page_title: Francisco Alonso Liongson
section_title: Literary works
hierarchical_section_title: Francisco Alonso Liongson / Literary works
caption_attribution_description: Dramatic Philippines presentation of Ang Kahapong Nagbalik, Tagalog translation of Francisco Alonso Liongson's Spanish original, El Pasado Que Vuelve.
context_page_description: Francisco Alonso Liongson lived in one of the most exciting periods of Philippine history. He was born into an Ilustrado family from Pampanga, Philippines at the turn of the 20th century and raised with the revolutionary values of an emerging Philippine identity which held freedom, justice, honor, patriotism and piety sacred. He witnessed the rapid changes that transformed the Philippines from a repressed society cloistered in a Spanish convent for over 300 years into modern, hedonistic consumers of American Hollywood glamor for 50 years. This period of transition brought instabilities to core family values as the generation gaps wreaked havoc on the social, political, economic and political foundations of a young nation. It was a period of experimentation where the natives began to grapple a new democratic way of life and self-rule; where sacred paternalistic relationships were giving way to egalitarian modes; where traditional gender and familial roles were questioned, and where a new foreign language and the need for a national alternative were alienating the nation from understanding the aspirations of its elders.
context_section_description: Don Paco was regarded as the most prolific producer of Spanish theatrical works in the Philippines. They included: El Unico Cliente, Mi Mujer es Candidata, ¿Es Usted Anti o Pro?, 4-3-4-3-4, Viva La Pepa, El Pasado Que Vuelve, Juan de la Cruz, Las Joyas de Simoun, ¿Colaborador?, and  Parity. Unfinished works included La Farsa de Hoy Dia, and Envejecer.
  El Unico Cliente is a comedy in one act, first staged on August 12, 1932. It dwells on how the household is neglected when the wife insists in practising a career.
  Mi Mujer es Candidata is a comedy in one act, first staged on December 30, 1932. It was written when women first ran as candidates for public office in a general election. It discouraged women from getting involved in politics especially if they were married.
  ¿Es Usted Anti o Pro? is a comedy in one act, first staged on October 26, 1933. The title was inspired by the debates that led to the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act. The people was then divided into two factions: those in favor were called Pros, and those who were against were called Antis.
  4-3-4-3-4 is a comedy in one act, first staged on February 12, 1935. It depicts the joy of two sweethearts for having won the  sweepstakes first prize with ticket number 43434. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes became a national indulgence in the quest for instant wealth. The Tagalog translation of the same title was written by Epifanio Matute.
  Viva La Pepa is a comedy in three acts, first staged on October 12, 1935. It was based on the campaign supporting economic protectionism for which an association called Proteccionismo Economico, Practico y Activo was organized and simply called PEPA. The play is a parody of the National Economic Protectionism Association (NEPA) which was founded in 1934 to hasten industrial development in preparation for independence contained in the Tydings–Mcduffie Act.
   
  El Pasado Que Vuelve is a drama in one prologue, three acts and one epilogue, first staged on June 19, 1937. The play portrays the last years of the Spanish regime during the Philippine Revolution. It highlighted the good customs and virtues the country possessed in politics, society, morality, religion and love then, compared to the degeneration and corruption of contemporary values. Considered as Don Paquito's best work, the masterpiece was inspired by José Rizal's Noli Me Tángere and El filibusterismo. This play was the most repeatedly staged and had been translated into Tagalog and English. The Tagalog translation, Ang Kahapong Nagbalik, was written by Senator Francisco (Soc) Rodrigo during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. The English translation, Shadows of the Past, was written and directed by Enrique J. Valdes in 1957.
  Juan de la Cruz is a drama in three acts, first staged on March 12, 1938 to celebrate the anniversary of the Philippine Commonwealth. The play deals with the tragedies that befall men when greed, power and lust disrupts the harmony in the home and the community at large. It features social unrest in the home and the barrio instigated by power brokers for political advantage and selfish interests. In Philippine imagery, Juan dela Cruz symbolizes the good, noble and honest Juan who has to carry the cross of adversity and suffering in life as a human being.
  Las Joyas de Simoun is a drama in three acts, first staged on June 19, 1940. Act 2710 of 1917 allowed divorce in the Philippines for the first time in its history. Since then, a popular clamor to repeal it persisted. In touch with the sentiments of the times, the play portrayed a wise and fearless attack against divorce. The title is an allusion to José Rizal's character in El filibusterismo, Simoun, who uses his jewels and wealth to corrupt and destabilize society. The Tagalog translation, Ang Mga Hiyas ni Simoun, was written by Primo Arambulo in 1940.
  ¿Colaborador? is a tragic-comedy farce in one prologue and three acts, first staged on March 7, 1948 on the Silver Anniversary celebration of Circulo Escenico. It was inspired by the pains and worries of every Filipino of being accused a Japanese collabo
caption: Dramatic Philippines (circa 1954): performance of Ang Kahapong Nagbalik at the Manila Opera House.
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