May Day Eve

The "May Day Eve" is a short story written by Famous Filipino National Artist Nick Joaquin. Together with Joaquin's other stories like The Mass of St. Sylvester, Doña Jeronima and Candido’s Apocalypse, May Day Eve utilized the theme of "magic realism" long before the genre was made a trend in Latin American novels. The major characters in May Day Eve are Badoy, Agueda, Anastasia,Agueda's daughter, and Voltaire (Badoy's grandson). Agueda and Badoy have different personalities. Agueda was described to be a bold, liberated, and a non-conformist young woman who was “ahead of her time”. The plot of the storty begun As Don Badoy Montoya visited his old home at Intramuros, Manila, memories of his youth came back and ended the tragedy of the story is Badoy’s heart forgot how he loved Agueda in the past. They were not able to mend their broken marriage because their love was a “raging passion and nothing more”.. The Tanghalang Ateneo of the Ateneo de Manila, under the direction of Alberto S. Florentino, also adapted Joaquin's May Day Eve.