The first pocketbook edition of Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere translated into Portuguese has been launched by the Philippine Embassy in Lisbon.
Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Celia Anna Feria, in her remark during the launching, said the importance of translating Rizal's famous novel is a testament to its "universal appeal and enduring relevance."
"Rizal would have been delighted to learn that the original meaning, his choice and tone of the words, and the ideas he carefully selected and brought to life are now meticulously preserved in Portuguese," she said.
In 2021, the office of former Senator Franklin Drilon funded the translation of Noli Me Tangere.
The embassy partnered with the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences and the Center for the Humanities (CHAM) of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa in making it possible before eventually being published by Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Portugal.
"The Philippine Embassy's commitment to spreading knowledge and understanding of the Philippines in Portugal is an important step towards fostering people-to-people exchanges between Filipinos and Portuguese," Feria said.
"By publishing this book in Portuguese, the Philippine Embassy hopes to further promote cultural exchange and deepen understanding between the Philippines and Portugal," she added.
Feria thanked those other people who worked with the embassy in making the translated version possible. These include professors Paulo Pinto and Isabel Branco of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa; and Alex Tarradellas and Rita Custodio, the translators from the same university.