Levi Celerio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Levi Celerio

Celerio on a 2010 stamp of the Philippines

Background information

Birth name Levi Celerio

Born April 30, 1910

Tondo, Manila, Philippine Islands

Died April 2, 2002 (aged 91)

Quezon City, Philippines

Occupation(s) Composer, lyricist

Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 – April 2, 2002) was a Filipino composer and lyricist. Celerio was a
prolific songwriter, with over 4,000 songs to his credit. He is perhaps best known for being a leaf-
player, a feat for which he was put into the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1997, he was
named National Artist of the Philippines for Music.

Contents
[hide]

 1Early life and career

 2Proclaimed as National Artist
 3Later years
 4Death
 5References
 6External links

Early life and career[edit]

Levi Celerio was born on April 30, 1910, in Tondo, Manila to parents that hailed from Baliuag,
Bulacan. He received a scholarship to the Academy of Music in Manila and became the youngest
member of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. He wrote several number of songs for local movies,
which earned for him the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Film Academy of the Philippines.
Celerio has written lyrics for more than 4,000 Filipino folk, Christmas, and love songs, including
many that became movie titles.
Known for being a good lyricist, his songs cherish life, convey 'nationalistic sentiments and utter
grand philosophies. Celerio wrote more than 4,000 songs, among them are popular pieces, which
many consider to be immortal. At one time or another, no Filipino could miss the tune or lyrics of
Levi's Christmas songs: Pasko na Naman, Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon (Ang
Pasko ay Sumapit), and Misa de Gallo.
His more popular love songs include: Saan Ka Man Naroroon?, Kahit Konting Pagtingin, Gaano Ko
Ikaw Kamahal, Kapag Puso'y Sinugatan, and Ikaw, O Maliwanag na Buwan, Dahil Sa Isang
Bulaklak, Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, and Sapagkat Kami'y Tao Lamang, while his folk songs include Ang
Pipit, Tinikling, Tunay na Tunay, Itik-Itik, Waray-Waray, Pitong Gatang, Ako ay May
Singsing, Alibangbang, Alembong, Galawgaw, Caprichosa, Ang Tapis ni Inday, Dungawin Mo
Hirang, Umaga na Neneng, Ikaw Kasi, and Basta't Mahal Kita. Celerio also wrote nationalistic songs
such as Bagong Pagsilang, Lupang Pangarap, and Tinig ng Bayan.
Celerio, for a time, was also recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the only man
who could play music with a leaf. Because of his talent, Celerio was invited to The Merv Griffin
Show, where he played "All the Things You Are" with 39 musicians. Using his leaf, Levi wowed the
crowd and got the attention of the Guinness Book of World Records. The Book later listed the entry:
"The only leaf player in the world is in the Philippines". He would also later appear on That's
Incredible!.[1]

Levi Celerio's grave at the Libingan ng mga Bayani

Proclaimed as National Artist[edit]

On October 9, 1997, pursuant to Proclamation No. 1114, President Fidel V. Ramos proclaimed him
a National Artist for Music and Literature. His citation read that his music "was a perfect embodiment
of the heartfelt sentiments and valued traditions of the Filipino."[2]

Later years[edit]
In his old age, Levi occasionally appeared in public, usually at a concert at the Cultural Center of the
Philippines. He was also playing at a Quezon City bar from time to time.[3]

Death[edit]
He died at the Delgado Clinic in Quezon City on April 2, 2002, at the age of 91, just two days after
the death of a fellow National Artist, Lucio San Pedro (who wrote the music for Sa Ugoy ng Duyan).
But his death was overshadowed by the death a few days earlier of the popular matinee idol Rico
Yan, thus, his death was received with little public attention. He was buried with full military honors at
the Libingan ng mga Bayani (National Heroes' Cemetery).[3]

Rolando Tinio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rolando S. Tinio

National Artist of the Philippines

Born March 5, 1937

Philippines

Died July 7, 1997

Manila, Philippines

Education University of Santo Tomas

State University of Iowa

Occupation Filipino writer and actor

 Children Antonio and Victoria

Rolando Santos Tinio (March 5, 1937 – July 7, 1997) was

a Filipino poet, dramatist, director, actor, critic, essayist and educator.[1][2][3][4]

Contents
[hide]

 1Biography
 2Works
o 2.1Poetry collections
o 2.2Translated plays
o 2.3Essay collections
o 2.4Newspaper columns
 3Achievements
o 3.1Other achievements of tinio
 4References
 5Related To
 6Footnotes
o 6.1Bibliography

