[Filipino Folio # 3] The Activist by Antonio Enriquez

In my first Filipino Folio, I received a recommendation from an anonymous commenter, asking a work by Antonio Enriquez be featured in Filipino Folio. The commenter called me dude, and there are only two persons in the world who called me that. So to you, the commenter whom I know and admire for (its) artistic talents but wants a low-profile online life, thank you for your remarkable recommendation. So today, I feature a latest novel by Antonio Enriquez, entitled The Activist (Santo Tomas Press, 2011).

The Activist is considered a historical novel that tells the life, struggles, agony, and death of activist Lorenzo Diaz Jr. under the brutal dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos who was Philippine President from 1965 to 1986. Diaz’s character is said to be based on two persons--Zamboanga City Mayor Cesar Climaco who was killed 1984 and Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. from Cagayan de Oro--making him an idealist, an advocate for justice, and a freedom fighter.



Before Marcos declared martial law in 1972, Diaz entered politics in his hometown in Zamboanga. Presidential candidate Marcos loses in Zamboanga City, one his rare political losses. From 1971 when Marcos calls for a constitutional convention marred by bribery and corruption in order to change the Constitution in his favor to the declaration of martial law onto the snap election, Diaz is a prized crime fighter, a local hero. But he is threatened by military forces and eerie shadows. In the end, just like Climaco, he was assassinated.

The award-winning author, Antonio Enriquez, is a native of Zamboanga and a long-time resident of Cagayan de Oro. Both places are found in the souther part of the Philippines. The Activist is his fifth novel. His recent historical novels are The Survivors and The Siege of Fort Pillar.

Apart from foreigners interested in the works of writers foreign to them, modern Filipino readers should read this and be reminded of the kind of leadership our grandparents went through. Filipinos might say, who is Enriquez? Why should we read his works? I might find myself telling them, why not? I will add The Activist on my shelf next month.

Please share your experience with Antonio Enriquez, or suggest books written by Filipinos or about Filipinos or Philippines.

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I made a couple of posts on Filipino authors through a joint venture with Mel U of The Reading Life. I received some comments about how they have not read or heard the authors I wrote about. This motivated me this create a weekly feature, every Friday: Filipino Folio.

Through this initiative, I will be recommending works written by Filipino authors, past and new, as well as books written about the Philippines but not necessarily written by Filipinos. By recommending these books, I am not saying I read them all. These titles are either (1) I read it and I recommend it to you; (2) I have not read it but it has been recommended to me as a must-read so I am extending the recommendation to you; and (3) the piece of work is circulating a lot in print and new media and shows a lot of promise.

So, I invite you to join me in this weekly feature and let me know of any books about the Philippines or written by Filipinos that you would like to recommend. And we can exchange links, if you like.