National artists

Music
 Antonio J. Molina
 Jovita Fuentes
 Levi Celério
 Lucrecia R. Kasilag
 Lucio D. San Pedro
 Felipe P. de León
 José Maceda
 Ernani Joson Cuenco
 Andrea O. Veneración
 Francisco Feliciano
 Ramón Santos
 Antonio R. Buenaventura
Antonio J. Molina
Molina was born in Quiapo, Manila, the son of Juan
Molina, a government official, who founded the Molina
Orchestra.He attended the Escuela Catolica de Nuestro
Padre Jesus Nazareno in Quiapo, Manila, and college at
San Juan De Letran where he was awarded a Bachelor of
Arts degree in 1909.
Antonio J. Molina was a Filipino composer,
conductor and music administrator. He was named a
National Artist of the Philippines for his services to
music. He was also known as the Claude Debussy of the
Philippines due to his use of impressionism in music.
 Molina made his first composition in 1912 titled
Matinal, which is preserved in an unpublished volume
called Miniaturas.He was appointed to teach harmony,
composition, music history, and violincello at the UP
Conservatory of Music, pursuing a career in music
education until being appointed 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
One of the greatest Filipino vocal talents, National Artist for Music Jovita
Fuentes was also the first Filipino international star in the world of opera.
Born on February 15, 1895 to Canuto and Dolores Flores in Capiz (now
Roxas City), and Jovita was exposed to music at age five, when she learned to
sing habaneras and danzas. She learned to play the piano with the help of
the town organist, after which she moved to Manila to study at the Colegio
de Santa Isabel. During her school vacations, she organized the showing of
sarswelas and operettas with friends and neighbors.
After college, she underwent formal voice training with Salvina Fornari,
an Italian singer residing in Manila. She also became a voice teacher herself
from 1919 to 1924 at the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music.
She then left for Milan, Italy, to hone her skills in opera singing and acting
as well. She studied under some of the more prominent voice teachers in
Italy, such as Arturo Cadore and Luigi Lucenti.
In April 1925, Fuentes made her international debut as Cio Cio San in Puccini’s
Madama Butterfly, staged in Italy’s Teatro Municipale di Piacenza. She then
went on to perform in the Philippines, the United States, and Europe, where
her fame spread and where she essayed the lead roles in major operas—Mimi
in Puccini’s La Bohème, Iris in Mascagni’s Iris, and Salome in Strauss’s
Salome. Her performance in the New York production of Madama Butterfly
was also highly acclaimed.
Jovita Fuentes gave her final recital in Manila in 1945. In 1955, she retired from
the concert stage and focused on voice teaching. She also became an active
advocate of music and the arts. She founded various music associations such
as Asociacion Musical de Filipinas, the Bach Society of the Philippines, and
the Artists’ Guild of the Philippines.
It was during a concert sponsored by the Asociacion, with the goal of
promoting folk songs from different regions of the country, where Fuentes
first performed in public, the folk song Ay! Kalisud (Ah, Misery). She had
recorded this song for Odeon Records in Germany in 1928.
Fuentes garnered numerous other awards and citations, including the
Presidential Medal of Merit in Music in 1958 and was recognized as National
Artist in music in 1976. She passed away in Manila on August 7, 1978.
Levi Celerio
Levi Celerio was born on April 30, 1910, in Tondo, Manila to parents
that hailed from Baliuag, Bulacan. 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 to be 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.
 His more popular love songs include: Saan Ka Man Naroroon?, Kahit
Konting Pagtingin, Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal, Kapag Puso'y Sinugatan, and Ikaw,
O Maliwanag na Buwan, Dahil Sa Isang Bulaklak, Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, and
Sapagkat Kami'y Tao Lamang, while his folk songs include Ang Pipit, Tinikling,
Tunay na Tunay, Itik-Itik, Waray-Waray, Pitong Gatang, Ako ay May Singsing,
Alibangbang, Alembong, Galawgaw, Caprichosa, Ang Tapis ni Inday, Dungawin
Mo Hirang, Umaga na Neneng, Ikaw Kasi, and Basta't Mahal Kita. Celerio also
wrote nationalistic songs such as Bagong Pagsilang, Lupang Pangarap, and Tinig
ng Bayan.
