CONTEMPORARY

ARTS

LAVILLA, AILYN JOY M.

GRADE 12 ABM-1

MARCH 16, 2020

ESPULGAR, SHENNA JOY
FAMOUS ARTIST IN MUSIC
Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, OL, (/ˈleɪə səˈlɒŋɡə/;
born February 22, 1971) is a Filipina singer and actress,
best known for her roles in musical theatre, for supplying
the singing voices of two Disney Princesses (Jasmine and
Mulan), and as a recording artist and television performer.

At age 18, she originated the lead role of Kim in the

musical Miss Saigon, first in the West End and then on
Broadway, winning the Olivier and Theatre World
Awards, and becoming the first Asian woman to win a
Tony Award.Salonga is the first Filipino artist to sign with an international record label (Atlantic
Records in 1993). Salonga was the first actress of Asian descent to play the roles of Éponine and
Fantine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway. She also portrayed Éponine and Fantine,
respectively, in the musical's 10th and 25th anniversary concerts in London. She provided the
singing voices of two official Disney Princesses: Jasmine in Aladdin (1992) and Fa Mulan in
Mulan (1998). She was named a Disney Legend in 2011 for her work with The Walt Disney
Company. Salonga starred as Mei-li in the 2002 Broadway version of Flower Drum Song. She
has played numerous other stage, film and TV roles in the US, the Philippines and elsewhere.
She has toured widely in the title role of Cinderella, among other roles, and as a concert artist.
From 2015 to 2016, she returned to Broadway in Allegiance, and from 2017 to 2019 she
appeared in the Broadway revival of Once on This Island.

Multiple award-winning actress and singer Lea Salonga is renown across the world for her
powerful voice and perfect pitch. She is best known for her Tony Award winning role in Miss
Saigon. In addition to the Tony, she has won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and
Theatre World Awards, in the field of musical theatre. She was also the first Asian to play
Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway and returned to the beloved show as
Fantine in the 2006 revival. Many fans of all ages recognize Lea as the singing voice of Princess
Jasmine from Aladdin and Fa Mulan for Mulan and Mulan II. For her portrayal of the beloved
princesses, the Walt Disney Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend”.

Lea’s 2019 The Human Heart Tour saw sold-out audiences and record-breaking sales across
North America, the United Kingdom and Australia. On Broadway, Lea most recently starred in
the 2018 Broadway revival of Once on This Island as the Goddess of Love, Erzulie. The show’s
return to the Broadway stage earned a Tony Award for “Best Revival of a Musical” and also
garnered Lea and the cast a Grammy nomination for “Best Musical Theater Album.”

Currently, Lea serves as a judge on the Philippines hit version of “The Voice” including the
ratings juggernaut “The Voice Kids”. Mitoy Yonting, a member of Team Lea, was named the
first season winner.
In late 2017, Lea released “Bahaghari,” an album of traditional Filipino songs. The album serves
as a reflection of all the intricate and different languages found in the Philippines and aims to
help preserve the island nation’s dynamic culture.

In the fall of 2015 Lea began her critically acclaimed run as Kei Kimura in the Broadway
production of Allegiance. The musical, inspired and developed by legendary actor George Takei,
tells the story of a Japanese American family forced into an internment camp during World War
II.

In her 40-year career, Lea has performed for six Philippine presidents (from Ferdinand Marcos to
Benigno S. Aquino III), three American Presidents (George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and
George W. Bush), and for Diana, Princess of Wales and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She
began her career as a child star in the Philippines, making her professional debut in 1978 at the
age of seven in the musical The King and I. She went on to star in productions of Annie, Cat on a
Hot Tin Roof, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rose Tattoo, The Sound of Music, The Goodbye Girl,
Paper Moon, The Fantasticks and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song on Broadway.
An avid techie and gamer, Lea divides her time between Manila, Philippines with her family and
the United States.

Ryan Cayabyab (born Raymundo Cipriano Pujante Cayabyab on May 4, 1954 in Manila,
Philippines), also known as Mr. C, is a Filipino musician, composer and conductor. He was the
Executive and Artistic Director for several years for the defunct San Miguel Foundation for the
Performing Arts. He was named a National Artist of the Philippines in 2018.

His works range from commissioned full-length ballets, theater musicals, choral pieces, a Mass
set to unaccompanied chorus, and orchestral pieces, to
commercial recordings of popular music, film scores and
television specials. Cayabyab's current project includes the
Ryan Cayabyab Singers (RCS), a group of seven young adult
singers comparable to his group Smokey Mountain in the
early 1990s. After FreemantleMedia decided not to renew
the Philippine Idol franchise, Cayabyab transferred to rival
show Pinoy Dream Academy (season 2), replacing Jim
Paredes as the show's headmaster. PDA 2 started on June 14,
2008. He also became the chairman of the board of judges
for GMA Network's musical-reality show To The Top. He is
the executive director of the Philpop MusicFest Foundation
Inc., the organization behind the Philippine Popular Music
Festival. This songwriting competition for amateurs and
professionals puts the spotlight on songwriters and encourages Filipinos to preserve their unique
musical identity.

