Filipino Poet Jesús Balmori: Testimonials of His Mexican Journey Passing Through Japan (1932–1934)
Résumé
Jesús Balmori (1886–1948), nicknamed “Batikuling,” has been heralded as the greatest Filipino poet among his peers. This chapter presents a detailed analysis of the chronicles and poems inspired by his journey to Mexico in the early 1930s, which were published in magazines like Excelsior (1932–1934) and Philippine Free Press (1933). His poems on Mexico, in contrast to his travelogue on Japan, demonstrate his ambivalence toward this country stemming from his limited understanding and expectations. However, these works reveal the links that existed between the Philippines and Latin America, both sharing colonial history and Spanish language.