Rizal's Intriguing Retraction Controversy

Source: https://ourhappyschool.com/philippine-studies/jose-rizals-education

There will always be three groups regarding the issue of the national hero's retraction. The catholic Rizalists, those who believe Rizal retracted; the Masonic Rizalists, who follows the belief that Rizal did not; and You, the audience that will decide which of the two sides you identify yourself with. A series of analysis on the data and resources that are available, and the keen interpretation of the series of events that occurred, especially on the gap of years where these accounts went missing. This should be the first and only criterion on dwelling on this intriguing topic that mainly focuses on maintaining on being objective as much as possible. Yet the whole process shifts to being subjective as we weigh the indications of every single detail.

From the accounts, the versions are said to have had major differences in words used, numbers of punctuation marks and the flow of paragraph placing. There is anomaly here that can be observed which gives us a hunch and a view of a huge possibility that directs our minds to think that Rizal did not do such thing. The forty-year gap of the discovery also adds to this implication and can compare this incident to the Kalantiaw Code which supposedly was the account on pre-colonial framework on government, but was approved to be a false document. The likelihood of this also happening to the retraction account of Rizal is significantly high since history can repeat itself, and with this very fascinating and intriguing topic, falsified documents as a classification is taken into consideration.

It is also said that Archbishop Nozaleda's version of the retraction was lengthy and Rizal dismissed it so he wrote his own version which emphasized on dismissing opposing Catholic beliefs and repudiate masonry. This event is also probable in the sense that even in Dapitan when Rizal wanted to tie the not with Josephine Bracken, that he managed to express his retraction to be able to formally bind his relationship with the Irish woman. But this leads me to the question whether between love for the country or love for a significant other which would prevail if I were Rizal. Will surrendering and admitting my insurgence through my work give justice to what I am fighting which will become ironic? Or do I let go and move on towards a new life to legally be with my partner, and convert back to Catholicism?

I believe that with these differences, it can be pointed out that there is lingering suspicions regarding this topic yet I believe that Rizal's core is made up of the Filipino cries that he is ever so willingly trying to alleviate, even if he has faced realizations on hopelessness in parts of his life. That's why I stand by the side of the Masonic Rizalists, that Rizal did not retracted, not even for a woman he loved. He of course had his pride and it would tell him to stand on his own terms even if it meant his happiness and life would be taken away. Us, the audience, each of us were once spectators that have now turned and chosen one of either side, will never know the truth and can only assess what we can recover. Whether Rizal retracted or not, this issue may be a source of debacle in the flow of history, yet the impact and the weight of Rizal's life and works entirely overshadow this controversy.

The question of retraction will forever linger in the minds and hearts of the Filipino audience. It will never be confirmed, denied, proven or disproven. Yet we continue to make sense out of this very limited area of study, and that’s become the challenge to us to make intellectual guesses if Rizal did or did not retract.

Rizal in Dapitan, Dapitan with Rizal

Dapitan served as Jose Rizal's home as he was exiled in Zamboanga. The movie Rizal in Dapitan depicts the four fruitful years he spent in the area and showcases some of his life's struggles though these can be considered to be minor than the challenges he has faced before his exile. He became a teacher of boys who proved to be worthy of his apprenticeship; became a farmer, this is from winning the lottery and buying 16 hectares of land; an engineer, helping the people of Dapitan to construct a dam; and became a father of a stillborn baby. He faced challenges, there was despair but there were also great joys as Rizal stayed in Dapitan. The movie mirrors his life and gives the Filipino people a glimpse and snippets of what occurred to him as he stayed in Zamboaga.

Tikoy Aguiluz at the Cinema Manila International Film Festival
(source: https://entertainment.inquirer.net/files/2011/11/Tikoy-Aguiluz-Nora-Aunor.jpg)

Rizal in Dapitan is directed by Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz who has an established reputation in the Philippine film industry for his award-winning works in cinematography, directing, producing and screenwriting. The cinematography was under Romy Vitug and Nap Jamir who are renowned cinematographers and dominated the film industry from the 80's to early 2000's. The cast included Albert Martinez and Candy Pangilinan who are regarded as premier actors together with Jaime Fabregas and Amanda Page. This set of team was highly regarded for forming a solid combination for the project, as expected. Despite this set of people working together, there are evident observations that do not bring out the proper essence, flow and expected outcome feeling in the movie.

Laying my own personal observations and standards on filmography, the flow of events and the sudden transitions of each scene were quite rough. This may be due to the pattern of the sequence of the real events that had happened that was followed by the scriptwriters, making the majority of the movie seem as a compiled version of different minor events. If I were a foreigner or someone with no background of Rizal whatsoever, I would also feel that the film is a series of events that has been made to fit together. The camera angles were utilized well and in each scene, ratio, dynamics, contrast and focus can be observed, which I appreciate. The cinematography was very fitting and dynamic all throughout the movie which is why I give my respects to the ones responsible for it.

Fabregas as Father Sanchez with Martinez as Rizal
(Source: https://www.clickthecity.com/movies/a/4414/on-our-shelves-rizal-sa-dapitan)

Jaime Fabregas, Candy Pangilinan greatly made impact in the movie, despite having minor roles, because the sheer rawness of their characters were neatly portrayed and artistically performed. The ripples of emotion of the scened they were in worked in symbiosis with the exchange of lines with Rizal. Albert Martinez is a good Rizal character yet I could not help but compare him to Cesar Montano who proved to be the most fitting actor to play Rizal. Albert showed Rizal's major qualities yet I sense a lacking in compatibility with the character he was into. I cannot lay my finger it but I think it is on Martinez' comfort of him delivering his lines that I think are the most essential, the missing ingredient to properly show the needed timbre of emotions. Amanda Page as Josephine Bracken did not have any Irish accent which I was looking forward to, and the way she played her part seems to be unnatural to her making the whole setting off. She and her part did not meet half way to really excavate the rawness of her parts and scenes.

