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Polytechnic University of the Philippines

LABORATORY HIGH SCHOOL

www.pup.edu.ph/lhs

Sta. Mesa, Manila

COMMUNICATION ARTS
The National Artists of the Philippines
A National Artist of the Philippines (Filipino: Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas) is a title given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts. Such Filipinos are announced, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist or in Filipino, Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining. They are then conferred membership in the Order of National Artists, the regalia of which is an ornate, gilden collar of honor. In addition to the collar, each newly proclaimed member of the Order is given a citation that is presented during the awardees' conferment ceremonies. The Cultural Center of the Philippines then hosts a Memorabilia Exhibit and Gabi ng Parangal (A Night of Tributes) for the National Artists at the Tanghalang Pambansa. Other benefits received by National artists include a monthly pension, medical and life insurance, arrangements for a state funeral, a place of honor at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events. The National Artist Honors is administered by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) by virtue of President Ferdinand Marcos's Proclamation No. 1001 of April 2, 1972 and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The Government of the Philippines confers the award to deserving individuals who have been recommended by both the CCP and the NCCA. The first award was posthumously conferred on Filipino painter Fernando Amorsolo

AMADO V. HERNANDEZ
Amado V. Hernandez, poet, playwright, and novelist, is among the Filipino writers who practiced "committed art". In his view, the function of the writer is to act as the conscience of society and to affirm the greatness of the human spirit in the face of inequity and oppression. Hernandez's contribution to the development of Tagalog prose is considerable - he stripped Tagalog of its ornate character and wrote in prose closer to the colloquial than the "official" style permitted. His novel Mga Ibong Mandaragit, fi rst written by Hernandez while in prison, is the first Filipino socio-political novel that exposes the ills of the society as evident in the agrarian problems of the 50s. Hernandez's other works include Bayang Malaya, Isang Dipang Langit, Luha ng Buwaya, Amado V. Hernandez: Tudla at Tudling: Katipunan ng mga Nalathalang Tula 1921-1970, Langaw sa Isang Basong Gatas at Iba Pang Kuwento ni Amado V. Hernandez, Magkabilang Mukha ng Isang Bagol at Iba Pang Akda ni Amado V. Hernandez.

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HONORATA ATANG DELA RAMA

Honorata "Atang" Dela Rama was formally honored as the Queen of Kundiman in 1979, then already 74 years old singing the same song ("Nabasag na Banga") that she sang as a 15-year old girl in the sarsuela Dalagang Bukid. Atang became the very first actress in the very first Tagalog film when she essayed the same role in the sarsuela's film version. As early as age seven, Atang was already being cast in Spanish zarzuelas such as Mascota, Sueo de un Vals, and Marina. She counts the role though of an orphan in Pangarap ni Rosa as her most rewarding and satisfying role that she played with realism, the stage sparkling with silver coins tossed by a teary-eyed audience. Atang firmly believes that the sarswela and the kundiman expresses best the Filipino soul, and has even performed kundiman and other Filipino songs for the Aetas or Negritos of Zambales and the Sierra Madre, the Bagobos of Davao and other Lumad of Mindanao. Among the kundiman and the other songs she premiered or popularized werePakiusap, Ay, Ay Kalisud, Kung Iibig Ka and Madaling Araw by Jose Corazon de Jesus, and Mutya ng Pasig by Deogracias Rosario and Nicanor Abelardo. She also wrote her own sarswelas: Anak ni Eba, Aking Ina, and Puri at Buhay.

