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National Book Store - San Lorenzo Place Makati
Looking Back 13: Guns of Katipunan By Ambeth Ocampo
• A short Tagalog poem written by a young lady from San Roque, Cavite in 1898 described first-hand the war waged by Emilio Aguinaldo against the Spaniards
• She said the gunfire during battle resembled the terrible rumble of thunder, yet through all the noise she could distinguish the sound made by particular guns:
• “palconete’t cañon Revolver, Remington ang putoc bung bung”
• “Ang mauser at Riple ay pac bung pac bung”
• Palconete, cannon, Revolver and Remington go “bung-bung” Mauser and Rifle go “pac bung pac bung” this simple poem, ignored by most historians focused on the great narrative, inspired me to see into the forest and look at the trees.
• God, they say, is in the details, and if it these can add color and understanding to the sepia-toned history we were forced to learn in school then the effort to dig them up and deploy them in my writing has been worthwhile.
