21st Century Literature

STEM 11 | Janna Mariz Layno

REGION 6: WESTERN VISAYAS

Background Info

 Western Visayas (Hiligaynon: Kabisay-an Nakatundan; Tagalog: Kanlurang Kabisayaan or

Kanlurang Visayas) an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as
Region VI.
 It consists of six provinces and two highly urbanized cities (Bacolod and Iloilo City). The
regional center is Iloilo City. The region is dominated by the native speakers of four Visayan
languages: Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a, Aklanon and Capiznon.
 The land area of the region is 20,794.18 km2 (8,028.68 sq mi), and with a population of
7,954,723 inhabitants
 The second most populous region in the Visayas after Central Visayas.

Provinces

1. AKLAN - is situated in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is divided into 327
Barangays grouped into 17 Municipalities of which Kalibo is considered the Capital town of
Aklan.
 CAPITAL: Kalibo, A Coastal Municipality in the province of Aklan.
 It is a first class municipality and serves as the provincial capital of Aklan with a
population of 89,127 People. It is the main transportation hub for the resort island of
Boracay. The Municipality is known for the “Ati-Atihan Festival”.

2. ANTIQUE - is Pronounced as “an-TEE-kay”, this province of rugged peaks and jungle rivers
hugging Panay’s west coast has an excellent road connecting to Caticlan and Boracay at one
end and the southern tip of Panay at the Other.
 CAPITAL: San Jose de Buenavista, officially the Municipality of San Jose de
Buenavista, is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Antique,
Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 65,140 people,
making it the most populous municipality in the province of Antique. It is often called
simply San Jose. San Jose de Buenavista used to be a part of the town Antique
(founded in 1745) and was a visita of this town.

3. CAPIZ - Capiz was one of the early settlements of the Malays, centuries before the coming of
the Spaniards to the Philippines. Capiz is known for its seafood dishes, enchanting caves,
historical landmarks, and beaches.
 CAPITAL: Roxas City, a 3rd class component city and it has an estimated
population of 180,000 people.
 Originally known as the municipality of Capiz, the area became a chartered city on
May 12,1951, and was renamed in honor of native “Manuel Acuña Roxas”, The
Fourth President of the Philippines and the First of the independent post-American
Third Philippine Republic.
 known as the seafood capital of the Philippines.
4. GUIMARAS - is an island province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Region. It
is among the smallest and youngest provinces,with its Capital in Jordan. The island is located
in the Panay Gulf, between the islands of Panay and Negros.
 CAPITAL: Jordan, officially the Municipality of Jordan, is a 3rd class municipality.
The name itself should not be confused with the country of Jordan, which had its
capital at Amman. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 39,566
people, making it the third largest settlement in the province.
 bounded by the three municipalities of the province, Buenavista to the north, San
Lorenzo to the east, and Sibunag to the south. Before the founding of the five towns,
the whole island of Guimaras was called "Himal-us".
 14 barangay

5. ILOILO - is a Province of the Philippines located in the Center of the Philippine Archipelago. It
Comprises the Southern Part of Panay Island with Island Province of Guimaras Just Across its
Coast. The Capital city of the province of Iloilo is the City of Iloilo, which is also one of the
major urban centers in the Philippines.
 CAPITAL: Iloilo City is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas
region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of the island of Panay. It
is geographically situated and grouped under the Philippine Statistics Authority, but
remains politically independent in terms of government and administration.

6. NEGROS OCCIDENTAL - a province occupying the north-western part of Negros. It is the

fourth most populated province in the Philippines. It is known for its Chicken Inasal and its
booming sugar industry, it is also known as “The Sugar Bowl of the Philippines”.
 CAPITAL: - Bacolod, was derived from the Hiligaynon word ‘Buklod’ meaning
stonehill, as the city was first set up on a stonehill. Due to Moro (Muslim) raids it was
then transferred to the shoreline. The original town is now called Daan-Banwa,
meaning old town.
 Bacolod City is known as The City of Smiles, because of its local Rio Carnival-like
MassKara Festival that features colorful masks with smiling faces.