LAMBERTO AVELLANA
Lamberto V. Avellana, director for theater and film, has the distinction of being called "The Boy Wonder of Philippine Movies" as early as 1939. He was the first to use the motion picture camera to establish a point-of-view, a move that revolutionized the techniques of film narration. Avellana, who at 20 portrayed Joan of Arc in time for Ateneo's diamond jubilee, initially set out to establish a Filipino theater. Together with Daisy Hontiveros, star of many UP plays and his future wife, he formed the Barangay Theater Guild which had, among others, Leon Ma .Guerrero and Raul Manglapus as members. It was after seeing such plays that Carlos P. Romulo, then president of Philippine Films, encouraged him to try his hand at directing films. In his first film Sakay, Avellana demonstrated a kind of visual rhythm that established a new filmic language. Sakay was declared the best picture of 1939 by critics and journalists alike and set the tone for Avellana's career in film that would be capped by such distinctive achievements as the Grand Prix at the Asian Film Festival in Hong Kong for Anak Dalita (1956); Best Director of Asia award in Tokyo for Badjao, among others. Avellana was also the first filmmaker to have his film Kandelerong Pilak shown at the Cannes International Film Festival. Among the films he directed for worldwide release were Sergeant Hasan (1967), Destination Vietnam (1969), and The Evil Within (1970).

DAISY AVELLANA
Daisy H. Avellana, is an actor, director and writer. Born in Roxas City, Capiz on January 26, 1917. She has elevated legitimate theater and dramatic arts to a new level of excellence by staging and performing in breakthrough productions of classic Filipino and foreign plays and by encouraging the establishment of performing groups and the professionalization of Filipino theater. Together with her husband, National Artist Lamberto Avellana and other artists, she co-founded the Barangay Theatre Guild in 1939 which paved the way for the popularization of theatre and dramatic arts in the country, utilizing radio and television. She has starred in plays like Othello (1953), Macbeth in Black (1959), Casa de Bernarda Alba (1967), Tatarin. She is best remembered for her portrayal ofCandida Marasigan in the stage and film versions of Nick Joaquins Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. Her directorial credits include Diego Silang (1968), and Walang Sugat (1971). Among her screenplays were Sakay (1939)and Portrait of the Artist as Filipino (1955)

LEVI CELERIO
Levi Celerio is a prolific lyricist and composer for decades. He effortlessly translated/wrote anew the lyrics to traditional melodies: "O Maliwanag Na Buwan" (Iloko), "Ako ay May Singsing" (Pampango), "Alibangbang" (Visaya) among others. Born in Tondo, Celerio received his scholarship at the Academy of Music in Manila that made it possible for him to join the Manila Symphony Orchestra, becoming its youngest member. He made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the only person able to make music using just a leaf. A great

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number of his songs have been written for the local movies, which earned for him the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Film Academy of the Philippines. Celerio, more importantly, has enriched the Philippine music for no less than two generations with a treasury of more than 4,000 songs in an idiom that has proven to appeal to all social classes. Major works of Celerio include the following: "Alembong" (music by J. Silos Jr.), "Bagong Pagsilang" (F.de Leon), "Kapag Puso'y Sinugatan" (T. Maiquez), "Galawgaw" (J.Silos Jr.), "Misa de Gallo" (J. Balita), "Pasko na Naman" (F. de Leon), "Sa Ugoy ng Duyan" (L. San Pedro), "Saan Ka Man Naroroon" (R. Umali), "Tinikling" (folk song), "Itik-itik" (folk song), "Waray-waray" (J.Silos Jr.), "Tunay na Tunay" (J. Silos Jr.), "Ang Pasko ay Sumapit".

ISHMAEL BERNAL
Ishmael Bernal was a filmmaker of the first order and one of the very few who can be truly called a maestro. Critics have hailed him as "the genius of Philippine cinema." He is recognized as a director of films that serve as social commentaries and bold reflections on the existing realities of the struggle of the Filipino. His art extends beyond the confines of aesthetics. By polishing its visuals, or innovating in the medium, he manages to send his message across: to fight the censors, free the artists, give justice to the oppressed, and enlighten as well as entertain the audience. Among his notable films are "Pahiram ng Isang Umaga" (1989), "Broken Marriage" (1983), "Himala" (1981), "City After Dark" (1980), and "Nunal sa Tubig" (1976). He was recognized as the 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.

