Magdalena Jalandoni

Who was Magdalena Jalandoni?

Magdalena Gonzaga Jalandoni was a Filipino feminist writer. She is now remembered as one of the most prolific Filipino writers in the Hiligaynon language. Hailing from Western Visayas, her works are said to have left permanent and significant milestones in Philippine literature.

Born to an affluent land-owning family in the former city of Jaro, now a present day district of Iloilo City, she began writing at a young age wherein she already had her poems published at the age of 12. She published her first novel Ang Mga Tunoc Sang Isa Ca Bulac, which was later followed by many novels, compilations of poems and short stories. Jalandoni only wrote for publication purposes due to the male-dominated society at the time. Back then, female voices in literature were not taken seriously by the general public. Although her mother strictly forbade her to take literature seriously, she refused to do so and devoted her life entirely to literature.

In her childhood autobiography Ang Matam-is Kong Pagkabata, she cites: "I will be forced to write when I feel that my nose is being assaulted by the scent of flowers, when my sight is filled with the promises of the sun and when my soul is lifted by winged dreams to the blue heavens."