JSPH Jr. receives his award from Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

Presented in Malacañang on March 27, 2009 in an awarding ceremony presided by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita who represented the President, the award was given as a recognition for the artists’ commendable achievements in and contributions to Philippine arts and culture.

A fictionist, poet, translator, painter, and editor known for his use of symbolisms in his stories, Hidalgo is credited for the founding of the Gunglo dagiti Mannurat nga Ilocano (GUMIL; Ilocano Writers’ Association), the  top Ilocano writers’ organization with chapters in the country’s Ilocano-speaking provinces as well as in Metro Manila and even overseas. Among his works is Bituen ti Rosales ken Dadduma Pay a Sarita (The Star of Rosales and Other Stories) published in 1969 which had a profound influence on the serious Ilokano writer. He received the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining and the U.P. Vanguard Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991; the Cornelio Valdez Award in 1992; the Sen. Heherson Alvarez Award for Literature in 1994; and the Pedro Bucaneg Award in 2000.

Also named Outstanding Artists were: Virgie Moreno, also for literature; Francisco Mañosa for architecture; the Mabuhay Singers, Josefino Cenizal, Dr. Alfredo S. Buenaventura, and Nolyn Cabahug for music; Pitoy Moreno and Ben Farales for fashion; Tony Fabella for dance; Tony Mabesa, Tony Espejo, and Onofre Pagsanjan for theater; Ed Castrillo, Ramon Orlina, Rafael “Paeng” Pacheco, and Leonardo Cruz for visual arts; Dr. Antoon Postma and Rosalinda Orosa for cultural research and criticism; Dolphy Quizon, Willie Nepomuceno, and German Moreno for multi-media and popular art; and Hamzah Marbella, the eight-year-old wonder, special citation.

Virgie Moreno. A poet, a playwright and a cultural icon. Often deemed as a high priestess in Philippine poetry, she is the author of Batik Maker and Other Poems.

Pitoy Moreno. Known as the Fashion Czar of Asia, Moreno served as president of the Philippine Couture Association, the first ever association of Fashion designers in Manila. He is also the founder of the Karilagan International, a fashion-cultural organization which promoted Filipino design here and abroad. His creations have circled the globe and have graced the pages of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Le Figaro to name a few, and have dressed Philippine first ladies as well as the likes of Nancy Raegan, Pat Nixon, Queen Margarretta of Bulgaria, and Princess Margaret of Britain, among others.

Ben Farrales. Mang Ben is one of the awardees of the 2005 Ten Outstanding Filipinos. He is the first to launch a fashion show in Manila Hotel in 1959, and the first Filipino to have a show at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He is most famous for his Muslim-inspired designs.

Mabuhay Singers. Composed of Carmen Camacho, Nora Hermosa, Raye Lucero, Chi Lucerio, Floro San Juan, and Ador Torres, the group recorded more than 100 LP albums, some released internationally.

Rafael Pacheco. Dubbed the father of Finger Printing, Pacheco is an outspoken campaigner of environmental awareness through art.

Awardees Dr. Antoon Postma and Rosalinda Orosa chat before the start of the awarding ceremony.

Tony Fabella. Considered as an institution in the Filipino dance circuit, Fabella helped put up the Quezon City government’s Performing Arts Development Program in 1994 to seek out artistically inclined children from the country’s marginalized sectors and provide them with training in the performing arts. He was given the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award by the City of Manila in 1984 and the Alab ng Haraya Award by the NCCA in 2003.

Josefino Cenizal. A composer and musical director, Cenizal directed music for films for different movie outfits. He composed Levi Celirio’s Ang Pasko ay Sumapit and the theme song of the movie Hindi Kita Malimot starring Carmen Rosales and Leopoldo Salcedo. In 1989, the City of Manila honored him with the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award.

Eduardo Castrillo. A monument-maker and all-metal sculptor, Castrillo’s masterpieces include the People Power figurative sculpture in Quezon City, the brass sculpture of Our Blessed Lorenzo Ruiz in Binondo, the Apostles in Marikina, and other icons. He mixes bronze, steel and brass sheets with nontraditional media like wood, plastic, plexiglass, and ivory.

Ramon Orlina. Glass sculptor Orlina is the first to carve figures out of glass blocks using the cold method and to cut, grind and polish his works using improvised instruments. Internationally renowned, he has been given two prestigious ASEAN awards in the field of visual arts and was named one of the ten Outstanding Filipinos in 2006 for his excellence in his field.

Leonardo Cruz. Described as having ‘comics-style friendliness’ for being dramatically composed and nearly literal in their renditions, Cruz’ works have earned for him the tag classical impressionist. Among his latest works are his 28 oil paintings depicting scenes from Noli Me Tangere.

Dolphy and German Moreno pose after the awarding ceremony.

Dr. Alfredo S. Buenaventura. Dr. Buenaventura is among the few Filipino composers who have done five full-length operas. His works include Maria Makiling, Alamat ng Pinya, Alas Flores de Heidelberg, Sanctus et Benedictus, and Kyrie Eleison.

Willie Nepomuceno. The man with many faces, Willie Nep, as he is fondly called, is known for his comic impersonations of famous personalities.

German Moreno. An icon in the Philippine movie industry, Moreno is a well-respected talent scout, TV host,  and supporter of the arts. He currently hosts, Walang Tulugan aired over GMA-7.