Celerio, for a time, was also recognized by the
Guinness Book of World Records as the only man who could play music with a
leaf. Because of his talent, Celerio was invited to The Merv Griffin Show, where he
played "All the Things You Are" with 39 musicians. Using his leaf, Levi wowed the
crowd and got the attention of the Guinness Book of World Records. The Book
later listed the entry: "The only leaf player in the world is in the Philippines".
He died at the Delgado Clinic in Quezon City on April
2, 2002, at the age of 91, just two days after the death of
a fellow National Artist, Lucio San Pedro (who wrote
the music for Sa Ugoy ng Duyan). But his death was
overshadowed by the death a few days earlier of the
popular matinee idol Rico Yan, thus, his death was
received with little public attention. He was buried
with full military honors at the Libingan ng mga
Bayani (National Heroes' Cemetery).[3]
Lucrecia Kasilag
Lucrecia Roces Kasilag was born in San Fernando, La Union,
Philippines, the third of the six children of Marcial Kasilag, Sr., a civil
engineer, and his wife Asuncion Roces Kasilag, a violinist and a violin
teacher.She was the first solfeggio teacher of Kasilag. The second teacher of
Kasilag was Doña Concha Cuervo, who was a strict Spanish woman.
Afterwards, Kasilag studied under Doña Pura Villanueva. It was during this
time that Kasilag performed her first public piece, Felix Mendelssohn's
May Breezes, at a student recital when she was ten years old.
Kasilag grew up in Paco, Manila, where
she was educated at Paco Elementary School and graduated valedictorian in
1930. She then transferred to Philippine Women's University for high
school, where in 1933 she also graduated as valedictorian. For college, she
graduated cum laude in 1936 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English, in
the same university. She also studied music at St. Scholastica’s College in
Malate, Manila, with Sister Baptista Battig, graduating with a Music
Teacher's Diploma, major in piano, in 1939.
 During World War II, she took up composition, and on 1 December 1945, she performed her
own compositions in a concert at Philippine Women's University. From 1946 to 1947, Kasilag
taught at the University of the Philippines’ Conservatory of Music and worked as secretary-
registrar at Philippines Women's University.
She completed a Bachelor of Music degree in 1949, and then attended the
Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, studying theory with Allen I. McHose and
composition with Wayne Barlow. Kasilag returned to the Philippines, and in 1953 she was
appointed Dean of the Philippines Women's University College of Music and Fine Arts.[4]
After completing her studies, Kasilag made an international tour as a concert pianist, but
eventually had to give up a performing career due to a congenital weakness in one hand.
Kasilag was instrumental in developing Philippine music and culture. She founded the
Bayanihan Folks Arts Center for research and theatrical presentations, and was closely
involved with the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company.[5]
She was also a former president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, head of the
Asian Composers League, Chairperson of the Philippine Society for Music Education, and
was one of the pioneers of the Bayanihan Dance Company. She is credited for having written
more than 200 musical compositions, ranging from folksongs to opera to orchestral works,
and was composing up to the year before she died, at age 90.
She is particularly known for incorporating indigenous Filipino instruments into orchestral
productions.
Honor and awards
Honorary Doctor of Music from Centro Escolar
University, 1975
Honorary Doctor of Laws from the Philippine
Women’s University, 1980
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from St. John’s
University in New York, 1981
National Artist in the Philippines, 1989
Lucio San Pedro
Lucio San Pedro, born in Angono, Rizal on February 11, 1913 was a
great Filipino composer, conductor and teacher. He is popular for
his contributions to the field of Philippine music such as the
lullaby “Sa Ugoy ng Duyan”, made with another National Artist for
Music, Levi Celerio, and the symphonic poem “Lahing
Kayumanggi”. He composed many different types of music
including symphonic, band, vocal, choral, theater, chamber and
movie, all which boasts Filipino pride and soul. His popular works
include orchestral music The Devil’s Bridge, Malakas at
Maganda Overture, Prelude and Fugue in D minor and Hope
and Ambition; choral music Easter Cantata, Sa Mahal Kong
Bayan and Rizal’s Valedictory Poem; vocal music Lulay, In the
Silence of the Night; and band music Dance of the
Fairies, Triumphal March and Angononian March.
No stranger to the music world since birth, Lucio belonged to a family with strong
musical influences. During his late teen years, he became a church organist and
started composing songs, hymns and two complete masses for voice and orchestra.
After studying under different musicians in the Philippines, he proceeded to the
Julliard School of Music in New York City as a scholar and learned advanced
composition under Bernard Wagenaar in 1947. He also studied harmony and
orchestration under Vittorio Giannini.
