Rizal’s Dreams Create Quintos’ Play



Dreams, say the believers, are the premonitions of the subconscious. But they need not be conveyed only in a state of stupor, as in a stage play depicting stories behind the scenes of an actual creation as Jose Rizal’s dark novel El Filibuterismo, or a blog that chronicles someone’s meanderings. Floy Quintos made much of Rizal’s dreams, which were often melancholic, frightful, even terrifying.



Take, for instance, those that dealt with death.
Interpreters say that to dream of relatives dying means misfortune awaiting any of them. To dream of one’s self dying may not exactly mean that but is an omen bad enough to worry about. Take note of the following dreams of Rizal:



· When he was on his way to Barcelona from Calamba, Laguna, he dreamt that while in Singapore, his brother Paciano had suddenly died. [i]
· Rizal also dreamt of himself almost die. While in Madrid on December 30, 1882, he dreamt that, while imitating an actor dying onstage, he felt vividly that his breath was failing and he was rapidly losing strength. Then his vision dimmed and dense darkness enveloped him – they were the pangs of death. He wanted to shout for help to Antonio Paterno, certain that he was about to die. He awoke weak and breathless. [ii]



To dream of serpents indicates a serious disease. Usually dreams of this kind result in depression for the dreamer.



· In Singapore one Saturday, Rizal dreamt that he was travelling with his sister Neneng and eventually came to a port. The place was full of vipers and snakes. On the path leading to a house, there were many hanging boas, some dead, some alive. As they walked -- Neneng ahead of Rizal, the reptiles menaced them. One angry serpent obstructed their path. Neneng walked away safely but Rizal was caught by his shirt. Defenseless, he grew weak. As the snake was about to overwhelm him, he started to imagine death in the form of loathsome rings. Pedro, the town carpenter, arrived, and dealt the snake one fatal blow. [iii]
· On July 28, 1884, from Marseilles to Manila, Rizal dreamt meeting with his father who looked more pale and thinner than usual. When he was about to embrace him, his father withdrew, pointing at the floor. Rizal saw the head of a black stag and a large snake moving to entwine him.[iv]



In the play “Isang Panaginip na El Fili,” there is a dramaturgical pattern of Rizal’s dreams. The playwright-director employs Rizal’s dreams to provide a window for viewing how Rizal could have written his novel. Quintos attempts to interpret Rizal’s dreams on stage by creating characters and reconstructing moods and objectives. He replots Rizal’s dreams as the play’s narrative thread.



In the prologue, we are quickly drawn into an unfolding plot that reveals two of Rizal’s actual dreams -- those of his parents and of his fiancée Leonor Rivera. The characters in the dreams appear to seek a stage to play out their tragedies and comedies. Rizal, in fact, had two such dreams about them:



· In Singapore one day in May, Rizal dreamt of a rather complicated journey that brought him from Pointe Galle, obviously in Europe, to his hometown in Laguna. He saw his parents who were unconcerned about his long journey. It also occurred in his dream that he needed to start his trip all over again, crossing the seas, and that he had to borrow a hundred pesos to make it in a ship’s fourth class deck. [v]
· On January 25, 1884 (four years before he started writing the Fili), Rizal had a very sad dream while in Madrid. Returning to the Philippines, his parents didn’t show up to receive him; and Leonor had been extremely unfaithful. [vi] (Leonor eventually married an Englishman.)
Interpreters claim that to dream of counting money and finding a deficit means financial woes. Rizal dreamt a similar one; in fact, in Paris where he wrote the Fili, he was in dire straits. This is narrated by Tunying, Quintos’ fictitious character.



Rizal’s dream of death is fulfilled in the play’s epilogue, just as it starts with his dreams and weaves through them.



There is another kind of dreaming that may be considered in the context of the life of the hero. Take, for instance, Isagani, who could represent the Filipino youth who dream of progress and greatness for their beloved country. Isagani articulates Rizal’s dreams about commerce and industry, social harmony and equity. Curiously, Isagani’s love interest, Paulita, dismisses them as “Dreams, nothing but dreams” – just as some of us today, more than a hundred years since Rizal’s martyrdom at the Luneta, remain unmindful of his ideals, especially of his hope for a new social order.[vii]



So does Quintos’ play remind us.


[i] Writings of Jose Rizal, Volume 1, Reminiscences by Jose Rizal, published by Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, Manila, 1961, p. 57
[ii] Ibid., p. 63
[iii] Ibid., p. 61
[iv] Ibid., p. 143
[v] Ibid., p. 61
[vi] Ibid., p. 90
[vii] La Liga Filipina

ANNOTATION ON THE PLAY

Set in late 19th century in colonial Philippines, Ibarra of the Noli Me Tangere resurrects as Simoun in El Filibusterismo after a time gap of some 13 years. Now an “angel in reverse” -- daring, dangerous, and highly connected, Simoun summons everything within his command and influence to manipulate people and events to avenge the wrongs of the past.