Ryan Cayabyab is a recipient of the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in 2013. Pope Francis awarded him
the highest papal award for Laity for his many contributions in the field of religious-themed
compositions and sacred works. Among his ecclesiastical works are, "Eclesiastes" for choir and
piano, his first large religious composition; "Misa" for unaccompanied choir; stage musicals like
"Magnificat," “Birhen ng Caysasay" and, "Lorenzo;" and church songs such as or "I Believe in
Peace," “The Prophet," “Asin ng Pamayanan," “Live Christ, Share Christ," and "Icthus" in St.
John's Mass.[9] He is also a TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) awardee for contemporary
Filipino music in 1978. He won the Grand Prize award at the first Metro Manila Popular Music
Festival for the song "Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika". 2001, Ryan Cayabyab is a laureate of the
Onassis International Cultural Competitions (2nd Prize), having won for original music
composition for dance. As of 2006, he has won three international Grand Prix awards for his
compositions; in the First Seoul Song Festival, in the Voice of Asia Song Festival in the former
U.S.S.R., and in the Tokyo Music Festival. *He won the Jingle of the Year award from the
Philippine advertising industry Bronze Awardee at the New York Film and Television Awards.
He has won a total of ten best movie score awards from the various film award-giving bodies. He
received in September 2019 the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, highlighting "his
compositions and performances that have defined and inspired Filipino popular music across
generations...", being cited, among other achievements, "that have defined and inspired Filipino
popular music across generations." On January 19, 2020, he was awarded The KDR Icon of
Musical Excellence Award on the 5th Wish 107.5 FM Music Awards cited being "...given to an
industry luminary who has left an indelible mark in the music scene through his exemplary
contributions.

Ferdinand Pascual Aguilar (born February 5, 1953), better known as Freddie Aguilar or Ka
Freddie Aguilar, is a folk musician from the Philippines. He is best known for his rendition of
"Bayan Ko", which became the anthem of the opposition against the Marcos regime during the
1986 People Power Revolution,[1] and for his song "Anak", the best-selling Philippine music
record of all time.[2] He is heavily associated with Pinoy rock.

He is well known internationally, and within the Philippines and Asia-Pacific region, claiming
fame as one of the best musician-songwriters of the Philippines.

When he entered the Metro Manila Popular Music Festival in 1978,

Freddy Aguilar was almost completely unknown; within weeks he was
possibly the best-known musician in Manila, and he has since
consolidated that position to become the best known Filipino musician
in the world. The song that took him to such great heights, heard for the
first time at the 1978 competition, was "Anak," a folk-rock ballad sung in the local tagalog
language. It has since spawned 54 covers in 14 other languages. He subsequently enjoyed great
hits with such singles as "Magdalena" and "Bayan Ko." Prior to the release of "Anak," Aguilar
cut his teeth peforming cover songs and original material for U.S. military personnel stationed on
the Islands. Never one to shy away from politics, he wrote several anti-Marcos songs, including
"Katarungang" and his "Bayan Ko" became the theme song for Cory Aquino's anti-Marcos
election campaign in 1986.

Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 – April 2, 2002) was a Filipino composer and lyricist who is
credited to writing not less than 4,000 songs. Celerio was recognized as a National Artist of the
Philippines for Music and Literature in 1997.

He is also known for using the leaf as a musical instrument which led to being recognized as the
"only man who could play music using a leaf" by the Guinness Book of Records[citation
needed]. This led to him making guest appearance in
television shows recorded outside the Philippines. Aside
from being a musician, Celerio is also poet. He was also a
film actor who appeared in various Philippine films of the
1950s and 1960s.

National Artist for Music and Literature Edit On October 9,

1997, pursuant to Proclamation No. 1114, President Fidel V.
Ramos proclaimed him a National Artist for Music and
Literature. His citation read that his music "was a perfect
embodiment of the heartfelt sentiments and valued traditions
of the Filipino". Guinness recognition Edit Celerio was
known for using the leaf as a musical instrument which
resulted the Guinness Book of World Records to recognized
him as "the only man who could play music with a leaf".
According to his daughter, he first learned to play the leaf as an instrument during the World
War II. According to the account, he had to prove himself as a musician when he had an
encounter with Japanese soldiers. He managed to pick a young leaf and play them a song and he
was left unscathed. Other honors and awards Edit The University of the Philippines conferred
him an honorary doctorate degree in Humanities in 1991. The Film Academy of the Philippines
gave Celerio the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. He is also the recipient of the CCP
Gawad Para Sa Sining in 1991, and the Gawad Urian Award in 1993. Television appearances
Edit In the 1950s and the 1960s, Celerio was involved in various Philippine film as a character
actor. He portrayed a variety of roles which ranged from a beggar, a rapist, a liquor thief and
pickpocket, and a palm-reader. His Guinness recognition led to his guest appearance in The Ed
Sullivan Show. He also guested in The Merv Griffin Show and That's Incredible! (1970s.
Francis Michael Durango Magalona (October 4, 1964 – March 6, 2009) was a Filipino rapper,
songwriter, entrepreneur & television personality. He is widely regarded as the best and the most
successful local Filipino rapper of all-time. Born in Manila, he is often credited as the pioneer of
Pinoy hip-hop as he was the first Filipino rapper in the Philippines to cross over into the
mainstream. He became a significant influence to artists in the Pinoy hip-hop scene & the local
rap community.

