Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions

Lesson 2: National Artists of the Philippines

NATIONAL ARTIST FOR VISUAL ARTS:

*Fernando Amorsolo (May 30, 1892 – April 24, 1972)
Amorsolo is the first National Artist in the country and was known for using the backlighting technique
in painting, making his creations bright and cheerful.

*Carlos “Botong” Francisco (November 4, 1912 – March 31, 1969)

Francisco revived the art of mural and was considered to be the most distinguished mural painter for
about three decades and was known for using historical events as subject matter for his murals.

*Guillermo E. Tolentino (July 24, 1890 – July 12, 1976)

Honored as National Artist for Sculpture in 1973 and was known for designing the seal of the Republic
of the Philippines, and the gold and bronze medals for the Ramon Magsaysay Award. Tolentino’s works
include the “UP Oblation”.

*Napoleon V. Abueva (January 26, 1930)

Abueva was considered to be the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture. He is skillful in creating both
representational and modern abstract sculptures using a wide variety of materials. He was also known for
creating “buoyant sculpture,” a type of sculpture to be viewed from the surface of a pool.

Victorio C. Edades (December 23, 1895 – March 7, 1985)

Recognized as the Father of Modern Philippine Painting and was known for using dark somber colors in
his paintings. His works focused on factory workers, laborers or other simple townspeople.

Vicente Manansala (January 22, 1910 – August 22, 1981)

He was known for his paintings depicting realistic themes using an abstract or a cubist style. He
believed that.“the beauty of art is in the process, in the moment of.. doing a particular painting, closely
associating it with the act of making love.

*Hernando R. Ocampo (April 28, 1911 – December 28, 1978)

Ocampo was largely known for his abstract paintings. His works featured shapes bounded with curved
lines painted in intense colors. His masterpiece “Genesis” was used as the basis of the design of the curtain of
the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Main Theater.

Cesar Legaspi (April 2, 1917 – April 7, 1994)

Legaspi was known for utilizing and refining cubism, a style involving breaking parts into geometric
shapes, in his paintings.

Elizalde Navarro (May 22, 1924 – June 10, 1999)

He was known for his hardwood masks reflecting the human and the animal, abstract paintings in oil
and watercolor, and assemblages. He was also known for his fiction works for This Week of the Manila
Chronicle, and for his figurative drawings for Lydia Arguilla’s Juan tamad.
Ang Kiukok (March 1, 1931 – May 9, 2005)
He was known for his paintings expressing nationalism and sociological agenda during the ’60s through
vivid cubistic figures. His works include “Geometric landscape,” “Pieta,” and the “Seated Figure.”

*Benedicto Cabrera (April 10, 1942)

Known as “Bencab,” Cabrera was noted as the bestselling painter of his generation of Filipino artists
and also known for his sketches of a scavenger named “Sabel, a symbol of dislocation, despair, and isolation-
the personification of human dignity threatened by life’s circumstance.”

*Abdulmari Asia Imao (January 14, 1936 – December 16, 2014)

Imao was instrumental in popularizing the ukil, sarimanok, and naga motifs in the country as original
Filipino creations. He helped develop trust and confidence among cultural groups, which is needed in building
a more humane community and society.

Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (June 6, 1932 – February 2, 2011)

Alcuaz was mainly known for his oil and acrylic paintings, and sketches in ink, pencil, and watercolor.

*Francisco Coching (January 29, 1919 – September 1, 1998)

Tagged as the “Dean of Filipino Illustrators,” Coching is best known for his work on comics and
illustrations which led to its recognition as popular art. He has influenced cartoonists such as Larry Alcala, Ben
Infante, and Nestor Redondo.

Jose T. Joya (June 3, 1931 – 1995)

Joya is known for pioneering abstract expressionism in the Philippines. His most notable work is the
Granadean Arabesque (1958). He also represented the Philippines in the 1964 Venice Biennale

NATIONAL ARTISTS FOR ARCHITECTURE:

Pablo S. Antonio (January 25, 1902 – June 14, 1975)
He was considered a pioneer in modern Philippine architecture. A prominent feature of his designs is
the use of natural light and cross ventilation. According to Antonio, buildings should be planned with austerity
in mind and stability forever as the aim of true architecture; buildings must be progressive, simple in design
but dignified, true to a purpose without resorting to an applied set of aesthetics, and should eternally recreate
truth.

*Leandro V. Locsin (August 15, 1928 – November 15, 1994)

His designs usually feature themes of floating volume and a mix of both Eastern and western
aesthetics.