Apart from composing music, Lucio also developed a passion for teaching. He taught
composition in numerous conservatories and universities such as Ateneo de Manila
University, Centro Escolar University Conservatory of Music and at the University of
the Philippines College of Music, where he became Chairman of its Composition
and Conducting Department from 1970 to 1973. He retired as a professor in 1978 and
received the title of Professor Emeritus in UP the following year.
His numerous works, influences and contributions to Philippine music led to the
proclamation of Lucio San Pedro as a National Artist of the Philippines for Music on
May 9, 1991 by President Corazon Aquino. He died at the age of 89 on March 31, 2002
due to cardiac arrest, and is buried in his hometown of Angono
Felipe De Leon
Felipe Padilla de Leon (May 1, 1912 – December 5, 1992) was a Filipino classical music
composer, conductor, and scholar. He received the Republic Cultural Heritage Award,
Rizal Pro-Patria Award, Presidential Award of Merit and Patnubay ng Kalinangan Award,
among others. He was named Composer of the Year in 1949, Musician of the Year in
Manila in 1958, and a National Artists of the Philippines in 1997.
De Leon was the third of four children by the second marriage of his mother Natalia Padilla
to Juan de Leon. His father died when he was three years old, and he was raised by his
mother and his elder half-brother, Pedro P. San Diego. Before becoming a musician he
took various odd jobs to support his family, such as a shoe polisher, carabao herder,
carriage driver, and vendor of various items. In 1927, he took up Fine Arts at the
University of the Philippines, but he had to abandon his studies to make a living. He
played the trombone in cabarets and circuses, and later worked as an assistant conductor
of the Nueva Ecija High School Orchestra, where he started composing music. To
improve his composing skills he again enrolled to the University of the Philippines, and
graduated in 1939 with a diploma of music teacher and conductor. Much later, he
continued his studies under Vittorio Giannini at the Juilliard School in New York, U.S.
De Lean married pianist Iluminada Mendoza with whom he had six children, including
Bayani, a prominent composer, and Felipe Jr., a writer.
Jose Maceda
Maceda was born in Manila, Philippines, and studied piano, composition
and musical analysis at École Normale de Musique de Paris in France. After
returning to the Philippines, he became a professional pianist, and later
studied musicology at Columbia University, and anthropology at
Northwestern University.
Starting in 1952, he conducted fieldwork on the ethnic
Music of the Philippines. From about 1954, he was involved in the research
and composition of musique concrète. In 1958, he worked at a
recording studio in Paris which specialized in musique concrète. During this
period, he met Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis. In
1963, Maceda earned a doctorate in ethnomusicology from the UCLA. He
began pursuing a compositional career more vigorously. At the same time, he
held concerts in Manila until 1969, in which he performed and conducted.
This series of concerts introduced Boulez, Xenakis and Edgard Varèse to the
Filipino public.
As an ethnomusicologist, Maceda investigated various forms of music in
Southeast Asia, producing numerous papers and even composing his own pieces
for Southeast Asian instruments. His notable works include: Pagsamba for 116
instruments, 100 mixed and 25 male voices (1968); Cassette 100 for 100
cassette players (1971); Ugnayan for 20 radio stations (1974); Udlot-Udlot for
several hundred to several thousand people (1975); Suling-Suling for 10 flutes, 10
bamboo buzzers and 10 flat gongs (1985). In 1977, Maceda aimed to study
Philippine folk songs which he describes as having more focus on rhythm rather
than time measure.[1] From the 1990s, he also composed for Western orchestra
and piano. The examples are: Distemperament for orchestra (1992); Colors
without Rhythm for orchestra (1999); Sujeichon for 4 pianos (2002).
Jose Maceda collected audio records materials of traditional music amongst various
populations in Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, part of these audio archives
are deposited in the CNRS – Musée de l’Homme audio archives in France (a
digitized version is available online). His entire musical collections were inscribed
in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2007, as submitted by the U.P.
Center for Ethnomusicology and nominated by the Philippine government
Ernani Joson Cuenco
Ernani Joson Cuenco (May 10, 1936 – June 1988) was a Filipino composer,film
scorer, musical director and music teacher and Philippine National Artist for
Music. He wrote an outstanding and memorable body of works that resonate with
the Filipino sense of musicality and which embody an ingenious voice that raises
the aesthetic dimensions of contemporary Filipino music. Cuenco played with the
Filipino Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Manila Symphony Orchestra from
1960 to 1968, and the Manila Chamber Soloists from 1966 to 1970. He completed a
music degree in piano and cello from the University of Santo Tomas where he also
taught for decades until his death in 1988.
