I Once Had A Ring - A Magical-Realist Philippine Revolution

[rajavlitra]

You know what? Fuck it, I'm gonna post it. I won't know how this pans out unless I just go in raw. This was originally supposed to be a full webcomic, but I figured I'd just do this instead so I can stop pestering people in discord whether my ideas make any sort of sense and just seek input as I go. I'd rather spend my energies doing another webcomic anyway. This will mainly be a visual timeline, comprising of comics, diagrams, posters, illustrations, and good ol' maps and flags to speculate how art and design trends change due to historical factors. Might even follow a more loose format a la Black Red and Gold. And so it goes...

On July 9th, 1896, exactly 2:45pm Central Time, Andres Bonifacio, Supremo of the Katipunan, witnesses a vision.

In that very same moment, in the wilderness of Balintawak, a flash of cloud-lighting envelops the sky. A peculiar metal box appears, alongside two beating corpses from a time yet to be born. The twilight of empires has come--now is the time of monsters.

A tale of the death of colonialism, and the mystery of miracles.


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Atin Cu Pung Singsing, metung yang timpucan
Que Amana Iti, que Indung ibatan.
Sancan queng sininup, king metung a caban
Mewala ya iti, e cu camalayan.​

Mother Filipinas can't subsist solely on the western ways of industry. Her awakening is our opportunity to forge a new way to prosper, in methods, technology and organization. Should the Haring-bayan, so blessed by riches untapped, belong to a greedy, detached few, like the gilded barons of the United States and Japan? Never, it belongs to the people! We must encourage the industry of towns and craftsmen, and make it blossom. To the tiller his land, the fisherman his sea, and to the artisan, the practical sciences.​

Self-Industry (Foreword to translation of Kropotkin's Fields, Factories and Workshops, 1899)​

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The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them. Y-- [A sudden surge of euphoria through the crowd. Momentary silence.] Anyway, my friends, we declare that this nation is able to legislate for its own people on every question, without waiting for the aid or consent of any other nation on earth; and upon that issue we expect to carry every State in the Union.

A Cross of Gold (Speech, 1896)​

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Will such a just and equal society be achieved by forcing Katagalugan unto Pampanga or our brothers in Visayas and the Mindanao? Will we achieve unity by blindly following American federalism, still reeling from the moral wounds of civil war, which, I might add, was waged over the matter of slavery?

Are our dreams so limited that we couldn't envision this revolution to succeed without freedom to the toiling masses? I have one plea to you, Comrades: another world is possible. Manila is upon our grasp, and so does a people's revolution.

To the Calamba Convention (Transcription, 1897)​

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Q. Señor Supremo, I think you are well aware of the religious orders that have sprung out in honor of your person, the Santa Iglesia being one of them. They have been telling visions of you, your colleagues and the "Five Voices" together. How do you feel about this?

A. First, let me be clear that I do not hold ill will towards them. It is natural that superstition still clouds the mind of the Filipino, one of the reasons why I disapproved of the Revolution in the first place. I have talked to some of them, and I have hope that the spirit of brotherhood in these orders can be steered towards reason. I am not keen towards those who stoke these beliefs for their own ends--I partly blame the leaders of the revolution for it. These are vulgar passions that we should be burying today.

Interview with Renacimiento Filipino, 1902​

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[rajavlitra]

From Encarte Student Edition 2005. Part of your BayanTel Premium Bundle! [1]

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Spoiler: 1. INTRODUCTION

José Tristán Bernardo y de la Cruz (Aug. 10, 1875 - Apr. 6, 1951) and Catalina Emiliana Bernardo y de la Cruz (Aug. 10, 1875 - Jul. 7, 1959), Filipino revolutionaries, inventors, statesmen and activists. In the War of Independence, they led the guerilla shock troops of the Katipunan, the Kaholero brigades. They became key advisors to the Philippine Republic's Supreme Council and co-founded the Confederación Obrera Filipina (COF), one of the strongest trade union centers in Asia.

They are also particularly known for their colorful and eccentric personas as innovating polymaths. Aside from being the inventors of the Mitraillette or Metralleta, the modern automatic rifle, the siblings' focus towards hydropower (and the construction of the Angat and Ipo dams) has helped in the electrification of the early republic. Catalina herself designed and popularized an energy-efficient and compact flourescent lamp under the name "Agapito Flores" in 1899, independent of Thomas Edison's efforts to commercialize the device. She also had prototypes for a two-way radio transciever, but was not able to patent it in her life. José Tristán, on the other hand, was more known as an educator, and has helped introduce and implement modern schooling, permaculture, and agro-forestry in the country.

