ROLANDO S.

TINIO

Biography
Rolando Tinio is a Philippine National Artist for Theater and Literature. He was born in
Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila on March 5, 1937. As a child, Tinio was fond of organizing and
directing his playmates for costumed celebrations. He was an active participant in the Filipino
movie industry and enjoyed working with Philippine celebrities who he himself had admired in
his childhood. Tinio himself became a film actor and scriptwriter. He is often described as a
religious, well-behaved and gifted person. Tinio graduated with honors (a "magna cum laude"
achiever) with a degree in Philosophy from the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo
Tomas at age 18 in 1955 and an M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing:Poetry from the State
University of Iowa.
His work with the Ateneo Experimental Theater expresses the concept of the actor being merely
one of the directors tools in shaping the stage; communicate his vision through all aspects of the
production. The last production of Tinios personal theater company was entitled ?. The
production was performed in a classroom rather than an auditorium and Tinio made the actors
mingle freely with the audience. There is no real meaning in the action and there is no definite
storyline. The meaning is hidden in the intentional actions of the actors and the unexpected
reply of the audience (Lumbera)
He published four seminal books of poems between 1972 and 1993, in which, along with his
longtime friend, Bienvenido Lumbera, helped modernize the traditionally sentimental Filipino
style. He had also worked on his own projects such as the Ateneo Experimental
Theater productions and other serious dramas in Filipino. His contribution to Philippine literature
and theater is immense.[1][2][3] His contributions include establishing the Filipino Department of
Ateneo de Manila.
Circa 1976, Tinio also wrote the lyrics for the six hymns of the "Misa ng Alay-Kapwa" the music
for which was composed by Fr. Eduardo P. Hontiveros, SJ. (The most popular of these hymns
still sung in Churches throughout the Philippines is "Buksan ang Aming Puso.) These hymns
were published in the now out of print, -Mga Awiting Pansamba-.
Rolando Santos Tinio was directing a musical when he suffered a heart attack in Manila on July
7, 1997. He died on July 8, 1997 at age 60. His wife, theatre and film actress, Ella Luansing had
died some years before. He was survived by his two children, Antonio and Victoria.
MAJOR WORKS:
Poetry collections
Makbet
Dunung-Dunungan
Kristal na Uniberso
A Trick of Mirrors

Film Scripts
Now and Forever
Gamitin mo Ako
Bayad Puri
Karnal
 Levi Celerio

Biography
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 would also later appear
on That's Incredible.
Major Works:
Pasko na Naman
Ang pasko ay Sumapit
Dungawin mo o Hirang
Tinig ng Bayan
Bastat Mahal Kita
 Nestor Vicente Mandali Gonzalez
(N.V.M Gonzalez)

Biography
He was born on 8 September 1915 in Romblon, Philippines. Gonzlez, however, was raised
in Mansalay, a southern town of the Philippine province of Oriental Mindoro. Gonzlez was a
son of a school supervisor and a teacher. As a teenager, he helped his father by delivering meat
door-to-door across provincial villages and municipalities. Gonzlez was also a musician. He
played the violin and even made four guitars by hand. He earned his first peso by playing the
violin during a Chinese funeral in Romblon. Gonzlez attended Mindoro High School (now Jose
J. Leido Jr. Memorial National High School) from 1927 to 1930. Gonzlez attended college
at National University (Manila) but he was unable to finish his undergraduate degree. While
in Manila, Gonzlez wrote for the Philippine Graphicand later edited for the Evening News
Magazine and Manila Chronicle. His first published essay appeared in the Philippine
Graphic and his first poem in Poetry in 1934. Gonzlez made his mark in the Philippine writing
community as a member of the Board of Advisers of Likhaan: the University of the Philippines
Creative Writing Center, founding editor of The Diliman Review and as the first president of
the Philippine Writers' Association. Gonzlez attended creative writing classes under Wallace
Stegner and Katherine Anne Porter at Stanford University. In 1950, Gonzlez 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., Gonzlez 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, Gonzlez 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, Berkeley.
Major works:
The Winds of April
Seven Hills Away
The Bamboo Dancers
Look, Stranger, on This Island Now
The Bread of Salt and Other Stories
Work on the Mountain
 Jeremias Elizalde Navarro

Biography
J. (Jeremias) Elizalde Navarro, was born on May 22, 1924 in Antique. He is a versatile artist,
being both a proficient painter and sculptor. His devotion to the visual arts spans 40 years of
drawing, printmaking, graphic designing, painting and sculpting. His masks carved in hardwood
merge the human and the animal; his paintings consists of abstracts and figures in oil and
watercolor; and his assemblages fuse found objects and metal parts. He has done a series of
figurative works drawing inspiration from Balinese art and culture, his power as a master of
colors largely evident in his large four-panel The Seasons (1992: Prudential Bank collection).

A Navarro sampler includes his 50s and 60s fiction illustrations for This Week of the Manila
Chronicle, and the rotund, India-ink figurative drawings for Lydia Arguillas storybook, Juan
Tamad. Three of his major mixed media works are Im Sorry Jesus, I Cant Attend Christmas
This Year (1965), and his Homage to Dodjie Laurel (1969: Ateneo Art Gallery collection),
and A Flying Contraption for Mr. Icarus (1984: Lopez Museum).
Major Works:
The seasons (1992)
Morning Mist over Ubud, Bali (1992)
Im Sorry Jesus, I cant attend Christmas This Year (1965)
Homage to Dodjie Laurel (1969)
A Flying Contraption for Mr. Icaus (1984)
 Andrea Veneracion

Biography
She 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 University School 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.
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.
Major Works:
The numerous awards the Philippine Madrigal Singer received
while she was their choirmaster
TOFIL (The Outstanding Filipino) award in 1997
National Artist for Music in 1999
Distinguished Alumni Service Award from the Indiana
University in 2001.
 Edith L. Tiempo

Biography
Edith L. Tiempo, poet, fictionist, teacher and literary critic is one of the finest Filipino writers in
English whose works are characterized by a remarkable fusion of style and substance, of
craftsmanship and insight. Born on April 22, 1919 in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, her poems
are intricate verbal transfigurations of significant experiences as revealed, in two of her much
anthologized pieces, The Little Marmoset and Bonsai. As fictionist, Tiempo is as morally
profound. Her language has been marked as descriptive but unburdened by scrupulous
detailing. She is an influential tradition in Philippine literature in English. Together with her late
husband, Edilberto K. Tiempo, she founded and directed the Silliman National Writers
Workshop in Dumaguete City, which has produced some of the countrys best writers.

Tiempos published works include the novel A Blade of Fern (1978), The Native Coast (1979),
and The Alien Corn(1992); the poetry collections, The Tracks of Babylon and Other
Poems (1966), and The Charmers Box and Other Poems(1993); and the short story
collection Abide, Joshua, and Other Stories (1964).
Major Works:
Novel
A Blade of Fern (1997)
The Native Coast (1979)
The Alien Corn (1992)
Poetry Collections
The Tracks of Babylon and Other Poems (1966)

The Charmers Box and Other Poems (1993)

Short Story Collection
Abide, Joshua, and Other Stories (1964)