Ildefonso P. Santos (September 5, 1929 – January 29, 2014)

Santos pioneered landscape architecture in the Philippines. His work in the Makati Commercial Center
incorporated fountains, sculptures, and landscapes in a shopping area.
NATIONAL ARTISTS FOR LITERATURE:
Historical Literature
*Carlos Quirino (November 4, 1910 – May 20, 1999)
He is the first and so far, the only National Artist for Historical Literature and was also known for
writing “The. Great Malayan,” which is considered to be one of the earliest biographies of Jose Rizal.

Literature
Francisco Arcellana (September 6, 1916 – August 1, 2002)
Arcellana is a writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist, and teacher, who is recognized as one of the
pioneers in writing modern Filipino short stories in English. He also originated the lyrical prose-poetic form in
writing short stories.

N.V.M Gonzales (September 8, 1915 – November 28, 1999)

Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzales is a fictionist, essayist, poet, and teacher. He earned numerous
recognitions including the First Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1940, the Republic Cultural Heritage Award
in 1960, and the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining in 1990.

*Nick Joaquin (May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004)

He is consideres the most distinguished Filipino writer in English writing. His body of work extends
from short stories to poems to essays which includes journalism and reportage. He used the name Guerre
Quijano de Manila as a journalist.

F. Sionil Jose (December 3, 1924)

F.Sionil Jose is one of the most widely read Filipino writers who founded the Philippine chapter of the
international organization PEN.

*Alejandro Roces (July 13, 1924 – May 23, 2011)

Roces is known for his comic short stories which include “My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken.” He also led
the campaign to change the country’s Independence Day from July 4 to June 12.

Edith L. Tiempo (April 22, 1919 – August 21, 2011)

Tiempo is a poet, fictionist, teacher, and literary critic who founded the Siliman National Writers
Workshop in Dumaguete City with her late husband Edilberto K. Tiempo.

Virgilio S. Almario (March 9, 1944)

Also known as Rio Alma, he is among the notable modernist poets. He reinvented the traditional
Filipino poetry forms.

*Amado V. Hernandez (September 13, 1903 – May 24, 1970)

Hernandez is known for his contribution to the development of Tagalog prose through the use of
colloquial style.
Carlos P. Romulo (January 14, 1899 – December 15, 1985)
Romulo is noted as a diplomat and an awarded journalist. He is the first Asian President of the United
Nations General Assembly, and the only Asian to win the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for his articles on World
War II.

Bienvenido Lumbera (April 11, 1932)

Lumbera is a multi-awarded poet, critic, and librettist. His works include Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa
(poems in Filipino and English), 1993; Balaybay, Mga Tulang Lunot at Manibalang, 2002; Sa Sariling Bayan,
Apat na Dulang May Musila, 2004; Tales of the Manuvu and Rama Hari.

Cirilo F. Bautista (July 9, 1941)

Bautista is a poet, fictionist, and essayist. He founded the Philippine Literary Arts Council in 1981, the
Iligan National Writers Workshop in 1993, and the Baguio Writers Group.

Lazaro Francisco (February 22, 1898 – June 17, 1980)

Francisco is among the prominent writers in the Tagalog language. He established the Kapatiran Ng
Mga Alagad Ng Wikang Pilipino (KAWIKA) in 1958 to support Tagalog as the national language.

Jose Garcia Villa (August 5, 1908 – July 7, 1997)

Villa is recognized as one of the best contemporary poets. He is best known for introducing the
reversed consonance rhyme scheme and his use of punctuation, especially commas.

NATIONAL ARTISTS FOR DANCE, MUSIC, FILM, AND THEATER:

Cinema/Film
Lamberto V. Avellana (February 12, 1915 – April 25, 1991)
Avellana was tagged as the “Boy Wonder of Philippine Movies” as early as 1939. Kalderong Pilak was
the first film by a Filipino filmmaker shown at Cannes International Film Festival.

Manuel Conde (October 9, 1915 – August 11, 1985)

Conde is known for producing and directing films based on old Filipino tales such as Siete Infantes de
Lara (1950), Si Juan Tamad (1974), and Ang Ibong Adarna (1941). He also brought to the silver screen stories
from other parts of the world like Genghis Khan (1950).

Eddie S. Romero (July 7, 1924 – May 28, 2013)

He is a screenwriter, film director, and producer who is behind Filipino classics such as “Ganito Kami
Noon...Paano Kayo Ngayon?”, “Banta ng Kahapon” and “Aguila” as well as the 13-part series “Noli Me
Tangere”.

