra trees. Huge trees and high-class timber in the mountains of Camarines Norte did not escape his attention.
From what he had seen in his journey, Née claimed that no other country had such a variety and abundance of trees and shrubs (Mallari, 1999; 68). He was impressed by what he saw.
In another report it was mentioned that Masbate, Ticao, Burias all possessed excellent timber from which pitch is distilled and makes excellent pitch for vessels (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 41; 241-242).
Even in these modern times, Bikol still enjoys the bounties of one of the most fertile basin lands in the country. Its river, lake, creek, and stream systems continue to feed this good earth with agricultural fertility. These fertile basin lands are hemmed in by the Bikol Cordillera on the eastern side. To the west is a long line of low lying mountains going down to the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon from Camarines Norte through Camarines Sur.
“The long mountain range beginning from Labo in Camarines Norte interweaves with the high plateaus of Libong (Libon) in an almost straight line until bifurcating in the Jovellar range. From here the rugged mountain chain slides out towards the east disappearing with the promontories of Pitongpulo and Poctol, branching off again in the mountains of Pikit and Malinao, until finally disappearing in the Gulf of Lagonoy, a big body of water between Luzon and Catanduanes, and ‘forming a Greek Y with the imposing Mayon as knot’, ” (Gerona, 2011; 24-25).
The first Bishop of Manila, Domingo Salazar, O.P., (1512 – December 4, 1594; he was born in La Rioja, in the village of La Bastida on the banks of the Ebro, Spain, he died at the Colegio de Santo Tomas, Madrid, Spain) offered a picturesque description of mainland Bikol in his time. He wrote that, “The people are simple and well disposed. Their country is delightful in its location, being healthful and very beautiful. The chase yields many wild hogs, deer, and buffaloes; and there are many birds such as hens, ducks of many varieties, the smaller birds, and many others. There is a river where fish abound in great plenty, especially swordfish, and many black shellfish, the latter being gathered at the river. There is so much fine scenery in this province, and it contains many springs and rivers of fresh clear water on account of which there is always abundance of excellent water in the province. Near the boundaries of the province are two volcanoes of great size and remarkable beauty—one of fire and the other of water. According to the report of the natives who have climbed up to the volcano of water, there are many royal eagles there, besides much white honey and wax, and fruits of various kinds,” (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 7; 41-42).
By the way, it was Bishop Salazar who supervised the construction of the Manila Cathedral, which was began on December 21, 1581 upon the order of Pope Gregory XIII. He also arranged for the construction of an infirmary for the natives. There are accounts about this bishop being a defender of the natives against the abuses of Spanish landlords at that time.
Bishop Domingo Salazar disembarked in Sorsogon, negotiated the distance and the fastness of early Bikol overland in 1581 as he reported to Manila to assume his post, the galleon San Martin ferreting him having been troubled by bad weather in the Embocadero off the province of Sorsogon. He had the enthusiasm to be the first bishop of Las Islas Filipinas. He must have possessed a happy disposition for instead of commiserating over his trip’s fate he took it as an occasion to appreciate Kabikolan’s natural wealth and learn from it.
Incidentally, noted Bikol historian Mariano Goyena del Prado identified Mayon for its eruption of lava, sand, and stone; Masaraga for lava and sand; and Malinao for water (Gerona, 2011; 25). Among these volcanoes it is only Mayon that remains active today.
Fray Jose Castaño wrote some time in the 19th century that, “This region, of very fertile land and exuberant vegetation, surrounded by great and rugged mountain ranges rising from a wide expanse of plains, having on one end the truncated mountain of Bulusan whose plants literally kiss the infuriated sea of the Strait of San Bernardino, the other, the imposing Mount Isarog and lastly the prominent volcano of Labo, is by saying so, the most beautiful, rich, and picturesque in all of Luzon,” (Reyes, 1992; 13).
Given the geographical, topographical, climatological attributes of Ibalon or early Kabikolan, it will not be difficult to imagine how stocky and vast the forested areas were and how thickset the trees that grew in those places. Trees whose lumber would provide the most essential material for building galleons and all the other vessels plus the fortifications the Spaniards needed to step up their hold over the conquered territory and people. We can only imagine, for the moment perhaps there having been no study yet on the subject, what trees abundantly grew where in those times.
In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, I had the luck to see timber or flitches of hard wood such as hamurawon (molave, Vitex parviflora and Vitex puboscenus), lauaan (red lauaan, Shorea negrosensis; white lauaan, Pentacme contorta), apitong (Dipterocarpus), naga(narra, Pterocarpus indicus), dao (Dracontomelum dao), yakal (Hopea malibato), mahogany, balitagtag, onop hauled down from the forests of barangay Manila in Batan Island of Rapu-Rapu, Albay. Many planks and flitches of these kinds of woods my parents would ship to Legazpi City to build our house. I have seen such hard wood on which the 1960’s kind of four-inch nails cannot easily puncture. San Miguel Island off Tabaco City was said to be an abundant source of nagatimber. On the other hand, Ragay in Camarines Sur, was a thick forest of lauaantrees (Malanyaon, 1991; 256).
The Bikol peninsula is surrounded by gulfs and bays. It is flanked by five islands: Masbate, Ticao, Burias to the East at the West Philippine Sea; Catanduanes to the East jutting out to the Pacific Ocean; and the Rapu-Rapu, Batan, San Miguel group of islands Southeast of Albay. The San Bernardino Strait (known as Embocaderoduring the Spanish times) separate Bikol from the Visayan Island group.
On the Pacific seaboard can be found the bays of San Miguel, Lagonoy, and the Albay Gulf. West to the Sibuyan seaboard are the Sorsogon and the Pañganiran Bays and the Ragay Gulf. These bays and gulfs are not only rich fishing grounds but are also busy routes for maritime commerce.
The Acapulco-bound galleons all passed through the western seaboard. They all called on San Jacinto in Ticao for victualing before going out to the Embocadero then on to the Pacific Ocean. The galleons on their tornavueltaalso called at San Jacinto to rest or at Bagatao in Sorsogon for repairs before proceeding to Cavite to anchor, unload, and wait for the next voyage.
For all these natural bounties and the happy disposition of the early Bikolanos, one Spanish writer mused that, “ . . . the land is so good, the people so kind, the Almighty had to invent the typhoon to even things up,” (Reyes, 1992; 12).
About the author:
RAFFI BANZUELA (Rafael A. Banzuela Jr.) is an essayist, fictionist, poet, translator, historian. He studied at the Divine Word College and Aquinas University of Legazpi; taught at the Bicol University and Aquinas University; and did stints in government work, journalism, and radio broadcasting. His radio program “Satuya Ini” (This Is Ours) was named the Best Program Promoting Culture and the Arts, Radio Provincial Area category, at the 8th KBP Golden Dove Awards.
His published works also include: Selebra (Celebrate), 2011, a collection of poems, and Albay Viejo (Old Albay), 2010, a collection of prose works on Albay. His recent book for Bansay Bikolnon is a mini biography of Potenciano V. Gregorio Sr., the composer of the song Sarong Banggi. He also edited works by known Bikol poets and an anthology by young writers. He was honored with these awards: Outstanding Albayano Artist (Literary Arts) in 2013; the NCCA Writers’ Prize in 2013; Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas in 2015 by the Unyon ng nga Manunulat ng Pikipinas; and Gawad Kampeon ng Wika by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino in 2017.
Fellow Bicol writers look up to Banzuela as living proof that writing in Bicol can persevere. His writing, rooted in his love for Bicol, is notable for his rich vocabulary and blend of reminiscence, folktale, history, and essay, sharpened by untiring historical research.