"Mi último adiós" (transl. "My Last Goodbye") is a poem written by Philippine national hero Dr. José Rizal before his execution by firing squad on December 30, 1896. The piece was one of the last notes he wrote before his death. Another that he had written was found in his shoe, but because the text was illegible, its contents remain a mystery.
Rizal did not ascribe a title to his poem. Mariano Ponce, his friend and fellow reformist, titled it "Mi último pensamiento" (transl. "My Last Thought") in the copies he distributed, but this did not catch on. The "coconut oil lamp" containing the poem was not delivered to Rizal's family until after the execution, as it was required to light the cell.
Contents
Background
"On the afternoon of Dec. 29, 1896, a day before his execution, Dr. José Rizal was visited by his mother, Teodora Alonzo; sisters Lucia, Josefa, Trinidád, Maria and Narcisa; and two nephews. When they took their leave, Rizal told Trinidád in English that there was something in the small alcohol stove (cocinilla), as opposed to saying coconut oil lamp (lamparilla), which was intended to provide cover for the transportation of the text. The stove was given to Narcisa by the guard when the party was about to board their carriage in the courtyard. At home, the Rizal ladies recovered a folded paper from the stove. On it was written an unsigned, untitled and undated poem of 14 five-line stanzas. The Rizals reproduced copies of the poem and sent them to Rizal's friends in the country and abroad. In 1897, Mariano Ponce in Hong Kong had the poem printed with the title "Mí último pensamiento". Fr. Mariano Dacanay, who received a copy of the poem while a prisoner in Bilibid (jail), published it in the first issue of La Independencia on September 25, 1898 with the title 'Ultimo Adios'."
Political impact
After it was annexed by the United States as a result of the Spanish–American War, the Philippines was perceived as a community of "barbarians" incapable of self-government. U.S. Representative Henry A. Cooper, lobbying for the management of Philippine affairs, recited the poem before the United States Congress. Realising the nobility of the piece's author, his fellow congressmen enacted the Philippine Bill of 1902, enabling self-government, later known as the Philippine Organic Act of 1902, even though the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was still in effect and African Americans had yet to be granted equal rights as U.S. citizens.
It created the Philippine Assembly, appointed two Filipino delegates to the American Congress, extended the US Bill of Rights to Filipinos, and laid the foundation for an autonomous government. The colony was on its way to independence. Full autonomy was granted on July 4, 1946, under the Treaty of Manila.
Indonesian nationalism
The poem was translated into Indonesian by Rosihan Anwar and was recited by Indonesian soldiers before going into battle during their struggle for independence.
Anwar recalled the circumstances of the translation:
"The situation was favorable to promote nationalism. [On 7 September 1944, Prime Minister Koiso of Japan declared that the 'East Indies' would become independent soon, an announcement that was received enthusiastically throughout the islands, and got ecstatic treatment in Asia Raja the following day.] In that context, I thought it would be good that I could disseminate this story about Jose Rizal among our younger people at that time. It was quite natural; I thought it would be good to tell the story of Jose Rizal, this rebel against the Spanish. And of course the climax, when he was already sentenced to death and then hauled off to face firing squad, and he wrote that [poem] ….”
"I translated it from the English. Because I do not know Spanish. I know French, I know German, but not Spanish. Then, according to the custom at that time, everything you want to say over the radio station or anything you wanted to publish in a newspaper … everything must go first to the censorship. I sent it to [the] censor, no objection, it's okay. Okay. Then I made an arrangement, with my friend, [an] Indonesian friend, who worked at the radio station, where everything was supposed to be supervised by the Japanese. He gave me a chance to read it, which I did …"
He read "Mi último adiós" over the radio in Jakarta on Saturday, December 30, 1944–the 48th anniversary of Rizal's death. That same day, the paper Asia Raja devoted almost half of its back page to a feature and poem on Rizal written by Anwar, accompanied by Anwar's translation.
Translations
"Mi último adiós" is interpreted into 46 Philippine languages, including Filipino Sign Language. As of 2005, at least 35 English translations known and published in print. The first translation of the poem to be published was in the Kapampangan language by Sexmoan native writer Monico R. Mercado which was being worked on in 1897. It was later published in the La Republica Filipina newspaper by Don Pedro Paterno.
Andres Bonifacio created a Tagalog translation of the poem, which was posthumously published in the Kalendariong Tagalog ni Jose Rizal in 1905. The most popular English iteration is the 1911 translation of Charles Derbyshire, inscribed on bronze. Also on bronze at the Rizal Park in Manila, but less known, is the 1944 one of novelist Nick Joaquin.
A translation to Czech was made by former Czech ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines, Jaroslav Ludva, and addressed at the session of the Senát. In 1927, Luis G. Dato translated the poem from Spanish to English in rhymes. Dato called it "Mí último pensamiento". Dato was the first Filipino to translate the poem into English.