Beyond music, Magalona was also a television host on MTV Asia and Channel V Philippines
and on the noontime variety television show Eat Bulaga!. Magalona died on March 6, 2009,
seven months after being diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia.[2] Magalona was later
awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Merit. The award's citation noted that it had been
given "for his musical and artistic brilliance, his deep faith
in the Filipino and his sense of national pride that continue
to inspire us."

In 1990, he released the album, the first commercially

released Filipino rap album included several popular singles
such as "Mga Kababayan" (Fellow Countrymen), "Gotta
Let 'Cha Know", "Cold Summer Nights", and a duet with
Pia Arroyo "Loving You" as the only song that Pia
recorded.[citation needed] With tracks that featured
politically conscious and thought-provoking rhymes in both
English and Tagalog, was a big success and helped catapult
Filipino hip hop from underground to mainstream status. It
also marked the birth of Makabayang (nationalistic) rap in
Filipino hip hop. In 1992, Francis Magalona released Rap Is FrancisM (1992). With tracks
addressing the various cultural and social problems that plagued his country such as drug
addiction in "Mga Praning" (Paranoids), political instability in "Halalan" (Elections) as well as
the detrimental effects of a colonial mentality in "Tayo'y Mga Pinoy" (We Are Filipinos), the
record's complexity and conscious message quickly earned it its classic status and became the
standard by which future albums of the genre were to be compared[citation needed]. This album
helped tag Magalona as one of the most politically conscious voices of his generation. Hardware
Syndrome and the merging of rap with Pinoy rock Edit The release of his third album, Meron
akong ano! (I Got Something!) in 1993 marked the beginning of Magalona's experimentation
with Pinoy rock. It also saw the birth of Hardware Syndrome—previously known as Cannabis—
the band which would, with Magalona at its helm, introduce the merging of Pinoy Rock and Rap
to the Filipino music audience. Members over the years included musicians Carlo Sison, Francis
Villanueva, Niño Mesina, Boyet Aquino, Elmer Blancaflor, Noel Mendez, Perf de Castro, Benjie
"Bagets" Mendez, Albert Tamayo, DJ Kimozave, DJ Radikal MK, Kenji Marquez, Jack Rufo,
and Wendell Garcia.[12] Magalona was soon cited for excellence in both genres of music. He
collaborated with other OPM luminaries such as Joey Ayala, Heber Bartolome of Banyuhay,
Ryan Cayabyab, Mike Hanopol of Juan Dela Cruz Band, Michael V., Death Threat, and the band
Eraserheads. In the latter part of his career, Magalona worked together with rappers Pikaso, Gloc
9 and the Pinoy rock band Parokya ni Edgar. In 1994, Magalona moved from Octo-Arts EMI
Philippines, which had released all of his previous albums, to BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc. with
Musiko Records (is a wholly owned of sub-labels of a BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc.), the same
label as the seminal Pinoy rock group, The Eraserheads.[12] Freeman was released the following
year, 1995, and firmly established Magalona's legitimacy in the Pinoy rock scene. Tracks like
"Three Stars & A Sun", "Kabataan Para Sa Kinabukasan" (Children For The Future), "Suckin' on
Helium/Kaleidoscope World" would become defining touch-points in Magalona's body of work.
A track titled "Intellectual Property Rights" would sample a speech by then-president Fidel V.
Ramos. Intellectual property rights was an issue that would continue to be an important and very
personal advocacy for Magalona.[12][13] "Kaleidoscope World" went on to win 1996 Awit
Award for Best Produced Record of the Year, and the 1996 NU 107 Rock Award for Song of the
Year. Its music video was directed by the celebrated director/cinematographer Raymond Red[14]
[15] Magalona's next album,Happy Battle, was released in 1996.[16] The launch for the video-
game themed album at the Hard Rock Cafe in Makati was noted by the press for its wide range
of influences: aside from fans of Magalona's music, he had showbiz fans and coworkers from Eat
Bulaga!, where he had already started hosting; and two sets of Sony PlayStations with giant
screens set up so people could play video games while watching the gig. The album was also
notable for a number of significant collaborations: "Unstrung Heroes" with Ely Buendia; "Sapot"
(Web) with project band Planet Garapata, which included Raimund Marasigan, Jeng Tan and
Mark Lakay, who would later form Sandwich; and "Make Your Move" with pioneer Filipino
punk band Betrayed. In keeping with the nationalistic theme in Magalona's work, 1-800-Ninety-
Six was written in celebration of the centennial of the Philippine revolution of 1896. "Rainy"
won Best Folk song, and the album itself would become the only album to win Best Rock and
Best Rap Album at the Katha Awards. When Magalona was diagnosed with Leukemia, he and
his wife Pia would use the album name "Happy Battle" as a reference to his fight against cancer.