SEVERINO MONTANO
Playwright, director, actor, and theater organizer Severino Montano is the forerunner in institutionalizing "legitimate theater" in the Philippines. Taking up courses and graduate degrees abroad, he honed and shared his expertise with his countrymates. As Dean of Instruction of the Philippine Normal College, Montano organized the Arena Theater to bring drama to the masses. He trained and directed the new generations of dramatists including Rolando S. Tinio, Emmanuel Borlaza, Joonee Gamboa, and Behn Cervantes. He established a graduate program at the Philippine Normal College for the training of playwrights, directors, technicians, actors, and designers. He also established the Arena Theater Playwriting Contest that led to the discovery of Wilfrido Nolledo, Jesus T. Peralta, and Estrella Alfon. Among his awards and recognitions are the Patnubay ng Kalinangan Award from the City of Manila (1968), Presidential Award for Merit in Drama and Theater (1961), and the Rockefeller Foundation Grant to travel to 98 cities abroad (1950, 1952, 1962, and 1963).

LUCRESIA REYES-URTULA
Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula, choreographer, dance educator and researcher, spent almost four decades in the discovery and study of Philippine folk and ethnic dances. She applied her findings to project a new example of an ethnic dance culture that goes beyond simple preservation and into creative growth. Over a period of thirty years, she had choreographed suites of mountain dances, Spanish-influenced dances, Muslim pageants and festivals, regional variations and dances of the countryside for the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company of which she is the dance director. These dances have all earned critical acclaim and rave reviews from audiences in their world tours in Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia

and Africa.

Among the widely acclaimed dances she had staged were the following: Singkil, a Bayanihan signature number based on a Maranao epic poem; Vinta, a dance honoring Filipino sailing prowess; Tagabili, a tale of tribal conflict; Pagdiwata, a four-day harvest festival condensed into a six-minute breath-taking spectacle;Salidsid, a mountain wedding dance ; Idaw, Banga and Aires de Verbena.

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LINO BROKA
Lino Brocka, director for film and broadcast arts, espoused the term "freedom of expression" in the Philippine Constitution. Brocka took his social activist spirit to the screen leaving behind 66 films which breathed life and hope for the marginalized sectors of society -- slumdwellers, prostitute, construction workers, etc. He also directed for theater with equal zeal and served in organizations that offer alternative visions, like the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP). At the same time, he garnered awards and recognition from institutions like the CCP, FAMAS, TOYM, and Cannes Film Festival. Brocka has left behind his masterpieces, bequeathing to our country a heritage of cinematic harvest; a bounty of stunning images, memorable conversations that speak volumes on love,betrayal and redemption, pestilence and plenty all pointing towards the recovery and rediscovery of our nation. To name a few, Brocka's films include the following: "Santiago" (1970), "Wanted: Perfect Mother" (1970), "Tubog sa Ginto" (1971), "Stardoom" (1971), "Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang" (1974), "Maynila: Sa Kuko ng Liwanag" (1975), "Insiang" (1976), "Jaguar" (1979), "Bona" (1980), "Macho Dancer" (1989), "Orapronobis" (1989), "Makiusap Ka sa Diyos" (1991).

NAPOLEON V. ABUEVA
At 46 then, Napoleon V. Abueva, a native of Bohol, was the youngest National Artist awardee. Considered as the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture, Abueva has helped shape the local sculpture scene to what it is now. Being adept in either academic representational style or modern abstract, he has utilized almost all kinds of materials from hard wood (molave, acacia, langka wood, ipil, kamagong, palm wood and bamboo) to adobe, metal, stainless steel, cement, marble, bronze, iron, alabaster, coral and brass. Among the early innovations Abueva introduced in 1951 was what he referred to as "buoyant sculpture" -- sculpture meant to be appreciated from the surface of a placid pool. In the 80's, Abueva put up a oneman show at the Philippine Center, New York. His works have been installed in different museums here and abroad, such as The Sculpture at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Some of his major works include Kaganapan (1953), Kiss of Judas (1955),Thirty Pieces of Silver , The Transfiguration (1979)-Eternal Garden Memorial Park, UP Gateway (1967), Nine Muses (1994), UP Faculty Center,Sunburst (1994)-Peninsula Manila Hotel, the bronze figure of Teodoro M. Kalawin front of National Library, and murals in marble at the National Heroes Shrine, Mt. Samat, Bataan.