He was proclaimed National Artist for Music in 1999; He was an award-winning film
scorer in the early 1960s, working in collaboration with National Artist for Music
Levi Celerio. He was also a teacher and a seasoned orchestra player.
His songwriting credits include "Nahan, Kahit na Magtiis," and "Diligin Mo ng
Hamog ang Uhaw na Lupa," "Pilipinas," "Inang Bayan," "Isang Dalangin," "Kalesa,"
"Bato sa Buhangin" and "Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal." The latter song shows how
Cuenco enriched the Filipino love ballad by adding the elements of kundiman to it.
Andrea Ofilada
Andrea was born on July 11, 1928, to Macario Ofilada and
Raymunda Carriaga. She was raised in Manila, Philippines.
She earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano and Voice at
the University of the Philippines Diliman, graduating
cum laude. She was a lyric soprano soloist in various Oratorio
works and in the Opera Stage. She was also a very
accomplished pianist and accompanist and was the
accompanist of National Artist for Music, Jovita Fuentes for a
number of years. Apart from being an extraordinary musician,
she was also an exceptional athlete as a competitive swimmer.
She was part of the Philippine swimming team who first
competed internationally in Hong Kong
Later on, she continued to pursue her master's degree in Voice at Indiana
UniversitySchool of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, as a Fulbright scholar, where
she encountered the Indiana University Madrigal Singers, who rallied the music of
the Renaissance period.
Upon her return to the Philippines in 1963, she established a singing group with the
same idea. This group was initially exclusive of U.P. faculty members and students
and became officially known as the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers.
She established a tradition for which the Madz, as they are fondly called, are
known for: unlike most choirs, the Madz were seated in a semicircular formation
without a conductor. The Choirmaster is at the left-most end of the circle, and
leads the group by giving their cues, much like how a concertmaster leads in an
orchestra.
Under her direction, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won major awards in
international choral competitions, including those in Spittal an der Drau, Austria;
Arezzo and Gorizia, Italy; Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Debrecen, Hungary; Varna,
Bulgaria; Tolosa, Spain; and Marktoberdorf, Germany. In 1996, she led the
Philippine Madrigal Singers to its victory in the 1996 International Choral
Competition in Tolosa, Spain. This made them eligible to compete for the
European Grand Prix for Choral Singing the following year and eventually won the
title in Tours, France.
Veneracion was the founding choirmaster and first conductor of the
Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music (AILM) Chorale.[5]
Later, some of her choristers established their own careers as well-known music performers and
choral composers, conductors and arrangers in the Philippines; they include Ryan Cayabyab, Joel
Navarro, Joy Nilo, Victor Asuncion, Montet Acoymo, Robert Delgado, Edgardo Nepomuceno,
Jonathan Velasco, Eudenice Palaruan, Fr. Arnold Zamora, Christopher Borela, Anna Tabita
Abeleda-Piquero, Fabian Obispo, Ruben Federizon, Eric Robert Santos and the present Madz
Choirmaster, Mark Anthony Carpio.
In 1997, she was given the TOFIL (The Outstanding Filipino) Award for Culture and the Arts For
her contributions to the development of choral singing in the Philippines.
In 1999, she was named National Artist for Music, the highest cultural award bestowed by the
Philippine government for an individual.
In 2001, she retired as the Choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Together with an artistic
committee, she personally selected Mark Anthony Carpio, her Assistant Choirmaster at that
time, to be her successor. The Madz turnover ceremonies were held in a special concert at the
Cultural Center of the Philippines coinciding with the launch of her biography "A Life Shaped By
Music" by Marjorie Evasco.
She continued to guide the Madz under Carpio's baton by joining them in their 2002 North
American Tours, 2003 Asian Tours and 2004 European Concert Tours. She was also there to
witness Carpio's first international competition as Choirmaster (and the Madz's first competition
after 7 years) at the 2004 International Competition of Habaneras and Polyphony in Torrevieja,
Spain, where the Madz won First Places for both categories and was also the last choir to do so.
