1

Mary Help of Christians College – Salesian Sisters, Inc.

Canlubang, Calamba City, Laguna
PAASCU ACCREDITED LEVEL III
S.Y. 2020 – 2021

UNIT 4
National Artists of
the Philippines

2
 SESSION 1

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. identify National Artists and their specific contributions in the Philippine Art.
2. explain the criteria for the Order of National Artists.

Classify the category of each National Artists by writing either of the following: Painting,
Sculpture, Dance, Music, Architecture, Literature, Theater and Film.

LEVI CELERIO AMADO V. HERNANDEZ DAISY AVELLANA

LEANDRO LOCSIN FERNANDO POE JR. GUILLERMO TOLENTINO

LUCRECIA URTULA FERNANDO AMORSOLO

3
 THE ORDER OF NATIONAL ARTISTS

What is a National Artist?

A National Artist is a Filipino citizen who has been given the rank and title of National
Artist in recognition of his or her significant contributions to the development of
Philippine arts and letters.

The rank and title of National Artist is conferred by means of a Presidential

Proclamation. It recognizes excellence in the fields of Music, Dance, Theater, Visual Arts,
Literature, Film and Broadcast Arts, and Architecture or Allied Arts.

What is the Order of National Artists?

Those who have been proclaimed National Artists are

given a Grand Collar symbolizing their status. Recipients of
this Grand Collar make up the Order of National Artists.
The Order of National Artists (Orden ng Gawad
Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) is thus a rank, a title, and
a wearable award that represents the highest national
recognition given to Filipinos who have made distinct
contributions in the field of arts and letters. It is jointly
administered by the National Commission for Culture and
the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and is conferred by
the President of the Philippines upon recommendation by both institutions.

As one of the Honors of the Philippines, it embodies the nation's highest ideals in
humanism and aesthetic expression through the distinct achievements of individual
citizens. The Order of National Artists shares similarities with orders, decorations, and
medals of other countries recognizing contributions to their national culture such as the
U.S. National Medal for the Arts, and the Order of Culture of Japan.

According to the rules of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, the Order of
National Artists should be conferred every three years.

When was the Order of National Artist Created?

It was established by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1001, s. 1972, which

created the Award and Decoration of National Artist, "to give appropriate recognition
and prestige to Filipinos who have distinguished themselves and made outstanding
contributions to Philippine arts and letters," and which posthumously conferred the
award on the painter Fernando Amorsolo, who had died earlier that year.

The Insignia of the Order of National Artists

The insignia of the Order of the National Artists is composed of a

Grand Collar featuring circular links portraying the arts, and an
eight-pointed conventionalized sunburst suspended from a
sampaguita wreath in green and white enamel.

The central badge is a medallion divided into three equal

portions, red, white, and blue, recalling the Philippine flag, with
three stylized letter Ksthe “KKK" stands for the CCP's motto:
"katotohanan, kabutihan, at kagandahan" (the true, the good, and the beautiful), as
coined by then first lady Mrs. Imelda Romualdez Marcos, the CCP's founder.

4
 Legal Basis of the Order of National Artists

Proclamation No. 1144, s. 1973 named the CCP Board of Trustees as the National Artist
Awards Committee (or Secretariat). Presidential Decree No. 208, s. 1973 reiterated the
mandate of the CCP to administer the National Artist Awards as well as the privileges
and honors to National Artists.

Executive Order No. 236 s. 2003, otherwise known as the Honors Code of the Philippines,
conferred additional prestige on the National Artist Award by raising it to the level of a
Cultural Order, fourth in precedence among the orders and decorations that comprise
the Honors of the Philippines, and equal in rank to the Order of National Scientists and
the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan. The National Artist Award was thereby renamed
the Order of National Artists (Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining). This
reflected the consensus among government cultural agencies and the artistic
community that the highest possible international prestige and recognition should be
given our National Artists. Section 5 of EO 236 stated the President may confer the Order
of National Artists "upon the recommendation of the Cultural Center of the Philippines
and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).”