FERNANDO C. AMORSOLO
The country had its first National Artist in Fernando C. Amorsolo. The official title "Grand Old Man of Philippine Art" was bestowed on Amorsolo when the Manila Hilton inaugurated its art center on January 23, 1969 with an exhibit of a selection of his works. Returning from his studies abroad in the 1920s, Amorsolo developed the backlighting technique that became his trademark where figures, a cluster of leaves, spill of hair, the swell of breast, are seen aglow on canvas. This light, Nick Joaquin opines, is the rapture of a sensualist utterly in love with the earth, with the Philippine sun, and is an accurate expression of Amorsolo's own exuberance. His citation underscores all his years of creative activity which have "defined and perpetuated a distinct element of the nation's artistic and cultural heritage". Among others, his major works include the following: Maiden in a Stream(1921)-GSIS collection; El Ciego (1928)Central Bank of the Philippines collection; Dalagang Bukid (1936) - Club Filipino collection; The Mestiza (1943) National Museum of the Philippines collection; Planting Rice (1946)-UCPB collection; Sunday Morning Going to Town (1958)-Ayala Museum Collection.

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CARLOS BOTONG V. FRANCISCO

Carlos "Botong" Francisco, the poet of Angono, single-handedly revived the forgotten art of mural and remained its most distinguished practitioner for nearly three decades. In panels such as those that grace the City Hall of Manila, Francisco turned fragments of the historic past into vivid records of the legendary courage of the ancestors of his race. He was invariably linked with the "modernist" artists, forming with Victorio C. Edades and Galo Ocampo what was then known in the local art circles as "The Triumvirate". Botong's unerring eye for composition, the lush tropical sense of color and an abiding faith in the folk values typified by the townspeople of Angono became the hallmark of his art. His other major works include the following: Portrait of Purita, The Invasion of Limahong, Serenade, Muslim Betrothal, Blood Compact, First Mass at Limasawa, The Martyrdom of Rizal, Bayanihan, Magpupukot, Fiesta,Bayanihan sa Bukid, Sandugo.

GUILLERMO ESTRELLA TOLENTINO

Guillermo Estrella Tolentino is a product of the Revival period in Philippine art. Returning from Europe (where he was enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Rome) in 1925, he was appointed as professor at the UP School of Fine Arts where t he idea also of executing a monument for national heroes struck him. The result was the UP Oblation that became the symbol of freedom at the campus. Acknowledged as his masterpiece and completed in 1933, The Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan stands as an enduring symbol of the Filipinos' cry for freedom. Other works include the bronze figures of President Quezon at Quezon Memorial, life-size busts of Jose Rizal at UP and UE, marble statue of Ramon Magsaysay in GSIS Building; granolithics of heroic statues representing education, medicine, forestry, veterinary science, fine arts and music at UP. He also designed the gold and bronze medals for the Ramon Magsaysay Award and did the seal of the Republic of the Philippines.

LUCIO D. SAN PEDRO

Lucio D. San Pedro is a master composer, conductor, and teacher whose music evokes the folk elements of the Filipino heritage. Cousin to "Botong" Francisco, San Pedro has produced a wide-ranging body of works that includes band music, concertos for violin and orchestra, choral works, cantatas, chamber music, music for violin and piano, and songs for solo voice. He was the conductor of the much acclaimed Peng Kong Grand Mason Concert Band, the San Pedro Band of Angono, his father's former band, and the Banda Angono Numero Uno. His civic commitment and work with town bands have significantly contributed to the development of a civic culture among Filipino communities and opened a creative outlet for young Filipinos. His orchestral music include The Devil's Bridge, Malakas at Maganda Overture, Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Hope and Ambition; choral musicEaster Cantata, Sa Mahal Kong Bayan, Rizal's Valedictory Poem; vocal music Lulay, Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, In the Silence of the Night; and band music Dance of the Fairies, Triumphal March, Lahing Kayumanggi,Angononian March among others.