The novel, as well as the play, is replete with the terms of the times, mostly Spanish. A sampling:

Indios – Indian; backward natives; uncivilized in the ways of the colonial master
Indios Bravos – brave indios; name appropriated by the group of Filipino propagandists in Europe in late 19th century
Cuidao – "Take care" or "Watch out" (from the Spanish “Cuidado”)
Alta sociedad – high society
Hermana – sister; female sponsor; lay leader of the church (shortened to “Manang”)
Punebre – dirge; funeral hymn
Filibustero – filibuster; rebel; nonconformist; one who aspires to break away from colonial rule (Blumentritt)
Espinghe – sphinx
Sacerdote – priest (Italian)
Ave Maria, Gratia plena, Dominus tecum – Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee (Latin)
Gremio – self-help organization of workers, akin to cooperative or guild
Donselya - virgin

*******

Because the play shuffles through the novel and fuses chapters, the following is intended for the contemporary audience to locate the convergence between the drama and the narrative.
Song 4, “Cuidao Kayo Dyan!” in Act 1, Scene 3, is drawn from Chapters 1 (On the Upper Deck) and 14 (In the Students’ Boarding House) of the Fili. In these two, Rizal portrays society and its various classes of people using the metaphor of the boat Tabo as well as the dormitory of the students.

Song 5, “Alpha at Omega” in Act 1, Scene 4, is derived from Chapter 7 (Simoun). Basilio, now a graduating medical student, discovers who the real Simoun is and how he is connection to the tragedy of her mother, Sisa. The scene, in a sense, is a portrayal of the whole thesis of Rizal’s novels: good versus evil and everything that these two represent in colonial Philippines; the arrogance of power and the plight of the powerless; and, ultimately, the rebellion that the system provokes in society.

Song 6, “Daing ni Tales” in Act 1, Scene 5, is a composite of Chapters 4 (Kabesang Tales), 8 (Merry Christmas) and 9 (The Pilates). In this part, the tragic characters Kabesang Tales and Huli relive the pain of their lives. Huli secures the ransom money for the freedom of her abducted father, which Hermana Penchang provides – in exchange for her own servitude.

Song 7, “Pagsubok at Pagpili” in Act 1, Scene 6, is taken from Chapter 10 (Wealth and Misery). Simoun entices Tales with his chest of wealth, knowing that the latter was in dire straits and would succumb to his ploy. The righteous Tales ignores the jewelry and instead steals the revolver of Simoun, leaving in exchange a locket that once belonged to Maria Clara. This scene offers an insight into the mind of Simoun as well as of Tales, who by now has decided to cast his lot with the armed rebels.

Song 8, “Magpapakahayop Ako” in Act 1, Scene 7, drawn from Chapter 36 (Misfortune), dramatizes the evolution of the long-suffering Kabesang Tales to the avenging Matanglawin.

Song 9, “May Bagong Katatakutan,” tells of Tales joining the rebels in the boondocks and leaving behind a message written in blood in each site of his murderous vengeance.

Song 10, “May Lakas na Hatid ang Pagmamahal Ko” in Act 1, Scene 8, reworked from Chapter 30 (Huli), portrays Huli in her ill-fated love affair with Basilio. In Song 11, “May Tiwala Ako,” Huli seeks help for jailed Basilio from Padre Camorra, as goaded by Hermana Bali.

Song 12, “Malapit Na!” in Act 1, Scene 9, summarizes the dreams of the characters in the play – Tales saving Huli, Simoun realizing his vengeful plot, Basilio loving Huli, Camorra desiring Huli, the rebels imagining freedom, Huli searching for her father, and Pepe finally finishing his novel for his mother.

Act 2, Scene 1 takes us back to Chapter 15 (Mr. Pasta) to present the character of the impoverished but intelligent Isagani whose ideal is the Academy of the Spanish Language as well as the rich Paulita Gomez. Song 1, “Ano Itong mga Panaginip?” provides a glimpse of Simoun’s secret plot.

Song 2, “Imuthis ang Ngalan Ko” in Act 2, Scenes 2 and 3, is drawn from Chapter 18 (The Deception) and takes us to the festive but enigmatic Quiapo carnival where Simoun, disguised as Mr. Leeds, has set up a trap for Padre Salvi by employing the magic of the sphinx Imuthis.

