Launched last Friday by publisher Water Dragon Inc. at the Yuchengco Museum was the hardbound, coffee-table anthology titled Rizal +.
All of 176 pages in full color, the collection of essays, thematic features, artworks and photographs all dwell on various matters, including trivia curiosa, related to Jose Rizal.
The cover image and several other portraits based on vintage photos of the hero were accomplished by the artist Edd Aragon during one of his homecoming visits from Sydney, well before he passed away a few years ago.
Designed by Singapore-based Orland Punzalan, the anthology also displays artworks by Pandy Aviado, Jaime de Guzman, Duddley Diaz, Rei Salud, Gilda Cordero Fernando and Dengcoy Miel.
The reface reads:
“This book is dedicated to the memory of Jose Victor Peñaranda and Edd Aragon, who were instrumental in its conceptualization and initial production in 2009, when it was planned for release well before the sesquicentennial celebration of Jose Rizal in 2011.
“Unfortunately, the book project had to be discontinued at that time. Recent years also sadly marked the early loss of these two staunch friends of ours, with whom we had feasted on the compulsion of presenting a unique and diverse compendium of Rizaliana — one inclusive of novelty, humor and irreverence within the greater ambit of honoring and exulting in the singular hero’s myriad facets.
“Jose Rizal continues to fascinate Filipinos and countless foreigners alike, who recognize all the nuances of his nearly mythical aggregate of attributes — beyond being a poet, polyglot, physician, patriot, and fated martyr.
“No other Filipino has been written about as much as this extraordinary man, who understandably provokes unending exegesis.
“When the publisher decided to revive this project late this year, the process of retrieving and reconstructing most of the original contents hit a snag, so that we had to replace some lost materials with fresh contributions. But such is the continuing interest in the subject that this challenge was easy hurdled.
“There will always be so much more of Rizal to draw from and extrapolate on. This anthology barely scratches the surface. But we’d like to think that this tribute to an exemplary individual expands the fascination with a brief yet well-lived life that spans historical romance, drama and inspiration — especially for our finest writers, journalists, historians and artists.
“We also dedicate this book to photographer Ed Usapdin, whose contribution for the last pages outlives his own visionary eye.”
As the Executive Editor, this writer saw fit to include some previously published articles that covered sundry subjects of interest revolving around Rizal.
Thus, we included column pieces by outstanding writers such as Ambeth Ocampo (“J.R. = Jack the Ripper?”), John Nery (“What Rizal Thought of Journalists”), Jose Carillo (“Did Rizal Ever Speak and Write in English?”), Wilson Lee Flores (“Rizal’s ‘Rags-to-riches’ Ancestor from South China”), Jose F. Lacaba (“Rizal in Drag” and “When Joe Met Miss J.”), and Butch Dalisay (“Poker Pepe: Without Seeing the Flop”).
Other reprints are memorable essays by Vicente Albano Pacis (“Rizal in the American Congress”), Leon Ma. Guerrero (“Room for a Hero”), Adrian E. Cristobal (“Making Rizal Obsolete” and “The Filipino Classic”), Rodel Rodis (“The Rizal Bill” and “Jose Rizal and Ninoy Aquino: Cosmic Brothers”), and Luis H. Francia (“Letter to an Indio Bravo”).
Predominantly, however, major articles are seeing print for the first time, from Sylvia L. Mayuga (“Desperately Seeking Lolo Pepe”), Maria Isabel Garcia (“Recycling Rizal”), Dr. Andrew Navarro with an astrological reading (“Rizal, the Philippines and the Cosmos”), Lito B. Zulueta (“Rizal at the University of Santo Tomas: The Misunderstood Years”), Jose Victor Peñaranda (“The Enigmatic Brotherhood of Dimasalang”), Alfredo R. Roces (“Sculptor in Dapitan”), Duddley Diaz (“On the Sculpture of Rizal as a Boy with His Dog, 1996”), Cesar Hernando (“Rizal in Movies”), Solana Perez (“Dapitan, the Place of Rizal’s Exile”), and Paulo Alcazaren (“Plazas, Rizal, and Selfies”).
Literary contributions include Joel Pablo Salud’s chapter excerpt from an unpublished novel (My Dream of Café de Madrid), as well as poetry/critiques/translations by Jose Victor Z. Torres (“A Fake Rizal Poem: ‘Sa Aking mga Kabata’”), Wilfredo Pascua Sanchez (“JR Extempore with ‘In Death is Peace’ — Jose Rizal’s Valedictory”), Cesar Ruiz Aquino (“Getting Willie’s Rizal / Getting Rizal’s Willie”), Krip Yuson (“Reimagining Rizaldry: A Review of Rizal’s Lizard”), and an excerpt from the screenplay “Rizal sa Dapitan” by Jose F. Lacaba et al.
Poet-novelist Erwin Castillo contributes “Pinoy Pistolero: Rizal’s ‘Magnificent Smith & Wessons’” while novelist Carlos Cortes writes on “Rizal El Jugador: A Great Brilliancy Prize Chess Game by the Master?”
Howie G. Severino’s “Who Called Rizal ‘Little Bad Boy’?,” Lucien Spittael’s “Rizal in Belgium: From Brussels to Ghent,” Butch Dalisay’s ‘Rizal in California” and Vicente Rafael’s “Rizal in Seattle” complement an excerpted essay on travel by “Laong Laan” and a reprint of “Rizal’s Madrid” — an informative guide to Rizal’s haunts in that city, produced by our embassy there.
A comic strip by Dengcoy Miel, titled “The PostModern Rizal,” and a photo essay by Ed Usapdin on “The Execution Site, Rizal Park, Manila” round up the visual contributions.
The collector’s anthology will be available at P1,000 per copy at the gift shop at Yuchengco Museum, and eventually at Solidaridad Bookstore on P. Faura St. in Manila and Mt. Cloud Bookstore in Baguio City.