Catalina was a devoted Marxist and a pioneer of Filipino Feminism. She fought for the inclusion of universal adult suffrage in the Constitution, making the Philippines the first Asian country to do so (Japan's 1924 General Election Law was only constitutionally enshrined in 1946). Her theoretical writings and organizing work was instrumental in turning Bonifacio's party into a coherent, popular mass organization. She was also an innovator in information dissemination in the country, and was an early user of agitational propaganda for political and general education. A known Koreaphile, she was a patron of East Asian arts and remained a supporter of Pan-Asianism to her death.

José Tristán on the other hand was a fervent anarchist, later taking up the label "libertarian" or "federalist" to describe himself. He was a prolific writer, penning essays and books on religion, culture, futurism, philosophy, politics and gastronomy, and, for a time, edited the COF's Ang Bukluran magazine. As one of the founding members of the reorganized Liga Filipina (LF), José Tristán helped organize and initiate multiple schemes to induce small-scale industries in the Philippines' rural areas, introducing the model of agro-industrial federations. He also attracted controversy at the time for his anthropology for his promotion of the theory of civilizational experimentation.

Today, the Bernardos are deemed by the national government as two Founding Heroes of the Republic, commemorated in the Monumento para sa Libertad in Manila. Their life and work are also honored in a permanent exhibition of their inventions and work in the National Museum.

Spoiler: 2. BIOGRAPHY

José Tristán and Catalina were born in the Northern Tagalog province of Tayabas to a small haciendero family on August 10, 1875. The Bernardos worked on livestock and rice, and before his death their father, Benigno Joaquin, planned to start a lucrative import-export venture in Manila. José Tristán wrote that their early lives were one of simple pleasures, holding their father in high regard. The hacienda was generous to its tenants, [...] holding lavish feasts for the town.

The elder Bernardo was said to be a learned man interested in theology and natural philosophy. This was used by a local friar to accuse them of heresy and sedition, who supposedly found oraciones (grimoires) and some letters expressing condolence and support to [...] their house was burned down by the friar's agents. The entire family perished [...] All records of the family's existence and their ownership of the hacienda were either lost to the fire or subsequently expunged from all records, including that of the siblings.

The Bernardos fled Tayabas and were taken in by a family friend in Pasig. When they came of age, they took various jobs to support themselves. José Tristán worked as a bookkeeper for an American-owned shop in Manila, later becoming a typesetter for the Diario de Manila. and Catalina worked as a warehouse secretary, later a watchmaker's assistant. She also reportedly attended a grammar school for women. Aside from Tagalog and Spanish, the Bernardos were fluent English speakers thanks to José Tristàn's American and British clientele.

During José Tristán's work they got a hold of political literature from Europe and the United States. José reportedly chanced, and snuck out three books at work: Spanish translation of P.J. Proudhon's What is Property, an English translation of Karl Marx's Capital and Henry George's Poverty and Progress. José Tristàn began to identify with anarchism by his late teens after reading Proudhon and Malatesta, while Catalina became a Marxist. Influenced by news of the Haymarket Uprising, the two took an interest in bomb-making and gunsmithing. Catalina wrote that they planned on setting up a firecracker business in Bulacán [...]

On July 12th 1896, after personally meeting Bonifacio, they were invited to join the Katipunan. Official history credits the twins for the [...] metrailettes the Katipuneros used at the start of the Revolution. [...] endearing the two to Bonifacio's inner circle. Eventually, they were able to form their own militia, the Batallón 17o "Kaholeros"...

During the tumultuous Calamba Convention of 1897, the Bernardos were active participants to the debate [...] Catalina and Bonifacio [...] José Tristán and Rizal [...] revive the LLF, today one of [...] 1898 Treaty of Paris [...]

Bernardo left politics in [...] maintained affiliation to the COF throughout his life. [...] He became a professor in the University of the Philippines [...] frequent lecturer in America [...] Clarice Pellegrini [...] romantically involved with various individuals, some of it rumored [...] a son, Florante Pelegrino, a naturalist. [...] He died in Laguna in 1951.