Lino Brocka (April 3, 1939 – May 22, 1991)

Catalino “Lino” Ortiz Brocka is recognized for his films which explore the lives of people in marginalized
sectors. Brocka also directed theater organizations such as the Philippine Educational Theater Association
(PETA) and the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP).
Gerardo de Leon (September 12, 1913 – July 25, 1981)
De Leon is a prominent filmmaker in the ’50s and ’60s producing classics such as “Daigdig ng Mga Api,”
“Noli Me. Tangere,” “El Filibusterismo,” “dyesebel” and “Sisa.”

*Ishmael Bernal (September 30, 1938 – June 2, 1996)

Bernal, who was hailed by the critics as “The Genius of the Philippine Cinema,” is known for directing
films that project the realities of the Filipinos. He was hailed as Director of the Decade of the 1970s by the
Catholic Mass Media Awards; four-time Best Director by the Urian Awards (1989, 1985, 1983, and 1977); and
given the ASEAN Cultural Award in Communication Arts in 1993.

*Ronald Alan K. Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004)

More known as Fernando Poe, Jr. He is an icon in the film industry as an actor, director, writer, and
producer. He. starred in films like “Mga Alabok sa Lupa” (1967), “Partida”. (1985), “Ang Probinsyano” (1996),
and among others.

Dance
*Francisca Reyes Aquino (March 9, 1899 – November 21, 1983)
She was known for her research on Philippine folk dances, which later resulted in a thesis entitled
“Philippine Folk Dances and Games.” It was distributed to public and private schools.

Leonor Orosa Goquingco (July 24, 1917 – July 15, 2005)

She was known as the “Mother of Philippine Theater Dance,” Goquingco blended folkloric and Asian
styles in ballet choreography. She was a founding member of the Philippine Ballet Theater and the Honorary
Chair of the Association of Ballet Academies of the Philippines.

Ramon Obusan (June 16, 1938 – December 21, 2006)

A dancer, choreographer, artistic director, researcher, and documentary filmmaker. He was able to
promote Filipino culture in other countries using the art of dance through the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group.

Lucrecia Reyes – Urtula (June 29, 1929 – August 24, 1999)

Reyes-Urtula was the dance director of the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company, for which she
choreographed different Philippine folk, and ethnic dances, pageants, and festivals.

Alice Reyes (October 14, 1942)

Reyes is known for blending styles and movements from Philippine indigenous dance, classical ballet,
and modern dance in expressing Filipino subject matters. This is said to be the “contemporary dance language
that is uniquely Filipino.”

Music
Antonino Buenaventura (May 4, 1904 – January 25, 1996)
He was known for his marches including the “Triumphal March,” “History Fantasy,” “Echoes from the
Philippines,” and “Ode to Freedom.” He was a conductor of the Philippine Army Band. He wrote compositions
for solo instruments, symphonic and orchestral works, which. are based on Philippine folksongs.
Ernani Cuenco (May 10, 1936 – June 11, 1988)
He was known for the following songs: “Bato sa Buhangin,” “Gaano Kita Kamahal,” “Inang Bayan,”
“Isang Dalangin,” “Kalesa,” and “Pilipinas.” These works brought contemporary Filipino music to a higher level.
In the song, “Gaano Kita Kamahal”, he added elements of Kundiman. He played with the Filipino Youth
Symphony Orchestra and the Manila Symphony Orchestra from 1960 to 1968.

Francisco Feliciano (February 19, 1941 – September 19, 2014)

His major works include “Ashen Wings,” “Sikhay sa Kabila ng Paalam,” and “Pamugun.” He was known
for the use of modal scales in his operas and orchestral works. He used indigenous music in his compositions.

*Jovita Fuentes (February 15, 1895 – August 7, 1978)

She was best known for her portrayal of Cio-cio San in Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly in Italy in
April 1925. When she returned to the Philippines, she established the Artists’ Guild of the Philippines in an
effort to instill a love for opera in her countrymen.

Jose Maceda (January 31, 1917 – May 5, 2004)

He conducted research and fieldwork to explore. Filipino traditional music further and to understand
the. nature of Philippine ethnic and traditional music. His efforts gave birth to a huge number of recorded
Philippine ethnic and traditional music.

