[New post] “Paru-Parong Bukid” is actually a poor translation/rendition of “Mariposa Bella”
Pepe Alas posted: " Few people know that the popular Tagalog folk song Paru-Parong Bukid is actually a poor translation/rendition of the Spanish original which is titled Mariposa Bella. The original song in Spanish was composed during the tumultuous decade of the 1890s. "
Few people know that the popular Tagalog folk song Paru-Parong Bukid is actually a poor translation/rendition of the Spanish original which is titled Mariposa Bella.
The original song in Spanish was composed during the tumultuous decade of the 1890s. When the genocide of Spanish-speaking Filipinos commenced during the American invasion, the song itself was included in the casualty — little by little, many people started to forget it especially when the Thomasites began the English-language campaign in the country. The final nail in the coffin happened in 1938 when the Paru-Parong Bukid that we are all familiar with was released by Sampaguita Pictures as a soundtrack for the movie of the same name (it starred legendary actors Rudy Concepción and Rosario Moreno).
In 1960, renowned Filipinologist Guillermo Gómez Rivera (who was then doing radio production work on a DZFM program called La Voz Hispanofilipina made a research on Filipino songs which were sung in Spanish. His research resulted in a bestselling 1962 LP entitled Nostalgia Filipina. Fifty years later, some friends of his demanded that he re-release Nostalgia Filipina in CD format for the sake of today's generation. With the help of the Instituto Cervantes de Manila, the Spanish Program for Cultural Cooperation, and the Ministerio de Cultura of the Spanish Embassy in Manila, Nostalgia Filipina was relaunched in CD format on 14 August 2007.
Mariposa Bella in English means "beautiful butterfly", not "butterfly farm" which is Tagálog for paru-parong buquid (buquid is the original spelling of bukid). Mariposa Bella, whose composer is hitherto unknown, emerged sometime during the tumultuous decade of the 1890s. And unlike its Tagálog counterpart, it is not a song about butterflies. It is a song which, in poetic fashion, describes the Filipina woman dressed in her native attire which we now call filipiniana or traje de mestiza. Because of this ingenious allegory, Mariposa Bella is far more superior than its Tagálog counterpart.
Mariposa bella de mi tierra inmortal es la filipina en su traje natal, que ostenta unas mangas con gracejo y sal y saya de cola de una pieza de percal.
Con peineta de carey ¡uy! y un pañuelo coquetón, y enaguas de ojetes que la roza el talón, con el tápiz real sobre el talle sutil y es la mariposa del malayo pensil.
Con peineta de carey ¡uy! y un pañuelo coquetón, y enaguas de ojetes que le roza el talón, con el tápiz real sobre el talle sutil y es la mariposa del malayo pensil.
Mariposa bella de mi tierra inmortal es la filipina en su traje natal, que ostenta unas mangas con gracejo y sal y saya de cola de una pieza de percal.
Con peineta de carey ¡uy! y un pañuelo coquetón, y enaguas de ojetes que le roza el talón, con el tápiz real sobre el talle sutil y es la mariposa del malayo pensil.
La Bulaqueña, an 1895 oil painting by Juan Luna, is an apt visual accompaniment for the song Mariposa Bella.
With the Spanish language making a slow but sure comeback in recent years, it is hoped that all Filipino folk songs that were sung in their original Spanish lyrics —and they are quite many— will be brought back to our airwaves. Right where they belong.
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