Catalina [...] unsuccessfully ran for the 1928 and 1932 presidential primaries of [...] She was a perrenial member of the Congress of Deputies, she campaigning for nationalism and worker's rights. [...] 1903, she married Miguel Kouken Naganuma (長沼後見), a Filipino-Japanese Kaholero, bearing two children: trade unionist Armando Naganuma (長沼アルマンド) and designer Allegra Desombres (長沼アレグラ). A student of Juan Luna, she was a frequent consultant of the Office of Public Information and helped with the murals of the Pandacan Bahay-Trabaho. She retired from politics in 1951, settling in Tanay, Morong until her death in 1959.

Spoiler: 3. PERSONALITY AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Since Catalina's death in 1959, the Bernardos have been a subject of conspiracy theories, particularly of their mysterious origins. The range of speculation casts a wide net, ranging from plausible to the utterly fantastic. The only available sources outlining a detailed view of their lives is their autobiography, released in 1923, and compiled testimonies with their confidants and peers.

The generally accepted consensus is that the two had an undiagnosed mental disorder, perhaps within the autism spectrum. [...] seen with suspicion or amusement in their time [...] acted very candidly despite gravitas and decorum [...] spoke in a peculiar, relaxed cadence [...] esoteric gestures [...] a near-native fluency of English, often more comfortable writing in the language than Spanish. Evidence points to both personal and eyewitness accounts; even the Bernardos themselves appear to admit this, writing that they "had trouble keeping long-time friends [...] due to [our] diverging interests." The twins appeared to have an intimate knowledge of the world around them [...] "ethereal prescience" [...] José Tristán likened themselves to Filósofo Tacio, a similarly eccentric character in Rizal's novel Noli me tangere. In the public imagination, the "disorder theory", perhaps erroneously, conveniently explains their intelligence and prescience (see savant).

Brazilian historian Antônio Caetano, dissenting from consensus, controversially surmised the twins might have been Chinese immigrants to the United States, sent to the Philippines to destabilize the Spanish East Indies and put pressure on Madrid during the Spanish-American War, pointing to their seemingly close affinity to Usonian culture and their expertise on firearms. This led to a very public spat in Latin academia almost leading to a termination of relations between Brazilian and Filipino universities (see the Bernardo Affair). Some, such as Yoko Higashifumi, had a similar theory, writing that their father Benigno Joaquin was an Ilustrado to the United States and amassed a library to teach his children explaining their knowledge, their behavior stemming from trauma brought by and the massacre of the Bernardo house.

More outlandish theories became popular in the 1960s. The 1987 Swiss television show Chariots of the Gods talked about the twins in their episode "Children of Heaven". They claimed that their excessive forecasting of modern technology decades beyond them and their abnormal engineering skills were evidence that they were actually aliens or half-aliens. [...]

Spoiler: 4. SELECTED WORKS

Wrote jointly:

Manifiesto para la revolución filipina de los discípulos del Katipunan (Manifesto, 1897)​

Programa de la Confederación Obrera Filipina (Manifesto, co-authored with Isabelo de los Reyes, 1905)​

Kontra gierra imperialista (Pamphlet, 1915)​

Morimos por hoy, vivimos por mañana (Autobiography, 1920)​

Pulang araw at puting araw / Sol rojo y sol blanco (Pamphlet, 1930)​

¡Tumindig! Para sa pagkakaisa ng masang pilipino para labanan ang imperyalismong hapón (Speech, 1937)​

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Catalina Bernardo:

¿Qué futuro vas a elegir? / ¿Unsa nga ugma ang imong pilion? (Speech, 1897)​

Para sa Haring-bayan (Constitutional manifesto, co-authored with Emilio Jacinto, 1897)​

Lipunan at himagsikang pilipino / Sociedad y revolución filipina (Theory, manual, 1899, later editions 1905, 1912, 1920, 1934)​

Karapatan ng mga katutubong filipino (Pamphlet, 1903)​

Ylang-ylang, at iba pang tula (Poetry, 1904)​

Ang kapital: kritika ng ekonomiyang pampulitika ("Capital", Karl Marx translation, 1904)​

¿Ano ang dapat nating gawin? ("What is to be done?" V.I. Lenine translation, 1904)​

Teoryang kokutai at sosyalismo ("National Polity Theory and Authentic Socialism", Terujiro Kita translation, 1906)​

Programa ng Katipunang Makabayan (Manifesto, co-authored with Emilio Jacinto and Isabelo de los Reyes, 1906)​