Lucio San Pedro (February 11, 1913 – March 31, 2002)

Best known for his compositions “Sa Ugoy ng Duyan,” “Sa Mahal Kong Bayan,” “Dance of the Fairies,”
“Triumphal March,” and “Lahing Kayumanggi,” Lucio San Pedro was the conductor of the Peng Kong Grand
Mason Concert Band, the San Pedro Band of Angono, and the Benda Angono Numero Uno. Working with
these bands and other town bands helped in the development of a civic culture among Filipino communities.

*Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 – April 2, 2002)

Celerio is most known for his recognition as the only man who could play music with a leaf in the
Guinness Book of World Records. He also earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Film Academy of the
Philippines for writing songs for local movies. He was also known as the dean of Filipino lyricists.

Felipe Padilla de Leon (May 1, 1912 – December 5, 1992)

He was known for Filipinizing western music forms. His works, which include “Mariang Maikling
Overture,”. “Maynila Overture,” “Payapang Daigdig,” and “Ako’y. Pilipino,” expressed sentiments and
aspirations of the. Filipino in times of strife and peace.

Lucrecia R. Kasilag (August 31, 1918 – August 16, 2008)

She was known for fusing Filipino ethnic music with Western musical influences. She was also known
for incorporating Filipino indigenous musical instruments in orchestral works.

Antonio J. Molina (December 16, 1894 – January 29, 1980)

Molina was known for introducing the pentatonic scale, whole tone scale, linear counterpoints, and
the use of dominant ninths and eleventh chords in Philippine music.
Ramon P. Santos (February 25, 1941)
Santos is a Filipino composer, musicologist and ethnomusicologist who was made a Chevalier de I’Orde
des Arts et Lettres in 1987. He helped in advocating modern Philippine music that is still based in early Asia.
practices and way of life.

*Andrea Veneracion (July 11, 1928 – July 9, 2013)

She was the founder of the world-renowned University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers, or simply
the Philippine Madrigal Singers, which is the first choir in the world to win the European Grand Prix for Choral
Singing twice. Veneracion is also recognized as an important authority in the development of Philippine choral
music.

Theater
Daisy Avellana (January 26, 1917 – May 12, 2013)
She co-founded the Barangay Theatre Guild, together with her husband, National Artist Lamberto
Avellana, in 1939. This move made theatre and dramatic arts popular in the country. She was known as the
director of the films “Diego Silang” (1968) and “Walang Sugat” (1971).

*Honorata “Atang” dela Rama (January 11, 1902 – July 11, 1991)
She was named National Artist for Theater and Music in 1987. She was known as the Queen of
Kundiman, and the first actress to portray a 15-year-old in the very first Tagalog film, which was the film
version of the Sarsuela “Dalagang Bukid.”

*Salvador F. Bernal (January 7, 1945 – October 26, 2011)

Honored as National Artist for Theater Design in 2003, Bernal used local materials including bamboo,
abaca, hemp twine, and rattan in theater design for local productions.

Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (January 22, 1910 – May 1, 1995)

He served as the director of the UP Dramatic Club for 16 years since 1947. He founded the UP Mobile
Theater, which started the concept of a theater campus tour.

Severino Montano (January 3, 1915 – December 12, 1980)

He organized the Arena Theater Playwriting Contest which became the initial ground for playwrights to
showcase their talents in writing while serving as Dean of Instruction of the Philippine Normal College.

GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN (GAMABA):

Eduardo Mutuc (2005 awardee)
He dedicated his life to creating religious and secular art in silver, bronze, and wood. According to him,
craftsmanship begins with respect for one’s tools and the medium, and the only way to improve one’s skills is
to immerse oneself, learn the technique, and practice.

*Darhata Sawabi (2005 awardee)

She is a Tausug weaver of pis syabit – the traditional cloth tapestry worn as a head cover. Women in
Sulu province have grown up learning to weave the pis syabit and she is one of those who took the art of pis
syabit making to heart.
Haja Amina Appi (2005 awardee)
She is recognized as a master mat weaver among the Sama indigenous community for her unique
designs, straightness of her edging (tabig), and fineness of her sasa and kima-kima.

Lang Dulay (1998 awardee)

She is a T’boli traditional weaver of “tinalak” or T’boli cloth made of colorful abaca fabrics. She used
abaca fibers as fine as hair which speaks more eloquently than words can.

Salinta Monon (1998 awardee)

She is a Tagabanwa-Bagobo traditional weaver of distinct abaca fabrics called inabal. She developed a
keen eye for traditional designs and can identify the designs as well as the author of a woven piece just by a
glance.

Alonzo Saclag (2000 awardee)

He is a Kalinga master of dance and the performing arts who mastered not only the Kalinga musical
instruments but also the dance patterns and movements associated with his people’s rituals.

