In an alternate universe (namely my imagination), Maria Clara would have been a manananggal, avenged the death of her Ibarra, and kill Sibyla in the most grotesque way possible; Sisa would have been the infamous white lady in balete and would have killed as many constabulary soldiers as possible, and... so on.
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are both fantastic novels, and it's quite a shame that it is not read for its story but for its "historical significance" alone. Honestly, I did not expect Noli and Fili to be ensnaring, because who the hell expect school books to be ensnaring?
Anyway, more than the historical accounts portrayed in the books, there were also comedy, drama, action, romance, thriller, and lots of tragedies. Hence, making Noli and Fili colorful and alive. Another amazing thing about the story is how it would make you imagine what life was like during Rizal's time, why he wrote what he wrote, and why such events unfolded the way it did, e.g. why the revolution has to fail in El Filibusterismo (huhu, I felt really bad that it did :| HAHAHA)
While reading El Filibusterismo, Bernardo Carpio was briefly mentioned, and it reminded me of all the other Philippine Mythological Creatures, and how I wish that they were real at the time. Then, I remembered a manga (Occhio del dyo?) that I read when I was in grade school. It was narrated there that the Filipinos who were far up in the mountains were not baptized so they turned into duwende, mananggal, engkanto, tikbalang, etc. Also, a friend told me that Spaniards made up stories about wicked spiritual beings so as to scare Filipinos who might go against the will of the Catholic church.
That got me thinking, which could have gone first: the kwentong bayan (of these mythological creatures) or the Spanish regime? What do you think?
"Where are the youths who will dedicate their innocence, their idealism, their enthusiasm to the good of the country?"
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