In modern day terms and from my own perspective, with the hype that the movie was given of, the end product didn't meet the expected output. It was not a bad movie, it was just a little bit underdone for my taste, yet even so, I still appreciate the uniqueness of the style and flow that the movie had. It was like, it was almost there, to the Greatest Tier of movies, yet the compatibility of all the characters, production team, directing group, did not live up to what was expected as a collective project. The movie gave me an overview of what Rizal's life was in Dapitan and gave me feelings on  things like contentment, sharing knowledge, doing service, loving, trusting and pursuing what is right with a tad bit of being realistic.

How Spanish Modern Filipinos are

Bahay-kubo was formed to become Bahay na Bato, babaylans became friars, scattered river settlements converted into reduccion, with sabong and other gambling areas introduced, these are just some of the influences of the Spanish era that are still present in the Philippine setting. Housing, religion, cuisine, education, architecture and even changes in names of the Hispanic way have been infused to the pre-colonial set. These have been deeply ingrained in the Filipino society today that serves as the links of the future to the past, allowing the new generation of Filipinos to relate on a different level on how life was before. The sense of continuity of these influences in one generation to another are evident and present in the wide variety of practices, customs, beliefs and traditions that have been tied to the Philippines for centuries.

Fashion and Clothing

From bahags and tapis to camisas and until today's minimalist fashion, the influence of the Spanish culture that served as a transition stage of clothing has left its mark on the modern Filipino fashion. The highlights in this are the Maria Clara, a balance between the indigenous and western design of female outfit; terno, for more of a casual look; the Barong Tagalog, which is made up of fibers and extensive needlework in design that is the national attire of the Philippines. These attires are still worn today in formal occasions to represents high regards and respect to the event or the ceremony.

Tapis (Source: https://philippinefolklifemuseum.org/portfolio-items/tapis/)

Maria Clara Gown(Source: https://philippinefolklifemuseum.org/portfolio-items/maria-clara/)

SONA 2019: The Robredos (Source: https://filipinotimes.net/lifestyle/2019/07/23/eyes-guests-2019-sona-fashion/)

Surnames
There were accounts in the system of naming the pre-colonial Filipinos as recorded in Catalogo Alphabetico de Apellidos that was dated in 1842. The Spanish had a difficult task to record who was who for the naming of the early Filipinos were simple yet tricky, that were based on three categories. According to Flores (2016), a professor in San Franciso State University who studied the naming of the early Filipinos, the first way of giving a person a name is dependent on the area he/she is residing. An example would be Sato Tabing Ilog, and when he moves his residence to the forest he will be Sato Ginubatan. He is the same person but there will be two people recorded in the registry, which became very tricky in documenting. The second one would be the traditional method of naming a person according to who his/her grandfather or father is, e.g. Anak ni Tasyo or Apo na Ando. The last category would be based on the unique characteristic a person had and an example would be Totong pilay or Pedro ngongo. Then Governor General Narciso Claveria asked Madrid a list of names to assign the Indios with surnames to make recording of names more efficient to be used in collecting taxes. These names were handed to the Filipinos by decree and is still evident in the modern-day surnames.

Catalogo de Apellidos (Source: pilipino-express.com)

Language

After three centuries of being under the Spanish empire, many words have been brought to the vocabulary of Tagalog especially. The new number system was introduced, religious words also were added alongside the common terms for things found inside homes. Some Tagalog terms are also derived from Spanish words like barrio (Baryo) and escuela (eskwela). The introduction of F instead of just utilizing P, also became a prominent part of the spellings and pronunciations of some words. These words like kutsara, bintana, abiso, abante, are common words that are of use until today by the Filipino people.

Common acquired Tagalog Words from Spanish (Source: https://historum.com/threads/spain-and-the-philippines.171224/)

Cuisine

The merienda time or the mid-afternoon snack came from the Spanish influence which would comprise of ginataan or bibingka. Snacks and desserts that are milk-based have become the staple merienda go to food like pastillas, polvoron, and baked goods such as pandesal and ensaymadas. Our present-day viands also come from the Spanish and Mexican influence and examples would be the chicken adobo, tinolang manok, which are served in every karenderya in the nation, and the lechon or roasted pig when fiestas are celebrated. We are what we eat, and the Filipinos prepare and embrace such dishes which dates back to the Spanish colonial time because of the impact of the influence to the country's cuisine it has imparted.

Desserts and dishes of Spanish Influence (Source: http://reeseisreal.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html)

These modern practices, customs, beliefs and traditions are colonial in origin but are now considered and accepted now as Filipino. These influences also have established themselves as important in the Filipino lives since the roots of what bind the nation intersects to the colonial period. It is up to the present generation to let these flourish, grow and maintain the bridge to the past, the national identity, the Filipino culture. Nurturing what has been passed on to the new set of Filipino folks, one must be responsible to impart contributions in preserving these practices and tradition, and be proud of being a Filipino of diverse origins.

References:

Flores, P. (2016). How Filipinos Got Their Surnames. Accessed on October 7, 2019 at http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/how-filipinos-got-their-surnames

n.a. (n.d.). Spanish Influence on Filipino Food. Accessed on October 7, 2019 at https://www.asian-recipe.com/philippines/spanish-influence-on-filipino-food.html