Federico Caballero
He is a Sulod-Bukidnon epic chanter who works for the documentation of oral literature. He is
considered a bantugan which means a person who has attained distinction. He strikes to dispense justice in
the community through his work as a manughusay which is an arbiter of conflicts.

Masino Intaray (1993 awardee)

He is a prolific and pre-eminent epic canter and storyteller recognized for his outstanding mastery of
various traditional musical instruments of the Palaw’an people, such as basal, kulilal, and bagit. He is an
outstanding master of the basal, kulilal (musical ensemble), and bagit; a gifted pot, bard artist, and musician.

Samon Sulaiman (1993 awardee)

He is Magindanaon, who is highly sophisticated in weaving, okir designs, jewelry, metalwork, and
brassware which art is Southeast Asian yet distinct in character.

Uwang Ahadas (2000 awardee)

His near-blindness eyesight made music his constant companion. He is a Yakan, a people to whom
instrumental music is of much significance, connected as it is with both the agricultural cycle and the social
realm.

*Ginaw Bilog (1993 awardee)

He is a Hanunoo Mangyan who is considered as a master of ambahan poetry. He shares old and new
ambahans with his fellow Mangyans and promotes this poetic form on every occasion. A common cultural
aspect among cultural communities nationwide is the oral tradition characterized by poetic verses which are
either sung or chanted.
Magdalena Gamayo (2012 awardee)
She is a master weaver who makes “inabel”, an Ilokano handwoven cloth. She was awarded for her
wide array of skills in textile weaving. Her handiworks are finer than most abel. Her blankets have a very high
thread count and her designs are the most intricate sometimes taking up to five colors.

Malacañang confers 8 new National Artists

*1. Agnes Locsin is a choreographer, director, and teacher. She is dubbed as one of the “most progressive
contemporary choreographers in the Philippines,” for she distinctively utilizes Filipino beliefs, rituals, and
ethnic traditions in her choreographies, concepts, and direction, which she was able to beautifully merge with
her knowledge in Western dance techniques and called it “neo-ethnic.” Among her successful works are
Babaylan, which won second place in the Tokyo International Choreography Competition in 1993; Taong
Talangka (Man-Crab); Salome which won second place for dancer Camille Ordinario in the 1994 Concours
International de la Danse in Paris, France; and narrative works like one on the life of the mythical hero Labaw
Dungon in the epic Hinilawod from the island of Panay.

*2. Salvacion Lim-Higgins, known to the fashion world as “Slim’s”, is credited for innovating and transforming
the look of terno into a world-class silhouette by combining the elements of Philippine costume with European
couture details and construction. She was known for her exquisite drapery, constant and evocative use of
indigenous materials such as piña and jusi, referencing ethnic motifs in her modern dresses, and forward-
looking and cutting-edge approach to fashion. Lim-Higgins introduced draping into traditional costumes and
developed “convertible ternos.” Filipiniana took a more nuanced look through the eye-catching costumes she
created for the Bayanihan Dance Company.

3. Marilou Diaz-Abaya was a film and television director and screenwriter. She began her career in the 1980s
and was part of the generation that defined what is today remembered as the “Second Golden Age of
Philippine Cinema.” Her notable works are Brutal (1980), which marked Diaz-Abaya’s clear directorial style and
unique feminist voice, as she emerged as a bold experimenter of storytelling structure and a fierce creative
protester of the harrowing plight of women in a male-dominated society; Moral (1982), which offered a
nuanced commentary on the expectations and burdens placed onwomen’s shoulders against which they
explore their desires and navigate their shifting place in society; Karnal (1983), where the perverse
entanglement of paternalism, desire, and drive for control results in a violent tragedy; Milagros (1997), where
she moved away from pointed advocacies and delved instead on an enigmatic exploration of feminine desire
and innocence; Sa Pusod ng Dagat (1998), which further explored the complex meaning of womanhood; Jose
Rizal (1998), the biopic of the national hero; Muro-Ami (1999), portrayed the lives of exploited children in the
illegal practice of reef hunting; Bagong Buwan (2001), endeavored to tell a fair and informed story about war-
torn Muslim Mindanao; and Noon at Ngayon: Pagsasamang Kay Ganda (2003), which tells the story of four
middle-aged women who have weathered life’s storms and reconciled with their pasts.

