El Fili Chapter 21: Manila Characters

The Who’s Who of Manila gathered that evening in the Teatro de Variedades to watch Les Cloches de Corneville (translated as “The Bells of Corneville”, where the bells refer to the shape of the female dancers’ loose skirts). Rizal introduces the Spanish character Camarroncocido, so named because his complexion resembles that of steamed shrimp. He is an example of a Spaniard who does not value his nationality.

Here’s additional info about Camarroncocido…

Although Camarroncocido (note the double R) is of royal lineage, he ended up working as a contractual in the Philippines, putting up posters of the upcoming shows of the Teatro.

This is in contrast with another Spaniard, Don Custodio, an ordinary Spanish citizen who took advantage of his nationality in gaining wealth and power in the Philippines.

What did Rizal criticize about Camarroncocido’s behavior? Rizal criticized Camarroncocido’s apathetic nature. He does not care about current or upcoming events (which he himself witnessed) that do not directly concern him, even if those events have an impact on the country or may potentially harm other people.

How is Manila society divided? The religious group was against the showing of Les Cloches, while those who wanted to watch the show were divided into:

- Those curious about why the show was being banned, and

- Those who wanted to watch so they can know why the show should be banned.

Similar to today, when people start censoring shows they only end up whetting the appetite of the viewers.

Who did Camarroncocido notice milling about in the darkness near the theater? He noticed the followers of Simoun. They told the soldiers that the Capitan Heneral was going to instigate some kind of civil disturbance so that he’ll be able to prolong his hold on power and keep himself from being shipped back to Spain.

They did this so that the soldiers will not repel the forces of Kabesang Tales, because the soldiers will think Tales is just following the orders of the Capitan Heneral.

In addition, the soldiers will end up fighting the religious orders who attempt to counter the attack of Kabesang Tales, because the soldiers will mistakenly believe that the frailes are trying to ruin the plan of the Capitan Heneral.

El Fili Chapter 20: The Arbitrator

This chapter describes the enigma that is Don Custodio. Imagine, the highly intellectual Don Custodio decided to get advice from G. Pasta (who just confused him with convoluted and contradicting words) and from the Pepay (who just shook her booty and asked for money). I mean, why did he even bother asking those two, right?

Now on to the other notes plus a handy mindmap of this chapter…

Don Custodio was nicknamed “Buena Tinta” by Ben Zayb, because Don Custodio was believed to be an expert when it comes to writing papers. Actually, that was just his reputation, because in reality Don Custodio is not really that competent.

So, how’d he get such a glowing reputation?

1. He’s a Spaniard who’s close to the powers that be.
2. He was able to impress Ben Zayb, the weak-minded but highly influential journalist. (Not that we’re implying that today’s influential journalists are Ben Zayb-like…)
3. He married a rich mestiza.
4. He’s very industrious, especially when it comes to engaging others in debate.

Why did Don Custodio have a difficult time deciding on the students’ proposal regarding the school? He was torn between giving the students a chance, and pleasing the Dominicans of UST. How can you serve two masters, right?

What are examples of Don Custodio’s mental innovation or quirkiness, depending on one’s point of view? (I mean, aside from his plan to raise ducks in order to deepen the Pasig River, if you remember Chapter 1)

1. To avoid accidents, the horse-drawn carriages should have three wheels.
2. Fumigate everything with disinfectants; even the paper used by telegrams.
3. So that the government can save on prison costs, just reform the prisoners.

How does Don Custodio treat the indios? He acts like a father who unwittingly holds his children (the indios) back; who, without quite realizing it, prevents his children from progressing.

Why is he against praising the indios? They might become overconfident, boastful, and rebellious. And that will create problems for the government and the frailes.

What kind of a person is Don Custodio? He is a dangerously deceptive person, because what he does is different from what he holds in his mind.

What is Don Custodio’s final decision regarding the school? This will be revealed in the next chapter, although given your knowledge of his character, you can already guess what that decision will be.

El Fili Chapter 19: The Fuse

If the revolution is the bomb, then the fuse that will get things started is the rescue of Maria Clara. Here you will see that Simoun’s primary objective is revenge and the rescue of Maria Clara. The country and the revolution are only secondary interests of Simoun.

This chapter also features the student Placido Penitente. He is the son of Cabesang Andang, an ignorant mother who sent her son to school just so that she can proudly tell others that she has a schooled son.

Now on to the chapter questions…

Why did Placido lose the chance to ever study again? There was only one university at that time: the University of Santo Tomas. Since he got sent away from UST, where else will he go?