Executive Order No. 435, s. 2005 amended Section 5 (IV) of EO 236, giving the President
the power to name National Artists without the need of a recommendation, relegating
the NCCA and the CCP to mere advisory bodies that may or may not be heeded. This
expanded President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's flexibility to proclaim National Artists at
her discretion, which led to the controversy of 2009 and the subsequent intervention of
the Supreme Court by issuing a status quo ante order against the awardees that year.

From 2009 until 2011, in the absence of any resolution by the Supreme Court, the
Secretariat had the impression that they may not process any future nominations. The
Order of the National Artists is supposed to be proclaimed every three years.

Criteria for the Order of National Artists

1. Living artists who are Filipino citizens at the time of nomination, as well as those who
died after the establishment of the award in 1972 but were Filipino citizens at the time of
their death.

2. Artists who, through the content and form of their works, have contributed in building
a Filipino sense of nationhood.

3. Artists who have pioneered in a mode of creative expression or style, thus earning
distinction and making an impact on succeeding generations of artists.

5
4. Artists who have created a substantial and significant body of work and/or
consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form thus enriching artistic
expression or style.

5. Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through:

a. prestigious national and/or international recognition, such as the Gawad CCP

Para sa Sining, CCP Thirteen Artists Award and NCCA Alab ng Haraya.
b. critical acclaim and/or reviews of their works.
c. respect and esteem from peers.

Those submitting nominations for National Artist must submit the following:

1. A cover letter from the nominating organization. The cover letter shall be
accompanied by a Board Resolution approving the nomination concerned with the
said resolution signed by the organization President and duly certified by the Board
Secretary.

2. A duly accomplished nomination form.

3. A detailed curriculum vitae of the nominee.

4. A list of the nominee's significant works categorized according to the criteria.

5. The latest photograph (color or black and white) of the nominee, either 5" x 7" or 8" x
11".

6. Pertinent information materials on the nominee's significant works (on CDs, VCDs and
DVDs).

7. Copies of published reviews.

8. Any other document that may be required.

Honors and Privileges

A member of the Order of National Artists is granted the following honors and privileges:

1. The rank and title of National Artist, as proclaimed by the President of the Philippines

2. The insignia of a National Artist and a citation

3. A lifetime emolument and material and physical benefits comparable in value to

those received by the highest officers of the land such as:

a. a cash award of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) net of taxes for
living awardees
b. a cash award of Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00) net of taxes, for
posthumous awardees, payable to legal heir/s
c. a monthly life pension, medical and hospitalization benefits
d. life insurance coverage for Awardees who are still insurable
e. a state funeral and burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani
f. a place of honor, in line with protocular precedence, at national state functions,
and recognition at cultural events.

6
 SESSION 2

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. identify the list National Artists under the category of painting, dance and music.
2. explain the roles and contributions of each National Artists under the category of
painting, dance and music.

PROFILES OF NATIONAL ARTISTS

PAINTING

Fernando Amorsolo

National Artist for Visual Arts - Painting, 1972

Fernando Cueto Amorsolo (1892-1972) is one of the most

important artists in the history of painting in the Philippines.
Amorsolo was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine
landscapes from Paco, Manila. He is popularly known for his
craftsmanship and mastery in the use of light. He earned a
degree from the Liceo de Manila Art School in 1909.
Amorsolo is best known for his illuminated landscapes, which often portrayed traditional
Filipino customs, culture, fiestas and occupations. His pastoral works presented "an
imagined sense of nationhood in counterpoint to American colonial rule" and were
important to the formation of Filipino national identity. He was
educated in the classical tradition and aimed “to achieve his
Philippine version of the Greek ideal of the human form." In his
paintings of Filipina women, Amorsolo rejected Western ideals of
beauty in favor of Filipino ideals and was fond of basing the faces
of his subjects on members of his family. Amorsolo used natural
light in his paintings and developed the backlighting technique
Chiaroscuro, which became his artistic trademark and his greatest
contribution to Philippine painting.

Botong Francisco

National Artist for Visual Arts - Painting, 1973

Angono, Rizal, Region 4A - CALABARZON

Carlos V. Francisco (1912-1969), popularly known as "Botong",

was a distinguished muralist from and best known for his
historical pieces. Also known as the Poet of Angono, Rizal he
single-handedly brought back the art of mural painting in
Philippines. He was one of the of the modernist artists together
with Galo Ocampo and Victorio Edades known as " The
Triumvirate" who broke away from romanticism style of
Fernando Amorsolo's Philippine Scenes.