In December 2005, she suffered a massive stroke which
led to her paralysis. The Madz performed benefit
concerts, the proceeds of which were used to help the
Veneracion family with Ma'am OA's medical expenses.
Having been comatose since her 2005 stroke, Veneracion
died on July 9, 2013, at her home in Cubao,
Quezon City at the age of 84.She was cremated on July
11, 2013; her necrological rites at the
Cultural Center of the Philippines is scheduled on
Sunday, July 14, 2013.
Awards
1997 - TOFIL (The Outstanding Filipino) award
1999 – National Artist of the Philippines for Music –
currently the only awardee for choral music.
2001 – Distinguished Alumni Service award – awarded
by Indiana University.
Andrea Ofilada Veneracion or ma’am OA was a
Filipina choral conductor and a recipient of the
1999 National Artist for Music award. She founded the
Philippine Madrigal Singers in 1963. She was also an
adjudicator in numerous international choral
competitions and was an active force in choral music
before her massive stroke in 2005.
Francisco Arcellana
Francisco "Franz" Arcellana (September 6, 1916 – August 1,
2002) was a Filipino writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist
and teacher. He was born on September 6, 1916. Arcellana
already had ambitions of becoming a writer early in his
childhood. His actual writing, however, started when he
became a member of The Torres Torch Organization during
his high school years. Arcellana continued writing in various
school papers at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Later on he received a Rockefeller Grant and became a
fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Iowa and at
the Breadloaf Writers' Conference from 1956– 1957.
He is considered an important progenitor of the modern Filipino short story in English.
Arcellana pioneered the development of the short story as a lyrical prose-poetic form within
Filipino literature. His works are now often taught in tertiary-level-syllabi in the Philippines.
Many of his works were translated into Tagalog, Malaysian, Russian, Italian, and German.
Arcellana won 2nd place in the 1951 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature,
with his short story, "The Flowers of May." Fourteen of his short stories were also included in
Jose Garcia Villa's Honor Roll from 1928 to 1939. His major achievements included the first
award in art criticism from the Art Association of the Philippines in 1954, the Patnubay ng
Sining at Kalinangan award from the city government of Manila in 1981, and the Gawad
Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas for English fiction from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa
Pilipino (UMPIL) in 1988.
The University of the Philippines conferred upon Arcellana a doctorate in humaneletters,
honoris causa in 1989. Francisco Arcellana was proclaimed National Artist of the Philippines
in Literature on 23, 1990 by then Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino. [4]
In 2009, or seven years after his death, his family came out with a book to pay tribute to
National Artist for Literature Arcellana. The book entitled, "Franz," is a collection of essays
gathered by the Arcellana family from colleagues, friends, students and family members,
including fellow National Artist Nick Joaquin, Butch Dalisay, Recah Trinidad, Jing Hidalgo,
Gemino Abad, Romina Gonzalez, Edwin Cordevilla, Divina Aromin, Doreen Yu, Danton
Remoto, Jose Esteban Arcellana and others.[5]
Arcellana is buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Arcellana died in 2002. As a National Artist, he received a state funeral at the Libingan ng mga
Bayani.
His grandson Liam Hertzsprung performed a piano concert in 2006 dedicated to him.
Ramon Santos
Ramon Pagayon Santos was born on February 25, 1941. He received his
Bachelor of Music Composition and Conducting from University of
the Philippines Conservatory of Music in 1965, his Master of Music
with distinction from Indiana University in 1969, and his Doctor of
Philosophy from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1972. He
was also a student in summer courses in New Music at Darmstadt in
1974 and in Special Seminars in Ethnomusicology at the University
of Illinois in 1989. He has studied composition with Hilarion Rubio,
Lucio San Pedro, Thomas Beversdorf, Roque Cordero, Ramon Fuller,
and William Koethe. He has taken contemporary music courses with
Istvan Anhalt and George Perle and has studied Ethnomusicology
with Bruno Nettl. He has also studied Javanese music and dance with
Sundari Wisnusubroto and Nan Kuan with Lao Hong Kio.
Santos has held the position of Commissioner of the Sub-committee on
the Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts since 1998,
University Professor since 1995, Chairman and Secretary General of the
Music Competitions for Young Artists Foundation from 1989 to 1997. He
also currently holds the positions of Secretary of the League of Filipino
Composers, Member of the ISCM Advisory Panel on the World’s Musical
Cultures, Lecturer for the Asian Instituts for Liturgy and Music, Member
of the Humanities Division of the National Research Council of the
Philippines. His past positions include Artistic Director of the Cultural
Center of the Philippines, Chairman of the Asian Composers League
(1994-1997), Dean of UP College of Music (1978-1988), and President of
the National Music Council of the Philippines (1984-1993).
