Viajero
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 Book cover for F. Sionil José's novel Viajero. | |
| Author | F. Sionil José |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Solidaridad Publishing House, Inc. (Philippines) |
Publication date | 1993 |
| Publication place | Philippines |
Viajero, Spanish for "The Wanderer"[1] or "The Traveller", is a 1993 English-language novel written by Filipino author F. Sionil José.[2] The literary theme is about the constant search of the Filipino people for “social justice and moral order”.[3] Viajero is one of the literary representatives embodying the fulfillment of the Filipinos' "emergent-nationalism".[1]
The lead character of Viajero was an orphan named Salvador dela Raza (a Spanish name meaning “Savior of the [Filipino] Race”).[1] In 1945, Raza was adopted and brought to America by James Wack, an African-American[1] captain of the United States military. Dela Raza was a firsthand witness of the Filipino diaspora.[3] Dela Raza was described to be a Philippine-born "nationalist hero" independent of American colonial influence who was able to recover the past of the Philippines long thought lost due to "colonial oppression". Dela Raza was the missing link or filler of the fundamental gaps or disjunctions between the Filipino Ilustrados and the common people known as the masa (referring to the "mass[ive number] of people" or the Philippine public), and between Filipino expatriates and the Filipinos who stayed in the Philippines. However, Dela Raza's knowledge of American issues and history made Viajero an allegorical reinforcement of "ideological interdependence" and reaffirmation of "American colonial tutelage", which was contrary to the goal of contemporary Filipino nationalists. Such goal was to define and diffentiate the Filipino view of nationalism from the American form of nationalism.[1]
Other characters include the wife of Leo Mercado, Father Jess, and Simplicio Verdad (a name meaning "Simple Truth" or "Simply True" in translation). Some characters from José's The Rosales Saga also resurfaced in Viajero, such as Pepe Samson of José's Mass in the person of a full-pledged insurgent.[1]
