Emiliano C. Gabuya, author of "Bagane"
More than half a century ago before the country saw a fantasy series on a local tribal hero, a Cebuano by the name of Emiliano C. Gabuya wrote a novel entitled "Bagane."
"Bagane" was written in 1952. It was a screenplay that develops a south-sea adventure story revolving around the love of a prince and princess of different tribes. The novel includes songs and dances and versified lines in the "linumbay" tradition.
A copy of the book is preserved at the National Library of the Philippines. Professor Resil B. Mojares in his book "Cebuano Literature" enumerates the other works of Gabuya:
"Sirena," an Operetta Bisaya, consisted of 18 songs. It is a three-act play presented in Balamban, Cebu, and in Tagbilaran, Bohol, in 1932. It had a highly-involved and diffuse plot about a prince who falls in love with a mermaid, a harem in revolt against the king, and warring tribes. Gabuya had the play printed in Pantukan, Davao, in 1952.
"Katapusang Awit" was a screenplay and script. The story is a contemporary melodrama about a married couple brought to grief because of the vagaries of fate. The plot is heavy-handed and the characters superficially developed.
"Patay'ng buhi" is a comedy combined with low tragedy. It is about a couple who earn money off their daughter, and marital infidelity. It consists of four acts and two short scenes.
"Princess Mayana" was written in 1928 in Cebu City. It was a stage script of a play first presented at Cine Auditorium in 1928. In the "minoros" manner, this makes use of versified dialogue and songs. It develops a conventional love triangle against the background of tribal intrigue. It consists of three acts and 12 songs.
"Bito-on nga natagak," the original typescript was written in 1954 in Davao. Professor Mojares describes the work as a "confused plot, replete with coincidences and stock characters, weaves a pattern of crisscrossing lives, of separations and reconciliations."
"Terana" was an operetta Bisaya written in Cebu City in 1956. It is a musical play supposedly set in pre-Spanish Cebu, with a Chinese as one of the principal characters. Professor Mojares notes that a copy is in possession of Domingo "Minggoy" Lopez dated April 26, 1956. CEBUpedia believes that Lopez is the composer of the songs of this operetta, same with "Rosas Pandan."
- Latest