Act 2, Scene 4 is derived from Chapters 23 (The Corpse) and 26 (The Posters). Song 3, “Cuidao Kayo Dyan!” tells of the inflammatory posters found in the university. The town is abuzz with talk about students getting arrested on suspicion of rebellion and disturbing the peace. The scene also relates how Simoun succeeds in recruiting Basilio into his scheme even as word spreads fast about an impending mayhem.

Song 4, “Ano ang Kapalit?” of Act 2, Scene 5, a dramatization of Chapter 30 (Huli), exposes Padre Camorra as he covets the young, hapless woman.

Act 2, Scenes 6, 7 and 8 take us back to Chapters 23 (The Corpse) and 30 (Huli). Song 5, “Malapit Na”/ “Cuidao Kayo Dyan!” dramatizes Basilio’s rescue of Huli and Simoun’s rescue of Maria Clara. Song 6, “Sa Alalala na Lang Nagkikita,” is a retelling of the pain suffered by the two women in the hands of Padre Camorra and Padre Salvi. Song 7, “Ave!” leads Huli to commit suicide rather than fall prey to Padre Camorra. In the play’s rendition, Maria Clara is murdered by Padre Salvi. Song 8, “Patay na ang Puso Ko”/ “Sa Alaala na Lang,” shows both Basilio and Simoun disoriented. Simoun’s plan is now jeopardized, and he is losing control of the situation.

Act 2, Scene 10 is a merger of Chapters 32 (The Consequence of the Posters), 33 (The Ultimate Reason), and 35 (The Feast). As Basilio languishes in jail and the students panic, the wedding of Juanito and Paulita is set. Song 10, “Magandang Balita”/ “Lampara,” is derived from the scenes in the novel where Isagani loses Paulita and Simoun renews an opportunity to pick up the pieces of his wretched plot to still achieve his goal. But it does not happen, as Basilio turns his back against the mass murder and drives the love-struck Isagani to a feat that finally wrecks Simoun’s last desperate scheme, that is, to blow up the house where all the high and the mighty are converged in celebration of the wedding.

Reference: El Filibusterismo translation of Leon Ma. Guerrero

Rebellion Onstage



Malapit na, paglikom sa among huwad! Malapit na, pataubin lahat ng humangad! Malapit na, malapit na, malapit na!



On the 10th of September 2008, a rebellion shall commence at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theatre of the University of the Philippines. At a prearranged signal, Dulaang UP shall raise arms against a decadent social order. The upheaval brings to mind the more than 200 uprisings that took place in Philippine history, climaxing in the 1896 revolution that aroused Filipinos to heights of militancy – the reason why Dulaang UP describes this latest conspiracy as a blow against passivity.



Floy Quintos writes and directs Isang Panaginip na El Fili, an unconventional music theater rendition of Jose Rizal’s novel, under Tony Mabesa’s artistic consultancy.



But hewing closely to its source, the musical play zeroes in on the centers of authoritarian power -- church, school, and palace where corruption and oppression are spawned. The songs capture the ethos of the characters whom Rizal had created to portray his passion for a nation’s enlightenment. In Malapit Na!, for instance, Kabesang Tales, Huli, Simoun, and Basilio, as well as the multitude of the tulisanes all come alive to indict their tormentors and articulate their aspirations for self and community.



Inspired by Rizal’s dreams, Isang Panaginip na El Fili is a play within a play that weaves through the conscious and the subconscious, hoping to make us rethink our roles in world that has become very distant from the ideals of a hero’s romantic imagination.



In the cast are Franco Laurel, Joel Molina, Eric dela Cruz, Onyl Torres, Greg de Leon, Astarte Abraham, Stella Cañete, Emlyn Santos, Ces Quesada, Carlo Cannu, Meynard Peñalosa, Jacques Borlaza, Sir Anril Tiatco, Mary Jane Alejo, Marili Fernandez-Ilagan, Peter Serrano, Arkel Mendoza, JM de Guzman, Jay del Rosario, JC Santos, Shaddai Solidum, Delfine Buencamino, Mica Pineda, and the Dulaang UP ensemble. Music composition by C.J. Javier, arrangement by Jason Quitane, choral direction by Cholo Gino, choreography by Van Manalo, dramaturgy by Marili Fernandez-Ilagan, set by Tuxqs Rutaquio, lights by Luther Gumia, sound by Brian Arda, graphics by Paolo Santillan, and video by Winter David. Photos are by Jojit Lorenzo.



Performances are on September 10 to 28 at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theatre, 2nd Floor Palma Hall, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.





For details and other inquiries, call production manager Hazel Gutierrez or stage manager Angela Trinidad at Dulaang UP Office thru9261349, 4337840, 9818500 loc 2449, 0922-8206224 or 0917-6206224. Visit http://www.upd.edu.ph/~du.