BIENVENIDOS A CIUDAD DE ZAMBOANGA!
Last April 6-10 2023 (Lenten season) the three of us, Me, My mom and ate Grace went to Zamboanga City to have a vacation after 3 years of not going home due to the pandemic. And then after we arrived in Cebu from Zamboanga, I was inspired to write a story and thinking, "What if I am going to make my hometown be the main setting of my story, besides I will promote the place too. The first title is "Siblings from Zamboanga" but then I decided to change the title to "From Zamboanga, with Love" right after my cousin from there arrived here in Cebu to take an exam as a policeman. And he brought a lot of pasalubong from there.
Second is that this book is the life story of the main character, it's like a diary. At the end of this story he stated "with Love" under his name. My leading character was inspired by one of my favorite teachers in my university where I studied.
Third, I love my hometown and I am proud of it. I am hurt whenever I hear that Zamboanga City is a war torn city (It was last 2013 but not now, this is not what Zamboanga City looks like and the whole island of Mindanao as well) chaotic, dirty, lots of terrorists and other negative things. Besides, it's a peaceful city not unlike Cebu City where there is a lot of chaos already. "From Zamboanga, with Love" is an anti-war novel and promotes peace dedicated to my hometown
Fourth, I wanted to share the beauty of my hometown through my leading character. I have written all what I have seen in Zamboanga City including the Muslim people, their official language - Chavacano, their 2 religions, Islam and Catholic. (Muslim represented by Sitti Jahida Hassan and Catholic represented by Aldee Xavier Cruz), their culture and of course their beautiful places. Although it's a fictional story but Zamboanga City is a real place, some of the places in the said city are real and some of them are not.
Lastly, the main symbolism of the story. The "Vinta" is one of the official symbols of Zamboanga City. I picked this as the official symbol because it represents the journey of the leading character towards his dream of becoming a mayor.
Title: From Zamboanga, with Love
Writer: Lidjiki Yuroma
Target Audience: Foreign Nationals / Filipino People who don't have idea about Zamboanga City
Language: English/Chavacano
Date Started: April 2023
Date Completed:
Date Published:
YOU ARE READING
From Zamboanga, with Love (First Draft)
General FictionAldee Xavier Cruz, A proud Zamboangueño dreamed of becoming a lawyer and a mayor of his beloved Zamboanga City. He had a sister named Angel Grace who also wants to become an architect too. Both of them are happy and they never separate from one anot...