The 1998 album The Oddventures of Mr. Cool saw a move from the last two albums' heavy
guitar sound and explored mellow, urban-style rapping. It featured the song "Whole Lotta
Lovin'", whose music is a sample of the Eraserheads song "Alapaap" (Heaven). In 2002, with the
assistance of then FUBU Philippines' management employees Carlo Maniquiz and Nick Tuason,
Magalona launched a compilation album of the same name.
FAMOUS ARTIST IN THEATER
Honorata de la Rama-Hernandez (January 11, 1902 – July 11, 1991), commonly known as
Atang de la Rama, was a singer and bodabil performer who became the first Filipina film actress.

Atang de la Rama was born in Pandacan, Manila on January 11, 1902. 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 Dalagang Bukid, where she became known for singing the song,
Nabasag na Banga.[2] During the American occupation of the Philippines, Atang de la Rama
fought for the dominance of the kundiman, an important Philippine folk song, and the sarsuela,
which is a musical play that focused on contemporary
Filipino issues such as usury, cockfighting, and colonial
mentality.[3] Generations of Filipino artists and audiences
consider Atang de la Rama's vocal and acting talents as
responsible for much of the success of original Filipino
sarsuelas like Dalagang Bukid, and dramas like Veronidia.
[3] 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 and contributions to the art form, she
was hailed Queen of the Kundiman and of the Sarsuela in
1979, at the age of 74.[2] Atang believed that art should be
for everyone; not only did she perform in major Manila
theaters such as the Teatro Libertad and the Teatro Zorilla,
but also in cockpits and open plazas in Luzon, the Visayas,
and Mindanao. She also made an effort to bring the kundiman and sarsuela to the indigenous
peoples of the Philippine such as the Igorots, the Aetas, and the Mangyans. She was also at the
forefront of introducing Filipino culture to foreign audiences. 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 City, Hong Kong, 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
actress-playwright-producer, her tireless efforts to bring her art to all sectors of Filipino society
and to the world," President Corazon C. Aquino proclaimed Atang de la Rama a National Artist
of the Philippines for Theater and Music.[4] Atang de la Rama died on July 11, 1991. She was
married to National Artist for Literature, Amado V. Hernandez.

Amelia Lapeña Bonifacio (born April 4, 1930) is a Filipino playwright, puppeteer, and educator
known as the "Grande Dame of Southeast Asian Children’s Theatre."[1][2][3] She was
recognized in 2018 as a National Artist of the Philippines for Theater - a conferment which
represents the Philippine state's highest recognition for artists.

