1) Kidlat Tahimik

National Artist for Film (2018)

Birthday: 3 October 1942

Kidlat Tahimik has continually invented himself through his cinema, and so his cinema is as singular as
the man. His debut film, Mababangong Bangungot (1977), was praised by critics and filmmakers from
Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa and is still considered by many as a pioneering postcolonial
essay film. Tahimik’s intense independence as an artist and, at the same time, the film itself called for
Filipinos to actively live out their independence and not allow their culture to be imperialized by the
west. Kidlat’s “imperfect” film is an exemplar of what is worldwide known as “Third Cinema,” a cinema
that is critical of neocolonial exploitation and state oppression. But, unlike other Third Cinema films,
Kidlat’s work does not glory in ugliness. His films, even those that lament injustice and violence, are
premised on the hope of possible, though yet unrealized, triumph. His constant claim is that whatever
“progress” has relegated to the realm of sadness and poverty should never remain self-referentially sad
or poor.

Notable Works:

Balikbayan #1: Memories of Overdevelopment Redux (2015)

Japanese Summers of a Filipino Fundoshi (1996)

Why Is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow? (1983-1994)

Orbit 50: Letters to My 3 Sons (1990-1992)

Turumba (1983)

Who Invented the Yoyo? Who Invented the Moon Buggy? (1979)

Mababangong Bangungot/Perfumed Nightmare (1977)

2) Resil B. Mojares

National Artist for Literature (2018)

Birthday: 4 September 1943

A teacher and scholar, essayist and fictionist, and cultural and literary historian, Resil Mojares is
acknowledged as a leading figure in the promotion of regional literature and history. As founding
director of the Cebuano Studies Center—an important research institution which placed Cebu in the
research and documentation map—he pioneered Cebuano and national identity formation. As a leading
figure in cultural and literary history, he networked actively in many organizations. For over 50 years,
Mojares has published in diverse forms (fiction, essay, journalism, scholarly articles, and books) across a
wide range of discipline (literature, history, biography, cultural studies, and others). To date, he has 17
published books (3 more in the press) and edited, co-edited, or co-authored 11 books, and written
numerous articles for popular and scholarly publications.

Notable Works:

 Origins and Rise of the Filipino Novel: A Generic Study of the Novel Until 1940
(Quezon City, UP Press, 1983; second ed. 1998)

 The Man Who Would Be President: Serging Osmeña and Philippine Politics
(Cebu: Maria Cacao, 1986)

 Waiting for Mariang Makiling: Essays on Philippine Cultural History

(Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2002)

 Theater in Society, Society in Theater: Social History of a Cebuano Village, 1840-1940 (Quezon
City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1985)

 The War Against the Americans: Resistance and Collaboration in Cebu, 1899-1906 (Quezon City:
Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1999)
  House of Memory: Essays (Metro Manila: Anvil Publishing, 1997)

 Brains of the Nation: Pedro Paterno, T.H. Pardo de Tavera, Isabelo de los Reyes and the
Production of Modern Knowledge
(Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2006)

 Isabelo’s Archive (Metro Manila: Anvil Publishing, 2013).

3) CARLOS “BOTONG” FRANCISCO

National Artist for Painting (1973)

(November 4, 1912 – March 31, 1969)

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 abiding faith in
the folk values typified by the townspeople of Angono became the hallmark of his art.

Harana, 1957

Harana, 1957 (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Collection)

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.

4) Ryan Cayabyab 

National Artist for Music (2018)

Birthday: 4 May 1954

Mr. C is the most accomplished composer, arranger, and musical director in the Philippine music
industry since this bloomed beginning 1970s. His learned, skillful, and versatile musical style spans a
wide range of genres: from conservatory or art compositions such as concert religious music, symphonic
work, art song, opera, and concerto to mainstream popular idioms in the music industry and in live
contemporary multimedia shows (musical theater, dance, and film). Being very visible in the national
media (once a TV host of a long-running arts and culture series and recently a judge in reality TV singing
competitions), Cayabyab is a household name. His compositions reflect a perspective of music that
extols the exuberance of life and human happiness, thus capturing the very essence of our Filipino soul.