Among awards he has received are Composer-in-Residence of Bellagio
Study Center/Rockefellar Foundation (1997); Artist-in-Residence,
Civitella Ranieri Center (1998); Acheivement Award in the Humanities
from National Research Council of the Philippines (1994); Fellowships
from the Asian Cultural Council and The Ford Foundation (1998-1989);
and Chevalier de l’Ordre des Artes et Lettres, French Government.
Antonio Buenaventura
Antonio Buenaventura (May 4,1904-January 25, 1996)
vigorously pursued a musical career that spanned seven
decades of unwavering commitment to advancing the
frontier of philippine music. In 1935, he composed
songs, compositions, for solo instruments as well as
symphonic and orchestral works based on the folksongs
of various Philippine ethnic groups. He was also a
conductor and restored the Philipppine Army Band to
its former prestige as one of the finest military bands in
the world making it “the only band that can sound like
symphony orchestra”.
This once sickly boy who played the clarinet proficiently
has written several marches such as the “Triumphal
March”, “Echoes of the past”, “History Fantasy”,
“Second symphony in E-flat”, “Echoes from the
Philippines”, “Ode to freedom”. His orchestral music
compositions include concert overture, prelude and
fugue in G minor, Philippines Triumphant, Mindanao
sketches, symphony in C major, among others.
Dance
 Francisca Reyes Aquino
 Leonor Orosa-Goquingco
 Ramón Obusan
 Alice Reyes
 Lucrecia Reyes Úrtula
Francisca Aquino
She was born on March 9, 1899. She is a Filipino folk
dancer and academic noted for her research on
Philippine folk dance. She is a recipient of the
Republic Award of Merit and the Ramon Magsaysay
Award and is a designated
National Artist of the Philippines for Dance.
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 the 1921 traveling to remote barrios in Central and
Northern Luzon.
She published a thesis in 1926 entitled Philippine Folk Dances and Games where she noted
on previously unrecorded forms of local celebration, ritual and sports. Her thesis was
made with teachers and playground instructors from both public and private
institutions in mind.This work was expanded with the official support of UP President
Jorge Bocobo in 1927. She then served at the university as part of the faculty for 18 years.
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.
The then President Ramon Magsaysay conferred her the Republic Award of Merit in
1954 for her “outstanding contribution toward the advancement of Filipino culture”.[2][3]
Reyes-Aquino also had other books published including: Philippine National Dances
(1946), Gymnastics for Girls (1947), Fundamental Dance Steps and Music (1948), Foreign
Folk Dances (1949), Dances for all Occasion (1950), Playground Demonstration (1951),
and Philippine Folk Dances, Volumes I to VI.
Reyes-Aquino also received recognition for her works such as the
Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 1962 and her designation as
National Artist of the Philippines for Dance in 1973.
She was died on November 21, 1983.

Awards

»Republic Award of Merit

(1954)
»Ramon Magsaysay Award
(1962)
»National Artist of the Philippines
(1973)
Leonor Goquingco
L eonor Orosa-Goquinco a.k.a. Cristina Luna Born :  July 24, 1917, Jolo,
Sulu

She is the second child of pioneer physicians Sixto Orosa and Sevedna Luna,
and the elder sister of critic Rosalinda Orosa. She is married to Benjamin
Goquingco. They have three children, two of whom-Rachelle and Regina-are
both dancers. Orosa-Goquingco graduated valedictorian of her high school
class, and finished bachelor of science in education, summa cum laude, at St.
Scholastica's College. She took graduate courses in theater craft, drama, and
music at Columbia University and Teachers College in New York City, USA.
Her early ballet training was under Lilia Lopez, Epifania Rodriguez, and Luva
Adameit. She took professional and teacher's courses at the Ballet Russe de
Monte Carlo, coming under the tutelage of Ifilda Butsova, Thalia Mara,
Anatole Vilzak, and Madame Ludmilla. National Artist in Dance Francisca
Reyes-Aquino was also once her mentor.
In 1934, at the age of 17, she started her major dance
experiments and, in 1939, was the only dancer on the First
Cultural Mission to Japan. That same year, she produced
Circling the Globe, and a year later, Dance Panorama.