As a young faculty member, she helped establish the Speech and Drama Department of the
University of the Philippines - Diliman in 1959 and taught subjects like History of the Theatre
and Fundamentals of Speech in the early 1960s until she moved back to the Department of
English and Comparative Literature. She contributed significant efforts to the advancement and
refinement of the study and practice of theater arts in the Philippines. In 1976, Lapeña-Bonifacio
published Anim na Dulang Pilipino Para Sa Mga Bata, with six-year-old daughter supplying
illustrations and also influenced by traditional Asian theater techniques. Originally a playwright
for adult audiences, she has since then written and directed many other plays for children, most
of them based on Asian folktales. In 1977, Lapeña-Bonifacio was invited by the University of
the Philippines Department of Speech and Drama to present one of her plays. She wrote and
directed Abadeja: Ang Ating Sinderela, a puppet play based on a Visayan folktale about the
Cinderella-like Abadeja. With December shows at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater, Abadeja
was performed in cooperation with Dulaang UP and UP Repertory Company. Her first puppet
play, “Abadeja: Ang Ating Sinderella,” with music by Felipe M. de Leon Jr. and puppets by
Rafael del Casals, was favorably reviewed in the press. With the enthusiasm of the cast's
continued visits to her office and her long-standing dream of forming a children's theater group,
Lapeña-Bonifacio founded in 1977 the children's theater troupe "Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas"
(Aware Theatre of the Philippines), the official theater company and puppetry troupe of the
University of the Philippines. She stirred an aghast public after the Asian lady puppeteer
commented on Jim Henson of “Sesame Street" during an arts festival in Washington, D.C that
Henson's puppetry approach would not work on the other side of the globe due to three reasons:
first, Sesame Street at the time engaged in some violence, secondly, the show’s scenes were too
short, whereas a child’s attention span could be held for a much longer time, and finally, the pie-
in-the-face antics could be interpreted as a sign of disrespect. With a shocked audience, the
young lady added, “If kids have a short attention span, then how come our children back home
can watch puppet shows for an hour? And, please, stop throwing all that food around. If that is
funny to you Westerners, food for us Asians is almost sacred—it can be a matter of life or
death.” After the encounter, Henson would later come up with a full-length puppetry-packed
movie, “The Dark Crystal,” which had Asian themes like peace-building and equilibrium
between the yin and the yang. Lapeña-Bonifacio released "Sepang Loca & Others," a first
volume of works in English, on 28 January 1981. The collection includes two plays that won
playwriting awards at the University of Wisconsin, ten author-selected short stories, several
poems and essays. During the Marcos dictatorship, Amelia's theatre company released "Ang
Paghuhukom,” based on the Pampanga folktale of the animal kingdom, which took swipes at the
martial law regime. The main character, the ape king of the jungle, kept smashing the other
animals to enforce silence and control, until he ended up smashing himself. The government
noticed the theatre company, but only after the dictator's wife, Imelda Marcos, saw one play,
“Manok at Lawin,” at Quirino Grandstand. The first lady, unknowing of the Ang Paghuhukom
play at the time, tasked the Cultural Center of the Philippines
to fund Bonifacio's theatre company. Teatrong Mulat
afterwards performed dozens of shows in various countries.
Bonifacio's theatre company was invited to the International
Workshop On Living Children’s Theatre in Asia (1978),
where performances in eighteen sites in Japan gained media
attention. At the International Puppet Festival in Tashkent,
former USSR (1979), Mulat premiered The Trial to acclaim.
In 1980, with Tokyo-based Ohanashi Caravan, Mulat toured
Metro Manila and provinces, and the group participated in
International Workshops On Living Children’s Theatre in the
Philippines (1983), Malaysia (1985), Thailand (1987), and
Indonesia (1989). Papet Pasyon (Puppet Passion Play, 1985),
with music by Professor Rodolfo de Leon, has been staged annually since 1985, and translates
the Filipino tradition of reciting the death and resurrection of Jesus into a puppet version for
children.

Monica Anne Esteva Wilson (born May 4, 1970), usually credited as Monique Wilson, is a
Filipina theater and film actress and women's rights activist. She began her professional career at
the age of nine. At 18 she was understudy for the lead role of Kim in the original London West
End production of Miss Saigon, later starring in the role.

Wilson began her professional career in 1980, at age 9, with Repertory Philippines as an orphan
in the musical Annie. Over the succeeding seasons, she performed roles in many other musicals.
At the age of 14, she starred at the musical Evita. In 1988, at the age of 18, she auditioned for a
role in Miss Saigon in the original West End production and was cast as the understudy of the
title role, Kim. After a year, she replaced Lea Salonga in the role.[1][2] She later earned a BA in
Theatre from the University of the Philippines in Diliman and studied at the London Academy of
Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), receiving its postgraduate certificate in classical acting.[citation
needed] In 1994, she returned to the Philippines and founded the New Voice Company, for
whom she played leading roles and serves as Artistic Director. The company has continued to
produce theatre works in several Asian countries and has been active in the women's rights
movement, producing and performing in such works as The Vagina Monologues.[2] She also
began directing plays and musicals and continued acting and
recording music. She later pursued masters studies in Applied
Drama and Theater Education at the Central School of Speech
and Drama in London, graduating in 2003.[2] She has continued
her acting and music recording careers, splitting her time
between Manila and London.[citation needed] Her films include
Bad Boy 2 (1992), for which she received a nomination for the
Best Newcomer in Film award at the Star Awards, Kapag
Iginuhit Ang Hatol Ng Puso (1992) for which she won Best
Supporting Actress Award in the Film Academy of the Philippines (now called LUNA), Ikaw
(1993) and SA Isang Sulok Ng Mga Pangarap (1993). In 1998, she portrayed Maria Clara in José
Rizal and was nominated as Best Supporting Actress in the Metro Manila Film Festival. For the
2001 film Laro sa Baga, she won the Best Supporting Actress at the URIAN.[2] Her recordings
include her 1994 self-titled debut album (Viva Records) and a 1998 album titled Monique Sings
Gershwin, with Japanese producer Musicscape.

Salvador Floro Bernal (January 7, 1945 – October 26, 2011)

was an artist from the Philippines. Bernal's career began in
1969. His output included over 300 productions in art, film
and music, and earned him the award of National Artist for
Theater and Design in 2003.[1] He earned a philosophy degree
in 1966 from the Ateneo de Manila University where he would
later teach literature and stage design. Bernal organized the Philippine Association of Theatre
Designers and Technicians (Patdat) in 1995, through which he introduced Philippine theater
design to the world. The book “Salvador F. Bernal: Designing the Stage” by Nicanor G.
Tiongson, is a comprehensive review of Bernal’s work as designer for theater, with over 200
full-color photographs of his sketches, models, and actual costumes and sets complementing the
text.

