WHEN I emceed the Peoples’ Ball, celebrating Philippine Independence with more than 1000 kababayans in Washington DC last June, I had the privilege of being serenaded by amazaing vocal talents singing classic arias and love songs. They were among the performers of Noli Me Tangere the Opera. It premiered in New York City and is now on tour and will have its gala at the iconic Kennedy Center in Washington DC on August 8-9.
If you are in the area, this is a must-see. Let me share with you this information shared by one of the sponsors of the Noli Me Tangere the Opera — the Migrant Heritage Commission.
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Our national hero Gat José Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and its sequel, El Filibusterismo, have become widely known as the great novels of the Philippines. A passionate love story set against the ugly political backdrop of repression, torture, and murder (human rights abuses that continue to menace our nation), these books represent the first major artistic manifestation of Asian resistance to European colonialism.They have played a key role in shaping Filipino consciousness – of our Spanish colonial past, and more significantly, of our struggles as a people.
Few novels have made a more shattering impact on our society than these two novels. And no novelist paid a higher price for self-expression. Rizal was executed by a firing squad mainly because of these two books.Filipinos, inspired by these novels, initiated the first nationalist revolution in Asia in 1896, established its first democratic republic, which survived until 1901, and in 1946, exactly half a century after Rizal’s execution, became the first Asians to win independence from Western colonialism. The narratives expose the violence and abuses suffered by the Filipinos, as well as their struggles, under the almost 400-year Spanish rule.
From Love and Romance to Resistance and Martyrdom
Between the two narratives, the first one, which inspired the production of Noli Me Tangere, The Opera, takes on a more romantic, optimistic and idealistic tone, particularly as the love story between the lead characters, Juan Crisostomo Ibarra and Maria Clara, unfolds.
The theme of romantic love, however, was apparently farthest from the mind of Rizal as the plot turns from what could have been a tale of romance to a theme of violence and social conflict.
The love between Ibarra and Maria Clara is doomed from the start as Ibarra clashed with the villain friar, Padre Damaso, who turns out to be his love interest’s biological father.
The novels condemn corruption and abuse within the Church, with themes of immorality and rape. The friars are like predators preying on the female natives — Padre Damaso on Pia Alba, Padre Salvi on Maria Clara, and later in the even darker tale of El Filibusterismo, a priest named Padre Camorra would attempt to rape Huli, Basilio’s girlfriend and daughter of Cabesang Tales.
Accompanying this hideous friar-predator narrative are the themes of hypocrisy and colonial mentality, which pervade the minds of the privileged classes. These are best represented by such characters as Dona Victorina and Don Tiburcio – and to a certain extent – Capitan Tiago, the surrogate father of Maria Clara.
The rich and the privileged become conspirators and act like blind agents and executioners behind the schemes of exploitation, violence, and abuses perpetrated by the functionaries of Spanish colonial rule and the Catholic church.
It is easy to imagine how the seemingly deranged character, — such as Sisa (and her two sons, Crispin and Basilio) and later, Huli in Fili — would represent, like ghost figures, the exploited and impoverished among the colonized. Derangement and suicide (in the case of Huli in Fili) dovetail misery, dehumanization, rape, and poverty. Unlike its sequel El Filibusterismo, the more restrained Noli Me Tangere stays within the domain of romance – and hope for reform and, perhaps, redemption. Still, it forewarns of an impending struggle, presenting hero figures, such as Elias and Basilio.
The actual plan for a revolution unfolds in El Filibusterismo. It is executed by the returning Ibarra, now disguised as Simoun, with the help of revolutionary characters, such as Cabesang Tales. The narratives lead to a radical ending. But Rizal shifts gear toward the end, concluding with tragic defeat and capitulation. Ironically, it mirrors his own life story of resistance and martyrdom.
Rizal’s temperance and restraint justify the presence of the other character type – the philosopher/thinker/intellectual, represented in Noli by Pilosopong Tasyo.
Lessons from the Past
Finally, we ask: What lessons can we learn from these novels?
Clearly, the novels give us a glimpse of life and cultural practices during Rizal’s time.
More telling , is that Filipinos around the world continue to cope with the socio-historical realities and conflicts that Rizal depicted in his novels.
Rizal’s novels challenge us to continue our quest for freedom, fulfillment, peace, unity and service to others. This is what “Living a Life that Matters” is all about.
We, at the Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), are taking on this challenge. MHC, a Washington DC-based nonprofit organization established to secure and promote the cultural identity of Filipino immigrants in the United States is proud to be the major sponsor for “Noli Me Tangere” (Touch Me Not), The Opera.
This opera is not only a retelling of Rizal’s Noli but also showcases the richness of Philippine culture. This is artfully done through the melodies and tones that composer Felipe de Leon created, as well as the rendering of period costumes.
Noli Me Tangere enthralls and enchants as classical operas do, but also highlights artistic elements that are distinctly Filipino. The interplay between east and west is both quaint and brilliant. It sets itself apart, aesthetically and culturally, from typical western operas.
We invite everyone on August 8-9, 2014 at 8:00 pm at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. to experience the richness of Philippine culture and history, as depicted by Rizal and retold grandiosely in Felipe Padilla de Leon’s original opera rendering of Noli Me Tangere, the Opera. This performance is dedicated to all Filipino immigrants in the United States.
For more information, call or text 202-247-0117, 202-631-8856, 703-675-6334 or email [email protected].
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