Notable Works:

 Rama-Hari (Two-act musical ballet, 1980)

 Katy! The Musical (Two-act musical, 1988)

 Smokey Mountain (Pop CD album, 1990)

 One Christmas (Christmas Album, 1993)

 Noli Me Tangere (Tele-sine musical, 1995)

 Spoliarium (Three-act opera, 2003)

 Ignacio Of Loyola (Film Score, 2016)

 Larawan: The Musical (Full-length musical film, 2017)

 Da Coconut Nut

 Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika

 Nais Ko
  Paraiso

 Kahit Ika’y Panaginip Lang

 Kailan

 Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka

5) Ramon L. Muzones (+)

National Artist for Literature (2018)

(20 March 1913-17 August 1992)

Ramon Muzones was a Hiligaynon poet, essayist, short story writer, critic, grammarian, editor,
lexicographer, and novelist who authored an unprecedented 61 completed novels. A number of these
represent groundbreaking “firsts’ in Hiligaynon literature such as the feminist Ang Bag-ong Maria Clara,
the roman a clef Maambong Nga Sapat (Magnificent Brute,1940), the comic Si Tamblot (1946), the
politically satirical Si Tamblot Kandidato Man (Tamblot is Also a Candidate, 1949), the 125- installment
longest serialized novel Dama de Noche (1982-84), etc. Hailed by his peers as the longest reigning (1938-
1972) among “the three kings of the Hiligaynon novel,” Muzones brought about its most radical changes
while ushering in modernism. With a literary career that spanned fifty-three years (1938-1990), his
evolution covers the whole history of the Hiligaynon novel from its rise in the 1940s to its decline in the
1970s. Muzones tried his hand at a variety of types and proved adept in all as literary fashions. In the
process, he not only extended with remarkable versatility and inventiveness the scope and style of the
Hiligaynon novel, but he also enriched Hiligaynon literature’s dramatis personae.

9) FERNANDO AMORSOLO

National Artist for Visual Arts

(May 30, 1892 – April 24, 1972)

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 were figures, a cluster of
leaves, a 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.

11) Lauro “Larry” Alcala 

National Artist for Visual Arts (2018)
(18 August 1926-24 June 2002)

His comic strips spiced up the slices of Filipino lives with witty illustrations executed throughout his 56
years of cartooning. He created over 500 characters and 20 comic strips in widely circulated
publications. Alcala’s most iconic work, Slice of Life, not only made for decades long of widely circulated
images of Filipino everyday life, it also symbolically became an experiential way for his followers to find
a sense of self in the midst of an often cacophonic, raucous and at odds environment that Filipinos
found themselves amidst.
15) Bienvenido Lumbera
National Artist for Literature (2006)

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 the Tales 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.

16) Dr. Gémino H. Abad

A writer, critic, scholar, literary historian, and anthologist with numerous books and literary awards
including ten poetry volumes, nine volumes of literary criticism, two volumes on his own poetics, two
short story collections, a five-volume historical anthology of Philippine poetry in English, and a six-
volume anthology of Philippine short stories in English, from1956 (the year where the late Leopoldo
Yabes’ anthology left off) to 2009. Several of these books have received national literary awards such as
the Gawad Dangal ng Lahi given by the Carlos Palanca Memorial Foundation; the Don Carlos Palanca
Memorial Awards for his poetry; the CCP Award for Poetry; the Ani ng Dangal Award of the NCCA; the
UMPIL’s Gawad Alagad ni Balagtas for lifetime achievement in poetry and literary criticism; the
Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan sa Larangan ng Panitikan from the City of Maynila; the Manila Critics’
Circle National Book Award for poetry, for anthology, for personal anthology; and the Philippines Free
Press Literary Awards for the short story, essay, and poetry.

20) Francisco T. Mañosa

National Artist for Architecture and Allied Arts (2018)

Birthday: 12 February 1931

For all of his more than 60 years of architecture life, Ar. Bobby Mañosa designed Filipino. From the
1960s in his landmark design of the Sulo Hotel until his retirement about 2015, he courageously and
passionately created original Filipino forms, spaces with intricate and refined details. But what is most
valuable is that Mañosa was in the heart and soul of a Philippine architectural movement. He has
developed a legacy of Philippine architecture, which is essential to our Filipino identity and at the same
time, deeply appreciated and shared in our world today.

Major Works:

San Miguel Building, Ortigas Center, Pasig City (designed with the Mañosa Brothers)

Chapel of the Risen Lord, Las Piñas City

Our Lady of Peace Shrine, EDSA, Quezon City

World Youth Day Papal Altar, Quirino Grandstand, Manila, 1995

Metrorail Transit System Stations for LRT 1, circa 1980s

Quezon Memorial Circle Development Plan

Lanao del Norte Provincial Capitol, Tubod, Lanao del Norte

Tahanang Pilipino (Coconut Palace), CCP Complex, Manila

Amanpulo Resort, Palawan

Pearl Farm Resort, Samal Island, Davao, completed 1994

La Mesa Watershed Resort and Ecological Park, La Mesa Dam, Quezon City

6) Antonio “Tony” Mabesa

-known as the Lion of the Theater, was a director, actor, and teacher who greatly contributed to
the growth and diversity of Philippine theater. His theater teaching, formalism as aesthetics, and
methods of production have made an impact on his students. He was a professor, artist and mentor who
will be remembered for his lessons on discipline, commitment and respect for theater.

