Rizal in Pampanga and Tarlac

THE Center for Kapampangan Studies marked Rizal's birthday anniversary by holding a month-long calendar of activities last June focusing on the theme "Rizal and the Kapampangans."  We had a lecture on the social, economic and political milieu in the Kapampangan region at the time of Rizal's visit in 1892 and on the role of Kapampangans in the life of Rizal.

We also had a poetry reading of Rizal's Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell) done in three languages:  Spanish, Filipino and Kapampangan.  The Kapampangan translation was done by Mariano Proceso Pabalan Byron and performed for the first time at the Sabina Theatre in Bacolor on December 30, 1901.

A dramatic reading of the so-called lost chapter of Noli Me Tangere (in Kapampangan) was done, and so was a children's story hour featuring the fable The Monkey and the Turtle (also in Kapampangan).  By the way, the featured exhibit of the month was a traveling exhibit of the Manila Metropolitan Museum, Rizal's sketches of The Monkey and the Turtle, in four languages, namely, Spanish, English, Filipino, and Kapampangan (supplied by Prof. Lino Dizon, our consultant at the Center).

At the start of a panel discussion on Rizal's visits to Pampanga and Tarlac, we had some misgivings about spending a full hour pointing out the houses he visited in Bacolor and San Fernando.  So what if he visited these places?  What would that mean for us?  In my opening remarks, I tried justifying the whole exercise by saying that mere satisfaction of curiosity was a valid justification for discourse or research.   There was only a mention of the visit in Rizal's Reminiscences and Travels and nothing more.

In the panel were Prof. Lino Dizon, young historian Ivan Henares and Dr. Evangelina Lacson, president emeritus of Akademyang Kapampangan.  As the discussion progressed, it slowly dawned on the audience (as well as on the panelists) that the two-day visit of Rizal was a crucial event that may have altered  history.

As it turned out, local leaders came to see Rizal wherever he went, very typical of local politicians and officials whenever a national figure drops by.  Rizal was already a popular figure even then.

Tragically, however, he was also a marked man, shadowed by Spanish spies as he went from place to place to gather support for La Liga Filipina which he founded only days after his Kapampangan visit.

All the people he had visited in Pampanga, according to Dr. Lacson, were identified by the Spanish authorities, arrested, and deported, and their houses burned, thus decimating the ranks of revolutionary leaders in Pampanga.  Which is why when the Revolution did break out, there was comparatively very little response from Kapampangans--something for which we have been criticized.  In other words, had Rizal not visited the houses of these Kapampangans, the Spaniards would not have identified and arrested them, and the Revolution would not have been deprived of all these bright and passionate freedom fighters from Pampanga!         

At the end of the panel discussion, we were all very surprised and satisfied  with the discovery of these insights.  Two days and one night was all Rizal's visit in Pampanga and Tarlac took, but it changed the course of history and added to the mystique and power of the national hero.  Maybe someday, someone will research further about this episode, and maybe make a novel or movie about it.
 
Please send your comments or suggestions to rptmt@yahoo.com.

We would like to request those who will be using the information above, especially for publication, to properly cite the author and the Kapampangan Homepage.  The above column was published in The Voice.