MICHAEL M. COROZA
and magazines throughout the archipelago and more than 70% of these were in Tagalog. Some of the more popular titles were Bayang Filipinas (The Philippine Nation), Ang Kalayaan (Freedom), Ang Mithi (The Ideal), Ang Pagkakaisa (Unity), Kasarinlan (Independence), Patnubay ng Bayan (The Guide of the Nation), Tambuli (Bugle), Timbulan (Life Saver), and Taliba (Vanguard)12. Translation had become a significant tool for the promotion of nationalistic and liberalist ideals as reflected by the kind of literary works that preoccupied the translators. Jose Rizal’s novels only became accessible and really popular among the people when they were translated into Tagalog. It was Pascual Poblete who first translated the Noli Me Tangere in 1909. Patricio Mariano translated the El Filibusterismo in 1914. Most of the foreign works that were translated had revolution or struggle against oppression and love for country as themes like Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, which became Sakit ng Sangkatauhan (Illness of Humanity, 1921); The Count of Monte Cristo of Alexander Dumas (Ang Konde ng Monte Cristo); Anthony Hope’s Prisoner of Zenda (Ang Bilanggo ng Zenda, 1923), Leo Tolstoi’s Resurrection, which became Sa Kalbaryo ng Pag-ibig (In the Calvary of Love, 1930). For the Filipino audience, these works did not only inform them about the affairs of the world but also enlightened them about the importance of human liberty and political independence. Cognizant of the capability of these works to enlighten and move the people into action, translators like Julian Cruz Balmaseda had to point out that most of what they did were actually “halaw”, or adaptations rather than “salin”, or translations. He had to differentiate between the two processes: Halaw…, ang ibig sabihi’y mga putaputaking dampot sa kasaysayang hinalawan at di isang lubusang salin ng akdang pinagkunan, at sa mga ganitong gawain, at dito natin makikilala ang di karaniwang talino ng isang humahalaw, kung sa kanyang paghalaw ay mapiga niya ang lahat ng katas na sukat bagang pakinabangan, at maitapon ang lahat ng busal at bunot na di magkakahalaga sa atin… 12 Virgilio S. Almario, Balagtasismo Versus Modernismo, Panulaang Tagalog sa Ika-20 Siglo (Quezon City: Ateneo De Manila University Press, 1984), 39-46.
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