4. Ricardo Lee also known as Ricky Lee is a screenwriter for film and television, journalist, playwright, and a
multi-awarded fictionist who published several novels, plays, essays, and short story collections along his
screenplays and screenwriting manuals. He has demonstrated his mastery of writing historical films, literary
and true-to-life adaptations, political, courtroom, and dramas, the stories of “outsiders” and marginalized
figures such as laborers, prostitutes, rebels, migrant workers, and gay people, and his consistent elevation of
all manner of genre fare, from horror to tearjerkers to comedies. Lee emerged in screenwriting in the late
1970s as part of the generation of filmmakers who ushered the “Second Golden Age of Philippine Cinema.”

Lee has demonstrated his mastery of writing historical films, literary and true-to-life adaptations, political,
courtroom, and diasporic dramas, the stories of “outsiders” and marginalized figures such as laborers,
prostitutes, rebels, migrant workers, and gay people, and his consistent elevation of all manner of genre fare,
from horror to tearjerkers to comedies.

*5. Nora Cabaltera Villamayor, also known as Nora Aunor, has been in different fields for more than four
decades—film, television, music, and stage. Her journey to fame started when she joined and won a local
amateur singing contest in a radio program called “Darigold Jamboree”. She came to be known as the girl with
the “golden voice” with the unique tone of her voice. It was Tower Productions that gave her the biggest
break: the title role in D’ Musical Teenage Idols, opposite Tirso Cruz III. Sampaguita Pictures’ 34th-anniversary
presentation was also a Nora-Tirso starrer, Fiesta Extravaganza, and that is when people began referring her
as “Superstar”. Succeeding years would see her taking on a wide variety of movie projects, showing her
versatility by making comedies, melodramas, and musicals. Her extensive filmography with 170 films is not
only matched but exceeded by the number of awards and citations she has received from local and
international organizations.

6. Dr. Gémino H. Abad is a writer, critic, scholar, literary historian, and anthologist with numerous books and
literary awards including ten poetry volumes, nine volumes of literary criticism, two volumes on his own
poetics, two short story collections, a five-volume historical anthology of Philippine poetry in English, and a
six-volume anthology of Philippine short stories in English, from1956 (the year where the late Leopoldo Yabes’
anthology left off) to 2009. Several of these books have received national literary awards such as the Gawad
Dangal ng Lahi given by the Carlos Palanca Memorial Foundation; the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for
his poetry; the CCP Award for Poetry; the Ani ng Dangal Award of the NCCA; the UMPIL’s Gawad Alagad ni
Balagtas for lifetime achievement in poetry and literary criticism; the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan sa
Larangan ng Panitikan from the City of Maynila; the Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award for poetry, for
anthology, for personal anthology; and the Philippines Free Press Literary Awards for the short story, essay,
and poetry.

*7. Professor Emeritus Fides Cuyugan Asensio’s more than six decades of involvement with the art of opera
displays her dedication and passion to bringing inaccessible Western dramatic idiom into Philippine theaters
for the Filipino opera enthusiasts to experience and learn from. She’s dedicated to opera and musical theater,
which enriched the Philippine artistic scene. Her exceptional achievements in many years of exemplary service
to the field such as performing, teaching, producing, and directing opera and theater productions, contributed
to a Renaissance of classical musical theater in the country. Her performance of Sisa in Felipe de Leon’s Noli
Me Tangere became a hallmark in the country’s musical theater history.
She dedicated her golden years to teaching young Filipino singers, hence, her teaching elevated the level of
performance and transformed singing into a truthful and higher form of art in the country. Her involvement in
the country’s musical theatre scene has enriched our cultural heritage, showcasing Filipino excellence in music
to the world and shaped the future generations of Filipino musical theater artists.
8. Antonio “Tony” Mabesa, known as the Lion of the Theater, was a director, actor, and teacher who greatly
contributed to the growth and diversity of Philippine theater. His theater teaching, formalism as aesthetics,
and methods of production have made an impact on his students. He was a professor, artist and mentor who
will be remembered for his lessons on discipline, commitment and respect for theater.

Early seventies when he formed Tanghalang Repertory with various Filipino students in Hawaii, a theater
group devoted solely to the production of traditional and modern Filipino plays and later on staged
productions around Honolulu. Then, upon returning to the Philippines, he joined the Department of Speech
Communications and Drama in the University of the Philippines Diliman, when productions were only staged
occasionally. His first tasks were to come up with a regular season, thus the Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas
(DUP) was born in 1976. Moreover, in 1986 he founded the UP Playwright’s Theater (UPPT), which focused on
new works by Filipino playwrights and the revival of classic Filipino plays.