Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery… 1 Corinthians 15:49–52
JOSE A. Bragado, an educator and considered among the columns of Ilokano literature, died last Oct. 13, a day after he was brought to the hospital, his family announced. He was 89.
Bragado, a prize-winning fictionist, was born in the coastal town of Santa, Ilocos Sur on Aug. 25, 1936, when the Commonwealth was in a transition toward the restoration of independence in 1946, a time when the government was focusing on nation-building, which included creating a national language and other policies that would shape the country’s future.
He was laid to rest at the Forest Park at Bankers Village in Continental, Caloocan City, beside the remains of his Bauang, La Union-born wife Crispina (nee Balderas), an educator herself, short story writer and literary translator.
Bragado, spent 32 years with the Ilokano magazine Bannawag, where he retired as aliterary editor, after reaping awards from different organizations, including, but not limited to, the Palanca Memorial Literary Awards where he won in the short story genre for children, Filipino category.
He also led the Ilokano writers association in Metro Manila in 1988, but relinquished the post when he was elected in 1989 as president of GUMIL Filipinas, the cohesive national association of Ilokano writers here and abroad before he became NCCA Coordinator for Northern Luzon.
While working on the vision and mission of the private Child Jesus College of Caloocan City, where he was president and taught literature, he was again elected by GUMILFilipinas in 1999 and re-elected to the same post two years later – a feat that he alone holds since the association was founded in October 1968 in Baguio City.
Bragado, known in life as a cheerful person with a a dose of good humor, is survived by nine children, 18 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.
One of his children-in-law, the Pinili,Ilocos Norte-born Cles B. Rambaud, editor of Bannawag, magazine described Bragado as “pleasant to be with, much like my father, and while we are both writers we never talked about literature, those with lasting or artistic merit.
“We discussed lightheartedly, as buddies, not as father- or son-in-law, the wherefores of life and any subject that made us laugh.”
But some of his students at the CJC remembered Bragado as giving spotlight on Ilokano literature, which refers to the literary works of writers of Ilokano ancestry, encompassing a wide range of forms like epic poems, folk songs, short stories, and novels which originated in northern Luzon.
By his son-in-law’s account, Bragado gave emphasis on Ilokano literature to give his students a better glimpse of the rich language spoken and written by nearly 13 million at home and abroad. (Honor Blanco Cabie)
