Ang Singsing ng Dalagang Marmol
Ang Singsing nang Dalagang Marmol, contemporarily rendered as Ang Singsing ng Dalagang Marmol in the Tagalog language, is a historical novel written by Filipino novelist, scholar, and labor leader Isabelo de los Reyes before 1905. It is one of the first historical novels written in the Philippines during the first decade of the 20th century. It was also one of the first novels during the period that was written using the technique of blending fact and fiction. Through the novel, de los Reyes revealed his knowledge of the actual events during the Philippine–American War, making the subject as "integral elements" of the book. Based on the original 1912 bookcover for the novel, Ang Singsing ng Dalagang Marmol is alternatively titled Si Liwayway ng Baliwag.
History
In 1905, Isabelo de los Reyes composed the Kundiman Jocelynang Baliwag and wrote the serialized novella Ang Singsing ng Dalagang Marmol, along with a series of related songs—including Liwayway, Pepita, and El Anillo de la Dalaga de Mármol—as part of his courtship of Josefa “Pepita” Tiongson y Lara of Baliwag. The lyrics of Jocelynang Baliwag even form an acrostic of Tiongson’s nickname, “Pepita,” reflecting de los Reyes’ admiration for her. The novella was originally published in Tagalog in the newspaper Ang Kapatid ng Bayan and later translated by de los Reyes into Spanish, appearing in El Grito del Pueblo in 1905, with Tiongson featured on the original cover. After the original Tagalog manuscript was lost, Filipino translator Carlos B. Raimundo retranslated the Spanish version into Tagalog, published in 1912 by Tip. Santos y Bernal in Manila during the American period. Tiongson, who married Pedro Rais Mateo in 1906—later mayor of Baliwag—was first historically identified as “Jocelynang Baliwag” in 1969 by journalist Rolando Villacorta, based on postcards written by de los Reyes, clarifying the kundiman’s origins and the personal story behind it.In 2004, the Ateneo de Manila University Press republished Ang Singsing ng Dalagang Marmol by pairing it with Precioso Palma's Ipaghiganti Mo Ako...!. The combined short novels or novelettes have similarities. Both tackles romance and relationship during wartime, wherein the characters "deal with forked road of separation" and reunion after the revelation of secrets.