Early seventies when he formed Tanghalang Repertory with various Filipino students in Hawaii, a theater
group devoted solely to the production of traditional and modern Filipino plays and later on staged
productions around Honolulu. Then, upon returning to the Philippines, he joined the Department of
Speech Communications and Drama in the University of the Philippines Diliman, when productions were
only staged occasionally. His first tasks were to come up with a regular season, thus the Dulaang
Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (DUP) was born in 1976. Moreover, in 1986 he founded the UP Playwright’s
Theater (UPPT), which focused on new works by Filipino playwrights and the revival of classic Filipino
plays.

7) Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio
National Artist for Theater (2018)
Birthday: 4 April 1930

Known as the Grand Dame of Southeast Asian children’s theatre, Tita Amel is the founder and
playwright-director of the Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas, which has placed the Philippines on the artistic
map of world theater. She has written most of the plays performed by the group based on materials
culled from painstaking researches. She has also been involved in the production and design of puppets.
All in all, what she has achieved is an indigenous fusion of puppetry, children’s literature,
folklore, and theater.

Notable Works:

 6 na Dulang Filipino Para Sa Mga Bata, 1976

 Tat-lu-han (Three Plays), 1975

 Ang Paglalakbay ni Sisa: Isang Noh Sa Laguna, 1998

 Isang Kyogen sa Pritil, 1977

 Sepang Loca, 1957

 Papet Pasyon, 1985

 Abadeja: Ang Ating Sinderela, 1977

8) Agnes Locsin 

-is a choreographer, director, and teacher. She is dubbed as one of the “most progressive
contemporary choreographers in the Philippines,” for she distinctively utilizes Filipino beliefs, rituals,
and ethnic traditions in her choreographies, concepts, and direction, which she was able to beautifully
merge with her knowledge in Western dance techniques and called it “neo-ethnic.” Among her
successful works are Babaylan, which won second place in the Tokyo International Choreography
Competition in 1993; Taong Talangka (Man-Crab); Salome which won second place for dancer Camille
Ordinario in the 1994 Concours International de la Danse in Paris, France; and narrative works like one
on the life of the mythical hero Labaw Dungon in the epic Hinilawod from the island of Panay.

10) Ricardo Lee also known as Ricky Lee

-is a screenwriter for film and television, journalist, playwright, and a multi-awarded fictionist
who published several novels, plays, essays, and short story collections along his screenplays and
screenwriting manuals. He has demonstrated his mastery of writing historical films, literary and true-to-
life adaptations, political, courtroom, and dramas, the stories of “outsiders” and marginalized figures
such as laborers, prostitutes, rebels, migrant workers, and gay people, and his consistent elevation of all
manner of genre fare, from horror to tearjerkers to comedies. Lee emerged in screenwriting in the late
1970s as part of the generation of filmmakers who ushered the “Second Golden Age of Philippine
Cinema.”

Lee has demonstrated his mastery of writing historical films, literary and true-to-life adaptations,
political, courtroom, and diasporic dramas, the stories of “outsiders” and marginalized figures such as
laborers, prostitutes, rebels, migrant workers, and gay people, and his consistent elevation of all manner
of genre fare, from horror to tearjerkers to comedies.

12) Marilou Diaz-Abaya 

-was a film and television director and screenwriter. She began her career in the 1980s and was
part of the generation that defined what is today remembered as the “Second Golden Age of Philippine
Cinema.” Her notable works are Brutal (1980), which marked Diaz-Abaya’s clear directorial style and
unique feminist voice, as she emerged as a bold experimenter of storytelling structure and a fierce
creative protester of the harrowing plight of women in a male-dominated society;  Moral (1982), which
offered a nuanced commentary on the expectations and burdens placed onwomen’s shoulders against
which they explore their desires and navigate their shifting place in society; Karnal (1983), where the
perverse entanglement of paternalism, desire, and drive for control results in a violent
tragedy; Milagros (1997), where she moved away from pointed advocacies and delved instead on an
enigmatic exploration of feminine desire and innocence; Sa Pusod ng Dagat (1998), which further
explored the complex meaning of womanhood; Jose Rizal (1998), the biopic of the national hero; Muro-
Ami (1999), portrayed the lives of exploited children in the illegal practice of reef hunting; Bagong
Buwan (2001), endeavored to tell a fair and informed story about war-torn Muslim Mindanao; and Noon
at Ngayon: Pagsasamang Kay Ganda (2003), which tells the story of four middle-aged women who have
weathered life’s storms and reconciled with their pasts.

