hursday, October 17, 2013

REGION VII

REGION VII
1. Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

=Cecilia Manguerra Brainard is an award-winning author and editor of nineteen

Biography
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard (born 1947) grew up Cebu City, Philippines, the youngest of
four children to Concepcion Cuenco Manguerra and Mariano F. Manguerra. The death
of her father when she was nine prompted her to start writing, first in journals, then
essays and fiction. She attended St. Theresa's College and Maryknoll College in the
Philippines; and she did graduate work at UCLA.[2][7][8]

Brainard has worked with Asian American youths for which she received a Special
Recognition Award from the Los Angeles Board of Education. She has also received
awards from the California State Senate, 21st District, several USIS Grants, a California
Arts Council Fellowship, an Outstanding Individual Award from the City of Cebu,
Philippines, Brody Arts Fund Award, a City of Los Angeles Cultural grant, and many
more. The books she has written and edited have also won awards, the Gintong Aklat
Award and the International Gourmand Award among them. Her work has been
translated into Finnish and Turkish.

Brainard's second novel, Magdalena inspired the playwright Jocelyn Deona de Leon to
write a stage play, Gabriela's Monologue, which was produced in 2011 by the Bindlestiff
Studio in San Francisco as part of Stories XII! annual production showcasing original
works for the stage by Pilipino/Filipino American Artists.

Brainard's writings can be found in periodicals such as Town and Country, Zee Lifestyle
Magazine, Focus Philippines, Philippine Graphic, Amerasia Journal, Bamboo Ridge
among others. Her stories have been anthologized in books such as Making Waves
(1989), Songs of Ourselves (1994), On a Bed of Rice (1995), "Pinay: Autobiographical
Narratives by Women Writers, 1926-1998" (Ateneo 2000), "Asian American Literature"
(Glencoe McGraw-Hill 2001),Cherished (New World Library, 2011), and other.
When the Rainbow Goddess Wept.

 Acapulco at Sunset and other Stories (short story collection, Anvil, 1995)
 Angelica's Daughters, a Dugtungan Novel (a collaborative novel co-authored by
Brainard, Cuizon, Evangelista, Montes, and Sarreal, Anvil, 2010)
 "Gokkusagi Tanricasi Agladginda" (Turkish edition of "When the Rainbow Goddess
Wept" Bilge Kultur Sanat, translated by Fusun Talay, 2001)
 Magdalena (novel, Plain View Press, 2002)
 Vigan and other Stories (short story collection, Anvil, 2011)
 When the Rainbow Goddess Wept (novel, Dutton, 1994), which first appeared as Song of
Yvonne, (New Day Publishers, 1991) (Plume paperback, 1995), (University of Michigan
Press, 1999)
 Woman With Horns and Other Stories (short story collection, New Day Publishers, 1988)
[1][2][3]

 Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites (Edited by Brainard, Anvil, 2012)

.2. Antonio Abad

One of the most famous Filipino writers is Antonio Abad who was born in 1894 and died in
1970. He hailed from Cebu, Philippines and was known as an essayist, playwright, fictionist and
poet. Among the novels that Antonio Abad had written were El Ultimo Romantico, La Oveja de
Nathan, Dagohoy, El Campeon, and La Vida Secreta de Daniel Espeña. The first two novels
mentioned were awarded the Premio Zobel award in 1928 and 1929. This Filipino writer
extended his contribution in the literary field by becoming a professor in such universities as the
University of the Philippines and Far Eastern University. As a matter of fact, Antonio Abad was
one of the founders of the Department of Spanish of the University of the Philippines. The son of
Antonio Abad, Gemino H. Abad, was also a poet.

Article Source: [Link]

3. Martin Abellana

Another Filipino writer who contributed a lot in the Philippine literary industry was Martin
Abellana, born in 1904 and died in 1989. Martin Abellana was a Filipino writer who hailed from
the Visayan region of the Philippines. Aside from being a writer, he was also a teacher and was
even elected president of an organization of Cebuano writers known as LUDABI. He served as
LUDABI president from 1956 to 1958. Among his novels are Kinabuhi, Awit sa Gugma, Basuni
sa Katingala, Tulisok sa Tanlag, Ang Kalayo sa Sulad, and Kaulit sa Kalipay.

Article Source: [Link]

4. Antonio M. Abad
Antonio Martinez Abad known as the “el gran novelista de la literatura Filipino hispana
despues de Rizal”. He was born on May 10, 1894 in Barili, Cebu and studied at Colegio de
San Carlos. He was a poet, fictionist, playwright, and essayist who wrote in Spanish; a
master of a master of costumbrismo (local color), in a personal form of anecdote known as
instantánea or ráfaga. He became a professor at Far Eastern University and the University
of the Philippines, where he taught Spanish and co-founded the Department of Spanish
(now European Languages). One of his novels, La Oveja de Nathan, is widely discussed in
the following article in Spanish, by Professor Manuel Garcia Castellon, from University of
New Orleans.

Some of his novels include El Último Romántico (1929), La Oveja de Nathán (1929),
Dagohoy (1939), El Campeón (1939), and La Vida Secreta de Daniel Espeña (1960; one of
the last Filipino novels written in Spanish). He won the Premio Zobel for his El Último
Romántico and La Oveja de Nathán (with Flaviano Zaragoza), and Premio Concurso Literario
de la Mancomunidad Filipina for novels Dagohoy and El Campeón. He was also one of the
recipients of the Commonwealth Literary Awards.

Abad was also the editor of La Revolution, El Precursor, El Espectador, The Cebu Advertiser,
and El Debate; and in 1926, he became the president of La Opinion. He is the father of poet
and critic Gemino Abad.

He died on April 10, 1970.