FRANCISCO A. ARCELLANA
Francisco Arcellana, writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and teacher, is one of the most important progenitors of the modern Filipino short story in English. He pioneered the development of the short story as a lyrical prose-poetic form. For Arcellana, the pride of fiction is "that it is able to render truth, that is able to present reality". Arcellana has kept alive the experimental tradition in fiction, and has been most daring in exploring new literary forms to express the sensibility of the Filipino people. A brilliant craftsman, his works are now an indispensable part of a tertiary-level-syllabi all over the country. Arcellana's published books are Selected Stories (1962), Poetry and Politics: The State of Original Writing in English in the Philippines Today (1977), The Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990). Some of his short stories are Frankie, The Man Who Would Be Poe, Death in a Factory, Lina, A Clown Remembers, Divided by

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Two, and his poems being The Other Woman, This Being the Third Poem This Poem is for Mathilda, To Touch You and I Touched Her, among others. His orchestral music include The Devil's Bridge, Malakas at Maganda Overture, Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Hope and Ambition; choral musicEaster Cantata, Sa Mahal Kong Bayan, Rizal's Valedictory Poe m; vocal music Lulay, Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, In the Silence of the Night; and band music Dance of the Fairies, Triumphal March, Lahing Kayumanggi, Angononian March among others.

NICK JOAQUIN
Nick Joaquin, is regarded by many as the most distinguished Filipino writer in English writing so variedly and so well about so many aspects of the Filipino. Nick Joaquin has also enriched the English language with critics coining "Joaquinesque" to describe his baroque Spanishflavored English or his reinventions of English based on Filipinisms. Aside from his handling of language, Bienvenido Lumbera writes that Nick Joaquin's significance in Philippine literature involves his exploration of the Philippine colonial past under Spain and his probing into the psychology of social changes as seen by the young, as exemplified in stories such as Doa Jeronima, Candido's Apocalypse and The Order of Melchizedek. Nick Joaquin has written plays, novels, poems, short stories and essays including reportage and journalism. As a journalist, Nick Joaquin uses the nome de guerre Quijano de Manila but whether he is writing literature or journalism, fellow National Artist Francisco Arcellana opines that "it is always of the highest skill and quality". Among his voluminous works are The Woman Who Had Two Navels, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young, The Ballad of the Five Battles, Rizal in Saga, Almanac for Manileos, Cave and Shadows. Nick Joaquin died April 29, 2004.

BIENVENIDO LUMBERA
Bienvenido Lumbera, is a poet, librettist, and scholar. *As a poet, he introduced to Tagalog literature what is now known as Bagay poetry, a landmark aesthetic tendency that has helped to change the vernacular poetic tradition. He is the author of the following works: Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa (poems in Filipino and English), 1993; Balaybay, Mga Tulang Lunot at Manibalang, 2002; Sa Sariling Bayan, Apat na Dulang May Musika, 2004; "Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita," Pakikiramay, 2004. As a librettist for theTales of the Manuvu and Rama Hari, he pioneered the creative fusion of fine arts and popular imagination. As a scholar, his major books include the following:Tagalog Poetry, 1570-1898: Tradition and Influences in its Development; Philippine Literature: A History and Anthology, Revaluation: Essays on Philippine Literature, Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa. *(taken from the citation)

Sources:

National Commission for Culture and Arts, National Artist of the Philippines http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca/org-awards/org-awards-national-artist-list.php Wikipedia, Cultural Center of the Philippines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Center_of_the_Philippines Wikipedia, National Artist of the Philippines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Artist_of_the_Philippines Wikipedia, National Commission for Culture and Arts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Commission_on_Culture_and_the_Arts
Date Accessed: 08962012

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