Famous Authors

 Alice Tan Gonzales - was born on June 24, 1954 in Bacolod City. She finished AB English
at University of St. La Salle-Bacolod, MA in Literature at Ateneo de Manila University, and
Ph.D. in English Studies at University of the Philippines-Diliman. Currently, she is a full
Professor in English and Literature in UP Visayas, Iloilo.
 She has received the Cultural Center of the Philippines Literature Grants four times:
Short Story (1990), Novel (1991), Play (1994), and Children’s Play (1995).
 She has won the Palanca Awards for Short Story in Hiligaynon several times: “Isa Ka
Pungpong nga Rosas” (A Bunch of Roses, 1997); “Mga Luha para kay Tatay Jose”
(Tears for Tatay Jose, 1997); “Ang Likum sang Isla San Miguel” (The Secret of Isla
San Miguel, 1999); “Sa Taguangkan sang Duta” (In the Womb of the Earth, 2002); at
“Dawata Anak” (Receive, My Child, 2008).
 Some of the plays she had written which were performed onstage were the sarswela
“Pinustahan nga Gugma” (Betted Love) and the musical “Juanita Cruz.”
 She writes poetry, drama and fiction in Hiligaynon, and her area of study includes
Hiligaynon folk literature. She was awarded the Carlos Palanca Hall of Fame for
Literature in 2014 for winning five first places in the Hiligaynon Category of Maikling
Kuwento.
 Peter Solis Nery - a Filipino poet, fictionist, author, and filmmaker. Writing in Hiligaynon, he
is a Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of Fame Awardee, the Cultural
Center of the Philippines (CCP) Literary Grant, and the All-Western Visayas Literary
Contest (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) winner.
 In 2015, he became the first Filipino author to be invited to the Sharjah International
Book Fair in the United Arab Emirates.
 Peter won his first national award in writing for his poetry in Hiligaynon, Mga
Ambahanon kag Pangamuyo sang Bata nga Nalimtan sa Wayang (Songs and
Prayers of a Child Forgotten in the Fields)in 1992.
 For his performance poetry Si Eva, si Delilah, si Ruth, kag ang Alput (Eva, Delilah,
Ruth, and the Prostitute) at the Premio Operiano Italia, he was named Hari sang
Binalaybay (King of Hiligaynon Poetry) in 1993, a title he held until 1998.

 Ricardo Demetillo - was born on June 20, 1920 in Dumangas, Iloilo. He was a poet,
essayist and critic who graduated cum laude in AB English, 1947 in the University of the
Philippines; School of Letters, Bloomington, Indiana; MFA in English and Creative Writing in
State University of Iowa in 1952. He married Angelita Demetillo.
 Some of his publications include: No Certain Weather (1956, poetry), La Via (1959,
poetry), Golden Jubilee Ode Libretto (1959), Barter in Panay (1961, 1984), Daedalus
and Other Poems (1961), The City and the Thread of Light.
 He was a scholar of SU in Presbyterian and International in 1949; fellow of
Rockefeller Foundation in 1952; Pro Patria Awardee in 1961; Republic Cultural
Heritage Awardee in 1968; UP Golden Jubilee for Poetry, Art Association, and
Palanca Awardee in 1972, 1973 and 1974; Rizal Centennial Awardee; and Gawad
Balagtas in 1991.

 Alain Russ Dimzon - a Filipino poet, fictionist and lyricist. He was born on October 31,
1963 in Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a public
school teacher. He finished his Bachelor in Local Government Administration Major in
Public safety and Law Enforcement at the Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCOF) and his
Master in Public Administration at the Guimaras State College (GSC).
 Dimzon’s earliest works were poems in English. After he decided to shift to writing in
Hiligaynon, his native language, he became the first fellow in Hiligaynon Poetry of
the UP National Writers’ Workshop in 1999.
 He was awarded the Gawad Emmanuel Lacaba (Best new Writer in Hiligaynon) by
the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 2000. He was recipient
of the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas for Hiligaynon Poetry awarded by the
Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) in 2018.
 His first full-blown book manuscript Ang Manunulat kag ang Pendulum (the Writer
and the Pendulum), Hiligaynon poems with English translation, (University of San
Agustin Publishing House. Iloilo City, Philippines: 2008) won the Fray Luis de Leon
Creative Writing Institute 2006 competitive creative writing grant.

 Mark Anthony A. Grejaldo - was born August 11, 1980 in Iloilo City. He is a graduate of
Mass Communications from the West Visayas State University. He started writing poetry in
1998.
 In 1999, he became a fellow for Poetry in the Iligan National Writers' Workshop and
the U.P. National Writers' Workshop in Davao City.
 "Lihim ng mga Alitaptap" (his first attempt in writing a screenplay) was a finalist in the
3rd Star Cinema Screenwriting Contest.

Delicacies

 Kansi  PININDANG (Dried Fish)

 Morón  Piyaya
 Chicken Binakol  Chicken Inasal