Facts about the Makamisa: Rizal’s Unfinished Novel

• Jose Rizal began writing his third novel, a sequel to the El Filibusterismo, in 1892 in Hong Kong.
• Rizal began the book in Tagalog and gave the first chapter the title “Makamisa,” which in English, means "After Mass."
• Rizal started anew later on, writing the manuscript in Spanish.
• This unfinished third novel was found in two texts left by the hero.
• Ambeth Ocampo, famous for his works on the life and writings of Rizal, stumbled on the Spanish drafts of the novel while he was working at the National Library.
• This draft found by Ocampo was hidden among a 245-page stack of writings entitled “Borrador del Noli Me Tangere.”
• Rizal’s third novel only has one chapter and runs for 10 pages.
• Ambeth Ocampo reconstructed this draft and translated it into a rich and full narrative, now known as the Makamisa.
• This novel is thought of as unfinished, because it ends in a sentence that reads, “Sapagkát nabalitang nasampál si aleng Anday ay wala mandin siláng,” which, in English, translates, “Although it was rumored that aunt Anday received slaps on her face, they still do not [have]”.
• The Makamisa centers around the ill-mannered Padre Agaton, curate of the town.