Sándor Petőfi in Manila
An anthology of poems by Sándor Petőfi and other Hungarian poets has been published in the Philippines. With the publication of the book, the two countries celebrated the 200th anniversary of Petőfi's birth and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and the Philippines.
The Hungarian Embassy in Manila, in cooperation with the publishing house of the renowned Ateneo de Naga University, published a book of poetry in the Philippines. The anthology, entitled "Hindi Pasisiil Ang Pagsibol", i.e. "The flower cannot be forbidden", contains poems by Sándor Petőfi, János Arany, Mihály Vörösmarty, Endre Ady and other Hungarian poets. The initiative, which includes a total of twenty poems, is significant in that it is the first time that the Philippine public has been able to learn about the poems of Sándor Petőfi and other renowned Hungarian poets in the six most widely known languages of the country. The cover of the book features the Arabian jasmine (sampagita), the national flower of the Philippines, tied into a cockade in the Hungarian national colour.
The anthology was launched at the First Philippine Book Festival in Manila. The first edition of the book festival was a resounding success, attracting one hundred and sixteen thousand visitors over three days. Despite the vast geographical distance between the two countries through Petőfi's poems Filipino readers will recognise in the poet, the soulmate of the most famous Filipino writer, the martyred José Rizal: both are national heroes who gave their lives for freedom and the homeland. The launch was closed with a reading by the translators and editors Kristian Sendon Cordero and Enrique S. Villasis.