Viajero

The novel Viajero by one of the finest writers in the country, F. Sionil Jose, is about the continuous search for identity not just by our displaced protagonist Salvador dela Raza, but also by the Filipino people. No wonder that until now, we are dubbed as the wandering Pinoys! For in every nook and corner of this earth, it is interesting to know that we can still find a Filipino even in the remotest place.

It is better to read the whole novel as a story of every Juan than just Salvador's. As we go along, we'd encounter its many narratives about different people from different times, and it is apparent how Salvador is trying to rewrite or recreate his own identity by translating these narratives in a way that would fit his missing parts. Through other people's accounts that serve as margins, he was able to draw a center for himself. In short, without the stories of other wanderers, Salvador would not be whole.

If we'd take a quick analysis, the name Salvador dela Raza can already give a sense of cultural mix. His name is that of Spanish, yet the man as we know him is a native from the Philippines who happens to be raised in the US. We can realize in here the disconcertingly astounding combination of different cultures that once colonized the Philippines.

Viajero gave us a picture of how the Philippines suffered from the hands of different colonizers or masters (including one of their own) throughout the generations. The greatest question would always be: Who would rule after the colonizers have gone? There is really no knowing. For like a wanderer’s fortune, there'd always be surprises in each quest.

To date, we could see how we are being transformed (better or worse) in our 300 years in the convent, 50 years or more in Hollywood, and the many years and counting in the world of smartphones and stupid people. Eventually, Filipinos would still be on the road to defining who they really are. Like the novel’s structure, life is not linear. There are interludes every once in a while. Therefore, it is likely to view life as a cycle. What to associate with this cycle depends on us: Shall we see this as a cycle of oppression or a cycle of self-discovery?

Salvador's struggle to find his identity goes with finding his purpose in life. He is not just to know of his beginnings but he is also to help his people in the land where he was born. Thus, he gradually begins to be part of a people that he was once apart from.

We can see a binary opposition in this book by looking at his intention to capture history when he returned to the Philippines; but it turned out to be otherwise. Salvador was eventually the one captured by history when he became witness to it. The presence and absence of Badong in his life is another one. For long, he had become the Buddy he was expected to be— an accomplished historian and a responsible son; yet in the end, the Badong that was suppressed in his memory for so many years came out— handing over stories to the youth and becoming a sympathetic son of his motherland.

Like the elusive crystals, we can only say so much of Salvador's thoughts. For in the end, the interpretation of either he has come full circle in his search or not lies on the readers. We could settle with the fact that the cycle of his discovery goes on and on; but we could also believe that Salvador finally found his peace in the mountains— by which we see the words of Ninoy fulfilled: "An exile really has no place, other than where his heart truly is."