1950 Florante at Laura. Directed by Vicente Salumbides. Based on the metrical romance written by Francisco Baltazar aka Francisco Balagtas. Starring Leopoldo Salcedo, Celia Flor, Armando Goyena. Supported by Alfonso Carvajal, Teody Belarmino, Delia Razon, Gil de Leon, Vicente Salumbides, Cecilio Joaquin, Nemesio Caravana, Gregorio Fernandez, Jose Cris Soto, Angge, Inday Jalandoni. Script and Technical Assistance Nemesio E. Caravana; Music Francisco Buencamino Sr. & Jr.; Cinematography Bayani Abelardo; Sound Luis Reyes; Editing Enrique Jarlego.
“…This metrical romance or ‘awit’ in dodecasyllabic lines was signed with the initials F. B. and was dedicated to one ‘Selya.’ ‘Florante at Laura’ is the most artistically written of all Philippine metrical romances, and many of its aphoristic passages are also the most often quoted. In the process, it entered folk consciousness with the force of transmitted wisdom… ‘Florante at Laura’ has been studied in high school for decades. It has been made into film at least twice in 1939 with Carlos Padilla and Lila Luna; and in 1950 by LVN with Leopoldo Salcedo and Celia Flor. It was made into a ‘komedya’ in San Dionisio, Parañaque, and Pakil, Laguna, in the 20th century; an opera by Lucino T. Sacramento in 1970; a play by Rene O. Villanueva for Bulwagang Gantimpala in 1987; and a musical by Tony Perez and Nonong Buencamino for Tanghalang Pilipino in 1988.” (Excerpt from Volume 12-Literature 2 of the CCP Encyclopedia of Art [2017 Edition] by Damiana Eugenio and Edgardo Maranan).
“…Metrical romances-known as ‘awit’ or ‘korido’ in Tagalog... are long verse narratives with chivalric-heroic, legendary, religious, and folkloric themes. Legacies of Spanish colonial culture, they flourished in the Philippines throughout the 19th and well into the 20th century. In subject matter, form, and intention, they come closest to the metrical romances of European literature… ‘Korido’ is the generic term for the Philippine metrical romance. The term is derived from the Spanish ‘corrido,’ which is defined as ‘a metrical story, usually sung to the accompaniment of a guitar, in fandango style…Romances have been printed since 1815 in small booklets or chapbooks, one romance to a volume, and sold for a few centavos by vendors after holy mass…” (Excerpt from Volume 11-Literature 1 of the CCP Encyclopedia of Art [2017 Edition] by Damiana Eugenio)