Rodolfo Vera Quizon. The King of Comedy, Dolphy, has reaped numerous local and international recognitions, among them, Parangal ng Bayan, Goldern Father Foundation, and URIAN Lifetime Achievement Awards. He was also named one of the 100 Most Influential Filipino Artists.

Tony Espejo. The artistic director and founder of the Gantimpla Theater, Espejo is the first Filipino to receive a diploma course in Production and Stage Management at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. In 2006, he was given the Aliw Awards Lifetime Achievement Recognition for his contribution in Philippine Drama.

Rosalinda Orosa. A prominent journalist and advocate of culture and arts, Orosa is the author of the book, “Above the Throng,” a must-read for art enthusiasts. Among her awards include the Order of Merit with Rank of Officer by the French government, the Commander’s Cross with the Order of Merit by the German government, and the Lifetime Achievement Award by President Gloria Arroyo.

Nolyn Cabahug. A renowned tenor, Cabahug was part of the Broadway musicale Kismet and Felipe de Leon’s Noli Me Tangere which toured US key cities.

Tony Mabesa. Founder of the Dulaang UP, Mabesa is a multi-awarded director, actor, playwright and teacher. He has been involved, in various capacities, in over 150 plays, 100 movies and TV shows.

Onofre Pagsanjan. Apart from writing, directing, and producing noteworthy works, Pagsanjan is the founder of the Dulaang Sibol, the premier high school theater group in the country.

Francisco Mañosa. An internationally-acclaimed architect, Francisco Mañosa fuses tradition and contemporary elements in his designs. He has consistently explored new expressions of indigenous materials such as bamboo, nipa, rattan, and coconut.

Hamzah Marbella. Born March 31, 2001, eight-year-old Marbella is already an artist to reckon with in the field of visual arts. With over 40 local and international recognitions, he is the youngest member of the Artists Association of the Philippines.

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Photos by Benhur Arcayan.

Ti imasna, kaaduan kadagiti mabuybuyatayo a pelikula a Filipino wenno Tagalog, iparangda laeng ti wagas ti panagbiag iti siudad, kangrunaanna iti Metro Manila.

Ket ania ngata no adda met dagiti pelikula a mangiparang iti tradision, aw-awid ken wagas ti panagbiag dagiti nadumaduma a puli iti Filipinas?

Pagsayaatanna ta addan dagitoy a pelikula.

Iti umuna a gundaway, inangay ti National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) National Committee on Cinema ken Cultural Center of the Philippines iti pannakitinnulong ti Crossing Negros Cultural Foundation Inc. ti “Cinema Rehiyon, Alter Nativo: Films From the Other Philippines” itay Pebrero 18-21 kas paset ti pannakarambak ti 2009 National Arts Month (The Philippine International Arts Festival).

Saan a salip ti nasao a festival. Gundaway daytoy tapno maibunannag nga adda dagiti naaramid a pelikula iti ruar ti Metro Manila. Pagteng daytoy a mangipamatmat kadagiti adda iti Kamanilaan nga adda pay dagiti nadumaduma a rehion iti Filipinas nga addaan met kadagiti naisangsangayan nga estoria a mangipaamiris nga addaan ti Filipinas kadagiti nadumaduma a kannawidan a rumbeng a mataginayon.

Kangrunaanna, kas kuna ni Gabby Fernandez a festival director, naikkan iti gundaway a maipabuya dagiti pelikula a maar-aramid kadagiti rehion iti laksid ti kinakurang ti badyet, banag a kadawyan kadagiti “indie” a pelikula.

Short ken full-length dagitoy a pelikula nga aramid dagiti fimmaker manipud kadagiti rehion, nasiuting kadagiti probinsia ken iti bukodda a pagsasao dagiti dialogo (adda ketdi subtitleda iti Ingles).

Nupay sumagmamano kadagitoy a pelikula ti naipabuya ken nangabaken iti Cinemanila, Cinemalaya ken Cinema One Originals— agpapada a pasalip iti pelikula a nakabase iti Metro Manila— kas iti “Brutus”, “Yanggaw”, “Imburnal”, ken dadduma pay, kaaduan kadagitoy ti damona ti maipabuya iti Metro Manila, a pakairamanan ti “Killeg” ken “Kalimed” nga aramid ni Golda Mae Bao-ag Pay-ong a taga-Kalinga.

Manipud iti Disiembre 2008 agingga iti Enero itoy a tawen, naangay dagiti festival iti pelikula kadagiti siudad ti Bacolod, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo ken Naga. Nangibaon met ti NCCA iti pannakabagida kadagitoy a festival tapno pilienda dagiti maipabuya iti “Cinema Rehiyon”.

Iti nasao nga uppat nga aldaw a festival, naangay iti agsapa dagiti nadumaduma a diskusion kas iti panagpartuat iti pelikula ken panangala iti grant. Iti kamalmanna, naipabuya dagiti nadumaduma a pelikula.

Iti saludsod no addanto pay sunotna daytoy a festival, kuna ni Jose Antonio Garcia, kameng ti executive committee ti nasao a programa, a mangnamnamada a rugi laeng daytoy iti pannakaipabuya dagiti pelikula a nupay awan ti KC Concepcion wenno Richard Gutierrez, malaglagipto dagitoy gapu iti ikutda a naisangsangayan a kannawidan dagiti nadumaduma a puli iti Filipinas. (AST)

(Naipablaak iti Bannawag, Marso 2, 2009 a bilang, panid 38, 40.)