Sining, sulat at wika: pagpapalaganap ng kabihasnang pilipino (Essay, 1907)​

Un mundo sin colonialismo (Futurism, 1910)​

Fuerza dual (Pamphlet, 1911)​

Aral sa rebolusyong pilipino (Compilation, 1911)​

Mga nota sa pagtaguyod ng pagsasabansa ng mga industriya (Economics, 1911)​

Para las nuestras camaradas chinas (Essay, 1912)​

Mga aral sa Himagsikang chino (Essay, 1916)​

Debates on the Extraordinary International Socialist Congress (Contribution, 1922)​

My experience in German socialist democracy (Essay, 1926)​

Sobre la revolución segunda americana (Essay, 1933)​

Uyayi sa bukang liwayway ("Lullaby to Daybreak" Play, 1936)​

Collected writings, 1918-1925 (Compilation, 1938)​

On Japanese Imperialism (Pamphlet, 1942)​

¡Viva la revolución indonesiana! (Speech, 1946)​

Jose Tristan Bernardo:

La nacion de la mañana / Ang bayan ng bukas (Manifesto, co-authored with José Rizal, 1897)​

Pag-unlad at pag-darahop ("Progress and Poverty", Henry George translation, 1899)​

Lupa, pabrika at talyer ("Fields, Factories and Workshops", Peter Kropotkine translation, 1899) ​

Sosyalismo ng estado at anarkismo ("State Socialism and Anatchism", Benjamin Tucker translation 1899)​

Principio federativo ("The Federative Principle", Pierre oseph Proudhon translation 1899)​

Programa y constitucion de L.F. renacida (Manifesto, co-authored with José Rizal, 1900)​

¿Ano ang anarkiya? ("Anarchy", Errico Malatesta translation, 1900)​

The democratization of expression (Futurism, 1902)​

Militansyang maligaya / La militancia alegre (Treatise, 1902)​

Calderetang indiano (Cookbook, 1903)​

Hindi grasyado ang kalayaan / La libertad no es gratuita (Essay, 1903)​

Organisasyon ng lipunan / Organización de la sociedad (Essay, 1904)​

La república cantonal (Pamphlet, 1904)​

Sobre la problema del conocimiento local / Ukol sa suliranin sa karunungan (Futurism/economics, 1904)​

Kalderetang Indiano (Cookbook, 1904)​

Contra-dinastias / Kontra sa maharlika (Pamphlet, 1904)​

Dentro cien años después liberación (Futurism, 1904)​

Mahabang kasaysayan ng utang (History/economics, 1905)​

Yemaya y Maquiling (Short story, 1905)​

El amanecer de todo (Anthropology/history, 1906)​

Allah y el Dios son uno (Essay/theology, 1908)​

Diwata, Buddha y Bathala (Essay/mythology, 1909)​

Kakawin ramayana sa tagalog (Translation/classics, 1910)​

Ang darangen (Translation/classics, 1913)​

The Celestial Cycle (Science fiction series)​

1. The Hidden Evil (1911)
2. The War-Duplicates (1911)
3. The Downfall (1912)
4. The Forced Messiah (1920)
5. The Revelation (1922)
6. The Great Renaissance (1923)

Los cuentos de los indios malayos (Children's stories/folklore, 1909)​

Los cuentos de los hindúes y mahometanos (Children's stories/folklore, 1909)​

Will war ravage civilization? (Essay/futurism, 1910)​

Cancionero rojo (Songbook, 1911)​

Energía renovable (Futurism, 1912)​

¡Mantenerse firme! (Pamphlet, 1914)​

El mundo dentro cien años (Futurism, 1915)​

Retitulación y los cristeros (Speech, 1922)​

Sobre el Fascismo y Jacobinismo (Essay, 1925)​

Ang sarili at ang nakakanya (M. Stirner translation, 1939)​

Reflections in Shinmin and Pyongyang (Treatise, 1945)​

[1] As you can see, wikipedia isnt a thing

 

[rajavlitra]

Oh, wow! This thread is more than 5 months old! A big boy! anyway, I haven't been able to update or do anything related to this TL due to some health issues and another comic i'm working on (though this TL and that comic are very much interrelated).

Right now, I'm currently doing a redraw of the old pages to fit the later style, and I've pretty much developed the Timeline in a way I won't suffer trying to make sense of things in hindsight. IOHAR will return! (Probably in a rebooted format, but I hope I won't have to.)

In the meantime, here's a little peek of what's to come: