Marcelino Pecson Crisólogo (born Marcelino Crisólogo y Pecson; 11 November 1844 – 5 July 1927), also known as Mena Crisólogo, was a Filipino politician, poet, writer and playwright. He was known for being one of the representatives for

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur (), officially the Province of Ilocos Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital of Vigan, while Candon is ...

in the

Malolos Congress The Malolos Congress (), also known as the Revolutionary Congress () and formally the National Assembly, was the legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. From 1898 to 1899, prior to the Philippine Declaration of I ...

and being of one of the signatories of the

Malolos Constitution The Political Constitution of 1899 (), informally known as the Malolos Constitution, was the constitution of the First Philippine Republic. It was written by Felipe Calderón y Roca and Felipe Buencamino as an alternative to a pair of prop ...

. Born in

Vigan Vigan, officially the City of Vigan (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

, he became the first governor of Ilocos Sur and he popularized Ilocano art and literature. As a dramatist, he wrote a

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

entitled ''Codigo Municipal''. One of his works, ''Mining wenno Ayat ti Kararwa'' is comparable to ''

Noli me tangere ''Noli me tangere'' ('touch me not') is the Latin version of a phrase spoken, according to John 20:17, by Jesus to Mary Magdalene when she recognized him after His resurrection. The original Koine Greek phrase is (). The biblical scene has b ...

'', a novel by Philippine patriot

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...

. He translated ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' into the

Ilocano language Iloco (also Iloko, Ilocáno or Ilokáno; ; Iloco: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language primarily spoken in the Philippines by the Ilocano people. It is one of the eight major languages of the Philippines with about 11 million ...

as ''Don Calixtofaro de la Kota Caballero de la Luna''. In 1904, Crisólogo also took part in the

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federa ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, United States as one of delegation of governors. He continued writing

comedies Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Gr ...

and zarzuelas and promoting Ilocano art and literature after the end of his term as governor. Being one of the most respected Ilocanos, one of the streets of Vigan City was named after him. The heart of Vigan City, a designated

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, is the half-kilometer ''Calle Crisologo'' or Mena Crisologo Street. He was married to Felipa Florentino and the mother of Philippine women's literature,

Leona Florentino Leona Josefa Florentino (19 April 1849 – 4 October 1884) was a Filipina foundational poet, dramatist, satirist, and playwright who wrote and poetically spoke in Ilocano, her mother tongue, and Spanish, the ''lingua franca'' of her era. She is ...

, was his sister-in-law.The History of Filipino Women's Writings
an article from Firefly - Filipino Short Stories (Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja), 2001 / 2007.

References

1927 deaths 1844 births Governors of Ilocos Sur 20th-century Filipino poets People from the Spanish East Indies Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Ilocos Sur People from Vigan Filipino translators Filipino male poets Members of the Malolos Congress 20th-century Filipino male writers {{Philippines-writer-stub