A Review on Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez

“Yes it’s sad to belong to someone else when the right one comes along.” This song was running in my head while I was reading the story Dead Stars. Reading the story brought me mixed emotions: anger, sadness, excitement, confusion, etc. etc. I was not sure if I’ll feel sorry for Esperanza or Julia. However, in the end, I felt sorry, for, none other than the main character of the story, Alfredo.

Alfredo, at his 30’s had not yet married but engaged to Esperanza for 3 years. However, Esperanza patiently waited for Alfredo to set the table.

Alfredo met Julia Salaz just before he and Esperanza would get marry. He felt as if he would be much happier beside Julia. To make the long story short, he found himself caught up in the middle of a rock and hard place. He found himself falling in-love with Julia. However, Julia found out that he would be soon married to Esperanza. On the other hand, Esperanza felt the coldness of Alfredo. She knew why Alfredo was acting such way and told him that she is not blind to see what he was up to lately. He ended up marrying Esperanza still, as Julia already said goodbye to him and went back to her hometown.

Paz Marquez had shown the readers about how human can be so irrational and irresponsible at times. He had a good picture of how we can be careless at choosing relationships. We choose a person so quickly without analyzing if we really love them and will be happy with them for the rest of our lives. Then we see that time is running so fast and we are being left behind. Colors of the past will fade and we could not do anything to repaint it. We will wish that we could bring back our youth but we realize that we only have one life to spend.

I imagined myself as Esperanza, as I have been in a long relationship just like her. I admire how Paz had described her character. It’s as if I could see myself in her shoes. I wonder if I were her… Would I do the same? Probably yes, but if I could see that the man I’ll be marrying is not going to be happy with me, I’ll set him free.

Paz’s short story showed some Filipino traits like marrying at a certain age. In the first part of the story, his sister and father was talking about Alfredo who has not married yet at his age of 30. It’s as if he should be bothered a lot if he’s not yet marrying at his age. In the Philippines, as I could see, a lot of people marry at a young age. A Filipino or Filipina should marry and have children before turning 30 years old. While in western countries, 30 is the start of their best years, just like what the movie “13 going on 30” had shown. It does not matter if they still don’t have fiancé at the age of 30. It doesn’t bother them a lot if they have not married yet. It also showed also some Filipino traditions like celebration of the Holy week. Paz showed how families spend time together in the church.

The story was written in the year 1925, when people less accepted broken engagement, marriages and families. In my opinion, the reason why Alfredo did not choose to go after Julia was because it was unacceptable at his time. In the 20th century, Filipinos have already learned to accept broken marriages or engagements; and I think if Paz had written this story in the 20th century, he would have written a different ending, and perhaps with a different title.

I was wondering why the title is Dead Stars. In the end, I realized its significance. It was entitled as such to symbolize memories of our youth.

‘Dead Stars’ means memories of the past flying in our heaven of thoughts. We sometimes look at them for a while and realize that it has already passed away… already dead. We could not bring back the real shine to normal.

A Review on Wedding Dance (Amador Daguio)

To bear children is very important element in creating a family and establishing better relationship between husband and wife; but it is something which Awiyao and Lumnay will never achieve. It is a story between two people belonging in one of the ethnic groups in the Philippines, the Ifugao. In order for us to better understand the story, we must understand their law. It states "A couple who wish to divorce due to infertility of either one of the partners is allowed by the law. A husband who divorces a wife without any valid reason will have to leave all properties to the children and the wife, this is another law." Though it was hard and painful, Awiyao wanted to have children so much that he divorced Lumnay and remarried another Ifugao named Madulimay. In the old Filipino culture, when people have not known anything about how fertility happens, a man questions another man’s masculinity if he does not have a child. In the case of Awiyao, though he feels that no one can replace Lumnay as the best wife, he still feels the need to divorce her just for him to have children who will follow him in the fields in the future. Lumnay asked why they should part if they’re love for each other is eternal. Why should they separate if there really is nothing wrong in their personal relationship?

I nearly burst into tears while I was reading the story. Daguio had shown the readers the great love Awiyao and Lumnay have for each other by heartbreaking lines they exchange while saying goodbye. Daguio had written a great love story with a great sense of ethnicity. He really showed people how rich culture Filipinos have.

In the story mentioned about Gangsas (gongs), which many ethnic groups in the Philippines play at a time of celebration. Women together with other men should dance around the fire at the sound of gongs while children sit and watch. The gangsas in the story is like a spirit calling Lumnay to take part in his ex-husband’s wedding. To her, hearing the gangsas is just like eating a poisoned apple, softly killing her, and taking away her soul. However in the end, the gangsas made Lumnay want to go to the wedding dance and question their law. She wanted to ask them why is it wrong to not bear children if you are married. Could they not stay the same way? They love each other anyway.

I like how Daguio constructed the story. It is very local, very nationalistic, no stain of western culture at all. If I were of another race, I’ll surely be more amazed and curious while reading the story. The story is very cultural from the way Awiyao opened the door and lit their fireplace up to the end where Lumnay ran into the woods and sit with their crops. It also mentioned about beads, and farm tools: the only worldly possession they have. Filipino life before was so simple yet so beautiful. If you would think about it, people in the ethnic group have a very different but astonishing way of living their lives. Now, youth could not live without computer as part of their school life; and gems, diamonds, and pearls are couples’ symbols of love for each other. In the story, the simple necklace made from beads is the symbol of their promise. See how simple they live in simplicity?

I needed to reread the last part because I was not able to understand it that much; but as I was reading it for the second time, I realized what the growing bean pods mean. At the last paragraph of the story states:
“The stretching of the bean pods full length from the hearts of the wilting petals would go on.”

In my opinion, Daguio meant that life still goes on. The hearts of the wilting petal symbolizes Lumnay’s broken heart. It means that though her heart is broken today, still her life goes on and there will be a new morning to face.
“She would be holding the bean flowers, soft in texture, silken almost, but moist where the dew got into them, silver to look at, silver on the light blue blooming whiteness, when the morning comes.”

Her painful experiences from getting out of the desolate memories she had while reminiscing Awiyao’s love will eventually fade and will transform her to a beautiful bean pod.
Though there is a huge gap between ethnic filipino groups from modernized Filipinos, surely the readers of the story could still relate a lot. Filipinos have great adoration of love stories relating to family crisis; and though the Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio is a simple one, it deserves a “vote of confidence”, for it stands up and shows the world how rich culture the Filipinos have.