7
He went to School of Fine Arts in University of the Philippines, although he came from
the same school of arts as Amorsolo, he did not follow the traditional style but
developed a modernist style. After the 2nd World War, he taught in School of Fine Arts
in University of Santo Tomas at the same time working
with Manuel Conde for cinema. He was the second
Filipino who received the title of National Artist in
Painting in 1973 after Fernando Amorsolo. Among of his
awards are first prize for his work "Kaingin" at the annual
Art Association of the Philippines, "Most Outstanding
Alumnus" in 1959, and Republic Cultural Heritage
Award in 1964.

Hernando R. Ocampo

National Artist for Visual Arts - Painting, 1991

Sta Cruz, Manila, National Capital Region

Hernando Ruiz Ocampo (1911-1978) was a visual artsist,

fictionist, playwright, and editor from Sta. Cruz, Manila.
Ocampo was a leading radical modernist artist in the
Philippines. He was a member of the Saturday Group of
artists (also known as the Taza de Oro Group) and was one
of the pre-war Thirteen Moderns, a group of modernist artists
founded by Victorio C. Edades in 1938. Famously known for his triumvirate of with neo-
realists Vicente S. Manansala and Cesar Legaspi, his works reflected the harsh realities
of his country after the Second World War. However, many of his works depicted lush
sceneries and the beautiful Philippine landscapes through his skillful use of fierce and
bold colors.

H. R. Ocampo was credited for inventing a new mode of

abstraction that exemplifies Philippine flora and fauna and
portrays sunshine, stars, and rain. Using movement and bold colors,
Ocampo utilized fantasy and science fiction as the basis for his
works. His art is described to be “abstract compositions of
biological forms that seemed to oscillate, quiver, inflame and
multiply” like mutations. Ocampo's acknowledged masterpiece
Genesis served as the basis of the curtain design of the Cultural
Center of the Philippines Main Theater.

DANCE

Francisca Reyes-Aquino

National Artist for Dance, 1973

Bocaue, Bulacan, Region 3 - Central Luzon

Francisca Reyes-Aquino (1899-1983) is a folk dancer from

Bocaue, Bulacan. She is noted for her research on Philippine
folk dance. She is a recipient of the Republic Award of Merit
and the Ramon Magsaysay Award. She was also known as
the "Mother of Philippine Folk Dancing".

8
Among Reyes-Aquino's most noted works is her research on folk dances and songs as a
student assistant at the University of the Philippines (UP). Pursuing her graduate studies,
she started her work in 1921 traveling to remote barrios in Central and Northern Luzon.
She served as supervisor of physical education at the Bureau of Education in the 1940s.
The education body distributed her work and adapted the teaching of folk dancing in
an effort to promote awareness among the Filipino youth regarding their cultural
heritage. Then President Ramon Magsaysay conferred her the Republic Award of Merit
in 1954 for her "outstanding contribution toward the advancement of Filipino culture."

Leonor Orosa-Goquingco

National Artist for Dance, 1976

Jolo, Sulu, Region 15 - ARMM

Leonor Orosa-Goquingco (1917-2005) was a Filipino national

artist in creative dance from Jolo, Sulu. She could play the
piano, draw, design scenery and costumes, sculpt, act, direct,
dance and choreograph. Her pen name was Cristina Luna
and she was known as Trailblazer, Mother of Philippine Theater
Dance and Dean of Filipino Performing Arts Critics.

In 1939, Leonor Orosa Goquingco was the only dancer sent on the first cultural mission
to Japan, at the age of 19. She produced Circling the Globe (1939) and Dance
Panorama in the same year. She created The Elements in 1940, the first ballet
choreographed by a Filipino to commissioned music. She also created Sports during the
same year featuring cheerleaders, a tennis match, and a basketball game. The first
Philippine folkloric ballet, Trend: Return to the Native, was choreographed by
Goquingco in 1941. After the Second World War, she organized the Philippine Ballet
and brought the famous Filipino novel, Noli Me Tangere, to life. The Noli Dance Suite
consisted of several dances. Maria Clara and the Leper, Salome and Elias, Sisa, Asalto
for Maria Clara and The Gossips are some of the dances found in the Noli Dance Suite.
She was an Honorary Chairman of the Association of Ballet Academies of the
Philippines, the founding member of the Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT) and was known
as a Zontian and a performing arts critic and columnist of the Manila Bulletin.

Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula

National Artist for Dance, 1988

lloilo City, Iloilo, Region 6 - Western Visayas

Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula (1929-1999) was a choreographer,

dance educator, and researcher from Iloilo City. She 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.

9
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.

MUSIC

Antonio J. Molina

National Artist for Music, 1973

Quiapo, Manila, National Capital Region

Antonio J. Molina (1894-1980) was a composer, conductor

and music administrator from Quiapo, Manila. He was
known as the Claude Debussy of the Philippines due to his
use of impressionism in music.

Molina was the son of Lulu Molina, a government official, who founded the Molina
Orchestra. He attended the Escuela Catolica de Nuestra Padre Jesus Nazareno in
Quiapo, Manila, and college at San Juan De Letran where he was awarded a Bachelor
of Arts degree in 1909. Molina made his first composition in 1912 titled Matinal, which is
preserved in an unpublished volume called Miniaturas, Vol. 1. He was appointed to
teach at the UP Conservatory of Music, pursuing a career in music education until
being appointed a dean of the Centro Escolar Conservatory of Music. He founded the
CEU String Quartet which was professionally organized and financed by its music
school. As a composer, Molina is credited with over 500 compositions.

Jovita Fuentes

National Artist for Music, 1976

Capiz, Region 6 - Western Visayas

Jovita Fuentes (1895-1978) was an opera singer from apiz.

Long before Lea Salonga's break into Broadway, there
already Jovita Fuentes' portrayal of Cio-cio san in
Giacomo uccini's Madame Butterfly at Italy's Teatro
Municipale di Piacenza. Her performance was hailed as
the "most sublime interpretation of the part." This is all the
more significant use it happened at a time when the Philippines and its people were
scarcely near in Europe. Prior to that, she was teaching at the University of the
Philippines Conservatory of Music (1917) before leaving for Milan in 1924 for further
voice studies. After eight months of arduous training, she made her stage debut at the
Piacenza. In recognition of these achievements, she was given the unprecedented
award of “Embahadora de Filipinas a su Madre Patria" by Spain.

10
 Levi Celerio

National Artist for Music and Literature, 1997

Tondo, Manila, National Capital Region Baliuag, Bulacan,

Region 3 - Central Luzon

Levi Celerio (1910-2002) was a composer and lyricist com

Tondo, Manila. He was born to parents that hailed from
Baliuag, Bulacan. Celerio was a prolific songwriter, with over
4000 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. 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 being 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.

GUIDE QUESTIONS

1. What can you say about the works of each Philippine National Artist under the
category of painting, dance and music?

2. Do you think they deserved the award as National Artists? Why?

11
 SESSION 3

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. identify the list National Artists under the category of architecture, literature and
theater.
2. explain the roles and contributions of each National Artists under the category of
architecture, literature and theater.

ARCHITECTURE

Juan F. Nakpil

National Artist for Architecture, 1973

Quiapo, Manila, National Capital Region

Juan F. Nakpil (1899-1986) was an architect, teacher, and a

community leader from Quiapo, Manila. In 1973 he was
tapped as the Dean of Filipino Architects.

He took up Engineering at the University of the Philippines and later, at the University of
Kansas- where he received his bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. He then studied
Architecture at the Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts, in France upon the
recommendation of Jean-Jacques Haffner, one of his professors at the Harvard
Graduate School of Architecture.

Nakpil worked in Andres Luna de San Pedro's architectural firm

(1928), and Don Gonzalo Puvat & Sons; eventually opening his
own architectural firm in 1930. Among Nakpil's works are San
Carlos Seminary, Geronimo de Los Reyes Building, Iglesia ni
Cristo Riverside Locale (Now F. Manalo, San Juan), Magsaysay
Building, Rizal Theater, Capitol Theater, Captain Pepe Building,
Manila Jockey Club, Rufino Building, Philippine Village Hotel,
and the Rizal Shrine in Calamba, Laguna. He also designed the
International Eucharistic Congress altar and improved the
Quiapo Church in 1930 by erecting a dome and a second
belfry.

