Viajero
Encyclopedia
Viajero, Spanish
for "The Wanderer" or "The Traveller", is a 1993 English-language
novel written by multi-award winning Filipino author F. Sionil José
. The literary theme is about the constant search of the Filipino people
for “social justice and moral order”. Viajero is one of the literary representatives embodying the fulfillment of the Filipinos' "emergent-nationalism".
named Salvador dela Raza (a Spanish
name meaning “Savior
of the [Filipino] Race”). In 1945, Raza was adopt
ed and brought to America
by James Wack, an African-American captain of the United States military. Dela Raza was a firsthand witness of the Filipino
diaspora
. Dela Raza was described to be a Philippine-born
"nationalist hero" independent of American colonial influence who was able to recover the past of the Philippines long thought lost due to "colonial
oppression". Dela Raza was the missing link or filler of the fundamental gaps or disjunctions between the Filipino Ilustrado
s and the common people known as the masa (referring to the "mass[ive number] of people" or the Philippine public), and between Filipino expatriates and the Filipinos who stayed in the Philippines. However, Dela Raza's knowledge of American issues and history made Viajero an allegorical reinforcement of "ideological interdependence" and reaffirmation of "American
colonial tutelage", which was contrary to the goal of contemporary Filipino nationalists. Such goal was to define and diffentiate the Filipino view of nationalism
from the American form of nationalism.
Other characters include the wife of Leo Mercado, Father Jess, and Simplicio Verdad (a name meaning "Simple Truth" or "Simply True" in translation). Some characters from José's The Rosales Saga also resurfaced in Viajero, such as Pepe Samson of José's Mass
in the person of a full-pledged insurgent
.
in Mactan Island
, the voyages of galleon
through the Pacific Ocean
, the movement of Filipino men
and women
workers to the Middle East
, Hongkong
, Singapore
, and Tokyo Japan
.
Although a novel about the Philippines, Viajero was also described as a novel about America because Dela Raza was educated by his American stepfather. Through Wack (a represenation of the United States in the novel), Dela Raza learned of the issues that existed in America: racial discrimination, colonialism, failures of political ideals, betrayals of nationwide democracy, and ironies of American History. By discovering the American shortcomings, Dela Raza saw the failures in Philippine History. Thus Dela Raza was able to instruct and rejuvenate the Filipino youth to search in the past for answers in order to solve the Philippines' problems. Through Viajero José was able to point out the "failed opportunity of the revolution" to create the changes that could have been made by Corazon Aquino
for the Filipino people when she was president.
Spanish in the Philippines
Spanish was imposed as an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish rule since the times of Miguel López de Legazpi in the late 16th century, through American rule and independence, until the change of Constitution in 1973...
for "The Wanderer" or "The Traveller", is a 1993 English-language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
novel written by multi-award winning Filipino author F. Sionil José
F. Sionil José
F. Sionil José or in full Francisco Sionil José is one of the most widely-read Filipino writers in the English language. His novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class struggles and colonialism in Filipino society...
. The literary theme is about the constant search of the Filipino people
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
for “social justice and moral order”. Viajero is one of the literary representatives embodying the fulfillment of the Filipinos' "emergent-nationalism".
Main characters
The lead character of Viajero was an orphanOrphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
named Salvador dela Raza (a Spanish
Philippine Literature in Spanish
Philippine literature in Spanish is a body of literature made by Filipino writers in the Spanish language. Today, this corpus is the third largest in the whole corpus of Philippine literature . It is slightly larger than the Philippine literature in the vernacular languages...
name meaning “Savior
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
of the [Filipino] Race”). In 1945, Raza was adopt
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
ed and brought to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by James Wack, an African-American captain of the United States military. Dela Raza was a firsthand witness of the Filipino
Filipino American
Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...
diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
. Dela Raza was described to be a Philippine-born
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
"nationalist hero" independent of American colonial influence who was able to recover the past of the Philippines long thought lost due to "colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
oppression". Dela Raza was the missing link or filler of the fundamental gaps or disjunctions between the Filipino Ilustrado
Ilustrado
The Ilustrados constituted the Filipino educated class during the Spanish colonial period in the late 19th century....
