Leona Josefa Florentino Dies

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition Series 3):

October 4, 1884

The "Mother of Philippine Women's Literature," Leona Josefa Florentino died of tuberculosis at the age of 35 on October 4, 1884. Leona Josefa Florentino (April 19, 1849 – October 4, 1884), the first Filipina poet in Spanish and Ilocano languages, was born on April 19, 1849 in Vigan (Ciudad Fernandina before), Ilocos Sur. 

Her wealthy and prominent parents were Marcelino Pichay Florentino and Isabel Florentina. 

She started writing poems at the age of 10. Her mother was her first teacher.  Rev. Evaristo Abaya, the curate priest of Vigan taught her to speak and write in Spanish. In her time, women were not allowed to study in college. 

At the age of 14, she was married to Elias Llanes de los Reyes, the alcalde mayor of Vigan and they had five children. Her most famous son was Isabelo de los Reyes, a writer, activist and senator, who was responsible for sharing her poetry to the world. Marcelino Crisologo, a prominent politician and playwright was her brother-in-law. 

After her husband and children shunned her, she lived alone and separated from her family. Some say the cause was her tuberculosis while others mentioned that it was her poems. She pioneered Philippine lesbian literature. 

Florentino wrote poems in Spanish and Ilocano. Her works were published in the United States and Europe, making her the first Filipina to achieve such recognition. Public libraries of Paris, London, Madrid, and our National Library carry her poems. 

In 1887, her 22 poems were presented posthumously at the Exposicion General de Filipinas in Madrid, Spain. It was presented at the International Exposicion in Paris, France in 1889 and at the St. Louis International Exposition in Missouri, USA in 1904. 

The 22 poems were recognized when she was included in the Encyclopedia Internationale des Oeuvres des Femmes (International Encyclopedia of Women’s Works) in 1889. One of her most famous poems is Nalpay A Namnama (“Blasted Hope”).

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