Biography[edit]
Rolando Tinio is a Philippine National Artist for Theater and Literature. He was born in
Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila on March 5, 1937.[5] As a child, Tinio was fond of organizing and directing
his playmates for costumed celebrations. He was an active participant in the Filipino movie industry
and enjoyed working with Philippine celebrities who he himself had admired in his childhood. Tinio
himself became a film actor and scriptwriter. He is often described as a religious, well-behaved and
gifted person. Tinio graduated with honors (a "magna cum laude" achiever) with a degree
in Philosophy from the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas at age 18 in 1955 and an
M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing:Poetry from the State University of Iowa.[1][2][3][5]
In Iowa, Tinio was known as a great writer that used English as the medium of the Filipino writer. He
wrote his poetic collection: Rage and Ritual which won an award from the University of the
Philippines. Bienvenido Lumbera, also an alumnus of the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo
Tomas, describes this collection as elegant and with a truly contemporary tone if taken from the
European literary critical view. At this point in time, Tinio believed that only English can hone the
themes that he wanted to communicate in his works. Once, in a conference, an author delivered his
belief in the value of the Tagalog dialect in Creative Writing. In response to this, Tinio published an
article in the scholarly journal Philippine Studies, which contained parts of English poems translated
into Tagalog. The article’s purpose was to prove the inadequacy of Tagalog as the writer’s medium.
(Lumbera)
In the mid-1960s, however, Tinio decided to try writing in Tagalog and the product of this trial was
the collection of poems now called Bagay. Rolando Tinio was the sole inventor of “Taglish” in
Philippine poetry. Through this, he gave an authentic tone to the poetry of the native middle-class
Filipino. In 1972, Tinio wrote another poetry collection: Sitsit sa Kuliglig and this showed the great
contrast between his old and new advocacy. If in Rage and Ritual, portrayals of art and the artist that
are not closely associated with the Filipino lifestyle are communicated, Sitsit sa Kuliglig clearly
portrays the everyday experiences of a Tondo-grown individual now living in Loyola heights. Heaven
and earth; the gap between Tinio’s works in English and those in Tagalog.(Lumbera)
 Tinio was also an actor, director, and a set and costume designer. He served all these roles during
his stay with the Ateneo Experimental Theater. Tinio chooses the plays, designs the stage, directs,
creates the costumes and determines the musical score and other sounds. Productions of the
Ateneo Experimental Theater are completely his vision. In his production of Oedipus Rex, he
replaced the Greek costumes with modern renditions made primarily of metal pipes supposedly to
express the thought of industrial 20th century. (Lumbera)
His work with the Ateneo Experimental Theater expresses the concept of the actor being merely one
of the director’s tools in shaping the stage; communicate his vision through all aspects of the
production. The last production of Tinio’s “personal” theater company was entitled ?. The production
was performed in a classroom rather than an auditorium and Tinio made the actors mingle freely
with the audience. There is no real “meaning” in the action and there is no definite storyline. The
“meaning” is hidden in the intentional actions of the actors and the unexpected reply of the audience
(Lumbera)
He published four seminal books of poems between 1972 and 1993, in which, along with his
longtime friend, Bienvenido Lumbera, helped modernize the traditionally sentimental Filipino style.
He had also worked on his own projects such as the Ateneo Experimental Theater productions and
other serious dramas in Filipino. His contribution to Philippine literature and theater is
immense.[1][2][3] His contributions include establishing the Filipino Department of Ateneo de Manila.
Circa 1976, Tinio also wrote the lyrics for the six hymns of the "Misa ng Alay-Kapwa" the music for
which was composed by Fr. Eduardo P. Hontiveros, SJ. (The most popular of these hymns still sung
in Churches throughout the Philippines is "Buksan ang Aming Puso.) These hymns were published
in the now out of print, -Mga Awiting Pansamba-.
Rolando Santos Tinio was directing a musical when he suffered a heart attack in Manila on July 7,
1997. He died on July 8, 1997 at age 60. His wife, theatre and film actress, Ella Luansing had died
some years before. He was survived by his two children, Antonio and Victoria.[1][2][3]

Alejandro Reyes Roces (13 July 1924 – 23 May 2011) was a Filipino author, essayist, dramatist
and a National Artist of the Philippines for literature. He served as Secretary of Education from 1961
to 1965, during the term of Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal.
Noted for his short stories, the Manila-born Roces was married to Irene Yorston Viola
(granddaughter of Maximo Viola), with whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth Roces-Pedrosa. Anding
attended elementary and high school at the Ateneo de Manila University, before moving to the
University of Arizona and then Arizona State University for his tertiary education. He graduated with
a B.A. in Fine Arts and, not long after, attained his M.A. from Far Eastern University back in the
Philippines.[1] He has since received honorary doctorates from Tokyo University, Baguio's St. Louis
University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and the Ateneo de Manila University. Roces
was a captain in the Marking’s Guerilla during World War II and a columnist in Philippine dailies such
as the Manila Chronicle and the Manila Times. He was previously President of the Manila Bulletin
and of the CAP College Foundation.
In 2001, Roces was appointed as Chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification
Board (MTRCB). Roces also became a member of the Board of Trustees of GSIS (Government
Service Insurance System) and maintained a column in the Philippine Star called Roses and Thorns.