s and the common people known as the masa (referring to the "mass[ive number] of people" or the Philippine public), and between Filipino expatriates and the Filipinos who stayed in the Philippines. However, Dela Raza's knowledge of American issues and history made Viajero an allegorical reinforcement of "ideological interdependence" and reaffirmation of "American
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
colonial tutelage", which was contrary to the goal of contemporary Filipino nationalists. Such goal was to define and diffentiate the Filipino view of nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
from the American form of nationalism.
Other characters include the wife of Leo Mercado, Father Jess, and Simplicio Verdad (a name meaning "Simple Truth" or "Simply True" in translation). Some characters from José's The Rosales Saga also resurfaced in Viajero, such as Pepe Samson of José's Mass
Mass (novel)
Mass, also known as Mass: A Novel, is a 1973 historical and political novel written by Filipino National Artist F. Sionil José. Together with The Pretenders, the Mass is the completion of José’s The Rosales Saga, which is also known as the Rosales Novels...
in the person of a full-pledged insurgent
Insurgent
Insurgent, insurgents or insurgency can refer to:* The act of insurgency-Specific insurgencies:* Iraqi insurgency, uprising in Iraq* Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, uprising in India* Insurgency in North-East India...
.
Description
Viajero tackled Philippine History and the character of the Filipino people prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. The other “epic voyages” experienced by the Filipinos included the country’s contact with China, the tragedy of Ferdinand MagellanFerdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
in Mactan Island
Mactan Island
Mactan is an island located a few kilometres from Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu Province and it is divided into Lapu-Lapu City and the municipality of Cordova...
, the voyages of galleon
Galleon
A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...
through the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, the movement of Filipino men
Men in the Philippines
Men in the Philippines is a term referring to the male members of Filipino society, or men who belong or come from the Philippines, a country in South East Asia or the Far East...
and women
Women in the Philippines
The role of women in the Philippines is explained based on the context of Filipino culture, standards, and mindsets. The Philippines is described to be a nation of strong women, who directly and indirectly run the family unit, businesses, government agencies and haciendas.Although they generally...
workers to the Middle East
Filipinos in Saudi Arabia
Filipinos in Saudi Arabia are either migrants or descendants of the Philippines living in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is currently the largest hirer of Overseas Filipino Workers , and has the largest Filipino population in the Middle East...
, Hongkong
Filipinos in Hong Kong
There are around 140,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong, a lot of whom work as foreign domestic helpers. Filipino maids are known by the locals as fei yung , fei being the first character in the Cantonese phonetic translation of Philippines and yung means maid...
, Singapore
Filipinos in Singapore
Filipinos in Singapore consist of migrants from the Philippines and their descendants. , an estimated 80,000 work as domestic helpers, with another 12,000 in the information technology industry. This marks a slight rise from 1995, when roughly 75,000 domestic helpers from the Philippines were...
, and Tokyo Japan
Filipinos in Japan
Filipinos in Japan formed a population of 202,592 individuals at year-end 2007, making them Japan's fourth-largest foreign community, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Justice. Their population reached as high as 245,518 in 1998, but fell to 144,871 individuals in 2000 before...
.
Although a novel about the Philippines, Viajero was also described as a novel about America because Dela Raza was educated by his American stepfather. Through Wack (a represenation of the United States in the novel), Dela Raza learned of the issues that existed in America: racial discrimination, colonialism, failures of political ideals, betrayals of nationwide democracy, and ironies of American History. By discovering the American shortcomings, Dela Raza saw the failures in Philippine History. Thus Dela Raza was able to instruct and rejuvenate the Filipino youth to search in the past for answers in order to solve the Philippines' problems. Through Viajero José was able to point out the "failed opportunity of the revolution" to create the changes that could have been made by Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
for the Filipino people when she was president.