92. 24 SIGNIFICANT BOOKS ABOUT PAMPANGA YOU MUST KNOW, part II

Part II of the list of 24  Kapampangan books (no.s 13-24), essential reads for every Kapampangan who wants to know about aspects of our history, language, literatature geography, literature, and the lives of Pampanga's leading movers and shakers.

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13. BORN OF THE PEOPLE, by Luis Taruc. 1953. Published by International Publishers. Reprinted 1973.

Sugnificance: A must-read autobiography of the supremo of the Hukbalahap or Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon group between 1942 and 1954. Luis Taruc became involved in the agrarian reform problems in the 1930s. He led his Huk guerrilla operations against the Japanese during World War II. of the Philippines. After the war, the Huks continued to clamor for agrarian reform, but which were unmet by th Roxas government. Though he and some colleagues were elected as congressmen, they were not allowed to take their seats. The  went back to the  hills to resume their armed struggle.

14. JUAN CRISOSTOMO SOTO AND THE PAMPANGAN DRAMA, by Juan S. Aguas. 1963. University of the Philippines, Q.C., reprinted, 2016.

Significance: This is a study on the life and works of the greatest Kapampangan writer Soto (1867-1918), with special reference to his masterpiece, “Alang Dios”. Adapted from the author's thesis from 1955. Soto’s literary output is unparalleled in volume and quantity: 50 plays, over 100 poems, scores of short stories, essays and novels. The verbal joust “Crissotan”, the counterpart of the Tagalog’s Balagtasan was named in his honor.

15. THE PAMPANGANS: Colonial Society in a Philippine Province. By John A. Larkin. 1972, University of California Press-Berkely.

Significance: The first book on Kapampangan colonial and social history that does not only treat the usual fare of historians, but also discusses the socio-economic aspects of Pampanga’s existence, including its problems—cash-crop economy driven by sugar, peasants’ unrest, politics, Chinese migration and inter-marriage with indigenous people. More surprising is that this well-researched book was written by an American, John Larkin from the State University of New York at Buffalo, who made his first trip to Pampanga in 1964. He was made an Honorary Kapampangan in 2017.

16. KAPAMPANGAN LITERATURE: A Historical Survey and Anthology, by Edna Zapanta-Manlapaz. 1981, Ateneo de Manila.

Significance: This is a pioneering study of the secular written literature of one of the country’s major language groups—Kapampangan. This volume, and  Rosalina Icban-Castro’s “Literature of the Pampangos” were the major references for kapmapngan literary works—in drama, poetry, and prose.

17. KAPAMPANGAN WRITING: A Selected Compendium and Critique, by Evangelina Hilario-Lacson. 1984, National Historic Commission.

Significance: A useful collection of selected Kapampangan writings, with much information on Pampanga writers and samplings of their works.

18. RECOLLECTIONS AND DIGRESSIONS, Renato Tayag. 1985. Philnabank Club, Manila.

Significance: A personal memoir and a local history book, rolled into one, written by the esteemed lawyer-journalist-writer  Katoks Tayag, an Angeleño. It includes a section on Pampanga and one article-- “The Vanishing Pampanga Nation” is a classic read. Of this book, Jose Luna Castro notes—“this is a meaty book the reader can bite with relish,,and to go with it is a sparkling wine of humor and wit”.

19. AN ANNOTATED PICTORIAL HISTORY OF CLARK AIR BASE, 1899-1986. David Rosmer. 1984. 13^th Air Force Office of History, reprinted 1986. Fort Stotsenburg Historical Foundation.

Significance: A definitive reference book about the history of Clark Air Base—from its early beginnings as Camp Stotsenburg, to its modern-day version. The updated 1986 version encompases the ‘cataclysmic events of 1986” (Marcos’ ouster by the People Power Revolution). The book includes many rare photos of the base facilities from the extensive 13th Air Force history photograph collection, which were left and destroyed during the 1991 Pinatubo eruption.

20. THE NEPOMUCENOS OF ANGELES CITY AND THEIR RELATIVES, by Marco D. Nepomuceno. 1987. Published by the author.

Significance: A major work about Pampanga family history and genealogy, gathered from all recorded data and traditional sources, including the work of Mariano A. Henson—The Descendants of the Founders of Angeles (1966) which the author began updating in 1972. Vintage photos accompany the presentation of the Nepomuceno genealogy, organized in simple, easy-to-follow tables.

21. A SHAFT OF LIFE, by Rafaelita Hilario-Soriano. Printon Press. Q.C. 1996.

Significance: This is one of the few books that deal with the contributions of two Central Luzon revolutionary figures—Nueva Ecija’s Gen. Mariano Llanera and Pampanga’s Tiburcio Hilario, during the first and second phases of the Philippine Revolution, retold by the author who is a Hilario descendant.

22. COMFORT WOMAN, Slave of Destiny. By Maria Rosa Henson. 1996. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

Significance: The first book about the ordeals of a comfort woman, personally written and illustrated by Maria Rosa Luna Henson, a Kapampangan . She burst into the national consciousness in 1992, when she broke half-a-century's silence to talk about her experience as ‘comfort woman’ in a World War II rape camp. Her story The book encouraged other women to come out with their own stories, belying earlier claims that the Japanese did not set up ‘comfort stations’ in the Philippines as they did in Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia.

23. PINATUBO: A VOLCANO IN OUR BACKYARD, by Robert P. Tantingco. 2011. Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University.

Significance: The 20th anniversary of the Pinatubo eruption spurred the writing of this book which won a National Book Award from the Manila Critics Circle. The book  traces the terrible eruption in 1991, to aid us in appreciating not just any volcano, but this particular volcano, our Pinatubo. It equips us with the scientific basis for all that happened in 1991, but also rewards us with the unique experience of Kapampangans and the monster mountain in our midst.

24. AN INTRODUCTION TO KULITAN, The Indigenous Kapampangan Script. By Michael Raymon M. Pangilinan. 2012,  Center for Kapampangan Studies, Angeles City.

Significance: Kulitan or Súlat Kapampángan, the indigenous Kapampangan script, has found new followers among young people. This book is the perfect reference to understand the indigenous writing system and learn how to write it. It is a product of a life-long research of the writer, a known Kapampangan language expert. 

SOURCES:

Pinatubo, Kulitan: CKS Publications

Born of the People, Luis Taruc: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/508669.Born_Of_The_People

Comfort Woman, R. Henson: www.mekeniland.blogspot.com

All other Book Covers: from the CKS Library