José Palma
| José Palma | |
|---|---|
Photograph of José Palma
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| Born |
June 3, 1876 Tondo, Manila, Captaincy General of the Philippines |
| Died | February 12, 1903 (aged 26) Manila, Philippine Islands |
| Occupation | Soldier, writer |
| Known for | lyricist of the Philippine National Anthem |
José Palma y Velasquez (3 June 1876 – 12 February 1903) was a Filipino poet and soldier. He was on the staff of La Independencia at the time he wrote Filipinas, a patriotic poem in Spanish. It was published for the first time in the issue of the first anniversary of La Independencia on 3 September 1899. The poem fit the instrumental tune Marcha Nacional Filipina by Julián Felipe, and it has since been the basis for every translation of the Philippine National Anthem.
Palma was born in Tondo, Manila, on 3 June 1876, the youngest child of Don Hermogenes Palma, a clerk at the Intendencia Office, and Hilária Velasquez. His older brother was the politician, intellectual and journalist Rafael Palma.
After finishing his primera enseñanza (first studies) in Tondo, Palma continued his studies at the Ateneo Municipal. While there, he gradually honed his skills by composing verses. One of his earliest works was La cruz de Sampaguitas ("The Cross of Jasmines") in 1893. In the same year, he had a brief romantic relationship with a woman named Florentina Arellano, whose parents did not approve of him.
As underground revolutionary activities intensified, Palma devoted his time to composing more poems. In 1894, he joined the Katipunan but did not enter battle when the Philippine Revolution of 1896 broke out. He eventually joined the revolutionary forces of Colonel Rosendo Simón in 1899 when the Philippine-American War erupted and fought under the command of Colonel Servillano Aquino in the encounters in Ángeles and Bambang. Since he could not physically cope with the difficulties of war, he often stayed in camps and entertained the soldiers with kundiman, a traditional Filipino poetic and musical art.
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