A nation‘s soul

A very pregnant lady with the words, “Ikulong na yan, mga kurakot!” emblazoned in red across her belly went up the stage to receive her prize. The words resounded across the main hall of the Manila Polo Club where the Diamond Jubilee Year of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards was being marked on 26 November.

After a pregnant pause, the room started to buzz — a roomful of writers young and old, literary luminaries, academics and scribes. Words filled the space and minds connected without much more drama. Looks were exchanged, smirks flitted on faces, the moment passed, but everyone knew it had been carved in time.

“Just think about that: 75 years,” said Criselda “Dang” Cecilio-Palanca before they conferred the Gawad Dangal ng Lahi on Dr. Ruth Elynia-Mabanglo, multi-awarded poet, playwright, journalist and educator and Palanca Hall of Famer.

“And it all began on September 1, 1951, with the vision of one man, Don Carlos Palanca Jr., one man who believed in the need to recognize and honor the country’s literary writers. Who understood that you cannot build a nation without supporting the people who are able to build national identity and pride — the artists and writers who ultimately touch hearts and minds.”

Entries for the Palanca Awards this Diamond Year, she said, exceeded everyone’s expectations: a “historic high of 2,359 entries in 20 categories, as overseen by 57 judges, resulting in 58 winning works by 54 authors.”

Of the winners, 44 were male and 14 female. Eight of them were aged 20 and under; 13 were between the ages of 21 and 30; 15 in the 31 to 40 range; 12 were 41 to 50 years old, while nine were aged 51 to 60. The oldest writer was a male of 64 years and the youngest was female, just 15.

The works of these talented people covered many issues of our time, from the perennial ones to the uncharted territories like artificial intelligence. Their entries were glimpses into the stories of our age, the voices of those who shared a people’s experiences and sentiments.

It was, in a sense, a vision of the Filipino today.

These “bewildering times,” Cecilio-Palanca said, “may have convinced most of us that the world is experiencing so many new challenges. As we move past the first quarter of the first century of the 21st millennium, we find ourselves facing the unforeseen and unexpected.

“While we had often contended with mostly gradual global developments and managed to keep pace with elements that we imagine we would encounter only at a future time, we recognize that that future has come quicker than anticipated, pressing us on to accomplish new feats of agility and resolve. We realize that we cannot afford to stay stuck in our comfort zones in the midst of a fast-evolving and ever-confounding landscape.”

The program cover for the event carried a quote: “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter.” (Daily Light)

And with this, we remind ourselves: careful what we do or tolerate: they turn into words, immortalized in documents, spoken about, passed around, until they become part of our national identity. Today, that naked belly screaming of a people’s anger says it all. Where is our pride in that?