Contents
[hide]

 1Literary works
 2Socio-Cultural-Civic Affiliations
 3References
 4External links

Literary works[edit]
During his freshman year in the University of Arizona, Roces won Best Short Story for We Filipinos
are Mild Drinkers. Another of his stories, My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken, was listed as Martha Foley’s
Best American Stories among the most distinctive for years 1948 and 1951. Roces did not only
focus on short stories alone, as he also published books such as Of Cocks and Kites (1959), Fiesta
(1980), and Something to Crow About (2005). Of Cocks and Kites earned him the reputation as the
country's best writer of humorous stories. It also contained the widely anthologized piece “My
Brother’s Peculiar Chicken”. Fiesta, is a book of essays, featuring folk festivals such as Ermita's Bota
Flores, Aklan's Ati-atihan, and Naga's Peñafrancia.
Something to Crow About, on the other hand, is a collection of Roces’ short stories. The book has
been recently brought to life by a critically acclaimed play of the same title; the staged version of
Something to Crow About is the first Filipino zarzuela in English. This modern zarzuela tells the story
of a poor cockfighter named Kiko who, to his wife's chagrin, pays more attention to the roosters than
to her. Later in the story, a conflict ensues between Kiko’s brother Leandro and Golem, the son of a
wealthy and powerful man, over the affections of a beautiful woman named Luningning. The
resolution? A cockfight, of course. Something to Crow About won the Aliw Award for Best Musical
and Best Director for a Musical Production. It also had a run off-Broadway at the La Mama
Theater in New York.
Through the years, Roces has won numerous awards, including the Patnubay ng Sining at
Kalinangan Award, the Diwa ng Lahi Award, the Tanging Parangal of the Gawad CCP Para sa
Sining, and the Rizal Pro Patria Award. He was finally bestowed the honor as National Artist of
Literature on 25 June 2003.
When once asked for a piece of advice on becoming a famous literary figure Roces said, "You
cannot be a great writer; first, you have to be a good person".[2]
Cirilo F. Bautista (born July 9, 1941) is a Filipino poet, fictionist, critic and writer of nonfiction. He
was conferred with the National Artist of the Philippines award in 2014.

Contents
[hide]

 1Education
 2Career
 3Works
o 3.1Poetry
o 3.2Fiction
o 3.3Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
 4Awards, Prizes and Honors
 5External links

Education[edit]
He received his basic education from Legarda Elementary School (1st Honorable Mention, 1954)
and Mapa High School(Valedictorian, 1959). He received his degrees in AB Literature from
the University of Santo Tomas (magna cum laude, 1963), MA Literature from St. Louis
University, Baguio City (magna cum laude, 1968), and Doctor of Arts in Language and Literature
from De La Salle University-Manila (1990). He received a fellowship to attend the International
Writing Program at the University of Iowa (1968–1969) and was awarded an honorary degree—the
only Filipino to have been so honored there.

Career[edit]
Bautista taught creative writing and literature at St. Louis University (1963–1968) and the University
of Santo Tomas (1969–1970) before moving to De La Salle University-Manila in 1970. He is also a
co-founding member of the Philippine Literary Arts Council (PLAC) and a member of the Manila
Critics Circle, Philippine Center of International PEN and the Philippine Writers Academy.
Bautista has also received Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards (for poetry, fiction and essay in English
and Filipino) as well as Philippines Free Press Awards for Fiction, Manila Critics' Circle National
Book Awards, Gawad Balagtas from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat ng Pilipinas, the Pablo Roman
Prize for the Novel, and the highest accolades from the City of Manila, Quezon City and Iligan City.
Bautista was hailed in 1993 as Makata ng Taon by the Komisyon ng mga Wika ng Pilipinas for
winning the poetry contest sponsored by the government. The last part of his epic trilogy The Trilogy
of Saint Lazarus, entitled Sunlight on Broken Stones, won the Centennial Prize for the epic in 1998.
He was an exchange professor in Waseda University and Ohio University. He became an Honorary
Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Iowa in 1969, and was the first recipient of a British
Council fellowship as a creative writer at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1987.
Bautista works include Boneyard Breaking, Sugat ng Salita, The Archipelago, Telex Moon, Summer
Suns, Charts, The Cave and Other Poems, Kirot ng Kataga, and Bullets and Roses: The Poetry of
Amado V. Hernandez. His novel Galaw ng Asoge was published by the University of Santo
Tomas Press in 2004. His latest book, Believe and Betray: New and Collected Poems, appeared in
2006, published by De La Salle University Press.
His poems have appeared in major literary journals, papers, and magazines in the Philippines and in
anthologies published in the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, China, Romania, Hong
Kong, Germany and Malaysia. These include: excerpts from Sunlight on Broken Stones, published
in World Literature Today, USA, Spring 2000; What Rizal Told Me (poem), published
in Manoa, University of Hawaii, 1997; She of the Quick Hands: My Daughter and The
Seagull (poems), published in English Teacher’s Portfolio of Multicultural Activities, edited by John
Cowen (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996).
Aside from his teaching, creative and research activities as a Professor Emeritus of Literature at the
College of Liberal Arts, De La Salle University-Manila, Bautista is also a columnist and literary editor
of the Philippine Panorama, the Sunday Supplement of the Manila Bulletin. He is also a member of
the Board of Advisers and Associate, Bienvenido Santos Creative Writing Center of De La Salle
University-Manila and Senior Associate, The Center for Creative Writing and Studies of
the University of Santo Tomas.