(Part 1)
For centuries, Carcar has produced excellent writers both in Cebuano and in English. Many of them are unremembered, although CEBUpedia wrote about a few of them. This article names a few of them taken from the 1975 book Cebuano Literature by Prof. Resilo Mojares.
JOSE GALICANO. Born in Carcar, Cebu, on December 22, 1887. He was a product of the SVD-run school of the Colegio de San Carlos, now a university, and pursued college at the Liceo de Manila. He wrote the plays Loling Bihag (1909) and Si Rizal (1927). He is the lyricist of the popular Visayan Song, "Sa Kabukiran" interpreted by Susan Fuentes and the music by Manuel Velez (he is the one honored by the street in Barangay Guadalupe intersected by Andres Abellana Street). Here are the lyrics of the song:
Sa Kabukiran
Sa kabukiran layo ang kasakit
Ang kalanggaman ay nanag-awit
Sa kabukiran layo ang kasakit
Ang kalanggaman ay nanag-awit
Ma-oy gaindig manga paghadla
Manga pasayod ay mga hudyaka
Ang hinoy-o-hoy naglanoylanoy
Sa kadahonan ug kabulakan
Oh, kinabuhi lonlon kalipay
Gawas hamili way ikagmahay
Oh, kinabuhi lonlon kalipay
Sa kabukiran layo ang kasakit
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Sa kabukiran layo ang kasakit
Ang kalanggaman ah-ah
Ang nanag-awit.
Galicano served Carcar as municipal councilor, he also wrote for the El Democrata and also edited with the Bag-ong Kusog. He died on November 1, 1947 but he continues to live within our hearts when we hear his songs. (To be continued)