In 1940 she created The Elements, the first ballet
choreographed by a Filipino to commissioned music, and
Sports, featuring cheerleaders, a tennis match, and a
basketball game. A year later, she choreographed the first
Philippine folkloric ballet, Trend: Return to the Native.
After World War II, she organized the Philippine Ballet
where she brought to life Maria Clara, the leper, Sisa,
Elias, and Salome-all characters in Rizal 's novel Noli Me
Tangere (Touch Me Not). In 1958 she founded the
Filipinesca Dance Company.
Orosa-Goquingco was inclined not only to classical ballet but also to Indian and
Spanish, as well as modern, dance. She is noted for her courage in breaking
traditions in dance despite public indifference. Her other important works
include Vinta!, Morolandia (choreographed in 1938), Festival in
Maguindanao (depicting a Muslim royal wedding), Eons Ago: The Creation
(depicting Philippine legends of the creation of the world and of the first man
and woman), Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend, and Lore in Dance, and
Miner's Song. Inevitably her innovations revolutionized the folk dances. The
Bird and the Planters is the first weaving together of the various rice-planting
sequences, climaxed by a new version of the tinikling where the dancer
personifies the tikling bird. It was the first to utilize bamboo poles to catch the
bird, the first to use a double-time finale and breathtakingly rapid turns while
the dancer hops in and out of the bamboo poles. Orosa-Goquingco's Tribal,
about the death of a warrior, is the first dance composition in the Mountain
Province-dance style. Other works along the same line are "Ang Antipos" (The
Flagellant), " Salubong ", (Meeting), "Pabasa" (Reading of the Pasyon)--all dance
sequences celebrating Philippine lenten practices. Philippine games such as
palo sebo, sipa, and juego de anillo were depicted in Easter Sunday Fiesta.
Orosa-Goquingco is also remembered for her transmutation into dance theater
of the cockfight, the asalto, and the fiestas.
Additionally, under her own name and pen name (Cristina
Luna), she has been published by the Philippine Cultural
Foundation and Philippine periodicals, by Arts of Asia (Hong
Kong), Enciclopedia dello Spettacolo (Rome, Italy), and
Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. She is the
author of a history of Philippine dance, Dances of the
Emerald Isles 1980, and of the popular one-act play, Her Son,
Jose Rizal.
Orosa-Goquingco has received numerous awards, among them
the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award, 1961; the Rizal
Centennial Award, 1962; Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan
award and Republic Cultural Heritage Award, 1964;
Presidential Award of Merit, 1970; Tandang Sora Award, 1975;
and the Columbia University Alumni Association Award, 1975.
Ramon Obusan
Ramon Arevalo Obusan (June 16, 1936 – December 21,
2006) was a Filipino dancer, choreographer, stage designer
and artistic director. Obusan is credited for his work in
promoting Philippine traditional dance and cultural work.
He is also an acclaimed archivist, researcher and
documentary filmmaker who focused on Philippine culture.
He also founded Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group in 1971.
Among the awards Obusan received was the Patnubay ng
Kalinangan award by the City of Manila in 1992, the Gawad
CCP Para sa Sining award in 1993 and the prestigious
National Artist of the Philippines for dance in May 2006.
Works
Obusan's notable works are the following:
Vamos a Belen! Series (1998-2004) Philippine Dances Tradition
Noon Po sa Amin, tableaux of Philippine History in song, drama and
dance
Obra Maestra, a collection of Ramon Obusan's dance masterpieces
Unpublished Dances of the Philippines, Series I-IV
Water, Fire and Life, Philippine Dances and Music--A Celebration of Life
Saludo sa Sentenyal
Glimpses of ASEAN, Dances and Music of the ASEAN-Member
Countries
MJ (Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group): Philippines Costumes in Dance
Obusan died on December 21, 2006 due to cardio-
pulmonary arrest at the Makati Medical Center. Up to
the time of his death, the annual Christmas program
Vamos A Blen at the Cultural Center of the Philippines
was at his oversight. Obusan was also preparing for the
cultural presentation to be made during the state
dinner for the 2007 ASEAN Summit to be hosted by
then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Alice Reyes
Alice Reyes has become a significant part of Philippine dance parlance.