Pablo Antonio

National Artist for Architecture, 1976

Binondo, Manila, National Capital Region

Pablo Sebero Antonio (1901-1975) was an architect

from Binondo, Manila. A pioneer of modern Philippine
architecture, he was recognized in some quarters as
the foremost Filipino modernist architect of his time.
Antonio was orphaned by the age of 12 and had to
work in the daytime in order to finish his high school

12
education at night. He studied architecture at the Mapua Institute of Technology but
dropped out of school. Ramon Arevalo, the engineer in charge of the Legislative
Building project, funded Antonio's education at the University of London. He completed
a five-year architecture course in three years,
graduating in 1927.

Antonio first came into prominence in 1933 with the

construction of the Ideal Theater along Avenida
Rizal in Manila. His work caught the eye of the
founder of the Far Eastern University in Manila,
Nicanor Reyes, Sr., who was looking to build a
school campus that was modern in style.

Leandro V. Locsin

National Artist for Architecture, 1990

Silay, Negros Occidental, Region 18-Negros Island Region

Leandro V. Locsin (1928-1994) was an architect from Silay,

Negros Occidental. He reshaped the urban landscape with a
distinctive architecture reflective of Philippine Art and Culture.
He believes that the true Philippine Architecture is “the product
of two great streams of culture, the oriental, and the
occidental... to produce a new object of profound harmony."
It is this synthesis that underlies all his works, with his achievements in concrete reflecting
his mastery of space and scale. Every Locsin Building is an original, and identifiable as a
Locsin with themes of floating volume, the duality of light and heavy, buoyant and
massive running in his major works. From 1955 to 1994, Locsin has produced 75
residences and 88 buildings, including 11 churches and chapels, 23 public buildings, 48
commercial buildings, six major hotels, and an airport
terminal building.

Locsin's largest single work is the Istana Nurul Iman,

the palace of the Sultan of Brunei, which has a floor
area of 2.2 million square feet. The CCP Complex
itself is a virtual Locsin Complex with all five buildings
designed by him the Cultural Center of the
Philippines, Folk Arts Theater, Philippine International
Convention Center, Philcite and The Westin Hotel.
LITERATURE

Amado V. Hernandez

National Artist for Literature, 1973

Hagonoy, Bulacan, Region 3 - Central Luzon Tondo, Manila,

National Capital Region

Amado Vera Hernandez (1903-1970), was a writer and

labor leader from Hagonoy, Bulacan. He was known for his
criticism of social injustices in the Philippines and was later

13
imprisoned for his involvement in the communist movement. He was the central figure in
a landmark legal case that took 13 years to settle. Hernandez grew up Tondo, Manila,
where he studied at the Manila High School and at the American Correspondence
School.

While still a teenager, he began writing in Tagalog for the newspaper Watawat (Flag).
He would later write a column for the Tagalog publication Pagkakaisa (Unity) and
become editor of Mabuhay (Long Live). His socio-political novels were based on his
experiences as a guerrilla, as a labor leader, and as a political
detainee: Mga Ibong Mandaragit (Birds of Prey), 1969; Luha Ng
Buwaya (Crocodile's Tears), 1972. His plays are mostly based on his
experiences in prison: Muntinglupa, 1957; Hagdan sa Bahaghari
(Stairway to the Rainbow), 1958; Ang Mga Kagalang-galang (The
Venerables), 1959. Magkabilang Mukha ng Isang Bagol (Two Sides
of A Coin), 1960. And Essays: Si Atang at ang Dulaan (Atang and
the Theater); Si Jose Corazon de Jesus at ang Ating Panulaan
(Jose Corazon de Jesus and Our Poetry).

Nick Joaquin

National Artist for Literature, 1976

Paco, Manila, National Capital Region

Nicomedes Márquez Joaquín (1917-2004) was a writer,

historian, and journalist from Paco, Manila. He is best
known for his short stories and novels in the English
language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de
Manila.