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo (born July 7, 1963) is a Filipino musical theatre actress widely
considered the "first lady" of Philippine musical theatre. She is well known for her roles as Diana
Goodman in Next to Normal and Mrs. Lovett alongside Audie Gemora as Sweeney Todd in
Sweeney Todd.[1][2] She is the artistic director for Resorts World Manila and a founding
member of Actor's Actor Inc.[3] Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo is the sister of balladeer Raymond
Lauchengco.
Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo first entered theatre at 15 years old, auditioning for Repertory
Philippines in a production of The King and I with her brother, Raymond Lauchengco. Being too
old to be child but too young to be a wife, she did not get in. Her next audition was in 1978 for
Fiddler on the Roof, where she was part of the chorus. In 1980, she auditioned for the role of
Luisa, the 2nd daughter of Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. However, the directors
had a different part for her in mind and gave her the role of Liesl. This role gave Menchu her
first solo performance. After this production, she landed a string of roles as part of the chorus. It
was after being given the role of Maria in West Side Story that her star started shining again. The
West Side Story production was a success, but once again returned to doing chorus. She starred
as Maria in the Repertory Philippines The Sound of Music, where she received critical acclaim.
Her other theatre credits under Repertory Philippines include lead roles in Man of La Mancha,
The Secret Garden, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Oliver!, The Baker's Wife, Company, Passion,
Evita, Camelot, Les Miserables, Into the Woods, Scrooge, A Chorus Line, Once A Catholic,
Present Laughter, The Little Foxes, Amadeus, Arsenic and Old Lace, and The Rose Tattoo. She
starred in the productions of Once On This Island, The Last Five Years and Love Letters for
Actor's Actor Inc. Her role in The Lion The Witch and
The Wardrobe for Trumpets Inc. earned her an Aliw
Award nomination. Her roles for Atlantis Productions
include Proof (where she earned another Aliw Award
nomination), Dreamgirls, Baby, and Nine. Menchu played
the role of Ellen in the 2000 Manila production of Miss
Saigon, also to critical acclaim. Into the Woods marks her
New Voice Company theatre debut.[4] Menchu is the
associate artistic director for Repertory Philippines, filling
the shoes of Joy Virata. Her directorial debut was West
Side Story in 2008, and other works include Little
Women, Peter Pan and Jekyll & Hyde.[5] She has done
numerous concerts, TV shows and live performances. Aside from starring in theatre productions,
Menchu also gives workshops for acting and musical theatre.

FAMOUS ARTIST IN LITERATURE

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. Arcellana
pioneered the development of the short story as a lyrical prose-poetic form within Filipino
literature. 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 humane
letters, honoris causa in 1989. Francisco Arcellana was
proclaimed National Artist of the Philippines in Literature on
June 23, 1990 by then Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino.
Some of his works: Selected Stories (1962) Poetry and Politics: The State of Original Writing in
English in the Philippines Today (1977) The Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990).

Nicomedes "Nick" Márquez Joaquín (May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004) was a Filipino writer,
historian and journalist, best known for his short stories and
novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen
name Quijano de Manila. Joaquín was conferred the rank and
title of National Artist of the Philippines for Literature. He has
been considered one of the most important Filipino writers,
along with José Rizal and Claro M. Recto. Unlike Rizal and
Recto whose masterpieces were written in Spanish, Joaquin's
major works, despite being a native Spanish speaker, were
written in English. Some of his works: Prose and Poems (1952)
Manila: Sin City and Other Chronicles (1977) Pop Stories for
Groovy Kids (1979) The Ballad of the Five Battles (1981)
Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young (1990), Rizal in
Saga (1996)

Amado Vera Hernandez, commonly known as Amado V. Hernandez (September 13, 1903 –
March 24, 1970), was a Filipino writer and labor leader who was known for his criticism of
social injustices in the Philippines and was later imprisoned for his involvement in the
communist movement. He was the central figure in a landmark legal case that took 13 years to
settle. He was born in Tondo, Manila, to parents from Hagonoy, Bulacan. He grew up and
studied at the Gagalangin, Tondo, the Manila High School and at the American Correspondence
School. While still a teenager, he began writing in Tagalog for the newspaper Watawat (Flag).
He would later write a column for the Tagalog publication Pagkakaisa (Unity) and become editor
of Mabuhay (Long Live). His writings gained the attention of Tagalog literati and some of his
stories and poems were included in anthologies, such as Clodualdo del Mundo's Parolang Ginto
and Alejandro Abadilla's Talaang Bughaw. In 1922, at the age
of 19, Hernandez became a member of the literary society
Aklatang Bayan which included noted Tagalog writers Lope K.
Santos and Jose Corazon de Jesus. In 1932, he married the
Filipino actress Atang de la Rama. Both of them would later be
recognized as National Artists: Hernandez for Literature, de la
Rama for Theater, Dance and Music. Some of his Works: Mga
Ibong Mandaragit (Birds of Prey),1969 Luha Ng Buwaya
(Crocodile's Tears), 1972 Isang Dipang Langit Panata sa
Kalayaan Ang Mga Kayamanan ng Tao Ang Dalaw Kay Silaw
Bartolina Kung Tuyo Na ang Luha Mo

