Julián Cruz Balmaceda (sometimes spelled as ''Balmaseda'') (January 28, 1885 – September 18, 1947) was a Filipino

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

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playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

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and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. He made several works written in

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

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and

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Early life

Balmaceda was born on Orion,

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

on January 28, 1885. He attended

Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers i ...

for college. Two years later, he finished law on ''Escuela de Derecho'' (School of Law) under the same college. When he was fourteen, his first written play entitled ''Sugat ng Puso'' (Broken Heart). His major play, ''Ang Piso ni Anita'' (Anita's One Peso Coin) won first place in a play writing contest sponsored by the Bureau of Posts. The play is all about thriftiness and was composed of three stages.

Major works

* ''Sa Bunganga ng Pating'' (On the Shark's Mouth) - condemns usurers and usurpers. * ''Budhi ng Manggagawa'' (Worker's Will), ''Dugo ng Aking Ama'' (My Father's Blood), ''Kaaway na Lihim'' (Secret Enemy) - discussed his ideals on socialism. * ''Ang Tala sa Kabundukan'' (The Star on the Mountains) - a musical play composed of three stages. * ''Kayamanang Lumilipad'' (Treasury Flies) - an opera of three stages. * ''Ale-aleng Namamayong'' (Lady under the Umbrella) - a poem about sacrifice of love. * ''Ang Hampas ng Lupa'' (Nature's Guilt) - one stage. * ''Ligayang Nawawala'' (Dissipating Happiness) - short story. * ''Heneral Gregorio del Pilar'' - historical play of three stages that narrates the death of Filipino war general

Gregorio del Pilar Gregorio Hilario del Pilar y Sempio (; ; November 14, 1875 – December 2, 1899) was a Filipino general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army during the Philippine–American War. As one of the youngest generals in the Revolutionary Army, he ...

on the

Battle of Tirad Pass The Battle of Tirad Pass ( es, Batalla de Paso Tirad; tgl, Labanan sa Pasong Tirad; ilo, Gubat ti Paso), sometimes referred to as the "Philippine Thermopylae", was a battle in the Philippine–American War fought on December 2, 1899, in northe ...

. * ''Sangkuwaltang Abaka'' (One Penny-worth Abaca) - one of his major breakthrough; it was played many times during Japanese occupation. ''Sangkuwaltang Abaka'' was re-played after the war using the title ''Sino Ba Kayo?'' (Who are They?) that likewise, became a major play. * ''Sining at Agham ng mga Dulang Iisahing Yugto'' (Science and Arts of One-Staged Plays) - book compilation of his different plays. It explained the existence of arts and sciences when making one-staged plays. The book includes ''Sino Ba Kayo?''; ''Dahil sa Anak'' (Because of His/Her Child); ''Ang Palabas ni Suwan'' (Suwan's Show); ''Higanti ng Patay'' (Dead Man's Revenge); ''Ang Libingan ng Bayani'' (The Hero's Tomb); ''Gregorio H. del Pilar''.

References

* ''The Julian Cruz Balmaseda Collection at the University of the Philippines Library''.

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

Library. Published in 1974, (Diliman,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

: The Library, 1974) * *
Full text: Sino Ba Kayo? by Julian Cruz Balmaceda
Tagalog-language writers Filipino male dramatists and playwrights Filipino male poets People from Bataan 1885 births 1947 deaths 20th-century Filipino poets 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Colegio de San Juan de Letran alumni 20th-century male writers {{philippines-writer-stub