Why was the former professor exiled? He wanted to teach well, and thus became the target of the church and government which wanted to keep the indios ignorant.

Why did the arthritic Spaniard join forces with Simoun? He wanted to seek revenge on the frailes who sent him to jail so that they could have his beautiful wife.

Why was the revolution timetable advanced? Simoun found out that Maria Clara was dying. All the preparation and planning went down the drain because Simoun became emotional. How emotional? Here’s a clue: Simoun likened Maria Clara to the phoenix.

The phoenix is one of a kind, just as Maria Clara is the only woman for Simoun. Told you he was getting emotional. No wonder the revolution went to heck.

Why did Simoun imagine seeing the angry faces of Don Rafael and Elias? Those two were not in favor of Simoun’s methods. Don Rafael always went for doing what’s good for the country; Simoun purposely helped corrupt the very government he was trying to overthrow.

Elias was for revolution, but only if the motivation behind it involved nationalism and justice; Simoun’s motivation was revenge, dark and syrupy.

Also, Simoun was feverish. He was probably hallucinating.

What accounts for Placido’s sudden change of heart, after his mom spoke with him the following day? He was aware of the coming revolution, and he wanted to quickly send his mother back to the province. That’s why he acted as if he readily agreed with what she said; otherwise, there’ll just be a long discussion and that will keep his mom in the city longer.

Now let’s go meet Don Custodio…

El Fili Chapter 18: Deceptions

Mr. Leeds meets the group of twelve, and allows them to inspect the tent and equipment used to display the Sphinx. He makes fun of the skeptical Ben Zayb, because Ben Zayb was unable to find the hidden mirrors. Mr. Leeds brings the ashes to life by shouting “Deremof!”, which is probably an anagram of the word…
Freedom.
(Rizal is so Pinoy if he indeed made use of this form of wordplay.)
Imuthis, the Sphinx, comes to life and narrates his lifestory. His life is similar to that of Ibarra:

• Both studied abroad.
• Both got into trouble with the religious orders.
• Both had a foe who was a priest, who was in love with their girlfriend.
• Both had a girlfriend who was the daughter of a priest.
• Both “died” in a lake.
• Both their girlfriends were raped in a temple/convent by their enemy priest.
• Both returned to their country to seek revenge/justice.
• Both returned under a different identity: Imuthis became “The Sphinx” while Ibarra became “Simoun”.

Padre Salvi quickly saw the parallelism. He felt alluded to when the sphinx called him a murderer. Perhaps it was Simoun’s voice?
What does Cambyses in the story of the Sphinx symbolize? It represents their failed government. To cover this fact up, both governments went after them.
How was the Sphinx set-up? Simoun is a good friend of Mr. Leeds. In the previous chapter, you’ll note that Simoun was nowhere to be found in the Quiapo fair. He probably slipped away early enough to set-up the tent, so that he can give Padre Salvi the scare of his life. Imagine, an old enemy of 13 years ago has come to life.
How was the image of the Sphinx produced? The mirrors were hidden in the legs of the table which supported the Sphinx. Perhaps Rizal was already thinking of holograms way back then?
Where did Mr. Leeds go after the show? He went straight to Hong Kong, just in case Padre Salvi decided to do something to Mr. Leeds.
Something tells me things are going to heat up around here…

El Fili Chapter 17: The Quiapo Fair

It is the month of January, and twelve people leave the house of Quiroga. They make their way through the Quiapo fair, towards the tent of Mr. Leeds.

The chapter describes the lewd behavior of Padre Camorra, who ogles the young lasses. He gets more excited when he sees the beautiful Paulita Gomez, escorted by the overly jealous Isagani and Doña Victorina.

But there’s more…

The slightly tipsy group visits various stalls in the fair, and they make fun of each other by saying that such-and-such sculpture looks like so-and-so.

Padre Camorra and Ben Zayb talk about a display called “The Philippine Press”, but they think the word “press” refers to the flat iron held by a disheveled old woman.

They see a picture of someone who looks like Simoun, and that’s when they notice that he is no longer with the group.

What facet of the Philippines did Rizal feature in this chapter? Rizal focused on sculptors of figurines or images.

What does “La Prenza Filipina” (”The Philippine Press”) represent? It represents the state of journalism in the Philippines:

* Old / Old-fashioned
* Blind in one eye / lack of truth in reporting
* Dirty

Even the journalist Ben Zayb did not understand that it was actually an attack on Philippine journalists.