He is considered as one of the most important Filipino writers in English, and the third
most important overall, after José Rizal and Claro M. Recto. As a boy, after being read
poems and stories by his mother, Joaquín read widely in his father's library and at the
National Library of the Philippines. By then, his father had become a successful lawyer
after the revolution. From reading, Joaquín became interested in writing.

After being honored as National Artist, Joaquin used his position to

work for intellectual freedom in society. He secured the release of
imprisoned writer José F. Lacaba. At a ceremony on Mount
Makiling attended by First Lady Imelda Marcos, Joaquin delivered
an invocation to Mariang Makiling, the mountain's mythical
maiden.

Joaquín touched on the importance of freedom and the artist.

After that, Joaquín was excluded by the Marcos regime as a
speaker at important cultural events.

14
 N. V. M. Gonzáles

National Artist for Literature, 1997

Romblon, Region 4B – MIMAROPA

Néstor Vicente Madali González (1915-1999) was a novelist,

short story writer, essayist, and poet from Romblon. He was
however, raised in Mansalay, a southern town of the
Philippine province of Oriental Mindoro. González attended
Mindoro High School from 1927 to 1930. González attended
college at National University (Manila) but he was unable to
finish his undergraduate degree. González attended creative writing classes under
Wallace Stegner and Katherine Anne Porter at Stanford University.

In 1950, González returned to the Philippines and taught at the University of Santo
Tomas, the Philippine Women's University and the University of
the Philippines (U.P.). At U.P., González was only one of two
faculty members accepted to teach in the university without
holding a degree. On the basis of his literary publications and
distinctions, González later taught at the University of California,
Santa Barbara, California State University, Hayward, the
University of Washington, the University of California, Los
Angeles, and the University of California, voley. On 14 April 1987,
the University of the Philippines conferred on N.V.M. Gonzalez
the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

THEATER

Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero

National Artist for Theater, 1997

Ermita, Manila, National Capital Region

Wilfrido Maria Guerrero (1911-1995) was a playwright,

director, teacher and theater artist from Ermita, Manila.
Guerrero wrote well over 100 plays, 41 of which have been
published. His unpublished plays have either been
broadcast over the radio or staged in various parts of the
Philippines.

His plays can be found in various anthologies: 13 Plays (first published in 1947), 8 Other
Plays (1952), 7 More Plays (1962), 12 New Plays (1975), My Favorite 11 Plays (1976), 4
Latest Plays (1980), and Retribution and eight other
selected plays (1990). Guerrero also published a
family memoir, The Guerreros of Ermita (1988).
Guerrero worked as a reporter and proofreader for La
Vanguardia, a Spanish newspaper, and as a drama
critic for the Manila Tribune. He also worked for some
time in the Philippine film industry as a scriptwriter. He
served as director of the Filipino Players from 1941-
1947.

15
In 1947, he was appointed as Director of the Dramatic Club at the University of the
Philippines despite not having a degree, and he held that position for sixteen years.

He is the first Filipino to have a theater named after him within his lifetime: The Wilfrido
Ma. Guerrero Theater of the University of the Philippines.

Daisy Hontiveros-Avellana

National Artist for Theater, 1999

Roxas City, Capiz, Region 6 - Western Visayas

Daisy Hontiveros-Avellana (1917-2013) was a stage actress,

theater director, and writer from Roxas City, Capiz. 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 theater 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 of Candida Marasigan in
the stage and film versions of Nick Joaquin's 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).

Salvador F. Bernal

National Artist for Theater and Design, 2003

Dagupan, Pangasinan, Region 1 - Ilocos Region

Salvador F. Bernal is a theater designer from Dagupan,

Pangasinan. He designed more than 300 productions
distinguished for their originality since 1969. Sensitive to
the budget limitations of local productions, he
harnessed the design potential of inexpensive local
materials, pioneering or maximizing the use of
bamboo, raw abaca, and abaca fiber, hemp twine,
rattan chain links and gauze cacha.

As the acknowledged guru of contemporary Filipino theater design, Bernal shared his
skills with younger designers through his classes at the University of the Philippines and
the Ateneo de Manila University, and through the programs, he created for the CCP
Production Design Center which he himself conceptualized and organized.

