Description
Travel Notes
Notas de viaje
by María Paz Mendoza-Guazon
Bilingual English-Spanish
Edited and annotated by IRENE VILLAESCUSA ILLÁN
Translated into English by JAIME M. MARCO
In Travel Notes (Notas de viaje), author María Paz Mendoza-Guazon chronicles her travels through America, Europe, and the Middle East in the 1930s, with the forward-thinking intelligence of a pioneer Filipina physician.
Along with vivid descriptions of the sights and experiences of her journey, Mendoza’s notes contain the historical and cultural context of each destination, along with her frank comparisons with the Philippines of that time. Through her observations on how Filipinos back home might benefit from some of the practices in these countries, the author expands horizons for readers who would have had little access to such knowledge. These travel notes present an insightful traveler’s view, at a delicate time when the Philippines was asserting its identity in the larger world while continuing to struggle for independence from American rule.
In an information-driven age when travel writing has evolved to suit changing technologies and cultural realities, Travel Notes serves as both a snapshot of a particular historical era as well as a timeless masterwork of travel writing as an art form.
Mendoza-Guazon was a woman of many firsts, blazing many trails as the first female graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, a pioneer suffragist and feminist, and the first female writer to be honored with the prestigious Premio Zóbel for this very work first published in 1930.
En Notas de viaje, la escritora filipina María Paz Mendoza-Guazon relata sus viajes por América, Europa y Oriente Próximo en la década de los 30, con la inteligencia de una médica pionera.
Junto a las descripciones vívidas de los paisajes y de sus experiencias, las notas de Mendoza describen el contexto histórico y cultural de cada destino, añadiendo comparaciones sinceras con las Filipinas de la época. Con sus observaciones acerca del modo en que los filipinos podrían beneficiarse de algunas de las prácticas de estos países, la autora intenta ampliar el horizonte de compatriotas que habrían tenido difícil acceso a tales conocimientos. Estas notas de viaje nos acercan a la perspicaz visión de una viajera en una época en la que Filipinas estaba afirmando su identidad en el resto del mundo, al mismo tiempo que seguía luchando por deshacerse del dominio estadounidense.
En una era impulsada por la información en la que la crónica de viajes había evolucionado para adaptarse a las cambiantes tecnologías y realidades culturales, Notas de viaje constituye, al mismo tiempo, la foto fija de una época histórica y una obra maestra perenne de la crónica de viajes como forma de arte.
Mendoza-Guazon fue una mujer de gran talento, y pionera en muchos ámbitos: como primera mujer licenciada en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Filipinas, como sufragista y feminista pionera, y como primera escritora galardonada con el prestigioso Premio Zóbel por esta misma obra, publicada por primera vez en 1930.
This bilingual edition in English and Spanish features an engaging introduction by Irene Villaescusa Illán that provides a warm and accessible context, situating Mendoza-Guazon’s travel narratives within the broader scope of Hispano-Filipino literature, Spanish-language literature, and the rich tradition of feminist travel writing by Spanish and Latin American women in the early twentieth century…. It not only brings Mendoza-Guazon’s remarkable experiences to a new audience but also highlights her significant contributions to literature and social reform. Notas de viaje is more than a travel diary; it is a testament to the enduring spirit of a woman dedicated to progress and change.
—Rocío Ortuño Casanova
Professor of Literature, UNED
Notas de viaje añade la perspectiva femenina a otras narraciones de viajes de hombres filipinos, esta vez subrayando la importancia del movimiento sufragista y la educación de las mujeres, convirtiéndose así en una referencia para el movimiento feminista en Filipinas. Como sugiere Irene Villaescusa Illán en su introducción, al tiempo que elucubra sobre el colonialismo europeo y el avance de la modernidad y el fascismo en Europa, el discurso de Mendoza-Guazon llega a ser profético en ocasiones. También hay comentarios contradictorios que revelan no sólo su eurocentrismo, sino también su admiración por el fascismo, al que concibe como potencialmente beneficioso para su país.
—Ignacio López Calvo
Catedrático de Literatura y
Cultura Latinoamericanas,
Universidad de California Merced
CONTENTS
Introduction
Dedication
Preface to the second edition
Letter from Teodoro M. Kalaw
Letter from Don Pedro Aunario
Letter from Mr. Hugo Salazar
Washington, DC, United States: A Journalist and a Bolshevik
Cuba, Our Sister Republic
United States International Affairs in Williamstown. A Pantomime at the International House in New York
Quakers and World Peace
What People Think About the Philippines
Atlantic Ocean: On Board the Leviathan
England: In the Capital of the British Empire
France: Through the City of Light
Belgium: the Little Paris
Holland: In the Land of Windmills
Holland and the Island of Happiness: How Queso de Bola is Made, the Famous Diamonds of the Transvaal, and Other Industries
Denmark: The Athens of the North, the City of Green-gray and Golden Towers
Sweden: Stockholm, the Scandinavian Paris
Norway: The Land of Fjords, Skiing, and Waterfalls
Germany: The German Education System
Germany’s Free Floating City
Berlin, the Reflection of Prussia’s Soul
A Historical Review of Germany (Potsdam, Frederick the Great, Voltaire, Wilhelm I, Bismarck, Ebert)
Czechoslovakia: A City of the Middle Ages
Austria: The Former Empire of Mixed Races
Italy!