Bienvenido Lumbera is a Filipino poet, critic and dramatist. He is a National Artist of the
Philippines and a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and
Creative Communications. He won numerous literary awards, including the National Book
Awards from the National Book Foundation, and the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards. At the
height of Martial Law, Lumbera had taken on other creative projects. He began writing librettos
for musical theater. Initially, the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) requested
him to create a musical based on Carlos Bulosan’s America Is in the Heart. Eventually, Lumbera
created several highly acclaimed musical dramas such as Tales of the Manuvu; Rama, Hari; Nasa
Puso ang Amerika; Bayani; Noli me Tangere: The Musical; and Hibik at Himagsik Nina Victoria
Laktaw. Sa Sariling Bayan: Apat na Dulang May Musika, an anthology of Lumbera's musical
dramas, was published by De La Salle University-Manila Press in 2004. Lumbera authored
numerous books, anthologies and textbooks such as: Revaluation; Pedagogy; Philippine
Literature: A History and Anthology; Rediscovery: Essays in
Philippine Life and Culture; Filipinos Writing: Philippine
Literature from the Regions; and Paano Magbasa ng
Panitikang Filipino: Mga Babasahing Pangkolehiyo. Some
works: Ka Bels The Yaya’s Lullaby Servant Sadness Eulogy
of Roaches 'Jamborzkie Light Revaluation: Essays on
Literature, Cinema, and Popular Culture, 1984 Abot-Tanaw:
Sulyap at Suri sa Nagbabagong Kultura at Lipunan, 1987.
Virgilio S. Almario (born March 9, 1944), better known by his pen name Rio Alma, is a Filipino
artist, poet, critic, translator, editor, teacher, and cultural manager. He is a National Artist of the
Philippines and currently serves as the chairman of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF),
the government agency mandated to promote and standardize the use of the Filipino language.
On January 5, 2017, Almario was also elected as the chairman of the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts. Works: Memo Mulang Gimokudan. (2005) Dust Devils. (2005) Sonetos
Postumos, book of poems with translation by Marne Kilates
and paintings by National Artist Ang Kiukok. (2006) Tatlong
Pasyon sa Ating Panahon, poems for children with
illustrations by Mark Justiniani, Neil Doloricon, Ferdinand
Doctolero. (2006) Buwan, Buwang, Bulawan. (2009) UP
Diksiyonaryong Filipino Doktrinang Anak Pawis

FAMOUS ARTIST IN DANCE

Alice Garcia Reyes (born October 14, 1942)[1][2] is a
Filipina dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and
producer. The organizer of Ballet Philippines, she received last June 20, 2014 from President
Aquino the highest award in the Arts, National Artist of the Philippines.[3] She was chiefly
responsible in popularizing contemporary dance as she organized Ballet Philippines and staged
the first modern dance concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater on
February, 1970. She is best known for "Bungkos Suite", "Carmen", "Carmina Burana", "Romeo
and Juliet", "Rama Hari", "Cinderella"—all nuanced with Filipino culture, gesture and grace.

Reyes was born in October 1942. At a very young age, Reyes took up lessons in classical ballet
under Rosalia Merino while studying at Maryknoll College where she completed a Bachelor of
Arts degree in History and Foreign Services. Soon after, she took post-graduate studies at Ateneo
de Manila University. She further trained under the guidance of Leonor Orosa Goquingco and
Ricardo Casell of the Philippine Women's University (PWU). In addition, she took up folk dance
at the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company. Thinking of deepening her
professional studies, she went to America and enrolled in formal courses in modern dance and
jazz. In New York, she took the opportunity to take more formal studies at Sarah Lawrence
College in Westchester County, New York.
Leonor Orosa-Goquingco (July 24, 1917 – July
15, 2005) was a Filipino national artist in creative
dance.[1] She played the piano, drew art,
designed scenery and costumes, sculpted, acted,
directed, danced and choreographed. Her pen
name was Cristina Luna and she was known as
Trailblazer, Mother of Philippine Theater Dance
and Dean of Filipino Performing Arts Critics.
She died on July 15, 2005 of cardiac arrest
following a cerebro-vascular accident at the age of 87.