Please take note of the image called “Abaca Country”: The Filipinos in the Philippines, a land of abaca, are tied by foreigners using abaca, a natural resource of the country.

Who do you think made that image? Was it an artist in the Quiapo fair, or was it something Rizal created in his own mind, and expressed as a political statement “hidden” in the novel?

Anyway, Simoun is missing because he’s preparing for the next chapter, when the group gets drawn into the mysterious tent of Mr. Leeds.

El Fili Chaper 16: Travails of a Chinaman

The main theme of this chapter is use and be used.

(Reminds me what my barkada said when she saw this person who only approached her for favors: “Use your friend in a sentence.”)

Now let’s meet one of the key characters of the El Fili…

In this chapter, we meet Quiroga, a Chinese businessman who wants to open a Chinese consulate in the Philippines and head it as consul.

Although he knows a number of people despise him and talk behind his back, he still invites them to a dinner party above his bazaar in Escolta. Unlike Kapitan Tiago (dinner, Noli Me Tangere), Quiroga smiles at his guests while secretly despising them deep inside.

Hmmm… I wonder why Rizal depicts the Chinese this way? He even mentions that Quiroga keeps his indio of a wife locked in a room much like Chinese women. You can probably guess what’s the main point of keeping a wife, right?

Among those who hate Quiroga’s guts are the columnist G. Gonzales (alias PITILI) who’s mad at the incoming Chinese; a thin, brown-skinned guest who did not receive money from Quiroga; and someone who was against Quiroga’s jueteng operations… because he was losing in the jueteng game.

So why do these adversaries get together for dinner? Like I said earlier: Use and be used.

Dinner ends, and Simoun arrives.

Businessmen complain about the poor economic environment and hint that Simoun should ask the Kapitan Heneral to do something about it.

Don Timoteo Pelaez complains about corruption in customs (adwana).

Quiroga wanted to get into the good graces of a woman because she had a government official wrapped around her finger. So he offers her three pieces of jewelry to choose from. Unfortunately, she chooses ALL three. So now, Quiroga owes the jeweller Simoun P9,000 which was a princely sum back then.

(I wonder if Rizal rode some time machine and viewed the Philippines of today…)

Why do you suppose Simoun “lent” those three pieces of jewelry to Quiroga? Yep, use and be used. Now Quiroga owes Simoun.

Instead of asking for the entire sum, Simoun just asks for P7,000. He also asks Quiroga to send money-borrowing soldiers and government officials to him. He further instructs Quiroga to send those owing Quiroga money to Simoun instead.

And lastly, Simoun asks Quiroga to store some rifles in Quiroga’s warehouse.

All that for a 22.2% discount off the P9,000 price tag. Otherwise, Quiroga will have to pay Simoun the entire amount right away. To sweeten the deal, Simoun promises that Quiroga will be allowed to bring in contraband items through customs.

How can Quiroga refuse, right? Yep, use and be used.

Don Custodio talks about a commission sent to India to study the Shoe Program for soldiers. No shoes for indio soldiers. Spanish soldiers may wear shoes.

(I wonder if Rizal, like Simoun, was trying to stoke the feelings of his countrymen with this.)

Ben Zayb and P. Camorra talk about magnetism and magic. Juanito Pelaez speaks about the talking head in the fair/carnival of Mr. Leeds.

Simoun suggests that they all see the talking head of the famous Sphinx to settle once and for all if it truly is the work of the devil, or just a trick with mirrors.

Twelve people leave the house of Quiroga to see the show of Mr. Leeds in the Quiapo fair.

El Fili Chapter 15: Señor Pasta

Señor Pasta is a lawyer who also works as a consultant for the friars. He thinks only of himself, and is willing to be nationalistic only after everyone else becomes patriotic first.

Now let’s tackle this lawyers views and opinion…

He calls the Philippines a “Land of Proposals” because all you have are plans and no action. Does that sound familiar to you? :-)

Since he earns money from the friars, he hesitates to accede to the students’ wish that he help advise and convince Don Custodio to support the Spanish school.

He advises Isagani to just study well, earn a decent living, get married, and avoid getting into trouble. You know, lead a “safe” life. Since Isagani is quite idealistic, he prefers to live a life worth living. I wonder if Isagani will change if ever Rizal wrote a sequel to the El Fili.

Anyway, please read the “debate” between Señor Pasta and Isagani. Classic example of idealism versus becoming practical.

I wonder when Isagani will come to grips with reality…