To promote and professionalize theater design, he organized the PATDAT (Philippine

Association of Theatre Designers and Technicians) in 1995 and by way of Philippine
Center of OISTAT (Organization Internationale des Scenographes, Techniciens et
Architectes du Theatre), he introduced Philippine theater design to the world.

16
 SESSION 4

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. identify the list National Artists under the category of film and sculpture.
2. explain the roles and contributions of each National Artists under the category of
film and sculpture.

FILM

Lamberto V. Avellana

National Artist for Film and Theater, 1976

Bontoc, Mountain Province, Region 14 - Cordillera

Administrative Region

Lamberto Vera Avellana (1915-1991) was a prominent film

and stage director from Bontoc, Mountain Province
Despite considerable budgetary limitations that
hampered the post-war Filipino film industry, Avellana's
films such as Anak Dalita and Badjao attained international acclaim. In 1976, Avellana
was named by President Ferdinand Marcos as the very first National Artist of the
Philippines for Film.

Avellana was educated at the Ateneo de Manila AB '37, where he developed what
turned out to be a lifelong interest in the theater. He taught at the Ateneo after
graduation and married his teenage sweetheart Daisy Hontiveros, an actress who
eventually also became a National Artist in 1999.

Avellana directed more than 70 films in a career that spanned six decades. Anak Dalita
(1956) and Badjao (1957) perhaps stand as the most prominent works from his oeuvre.
Anak Dalita, which was named Best Film at the 1956 Asia-Pacific Film Festival, was a
realistic portrayal of poverty-stricken Filipinos coping with the aftermath of World War II.
Badjao was a love-story among the sea-dwelling Badjaos, an indigenous Filipino people
hailing from Mindanao.

Ishmael Bernal

National Artist for Film, 2001

Manila, National Capital Region

Ishmael Bernal (1938-1996) was a film, stage and

television director, actor and screenwriter from Manila.
Noted for his melodramas, particularly with feminist and
moral issues, he directed many landmark Filipino films
such as Nunal sa Tubig (1975), City After Dark (1980),
Relasyon (1982), Himala (1982), and Hinugot sa Langit
(1985). He was declared a National Artist of the
Philippines in 2001.

17
He studied at Burgos Elementary School, Mapa High School and at the University of the
Philippines where he finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1959. After
graduation, he worked with Lamberto Avellana's documentary outfit before
proceeding to France where he earned his Licentiate in French Literature and
Philosophy at the University of Aix-en-Provence. He received his Diploma in Film
Directing in 1970 at the Film Institute of India in Poona under the Colombo plan
scholarship. An active participant in the struggle for artist's rights and welfare, Bernal
was also a board member of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines and the Directors
Guild of the Philippines, Inc. Until his demise, he remained part of DGPI, an organization
that studies the role of film as an instrument of entertainment, education and
development.

Fernando Poe, Jr.

National Artist for Film, 2006

Manila, National Capital Region

Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (1939-2004), better known

as Fernando Poe, Jr. and colloquially known as FPJ
and Da King, was an actor from Manila. His long
career as an action film star earned him the
nickname “King of Philippine Movies” (often
shortened to Da King). In 1953, Poe finished his
primary education at San Beda College. For high
school, he went to San Sebastian College. He
continued his education at Mapua Institute of
Technology and University of the East.

Known also as FPJ from his initials, Poe acted in a number of movies which depicted him
as the champion of the poor and downtrodden. He also directed nine movies, under
the pseudonym Ronwaldo Reyes. He established FPJ productions in 1961, and later
organized other film companies such as D'Lanor, JAFERE, and Rosas Productions. In
1963, he testified against criminal gangs, known as the Big Four, who extorted money
from the film industry.

