Book on Pampanga literary giant ‘Crissot’ to be launched in SF
Juan Crisostomo “Crissot” C. Soto, 1867-1918
SAN FRANCISCO–A book launching here will celebrate the memory of Juan Crisostomo “Crissot” C. Soto, poet, playwright, dramatist, novelist, journalist and a revolutionary, who sparked the Golden Age of Capampangan literature.
The U.S. book launching of Juan Crisostomo Soto and the Pampangan Drama by Juan S. Aguas is on Wednesday, January 27, from 3:00-4:00 p.m. at the Social Hall of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco. It was launched in Pampanga last December.
The event will be hosted by the Pampanga-based Sapni (Heirs) Nang Crissot Literary and Cultural Foundation, Inc.
Pampanga’s foremost man of letters, Crissot was conferred the prestigious Parangal Sentenyal sa Sining at Kultura by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, in cooperation with the Philippine Centennial Commission in February 1999.
The award honored 100 outstanding Filipinos who helped build the Filipino nation through arts and culture during the last 100 years (1900-1999).
Born in Sta. Ines, Bacolor, Pampanga on January 27, 1867, Crissot was the second of three children of Santiago Soto, an alguacil mayor, and Marciana Caballa, a seamstress.
Crissot’s achievements as a playwright left an indelible mark in Capampangan literature. His main works are 49 plays, a novel, a few stories, sketches and a good number of poems and newspaper articles.
His first known work was his first version of Romeo and Juliet entitled Ing Pamaquiasaua Ning Mete (The Wedding of the Dead). He also translated several plays, among them Goethe’s Faustus; Juan Eugenio Harsenbuch’s Dos Amantes de Teruel; and the Spanish play La Mascota. His first original zarzuela was Ing Paninap Nang Don Roque.
Crissot’s outstanding original plays, aside from Alang Dios! are Delia; Balen at Sinta (Love and Country); Sigalut (Trouble); Metung a Perla Qng Burac (A Pearl in the Mud); Ing Paniu Nang Sitang (The Scarf of Sitang); Perla, Zafiro at Rubi (Pearl, Sapphire and Ruby); Ing Sultana (The Sultana); and Ing Violetang Lili (The Lost Violet).
At the height of his prolific career, Crissot wrote numerous poems and incisive newspaper articles as well as the bestselling novel Lidia. These works not only conveyed the preciseness and versatility of the Capampangan language but also depicted the emotions and sentiments of a people who were not exempt from the excesses of a colonial society.
Crissot also edited Ing Balen (El Pueblo) and Ing Emangabiran (El Imparcial). He was also co-founder of Ing Alipatpat (The Firefly), a Capampangan weekly and was one of the reporters of La Independencia, the most influential newspaper of the revolution.
Later, during the Filipino-American war, Crissot served as a captain of the Macabebe contingent while at the same time producing anti-American propaganda. His verses Malaya; Why Should I Sing; and The Flag were frequently recited and sung by Filipino patriots during this period. His life is a testament to a hero who successfully wove nationalist fervor in his literary output.
During his lifetime, Crissot was the recipient of many honors but nothing would come close to what Capampangans have bestowed on him. They immortalized him by naming the popular Capampangan jousts Crissotan.
Pampanga lost a literary giant with the death of Crissot on July 12, 1918.
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