Huseng Sisiw

Biography

De la Cruz was born in Tondo, Manila on December 21, 1746.

Coming from a poor family, he could not afford to study. However, by his efforts, he was able to learn Katon at Cartilla (Spanish primers), the Doctrina Christiana (the first catechism produced in the Philippines), Philosophy, Canon law, and Theology.

One day, when he was taking a bath in a river near their house, two Spanish Jesuits passed by and asked him for the right way. Because of De la Cruz's fondness for reading, he was able to understand their language and was able to communicate with them. The Spanish priests were amazed by his intelligence and his politeness, so they were not able to go to their destination, but instead, they talked with him more to get to know him better. De la Cruz was eight years old then.

When he was a teenager, he started to have a better grasp of the Tagalog language, think of bigger ideas, and possess writing skills that awakened the hearts and souls of the people partly (or mostly) due to his constant reading of the Bible.

Besides Spanish and Tagalog, he also learned Latin and Greek. He could also manage to write plays in just a span of time. During one town feast in the province of Batangas, he was invited to stage one of his plays. The priest heading the event told him to stage a play based on a historical event instead. He was forced to write a story and teach the actors in one night, but the play was still a success. He could also simultaneously dictate poems into five different verses, all at the same time.

He was known for his ability to write poems well, so many asked him to teach them how to rhyme words. He earned the moniker "Huseng Sisiw" (literally, "José the Chick") because when people would ask him to write love poems, he requested live chicks (sisiw in Tagalog) to be given to him as a form of payment. In addition, his dietary preferences involved eating younger livestock, those that have not yet reached adulthood, including vegetables and roasted pig.

He was also the mentor of Francisco Balagtas, a poet who would later be known as the "Father of Tagalog Literature" in poetry.

None of De la Cruz's works were ever published in his lifetime.