pinoy pride

Jose Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines. Born to a wealthy filipino family during the Spanish occupation, Rizal earned his bachelor's degree at the university in Manila. Due to Spanish tyranny, most filipinos were prevented from being taught to read or write. Rizal went on to continue his education, eventually earning degrees from the universities in Madrid, Paris, and Heidelberg. After returning home, Rizal started La Liga Filipina, a group encouraging filipinos to become involved in peaceful, legal social reform. He also wrote several social commentaries criticizing Spain's colonization of the Philippines. Spanish authorities accused him of inciting revolution and Rizal was imprisoned, tried, and sentenced to death by firing squad. On the eve of his execution, he wrote "Mi Ultimo Adiós", a final farewell to his beloved country and hid it in a lamp in his cell. Jose Rizal was martyred on December 30, 1896. His death sparked the Philippine Revolution. 
My first day Lolo Riz (my grandpa's brother) (He was named after Jose Rizal) and Tito Zaldi (Lolo's son) (Also named after Jose Rizal!) took me to Fort Santiago, the site of Jose Rizal's execution. In World War II, hundreds of filipinos, including two of my uncles, were also killed in Fort Santiago. The Japanese confined the civilians in a dungeon underground. When the Americans landed in Manila Bay, Japanese soldiers set fire to the dungeon leaving no survivors. 
Needless to say, I had an incredibly moving and unforgettable first day in the Philippines.

Mi Ultimo Adios (translation)

Farewell, my adored Land, region of the sun caressed,
Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost,
With gladness I give you my Life, sad and repressed;
And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its best,
I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.

On the fields of battle, in the fury of fight,
Others give you their lives without pain or hesitancy,
The place does not matter: cypress laurel, lily white,
Scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom's site,
It is the same if asked by home and Country.

I die as I see tints on the sky b'gin to show
And at last announce the day, after a gloomy night;
If you need a hue to dye your matutinal glow,
Pour my blood and at the right moment spread it so,
And gild it with a reflection of your nascent light!

My life's fancy, my ardent, passionate desire,
Hail! Cries out the soul to you, that will soon part from thee;
Hail! How sweet 'tis to fall that fullness you may acquire;
To die to give you life, 'neath your skies to expire,
And in your mystic land to sleep through eternity!

Pray thee for all the hapless who have died,
For all those who unequalled torments have undergone;
For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried;
For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied,
And pray too that you may see you own redemption.

And when my grave by all is no more remembered,
With neither cross nor stone to mark its place,
Let it be plowed by man, with spade let it be scattered
And my ashes ere to nothingness are restored,
Let them turn to dust to cover your earthly space.

Then it doesn't matter that you should forget me:
Your atmosphere, your skies, your vales I'll sweep;
Vibrant and clear note to your ears I shall be:
Aroma, light, hues, murmur, song, moanings deep,
Constantly repeating the essence of the faith I keep.

My idolized Country, for whom I most gravely pine,
Dear Philippines, to my last goodbye, oh, harken
There I leave all: my parents, loves of mine,
I'll go where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen
Where faith does not kill and where God alone does reign.

Farewell, parents, brothers, beloved by me,
Friends of my childhood, in the home distressed;
Give thanks that now I rest from the wearisome day;
Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, who brightened my way;
Farewell, to all I love. To die is to rest.