[Link] R. Alaras

 
Consolacion R. Alaras wants to be remembered as the proponent of restoring the ancestral
role of language, literature, arts, history and spirituality as the heart and soul of national
development, transformation and unity. She is a professor of UP Department of English and
Comparative Literature. She has served as chair of the DECL and NCAA Committee on
Cultural Information and Special Events, both for two terms; NCAA Representative to the
Pamitinan Protected Area Management Board of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources; chairperson, Corruption Prevention Working Group in the Ombudsman
Multisectoral Anticorruption Council for United Nations Convention Against Corruption
(UNCAC); head, Academe Sector of the Good Citizenship Council, and; chairperson, Moral
Recovery Officers Foundation, Inc.

          She completed her Ph.D Philippine Studies at the University of thePhilippines,
Diliman. She received several grants such as UP Fellowship, Ford Rockefeller, RPUS Faculty
Development and European Union Study Visit in Franceand Germany for Intellectual
Copyright.

          Her published books include “Pamitinan: Ang Pagbubukas ng Tipanan ng Mahal na
Ina” (1988); “Kuweba Pamitinan” (1996); “Rizal and the Katipunan Pilgrimage for Sacred
Prophetic Politics in the Philippines for the World” (2001), and; “The Filipino Earth Charter
Pamatalaan Dambana ng Bayan” (2005).

          Her column “Pamatalaan Column” in Balitang- Balita stresses the values and
spirituality in the Philippines and the world. Her workshop abroad was “The Multisectoral
English Plus Project of the University of the Philippines and the Commission on Higher
Education for Filipino Earth Charter Classroom and Communities.

        Alaras was born in Cebu City on September 1, 1941 to Mr. Felipe and Mrs. Guillerma
Alaras. 

[Link] Alesna

 
Born in Carcar on May 18, 1909, Diosdado Alesna studied at the Carcar Institute, Cebu
Provincial High School, University of the Visayas. He taught in the public schools; served in
other civil positions and retired in 1972 as administrative officer of the Cebu District
Engineer’s Office. He started writing in 1920. Alesna created the verse form, siniloy. His
best poems are "Ang Gahum sa Awit," "Kalimti ug Biyai," and "Si Kristo sa Balabag," all
LUDABI prize winners. He was honored in 1966 as LUDABI’s Most Outstanding Poet for the
last ten years. His many pen names are: Diody Mangloy, Tancredo Rigor, Reynaldo Lap.
Buntia, Melendres La Roca and Flordeliz Makaluluoy

7. Estrella Alfon

 
Estrella Alfon, who hailed from Cebu, was born on 1917. She is a well-known storywriter,
playwright and journalist; and though a Cebuana, she wrote almost exclusively in English.
 Unlike other writers of her time, she did not come from the intelligensia. She attended
college, and studied medicine; however, when she was mistakenly diagnosed with
tuberculosis and sent to a sanitarium, she resigned from her pre-medical education, and left
with an Associate of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines. In spite of having
only an A.A. degree, she was eventually appointed as a professor of Creative Writing at the
University of thePhilippines, Manila. She was a member of the U.P. Writers Club, she held
the National Fellowship in Fiction post at the U.P. Creative Writing Center in 1979.

            She became a member of the U. P. Writers Club and was given the privileged post
of National Fellowship in Fiction post at the U. P. Creative Writing Center. Her first story,
Grey Confetti, was published in graphic in 1935.

            She was the only female member of the Veronicans, an avant garde group of
writers in the 1930s led by Francisco Arcellana and H.R. Ocampo, she was also regarded as
their muse. The Veronicans are recognized as the first group of Filipino writers to write
almost exclusively in English and were formed prior to the World War II. She is also
reportedly the most prolific Filipina writer prior to World War II. She was a regular
contributor to Manila-based national magazines; she had several stories cited in Jose Garcia
Villa’s annual honor rolls. She also served on the Philippine Board of Tourism in the 1970s.

            Some of her achievements are:

§         1940: A collection of her early short stories, “Dear Esmeralda,” won Honorable
Mention in the Commonwealth Literary Award.

·         1961-1962: Four of her one-act plays won all the prizes in the Arena Theater Play Writing
Contest: “Losers Keepers” (first prize), “Strangers” (second prize), “Rice” (third prize), and
“Beggar” (fourth prize).

·         1961-1962: Won top prize in the Palanca Contest for “With Patches of Many Hues.”

·         1974: Second place Palanca Award for her short story, "The White Dress".

·         1979: National Fellowship in Fiction post at the U.P. Creative WritingCenter.

Palanca Awards

§         Forever Witches, One-act Play (Third place, 1960)

§         With Patches of Many Hues, One-act Play (First place, 1962)

§         Tubig, One-act Play (Second place, 1963)

§         The Knitting Straw, One-act Play, (Third place, 1968)

§         The White Dress, Short Story (Second place, 1974)

8. Diosdado G. Alesna
DIOSDADO G. ALESNA

Born in Carcar on May 18, 1909, Diosdado Alesna studied at the Carcar Institute,
Cebu Provincial High School, University of the Visayas. He taught in the public schools;
served in other civil positions and retired in 1972 as administrative officer of the Cebu
District Engineer’s Office. He started writing in 1920. Alesna created the verse form,
siniloy. His best poems are "Ang Gahum sa Awit," "Kalimti ug Biyai," and "Si Kristo sa
Balabag," all LUDABI prize winners. He was honored in 1966 as LUDABI’s Most
Outstanding Poet for the last ten years. His many pen names are: Diody Mangloy,
Tancredo Rigor, Reynaldo Lap. Buntia, Melendres La Roca and Flordeliz Makaluluoy.
REGION VII