Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions

Topic: Lucrecia Reyes Urtula and the Works of Carlos Quirino in Historical Literature

Lucrecia Reyes Urtula

- choreographer, dance educator and researcher, spent

almost four decades in the discovery and study of
Philippine folk and ethnic dances. For more than 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 was 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.

Lucrecia was declared as a National Artist for Dance in the year 1998. The Singkil is
Urtula’s most famous choreography. Through her extensive research, she cultivated the dances
from various ethnic tribes in the country to suit contemporary theater viewers.

Singkil is a very unique Philippines traditional

dance of the Maranao people in Southern
Phillipines. It is said to be inspired by the age-old
Hindu epic “Ramayana” and another mythological
epic from South East Asia called “Darangen“. This
“folk” dance is said to have originated from the Lake
Lanao region in the island of Mindanao in Southern
Philippines. It was first popularised by the
Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance
Company. Apparently this dance is mainly
performed during festive occasions. Furthermore, it
also possesses a few adaptations which include a
dance referred to as Rajah Bantugan. In addition,
this dance style was first used in the 2001 American
independent film known as “The Debut” which was
directed by a Filipino American named Gene
Cajayon.

The dance involves rich ornamental costumes and

a female lead and male lead and other dancers elegantly dancing between rhythmically striking bamboo
poles held by the fellow dance troupe. There are many bamboo pole based dances in the world but this
one has a distinctive flair about it.
 Aside from the Singkil, she was also recognized in her other works which are based from
the different stories in the Philippines, some of these are:

 Indarapatra

 Pagdiwata

 Salidsid

Her works have been praised and recognized and inspired many individuals to form their
own dancing group. Following her footsteps was Amelia Hernandez who built the Ballet
Folklorico de Mexico and Alvian Ailey who established the Ameican Dance Theater.
 She was born on June 29, 1929 in Iloilo City. Her Father was Colonel Leon S. Reyes of
the Philippine Constabulary which later became Brigadier General and Antonia Faustino, a
nurse. She married Dalmacio Urtula, a businessman. She graduated with a major in Physical
Education at the Philippine Women’s University. She began teaching at the university where she
graduated and this is also where she began her career in folk dance that reached over three
decades. She died on August 4, 1999.

Works of Carlos Quirino in Historical Literature

Brief History:

Carlos Lozada Quirino (January 14, 1910 – May 20, 1999) was a Philippine biographer
and historian.

Carlos Quirino is a nephew of Philippine president Elpidio

Quirino.. He is best known for his early biography of Jose Rizal.
He also wrote several works the Philippine history and biographies
of President Manuel Quezon and the painter Damian Domingo. In
1997 he was recognised as a National Artist of the Philippines for
Historical Literature.

Literary Works:

 Man of Destiny (1935)

- A timely biography of the President Manuel L. Quezon.

Early life, as student & soldier, years of preparation for
leadership, the making of a hero, struggle with Osmena
& Wood, the last duel with Osmena & triumphant
leadership reaffirmed with a biography of Aurora, the
first Lady of the Land. A fascinating study.
 The Great Malayan (1940)

- First penned for the 1938 Commonwealth Biography

contest, Carlos Quirino's The Great Malayan is a
sweeping and majestic life story of the Philippine
national patriot. José Rizal. Epic in scope, brimming
with drama and insight, the novel is a masterful study of
Rizal's brief but brilliant life, from Kalamba to
Bagumbayan. In his book Mr. Quirino paints the many
faces of Rizal in stark and colorful hues against the
tumultuous backdrop of a nation in search of its identity
and ultimately, its freedom.

 Philippine Cartography (1959)

- In this landmark history of Philippine maps and their

cartographers, historian Carlos Quirino recounts how
the concept of the Philippines emerged in the late
sixteenth century as a nebulous speck in the vast Pacific
Ocean and evolved in fits and starts over four centuries
into its current iconography. The Philippines as a
geographical and ideological concept is given form by a
long line of illustrious cartographers, among them
Gerardus Mercator, Sebastian Munster, Robert Dudley,
Pedro Murillo Velarde, and Jose Algue, SJ. First
published in a limited edition in 1959 and published a
second time in Amsterdam

 Carlos L. Quirino’s Old Manila (1971)

- First published in 1971, this collection of essays charts

the changing nature of Manila and its inhabitants.
National artists Carlos L. Quirino examines Manila from
its early 11th century through the end of the Spanish rule
rendering the past in witty and imaginative way. The
book addresses such varied themes in religion, theater,
 war, food, pestilence, immigration, crime and punishment, coinage and art. This new
edition contains the original text with enriched visuals - maps, postcards, engravings,
sketches and photographs, making it a comprehensive pictorial record of Manila and its
denizens through the centuries.

Its keen focus on social and genealogical history is brought about by Augusto Gonzalez
III who charts the fascinating and intertwined stories of distinguished Spanish mestizo, indio
and Chinese Manileno families.