Did you know that the hit musical Mula sa Buwan was based on Senator Soc Rodrigo’s French to Filipino translation of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’?
Spot.ph wrote about the musical as a creation of Pat Valera and William Elvin Manzano in 2010 and has evolved in different stages since then—as the experimental Cyrano: Isang Sarsuwela at the University of Asia and the Pacific the same year and at the GSIS Theater in 2011; as Mula Sa Buwan at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater of Ateneo de Manila University in 2016 and 2017; in the then newly-built Areté Ateneo in 2018; under the production of the Barefoot Theatre Collaborative for two runs in 2022; and for those dealing with FOMO from the two runs of 2022, via online streaming in 2023.
On Senator Soc Rodrigo’s 19th death anniversary, here’s what the Mula sa Buwan production wrote as a tribute to him on their Facebook:
Mula sa Buwan is based on Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo’s Filipino translation of Edmond Rostand’s ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’. Today is his 19th death anniversary. Soc Rodrigo did not only champion the Filipino language – but more importantly, our freedom.
His marker from the NHCP reads: “Guro, mamahayag, manunulat at senador…Lumaban sa batas militar at rehimeng Marcos, napiit ng tatlong ulit: noong 1972, 1978 at 1982. Miyembro ng Komisyon ng Saligang Batas, 1986. Itinaguyod ang wikang Filipino sa kanyang mga tula, dula, talumpati, artikulo at maging sa pagtuturo…”
Isang libong salamat, Soc!
Photos from the Mula sa Buwan production Facebook page
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