In the Cradle of the Renaissance
Rome, the City that Encapsulates the History of Half of Humanity
In Industrious, Cultured Milan
France: In the Warm and Cheerful Nice
A Tour on the Mediterranean Sea: Marseille
Spain: Barcelona, the Industrious
Algeria, the White City
Sicily, Europe’s Provider
Ruins of the Ancient Pompeii
Greece: Athens, the Cradle of Human Knowledge
Turkey: The Beautiful City of Constantinople
Traveling to the Levant
Syria, Beirut
Palestine: The Promised Land
Egypt: In the Land of Pyramids, Mummies, and Hieroglyphs
Corsica: The Beautiful Mediterranean Island
Index
CONTENIDO
Introducción
Dedicatoria
Prefacio a la segunda edición
Carta de don Teodoro M. Kalaw
Carta de don Pedro Aunario
Carta de don Hugo Salazar
Washington, DC, United States: A Journalist and a Bolshevik
Cuba, la república hermana
Estados Unidos Asuntos internacionales en Williamstown. Una pantomima en la Casa Internacional de Nueva York
Los cuáqueros y la paz mundial
Lo que se cree acerca de Filipinas
Oceano Atlántico: A bordo del Leviatán
Inglaterra: En la capital del imperio británico
Francia: A través de la ciudad de la luz
Bélgica: Le petit Paris
Holanda: En el país de los molinos de viento
Holanda y la isla de la felicidad: Cómo se fabrica el queso de bola, los famosos brillantes del Transvaal, otras industrias
Dinamarca: La Atenas del norte, la ciudad de las torres verdes-gris y doradas
Suecia: Estocolmo, el París escandinavo
Noruega: El país de los fiordos, el esquí y las cascadas
Alemania: El sistema de educación en Alemania
La ciudad libre y flotante de Alemania
Berlín, el reflejo del alma de Prusia
Una reseña histórica de Alemania (Potsdam, Federico el Grande, Voltaire, Guillermo I, Bismarck, Ebert)/A Historical Review of Germany (Potsdam, Frederick the Great, Voltaire, Wilhelm I, Bismarck, Ebert)
Checoslovaquia: Una ciudad de la Edad Media
Austria: El ex-imperio de razas amalgamadas
¡Italia!
En la cuna del Renacimiento
Roma, la ciudad que compendia la historia de media humanidad
En la industriosa y culta Milán
Francia: En la riente y alegre Niza
Una gira en el mar Mediterráneo: Marsella
España: Barcelona, la industriosa
Argelia, la ciudad blanca
Sicilia, la proveedora de Europa
Ruina de la culta Pompeya
Grecia: Atenas, la cuna del saber humano
Turquía: La hermosa ciudad de Constantinopla
Hacia levante
Siria, Beirut
Palestina: La tierra de promisión
Egipto: En el país de las pirámides, momias y jeroglíficos
Córcega, la bellísima isla del Mediterráneo
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MARÍA PAZ MENDOZA GUAZON was a physician, feminist, civic leader, and Filipina trailblazer, garnering many firsts in Philippine education and science. She was the first Filipina to receive a high school diploma from the then Philippine Normal School and eventually the pioneering woman to graduate from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. Guazon took further studies in tropical medicine and public health, specializing in pathology, and spearheaded studies on the Filipino medical phenomenon of bangungot. In 1926, the Philippine Legislature tasked her to be part of an educational mission to the United States. Her travel accounts were eventually published as Notas de viaje (1930), for which she became the first woman to win the Premio Zobel. Aside from her achievements in science and education, Guazon was a celebrated civic leader. She became president of the Liga Nacional de Damas Filipinas in 1921. Seven years later, she founded the Philippine Association of University Women and was the first managing editor of its official paper, Woman’s World.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
IRENE VILLAESCUSA ILLÁN is an educator at the Department of Literary and Cultural Analysis of the University of Amsterdam. She also previously worked at the University of Utrecht and the University of Hong Kong, focusing on world literature, cultural analysis, humanities, and Hispanic literature. In 2020, Illán published her first book, Transcultural Nationalism in Hispano-Filipino Literature, on Filipino literary works in the Spanish language during the first half of the twentieth century. Her research on Philippine literature in Spanish and global Hispanophone literature has appeared in the biannual journal UNITAS of the University of Santo Tomas and in Revista de Critica Literaria Latinoamericana, and she coedited and contributed a chapter of Other Globes: Past and Peripheral Imaginations of Globalization (2019). Illán is also a member of DigiPhiLit, a digital humanities project centering on Philippine literature in Spanish.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
JAIME MARCÓ Y MÁRQUEZ is a lifelong Rizalista and Retanista. Schooled at Colegio de San Juan de Letrán, he emigrated to Spain where he established several language schools. While in Spain, he organized the expatriate Filipino community and originated the Jose Rizal walking tour. Marco was instrumental in laying commemorative cornerstones in Madrid to mark significant milestones of Philippine history, aided by the Philippine Embassy and the Ayuntamiento de Madrid. He is presently translating Wenceslao Retana’s works, Vida y escritos del Dr. José Rizal and the massive Aparato bibliográfico de la historia general de Filipinas.
Letras Hispanofilipinas
Copyright © 2024
552 pages ; 15.24 x 22.86 cm. In English and Spanish text.