As a dancer, choreographer, teacher and director, she has made a lasting
impact on the development and promotion of contemporary dance in
the Philippines. Her dance legacy is evident in the dance companies,
teachers, choreographers and the exciting Filipino modern dance
repertoire of our country today.
Reyes’ dance training started at an early age with classical ballet under the
tutelage of Rosalia Merino Santos. She subsequently trained in folk
dance under the Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company and
pursued modern dance and jazz education and training in the United
States. Since then, during a professional dance career that spanned over
two decades, her innovative artistic vision, firm leadership and passion
for dance have made a lasting mark on Philippine dance.
Perhaps the biggest contribution of Alice Reyes to
Philippine dance is the development of a distinctly
Filipino modern dance idiom. Utilizing inherently
Filipino materials and subject matters expressed
through a combination of movements and styles from
Philippine indigenous dance, modern dance and
classical ballet she has successfully created a
contemporary dance language that is uniquely
Filipino. From her early masterpiece Amada to the
modern dance classic Itim-Asu, to her last major work
Bayanihan Remembered which she staged for Ballet
Philippines, she utilized this idiom to promote unique
facets of Philippine arts, culture and heritage.
By introducing the first modern dance concert at the CCP Main
Theater in February 1970 featuring an all contemporary
dance repertoire and by promoting it successfully to a wide
audience, she initiated the popularization of modern dance
in the country. She followed this up by programs that
developed modern dancers, teachers, choreographers and
audiences. By organizing outreach tours to many provinces,
lecture-demonstrations in schools, television promotions, a
subscription season and children’s matinee series, she slowly
helped build an audience base for Ballet Philippines and
modern dance in the country.
Among her major works: Amada (1969), At a Maranaw
Gathering (1970) Itim-Asu (1971), Tales of the Manuvu
(1977), Rama Hari (1980), Bayanihan Remembered (1987).
Lucrecia Reyes Urtula
Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula ( June 29,1929- August 4,1999)
choreographer, dance educator and researcher, spent almost
four decades in the discovery and study of Philippine folk
and ethnical 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
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.
Among the widely acclaimed dances she had staged
were the ff.: 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
Verbana
Theater
 Daisy Avellana
Honorata "Atang" de la Rama
Rolando S. Tínio
Salvador F. Bernál
Lamberto V. Avellana
Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero
Severino Montano
Daisy Avellana
Daisy Avellana (January 26, 1917- May 12,2013) was a
Filipino stage actress and theater director. She was
honored as National artist of the Philippines for
theater and film in 1999. She was born in Capiz, Capiz
(now Roxas City). Her husband was Lamberto
Avellana, a film and stage director who was also named
a National Artist in 1976.
Honorata “Atana” de la Rama
Honorata de la Rama ( January 11, 1905- July 11, 1991)
commonly known as Atang de la Rama, was a singer
and bodabil (musical numbers, short form comedy
and dramatic skits) performer who became the first
Filipina film actress. She was born on Tondo, Manila.
By the age of 7, she was already starring in spanish
zarzuelas such as Mascota, Sueño de un vals, and
Marina. At the age of 15, she starred in the sarsuela
Dalagand Bukid, where she became known for singing
the song, Nabasag na banga.
 During the American occupation of the Philippines, she
fought for dominance of kundiman, an important Philippine
folk song, and the sarsuela, which is a musical play that
focused on contemporary Filipino issues such as usury
(making immortality), cockfighting , and colonial mentality.
She has also been a theatrical producer, writer and talent
manager. She was the producer and the writer of plays such
as Anak ni Eva and Bulaklak ng kabundukan.For her
achievements an contributions to the art form, she was
hailed of Queen of the Kundiman and of the sarsuela in
1979, at the age of 74. At the height of her career, she sang
kundimans and other Filipino songs in concerts in such
cities as Hawaii, San Francisco, los Angeles, New
York,Hongkong,Shanghai and Tokyo.
On May 8,1987 ,” for her sincere devotion to
original Filipino theater and music, her
outstanding artistry as singer, and as sarsuela
actresse-playwright-producer, her tireless
efforts to bring her art to all sectors of Filipino
society and to the world,” President Corazon
Aquino proclaimed Atang De la Rama a
National artist of the Philippines for theater
and music.
She died on July 11, 1991. She was married to
national artist for literature, Amado V.
Hernadez.
Rolando S. Tinio
Salvador F. Bernal
Lamberto V. Avellana
Wilfrido Guerrero
Severino Montano