louBurnable

About the Author Paz Marquez Benitez (1894-1983) was among the first generation of Filipinos taught under the American education system with English as the medium of instruction. She graduated at the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She was the author of the first Filipino modern English - language short story, Dead Stars .  Background Dead Stars depicts the conflict of forbidden love between a man and two women. It portrays the struggles in decision-making of a man, torn between doing the right thing, and following his desires. In this story,  Dead Stars was used as a metaphor which means "memories of the past," for even though we see the glimmering and shining stars in the sky at night, truth be told, we can only see the remains of a long dead star, billions and light years away. The stars may give us a feeling of longing and comfort, but soon after, we realize how it has already vanished into existence. Such is the pain of love,...

About the Author Graciano Lopez Jaena (1956-1896) was an orator and was among the great heroes who gave birth to the propaganda movement to change the colonial status of the Philippines. Because of his affiliations with the poorest citizens of the country, he became aware of the unjust social dilemma and corrupted religious power of the prayle  during the Spanish colonial era. As a result, he created  Fray Botod at a young age of 18. It is a satirical work against the Spanish friars who were responsible for the oppression experienced by the Filipinos for more than 300 years.  Background The story of Fray Botod by  Graciano Lopez Jaena portrayed an early Spanish priest from the colonial era of the Philippines as greedy, corrupt, hypocrite, gluttonous, and lustful. As a form of propaganda and protestation, his work aimed to expose these horrendous characteristics of these abusive priests.  Fray Botod  means "Big - Bellied Friar," pertaining...