5.
AND HE IS SPANISH: ELCANO, THE FIRST TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE
WORLD (Y Es Espanol: Elcano, el Primero en dar la Vuelta al Mundo,
December 1875)
Where does that frail ship go
That proudly cruises on
And ploughs the distant seas
To seek the lands unknown?
Who's the brave and invincible,
That from far down the West
Sails on the expansive world
To yonder roseate East?
Of Spain he's a heroic son,
A Titan new of Pirene,
Who with fury fights against,
If it holds him, the hurricane.
He's Elcano who undertakes
A task that enchants the world ;
To accomplish it he vows
And its vastness him doesn't hold.
And to red-tailed eagle akin
That soars high in the wind
With an unequalled flight
And with a movement swift,
Of the blowing storm that roars,
He scorns the horrible hiss ;
And mocks with kingly air
The lightning's shattering noise.
And like a craggy rock
No impetuous ocean in rage
Or the fury of hurricanes
Him can change or disengage ;
Such is the invincible
Elcano, when cruising through
The waves, with his Spanish ships,
Their rage they might'ly subdue.
Triumphant crosses he
The vast roundness of the globe
With exceptional bravery
He measured the extensive orb.
A thousand laurels crown
Defender of Spain, your brow ;
And a brilliant diadem
Now proudly decorates you.
The poem AND HE IS SPANISH: ELCANO, THE FIRST TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE
WORLDis about Juan Sebastin Elcano, a Spanish Basque, Ferdinand Magellans
second in command, who upon Magellans death on the shores of Mactan in the
Philippines, took over and completed the first circumnavigation of the world.
6.The Battle: Urbiztondo, Terror of Jolo (El Combate: Urbiztondo, Terror de
Jolo, December 1875)
A hundred war-tried ships
At the mercy of the gentle wind,
Leave behind Manila bay
-The ruffled sea they plough.
A short while they descry
The Moros of Jolo
Who with pride they raise
A thousand waving flags.
And when the soldiers strong
Had alighted on the shores
And pointed all their guns
Against the enemy's wall,
With manly accent spoke
The general : "Soldiers of mine,
Upon your valor depends
The rich glory of victory.
"I would prefer to die
Rather than desist from attack ;
To thee the country entrusts
Her noble, sacred seals."
Said he ; and like Notus fierce
By horrid lightning hedged in
In furious tempests it sows
Sad weeping and mourning around ;
So Urbiztondo unsubdued
His soldiers following him,
He spreads death everywhere
With cold steel in his hand.
And like a lion in the woods
He roars, engendering fear,
As he looks upon the prey
That with havoc he devours;
So the noted fighting men
With fury and frenzied fright,
Approach the barricades
As they give a headlong assault.
And the Castiles' lion shakes
His forelock wrathfully
And readies his pointed claws
To spread tears everywhere.
Eight bastions, do surrender
Of the Moros of Jolo
To the furious rattle of Mars
And Urbiztondo's assault.
Ah ! They're the ones, noble Spain,
Like Lepanto's heroes they are,
At Pavia they're the ones
Who're the thunderbolt of war.
The fire consumes and devours
The castles and palaces
And all the Joloans own
At our soldiers fierce attack.
Perfidious Mahumat flees,
Tyrannical and godless Sultan,
And the warriors valorous
March into Jolo as they sing.
The poem The Battle: Urbiztondo, Terror of Jolo is a reflection of Rizals liking for
history. It was written to hail Urbiztondo for the successful battle against the
Muslims. In the poem, the hero narrated how the great warrior defeated the Moros
under Sultan Mahumat of Jolo.
