Francisco Balagtas y de la Cruz (April 2, 1788 – February 20, 1862), commonly known as Francisco Balagtas and also as Francisco Baltazar, was a Filipino poet and litterateur of the Tagalog language during the Spanish rule of the Philippines. He is widely considered one of the greatest Filipino literary laureates for his impact on Filipino literature. The famous epic Florante at Laura is regarded as his defining work.
Balagtas adopted the legal surname Baltazar in fulfillment of the edict issued by Governor-General Narciso Claveria y Zaldua in 1849 that mandated the native population to adopt standard surnames. The name is commonly misspelled as Baltasar and sometimes misinterpreted as his pen name.
Francisco Balagtas was born in Barrio Panginay, Bigaa, Bulacan, as the youngest of the four children of Juan Balagtas, a blacksmith, and Juana de la Cruz. He studied in a parochial school in Bigaa and later in Manila. He later worked as a houseboy in Tondo, Manila.
Balagtas learned to write poetry from José de la Cruz (Huseng Sisiw), one of the most famous poets of Tondo, in return for chicks. It was De la Cruz himself who personally challenged Balagtas to improve his writing. Balagtas swore he would overcome Huseng Sisiw as he would not ask for anything in return as a poet.
In 1835, Balagtas moved to Pandacan, Manila, where he met María Asunción Rivera, who would effectively serve as the muse for his future works. She is referenced in his work Florante at Laura as 'Selya' and 'MAR'.
Balagtas' affections for MAR were challenged by the influential Mariano Capule. The latter won the battle for MAR when he used his wealth to get Balagtas imprisoned. It was here that he wrote Florante at Laura—in fact, the events of this poem were meant to parallel his situation.
He wrote his poems in the Tagalog language, during an age when Filipino writing was predominantly written in Spanish.
Balagtas published Florante at Laura upon his release in 1838. He moved to Balanga, Bataan, in 1840 where he served as the assistant to the justice of the peace. He was also appointed as the translator of the court. He married Juana Tiambeng on July 22, 1842, in a ceremony officiated by Fr. Cayetano Arellano, uncle of the future chief justice to the Supreme Court of the Philippines Chief Justice Arellano. They had eleven children, but only four survived to adulthood. On November 21, 1849, Governor General Narciso Clavería y Zaldua issued a decree that every Filipino native had to adopt a surname. In 1856, he was appointed as the major lieutenant, but soon after was convicted and sent to prison again in Bataan under the accusation that he ordered Alferez Lucas' housemaid's head to be shaved.
He sold his land and all of his riches, for him to be put out of imprisonment in 1861. He then continued writing poetry, along with translating Spanish documents, but he died a year later—on February 20, 1862, at the age of 73. On his deathbed, he asked the favor that none of his children become poets like him, who had suffered under his gift as well as under others. He even went as far as to tell them it would be better to cut their hands off than let them be writers.
Balagtas is greatly idolized in the Philippines that the term for Filipino debate in extemporaneous verse is named after him: Balagtasan.
An elementary school was erected in honor of Balagtas, the Francisco Balagtas Elementary School (FBES), located along Alvarez Street in Santa Cruz, Manila. There is also a plaza and park (Plaza Balagtas) erected in Pandacan, Manila, while most of the streets were named after various Florante at Laura characters in honor of Francisco Balagtas. His birthplace, Bigaa, Bulacan, was renamed to Balagtas, Bulacan, in his memory. A museum, historical marker, monument and elementary school has been placed in his birthplace at Panginay, Balagtas, Bulacan. The former Folk Arts Theater in Manila was renamed to Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas to honor Balagtas. Mercurian crater was also named after him. The barangay of Udyong in Orion, Bataan, was also renamed Balagtas.
Since 1967, the Philippines has released currency honoring Balagtas on the 10 centavo coin.
On April 2, 2018, Google honored Balagtas' 230th birthday celebration with a Google Doodle.
No original manuscript in Balagtas' handwriting of any of his works has survived to the present day. This is due mainly to two great fires that razed Udyong (now Balagtas in Orion, Bataan) and destroyed much of the poet's works. The most notable of his works, Florante at Laura or Pinagdaanang Buhay ni Florante at Laura sa Kaharian ng Albanya has been published in numerous editions from its original publication in 1838. The oldest extant edition of the Florante is believed to be the 1861 edition published in Manila, while a handwritten manuscript written down by Apolinario Mabini exists and is in the possession of the Philippine National Library.
The major source of the poet's life and works is from a 20th-century work entitled Kun Sino ang Kumatha nang "Florante" (He who wrote the "Florante") by Hermenegildo Cruz. The poet lists down Balagtas' works and recreates some of his plays based on scenes and lines memorized by the poet's children. The book also has an edition of the Florante. Balagtas wrote ten comedias and one metrical romance according to Cruz as well as numerous other poems and short plays that are recorded in his book. These include two laos or short celebratory scenes usually involving a patron saint and performed during fiestas.
Only three of Balagtas' complete works have survived to this day. Of the three, Florante at Laura is considered Balagtas' defining work and is a cultural touchstone for the Philippines.
Florante at Laura or Pinagdaanang Buhay ni Florante at Laura sa Kaharian ng Albanya, an awit (metrical narrative poem with dodecasyllabic quatrains [12 syllables per line, 4 lines per stanza]); Balagtas' masterpiece
La India elegante y el negrito amante – a short play in one act