13) Salvacion Lim-Higgins

-known to the fashion world as “Slim’s”, is credited for innovating and transforming the look
of terno into a world-class silhouette by combining the elements of Philippine costume with European
couture details and construction. She was known for her exquisite drapery, constant and evocative use
of indigenous materials such as piña  and jusi, referencing ethnic motifs in her modern dresses, and
forward-looking and cutting-edge approach to fashion. Lim-Higgins introduced draping into traditional
costumes and developed “convertible ternos.” Filipiniana  took a more nuanced look through the eye-
catching costumes she created for the Bayanihan Dance Company.

14) FRANCISCO FELICIANO

National Artist for Music (2014)
(February 19, 1941 – September 19, 2014)

Francisco Feliciano’s corpus of creative work attests to the exceptional talent of the Filipino as an artist.
His lifetime conscientiousness in bringing out the “Asianness” in his music, whether as a composer,
conductor, or educator, contributed to bringing the awareness of people all over the world to view the
Asian culture as a rich source of inspiration and a celebration of our ethnicity, particularly the
Philippines. He brought out the unique sounds of our indigenous music in compositions that have high
technical demands equal to the compositions of masters in the western world. By his numerous creative
outputs, he elevated the Filipino artistry into one that is highly esteemed by people all over the world.

Many of his choral compositions have been performed by the best choirs in the country, such as the
world-renowned Philippines Madrigal Singers, UST Singers, and the Novo Concertante Manila, and have
won for them numerous awards in international choral competitions. The technical requirement of his
choral pieces is almost at the tip of the scale that many who listen to their rendition are awed, especially
because he incorporates the many subtleties of rhythmic vitality and intricate interweaving of lines
inspired from the songs of our indigenous tribes. He not only borrows these musical lines, albeit he
quotes them and transforms them into completely energetic fusions of sound and culture that does
nothing less than celebrate our various ethnicities.

His operas and orchestral works also showcase the masterful treatment of a musical language that is
unique and carries with it a contemporary style that allows for the use of modal scales, Feliciano’s
preferred tonality. The influence of bringing out the indigenous culture, particularly in sound, is strongly
evident in La Loba Negra, Ashen Wings, and Yerma. In his modest hymns, Feliciano was able to bring out
the Filipino mysticism in the simple harmonies that are able to captivate and charm his audiences. It is
his matchless genius in choosing to state his ideas in their simplest state but producing a haunting and
long-lasting impact on the listening soul that makes his music extraordinarily sublime.

Major Works: Ashen Wings (1995), Sikhay sa Kabila ng Paalam (1993), La Loba Negra (1983), Yerma
(1982), Pamugun (1995), Pokpok Alimako (1981)

17) LUCIO SAN PEDRO

National Artist for Music (1991)
(February 11, 1913 – March 31, 2002)

Lucio 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 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 music Easter 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.

18) Nora Cabaltera Villamayor also known as Nora Aunor

-has been in different fields for more than four decades—film, television, music, and stage. Her
journey to fame started when she joined and won a local amateur singing contest in a radio program
called “Darigold Jamboree”. She came to be known as the girl with the “golden voice” with the unique
tone of her voice. It was Tower Productions that gave her the biggest break: the title role in D’ Musical
Teenage Idols, opposite Tirso Cruz III. Sampaguita Pictures’ 34th-anniversary presentation was also a
Nora-Tirso starrer, Fiesta Extravaganza, and that is when people began referring her as “Superstar”.
Succeeding years would see her taking on a wide variety of movie projects, showing her versatility by
making comedies, melodramas, and musicals. Her extensive filmography with 170 films is not only
matched but exceeded by the number of awards and citations she has received from local and
international organizations.

19) Professor Emeritus Fides Cuyugan Asensio’s more than six decades of involvement with the art of
opera displays her dedication and passion to bringing inaccessible Western dramatic idiom into
Philippine theaters for the Filipino opera enthusiasts to experience and learn from. She’s dedicated to
opera and musical theater, which enriched the Philippine artistic scene. Her exceptional achievements in
many years of exemplary service to the field such as performing, teaching, producing, and directing
opera and theater productions, contributed to a Renaissance of classical musical theater in the country.
Her performance of Sisa in Felipe de Leon’s Noli Me Tangere became a hallmark in the country’s musical
theater history.

She dedicated her golden years to teaching young Filipino singers, hence, her teaching elevated the level
of performance and transformed singing into a truthful and higher form of art in the country. Her
involvement in the country’s musical theatre scene has enriched our cultural heritage, showcasing
Filipino excellence in music to the world and shaped the future generations of Filipino musical theater
artists.