Alejandro R.

Roces

Alejandro Reyes Roces was an author, essayist, dramatist and a short story writer. He
was the Philippine’s best writer of comic short stories. His works have been published in
different international magazines and received national and international awards. These
contributions led to his being named a National Artist for Literature in 2003.

Born on July 13, 1924, he is the ninth child of Rafael Gonzales Roces and Inocencia
Batista Roces. He is cousin to Joaquin “Chino” Roces, founder of the Associated Broadcasting
Corporation or ABC, which is now known as TV 5, former owner of The Manila Times, and
whom one of the main roads in Makati was named in his honor, the Chino Roces Avenue.

Alejandro ‘Anding’ Roces attended elementary and high school at the Ateneo de Manila
University. For his tertiary education, he migrated to the US and studied at the University of Arizona and
earned his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. Eventually he came back to the Philippines and later got his
Master of Arts degree from Far Eastern University. His great achievements in journalism, literature and
the arts made him attain several doctorate degrees: Literature at Toyo University, Japan; Arts and
Letters at Polytechnic University of the Philippines; Humane Letters at Ateneo de Manila University; and
Humanities at St. Louis University in Baguio City.

Anding Roces was married to Irene Yorston Viola, who is the granddaughter of Dr. Maximo
Viola, a revolutionary leader and friend of Jose Rizal. They had a daughter named Elizabeth.

Anding Roces was not hooked only to reading and writing, he happened to love hobby walking
and weightlifting.
 Everybody would be impressed with Alejandro Roces’ career record, he began as dean at the
Institute of Arts & Science of Far Eastern University in 1955 which was founded by his uncle, Nicanor
Reyes. He served as a secretary at the Department of Education during Diosdado Macapagal's
administration from 1961 to 1965. He is the first chairman of the Philippine Educational Theater
Association (PETA), also became a member of the Board of Trustees of GSIS (Government Service
Insurance System), and became Chairman and president of CAP (College Assurance Plan Foundation). He
was president of the Manila Bulletin and columnist writer for other Philippine dailies: Manila Chronicle,
Daily Mirror, Manila Times, and The Philippine Star. You will always find him to be at the top of the
company ladder. His last appointment to chairmanship was in 2001 and it was to handle the MTRCB
(Movie and Television Review and Classification Board).

Aside from his notable short stories, Alejandro Roces was known for pushing to change the date
of the Philippine Independence Day from July 4 to June 12. Andeng also recovered the original
manuscripts of Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo and Mi último Adiós which had been stolen from the
National Archives and caused the change of language from English to Filipino in the country’s stamps,
currency and passports.

"We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers", a story Alejandro Roces wrote during his freshman year at the
University of Arizona won Best Short Story Award. "My Brother's Peculiar Chicken", a story that painted
a portrait of a Filipino as a noble person endowed with innate intelligence, patience and compassion as
listed as Martha Foley’s Best American Stories among the most distinctive for the years 1948 and 1951.
A book titled "Fiesta", brought to the public attention the aesthetics of the country's local fiestas such as
the Turumba of Pakil, Moriones of Marinduque, Ati- atihan of Aklan, and Peñafrancia of Naga. Another
book of his "Something to Crow About" won the Aliw Award for Best Musical and Best Director for a
Musical Production.

Roces passed away on May 23, 2011 at the ripe old age of 86. He is survived by his four
brothers, his daughter, and three grandchildren.
Additional Facts about Alejandro Roces:

 As Alejandro Roces went to the US to take up engineering, he ended up taking liberal arts
because of health reasons.
 Another is Ading Roces became a writer by accident. While an undergraduate at Arizona U, he
kept telling stories to his roommate who happened to be a writer in the hopes that it might be
of use, but the American told him one day to write them up himself, which he did, and the rest
is history.
 Roces was a captain in the Marking’s Guerilla during World War II in his teenage years
 He wrote the story of Cocks and Hens even though he is not a cockfighting fan and has never
even seen the inside of a cockpit to everyone's amazement at the accuracy and realism of his
descriptions