Spanish is a language that belongs to the genetic patrimony of the Philippines. It was not only the language of the colony and its institutions, but was used by Rizal's generation and the one after to propose reforms, to seek greater autonomy from the mother country. Spanish was the language through which the Propaganda Movement found its voice to expose the friars? ill practices against the Filipinos. In the pages of La Solidaridad, Lopez Jaena, del Pilar, Rizal, and other Filipino expatriates expressed their love for Mother Spain while depicting their hatred of the clergy and corrupt colonial officials. Articles, written in Spanish, informed the Spanish public and the Spanish government of the cruelty and exploitation suffered by the Filipino people.
Spanish was also the vehicle used to promote Filipino intellectual and artistic brilliance. Spanish was necessary for Jose Rizal to converse and share his ideas with some of the leading liberal Spanish politicians like Pi y Margall. Jose Rizal, using Spanish, wrote Noli me Tangere andEl Filibusterismo, two novels that forever changed the course of Philippine history. In the Philippines, priests and learned individuals used Spanish to ask for reforms and combat friar excesses. Leading Filipino priests fervently defended the Filipino side on the controversial issue of parish secularization and discrimination.
With the outbreak of revolution, Spanish was used to assert the Philippines' claim to independence. El Heraldo de le Revolucion, La Independencia, and La Republica Filipina encouraged the Filipino people to join arms to fight for their independence. After independence was won, Spanish was used to pen the Malolos Constitution of 1889 and the 1935 Constitution. Spanish created an artistic autonomous speech giving form to a truly Filipino literary style. The Spanish language had influenced and formed peculiarities typical of the country.
English was imposed at the turn of the century with the arrival of the Americans. Nevertheless, the Spanish language did not disappear. Spanish remained alive in the years after World War II. Writers continued to write poems and other literary compositions in Spanish which appeared in newspapers and magazines.
Two local institutions created by Filipinos during the American colonial era had a relevant influence in the development and spread of the Spanish tongue: The Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española, -created in 1924 and recognized by the Real Academia Española in 1925- and the Premio Zobel.
The Premio Zobel was founded in 1920 by Don Enrique Zobel de Ayala (1877-1043) for the purpose of fostering Hispano-Philippine literature. It continues to be the most prestigious Philippine literary award. It was first known as the Concurso Literario Enrique Zobel de Ayala and was usually given at the Casino Español de Manila. The award is given for an unpublished work in Spanish written by a Filipino. The first session was declared vacant and the award was given for the first time in 1922.
For an entire century the Premio Zobel honored important figures in Philippine culture and society such as Jesus Balmori, Manuel Bernabe, Antonio Abad, Leon Ma. Guerrero, Adelina Gurrea and Enrique Fernandez Lumba. Having been suspended or declared vacant several times, the last award was given in 2001.
The meritorious labor of the Zobel family, headed by Doña Georgina Padilla Zobel Mac-Crohon and Don Alejandro Padilla y Zobel, has made it possible for the Philippines to continue granting this prize up to the present.
The Premio Zobel is undoubtedly one of the oldest and most renowned institutions that has enriched the cultural history of the country. Filipiniana.net recognizes its value by showcasing literary works which have gained the enviable privilege of winning the award and honoring the memory of their authors who have contributed indispensably to the literary patrimony of the Philippines.
Premio Zobel References:
- Brillantes, Lourdes, 80 años del Premio Zóbel. Manila: Instituto Cervantes-Fundacion Santiago.
___________ 80 Years of Premio Zóbel. Manila: Georgina Padilla y Zobel - Filipinas Heritage Library, 2006.
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