Poe won the best actor awards at the FAMAS. Among the movies that received awards
were Mga Alabok ng Lupa (1967), Asedillo (1971), Durugin si Totoy Bato, Umpisahan Mo,
Tatapusin Ko (1983), and Muslim Magnum .357 (1987). Fernando Poe Jr. inspired a
generation of television and movie impersonators, both serious and comedic. His movie
role as the 'Pinoy Robin Hood' and 'People's Champion' in most of his films have
repeatedly been clichéd by Filipino action films for years to come.
SCULPTURE

Guillermo Tolentino

National Artist for Visual Arts - Sculpture, 1973

Malolos, Bulacan, Region 3 - Central Luzon

Guillermo Estrella Tolentino (1890-1976) was a sculptor

from Malolos, Bulacan. He is hailed as the "Father of
Philippine Arts."

18
He sculpted the University of the Philippines Monument and main symbol, the UP
Oblation, as well as the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City.

Guillermo Tolentino was known as a master in classical sculpture. He received national

recognition for his work on the Bonifacio Monument, the design for which was chosen in
a competition organized by sculptor Vicente Francisco, and architects Andres Luna de
San Pedro and Tomas Mapua.

Tolentino's winning design featured an obelisk with a bird of freedom perched atop of
it. Around the monument's base stand life-size figures of members of the Katipunan led
by their leader Andres Bonifacio. The monument is
now a major landmark of Caloocan City. One of the
metro's light rail transit (LRT) stations is located near
the landmark, and is accordingly called
"Monumento." Tolentino also sculpted the UP
Oblation. Tolentino was also the artist who designed
the medals for the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, as
well as the seal of the Republic of the Philippines.

Napoleon Abueva

National Artist for Visual Arts – Sculpture, 1976

Sobilaran, Bohol, Region 7 - Central Visayas

Napoleón Isabelo Veloso Abueva (1930), is a sculptor

from Tagbiliran, Bohol. He is considered as the “Father of
Modern Philippine Sculpture."

At U.P, one of his mentors was Guillermo Tolentino, also a

national artist, who created the oblation at the university
entrance. Tolentino later relegated to him the task of
replicating the sculpture for the Campus of U.P. Los Banos.

Some of his major works include Kaganapan (1953), Kiss of

Judas (1955), niny Pieces of Silver, The Transfiguration, Eternal
Gardens Memorial Park (1979), UP Gateway (1967), Nine
Muses (1994), UP Faculty Center, Sunburst (1994)-Peninsula
Manila Hotel. His Sandugo or Blood Compact shrine in Bohol,
Tagbilaran City is a landmark at the site of the first
international treaty of friendship between Spaniards and
Filipinos.

19
 Abdulmari Asia Imao

National Artist for Visual Arts - Sculpture, 2006

Siasi, Sulu, Region 15 - Autonomous Region in Muslim

Mindanao

Abdulmari Asia Imao, a native of Sulu, is a sculptor,

painter, photographer, ceramist, documentary film
maker, cultural researcher, writer, and articulator of
Philippine Muslim art and culture.

Through his works, the indigenous ukkil, sarimanok

and naga motifs have been popularized and instilled in the consciousness of the Filipino
nation and other peoples as original Filipino creations. His U.P. art education introduced
him to Filipino masters like Guillermo Tolentino and Napoleon Abueva, who were
among his mentors.

With his large-scale sculptures and monuments of

Muslim and regional heroes and leaders gracing
selected sites from Batanes to Tawi-tawi, Imao has
helped develop among cultural groups trust and
confidence necessary for the building of a more just
and humane society.

Choose one among the National Artists of the Philippines and answer the following
questions.

1. If you are given a chance, will you follow the footsteps of this artist?

2. Which of his/her characteristics do you value the most? Why?

20
Each National Artist had made significant contributions to Philippine Art and have
consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form, enriching artistic
expression or style. They have passed the National Artist criteria which means that their
works reflect Filipino culture, identities and narratives as a nation.

I have learned that_________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Each learner should be aware of the roles and contributions of these artists to

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

As a student, I will _________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The President’s Choice

Suppose that you are the President of the Philippines and you are looking for a new
National Artist awardee. Trace a well-known Contemporary artist in CALABARZON area.
Write his/her biography focusing on their personal background, contribution/s and
awards received.

Reference

Cruz, J. Q.; Jerusalem, V. L.; Ondevilla, M. K.; Palencia, M. M.; & Solmerano, E. T. (June
2017). Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions (2nd ed.). Fast books Educational
Supply, Inc.

21