In 1939, Leonor Orosa-Goquingco was the only dancer sent on the first cultural mission to
Japan, at the age of 19. She produced Circling the Globe (1939) and Dance Panorama in the
same year. She created The Elements in 1940, the first ballet choreographed by a Filipino to
commissioned music. She also created Sports during the same year, featuring cheerleaders, a
tennis match and a basketball game. The first Philippine folkloric ballet, Trend: Return to the
Native, was choreographed by Goquingco in 1941. After the Second World War, she organized
the Philippine Ballet and brought the famous Filipino novel, Noli Me Tángere, to life. The Noli
Dance Suite consisted of several dances. Maria Clara and the Leper, Salome and Elias, Sisa,
Asalto for Maria Clara and The Gossips are some of the dances found in the Noli Dance Suite.[2]
Leonor Orosa-Goquingco also danced during her early years. She danced at the American
Museum of Natural History, Theresa Kaufmann Auditorium, The International House and
Rockefeller Plaza, just to name a few. She appeared in War Dance and Planting Rice. Other
works she choreographed were "Circling the Globe", "Dance Panorama", "Current events",
"Vinta!", "Morolandia", "Festival in Maguindanao", "Eons Ago: The Creation", "Filipinescas:
Philippine Life, Legend, and Lore in Dance", "Miner's Song", "The Bird and the Planters",
"Tribal", "Ang Antipos" (The Flagellant), "Salubong", "Pabasa" (Reading of the Pasyon) and
"Easter Sunday Fiesta". She founded the Filipinescas Dance Company in 1958,[2] and took it on
a world tour in 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968 and 1970. She was also a writer, and her articles
were published in Dance Magazine (New York City), Enciclopedia Della Spettacolo (Rome),
Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London), Arts of Asia (Hong Kong) and the
Philippine Cultural Foundation. She wrote Dances of the Emerald Isles and Filipinescas:
Philippine Life, Legend and Lore in Dance.[2] Leonor Orosa-Goquingco also wrote a poem on
the Japanese occupation, Lifted the Smoke of Battle. She is famous for her one-act play, Her
Son, Jose Rizal which is set during the time Rizal was imprisoned and awaiting his execution. It
reveals the emotions going through Rizal's mother at that time and the similarities between
Rizal's life and that of Jesus Christ. Goquinco was also a critic who wrote reviews. She critiqued
works like Tony Perez' Oktubre, Ligaya Amilbangsa's Stillness and Tanghalang Pilipino's
Aguinaldo: 1898.

She was an Honorary Chairman of the Association of Ballet Academies of the Philippines, the
founding member of the Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT) and was known as a Zontian and a
performing arts critic and columnist of the Manila Bulletin.

Francisca Reyes-Aquino (March 9, 1899 - November 21,

1983) was 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.[3][4] 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.[4] 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.[3] 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. Then President Ramon Magsaysay conferred her the Republic Award of Merit in 1954
for her “outstanding contribution toward the advancement of Filipino culture”.[4][5] 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.
Ramon Arevalo Obusan (June 16, 1938 – 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.

Remedios "Totoy" de Oteyza (June 7, 1920 – June 25, 1978) was a Filipino dancer and
choreographer. The daughter of Manuela Alvarez, a concert
pianist and singer, and Carlos de Oteyza, she was born in
Manila. She left Manila for Spain at the age of three and
began taking ballet classes there at the age of eight. On her
return to Manila, she continued her studies in ballet with Luva
Adameit. After further studies in Spain, she joined the corps
de ballet in Paris but was not able to continue because of poor
stamina. During World War II, she danced with Paul Szilard
at the Manila Metropolitan Theater. De Oteyza was able to
study with Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin and later with
Mia Slavenska while these dancers were visiting the
Philippines. She later returned to Europe and danced with
Markova and Dolin in Liverpool. In Europe, she also trained
with Lyubov Yegorova, Léo Staats, George Balanchine, Olga Preobrajenska and Sulamith
Messerer. In 1947, she established her own dance school Classic Ballet Academy. Her protégés
included Maniya Barredo and Maribel Aboitiz. Her students included Inday Gaston-Mañosa, Joji
Felix Velarde, Sony Lopez Gonzales, Lydia Madarang Gaston and Pinky Mendoza-Puno. She
established the Manila Ballet Company and later served as artistic director for the Hariraya
Ballet Company. She was co-director of the Ballet and Dance Center in Makati. De Oteyza later
taught at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Dance School and served as an advisor to
the Ballet Federation of the Philippines. De Oteyza choreographed her first work at the age of
twelve; it was awarded first prize in a contest held during Manila Carnival. Later in life, she was
known for her abstract (storyless) neoclassical ballets set to the music of composers such as
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Edvard Grieg, Sergei Rachmaninoff and George Gershwin; she also
choreographed a few narrative ballets. In 1974, she received the Araw ng Maynila award in
dance. She died at the age of 58.