cited

Pinoy pop literature: Romancing in Tagalog
Pam Brooke A. Casin

In this day and age where J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter is the current poster icon of "elite" literature, where bookstores like Fully Booked have taken the country by storm, and where blogging has paved way to the rise of the new media and perhaps, literature, it is quite surprising to learn that even with all these advances, the cultural phenomenon that is Tagalog romance is still breathing in the country, leaping with the transition of time, swinging its way to patronizing readers, and carrying in it the traditions of Filipino culture.

Although considered by many as bakya and baduy, local romance novels have sustained their power over many years and have created a niche in the halls of Philippine culture alongside with the komiks (comics) of the past decades.

Liwayway Magazine, which had its maiden issue in 1923, is one of the predecessors of the Tagalog romance novel. Established by the late Don Ramon Roces, the oldest existing Tagalog magazine has been catering its pieces to the masses and showcasing ordinary human relations that people could easily identify with.

The emergence of the Tagalog serial novels in Liwayway Magazine and in some others set the stage for other fiction sub-genres, including the local romance novels of today which retails at an average of P30-40. Widely read all over the country, these 100- to 125-page pocketbooks with sensual and intimate graphic covers are patronized by people from all walks of life.

Perhaps, Precious Pages Corporation (PPC) is one of the more recognized publishers of these novels which started its business in 1992 at a time where many businesses have closed down due to an energy crisis in the country. Not feeling undermined by the energy crisis and the probable failure of their business attempt, Segundo Matias Jr. and Richard Reynante, two men from advertising, film, and television, gathered all their resources and came up with the book imprint Precious Hearts Romances (PHR). It was timely because "romance pocketbooks were gaining popularity among Filipino romantics, especially women."

Within five years since its birth, the company was able to pool a stable roster of romance writers, acquire printing machines, employ a core staff of mostly production workers, and rent a place for both its business office and printing office. Thereafter, book releases reached up to 25 titles per month, and PHR became the household name in the local romance scene.

Shortly after, PPC decided to organize summer writing workshops for aspiring romance novelists. With these workshops, the company was able to sift through potential writers and eventually adopt them to the growing pool of writers they had.

Love affair

Jernalie Dumapay, a journalism graduate, started falling in love with romance novels back in high school and had her first romance novel published at age 19 after she attended one of PHR's annual summer writing workshops. "It was never my plan to become a Tagalog romance writer," she explains. "I wanted to be a hard-hitting journalist, actually. But then I attended a PHR workshop and opted to try my luck with a manuscript. Before I knew it, I had myself published, and the rest is history." Now, she is considered as one of the most prolific writers of Precious Hearts.

It was almost in the same manner too that Almira Jose found herself writing for Precious Hearts. The psychology graduate got hooked with the foreign romance novel Sweet Dreams at age 10. She also devoured Harlequin and Mills and Boons during her high school and college days and swore by Tagalog romance pocketbooks. Upon entering the corporate world, Jose got busy with office work that she excused herself from her hobby of reading romance.

But the monotony of the corporate world got into her system, and she eventually lost appetite in working and began complaining of being confined in the formulaic, corporate box altogether, frequently absenting herself from office and coming in late if and when she decided to give her conventional work another chance. Soon, Jose quit her job and passed two manuscripts to Precious Hearts. She was rejected at her first two attempts. Unnerved by rejections, Jose had her first romance novel published in 2003 under Precious Hearts.

The withstanding love affair of writers and readers alike with these novels may just lie in its ability to recreate romance and folly all in the context of an expected happy ending.

Keeping it real

Writers say the parochial approach of the genre has something to do with the plot of any typical romance. Many agree that reading these novels has the same effects as when one watches a movie--it instantly gratifies and warms the heart. In an interview with web writer Amadis Ma. Guerrero, Tess Parayno claims she writes romance novels patterned to the guidelines of her publishing company.

"The narrative must be fast-paced, truthful, and all the more realistic," tells Parayno. She explains that romance novels must not border on the whimsical so that readers can relate to the storyline and may find themselves in place of the
characters themselves. It is as good as saying that the characters and the plot must be believable and credible enough so that the novel subsumes the readers.

And since the main purpose of romance novels is to entertain audiences, sensitive issues like terrorism, politics, or religion should not be discussed in the local novel along with long narratives. Likewise, Parayno believes that every Tagalog romance novel should have in itself a "redeeming factor" which comes into play at the end of every story. "For instance, if the protagonist is a villain, he should reform by the end of the novel," says Parayno.

Some novelists, on the other hand, feel the need to inform their audiences and not just resort to plain entertainment. While the main purpose of local novels is to entertain, writers should make it a point to research well, lest they want to insult readers. A novel should not intimidate readers but educate and entertain them.

An air of mystery

One difference of Tagalog romance from Western romance novels is its use of highly romanticized language unlike the graphic and explicit tools Western writers use. In the country, most novels have to pass a certain standard of morality. Writers follow ethical guidelines set by their publishing company.

The use of pseudonyms is apparent in almost all romance novels. Almost all romance fictionists make this seem the rule of thumb rather an anomaly.

Dumapay reasons, "Para kapag hindi bumenta ang mga gawa ng writer sa isang pen name o kapag hindi bumenta ang pen name, pwedeng magbagong-buhay ang isang writer gamit ang panibagong pen name at magsulat ulit."

Flawed

However, these novels written in conversational and informal Tagalog and Taglish have always been mocked. Part of the reason for this is probably the use of the local language as the primary mode of communication in the genre. It is with this usage that most elite Filipinos and critics alike mock the genre--regarding the local novel as trash and embracing all the more literature written in English.

The apparent competition among Filipino writers and foreign ones adds up to the problem of the Filipino language deemed by many as an illegitimate medium of literature in the country.

Ultimately, there are many flaws that critics and careful and choosy readers see and notice about the genre itself. The eminent predictability of the Tagalog romance novel plot dissuades critical readers from accepting wholly the genre. Its stereotypical portrayal of the damsel-in-distress lead and the overtones of the male leads are also much to blame. Also, the typographical and grammatical errors found in some poorly edited romance novel accord to the lack of seriousness granted to the genre.

Here to stay

One of the literati observes "there is no specific novel that stands out like a banned book the masses can call their own. When it comes to works written in Filipino, we could really use a poster boy, the equivalent of Harry Potter, that will sweep the masses off their feet and yet be similarly embraced by the literati."

Not perfect as they are, more often than not predictable, fairly conventional and all the more cheesy and tacky, the Tagalog romance novels have survived more than the average Filipino comics and are here to stay. Their staying power is sure a mystery to some, but for as long as the readers demand their dose of romance from publishing companies and writers as well, people can be very sure that in one way or the other, a romance novel either from their local convenience store or from some sidewalk in Divisoria and Recto will undoubtedly ooze its way in--bringing Filipino culture and tradition within their reach and bridging time through musings of the heart.