National

Artist
Award
 What is the National Artist
Award?
• Bestows the highest form of
recognition to Filipino artists for
their significant contributions in the
arts and letters.
• The award is conferred every three
years through a rigorous
deliberation and selection process
jointly facilitated by two major
cultural offices, the National
Commission on Culture and the Arts
and the Cultural center of the
Philippines.
 What is the National
Artist Award?
• Established in 1972 under Presidential
Decree No. 1001 issued by then
President Marcos.
• There are seven (7) disciplinal areas
namely:
1. Architecture, design, and allied arts
2. Film and broadcast arts
3. Visual Arts
4. Literature
5. Dance
6. Music
7. Theater
What is the National Artist
Award?

• Other categories
have been
considered by virtue
of the president’s
prerogative, among
them, historical
literature, and
fashion design.
• The roster has
included 66
awardees.
 Who are the awardees?
1. Living artists who have been Filipino citizens for the last ten
years prior to nomination as well as those who have died
after the establishment of the award in 1972 but were
Filipino citizens at the time of their death.
2. Artists who have helped build a Filipino sense of
nationhood through the content and form of their works.
3. Artists who have distinguished themselves by pioneering in
a mode of creative
expression or style, making an impact on succeeding
generations of artists.
4. Artists who have created a significant body of works and/or
have consistently
displayed excellence in the practice of their art form,
enriching artistic expression or style; and
5. Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through prestigious
national and/or international recognition, awards in
prestigious national and/or international events, critical
acclaim and/or reviews of their works, and/or respect, and
esteem from peers within an artistic discipline.
 FERNANDO AMORSOLO
(May 30, 1892 – April 24,
1972)

• The first recipient who was

conferred the award
posthumously.
• is one of the most important
artists in the history of painting
in the Philippines.
• as a portraitist and painter of
rural Philippine landscapes.
• He is popularly known for his
craftsmanship and mastery in
the use of light.
 "Baguio Rice Terraces"
(12" x 18" Oil on Canvas 1944)
"Returning to
Shore"
(30" x 40" Oil on
Canvas 1956)
WHAT ARE
SOME
EXAMPLES
OF WORKS
OF
NATIONAL
ARTISTS?
 A. Works of National Artist in Public Spaces: A look
at UP Diliman
• A good number of works by National
Artists can be found in university
campuses.
• One such example is the University of
the Philippines (UP) campus in
Diliman, Quezon City.
• The iconic school symbol is based on
the Oblation (1953), a sculptural work
by the classically trained sculptor
Guillermo Tolentino depicting a male
nude with arms outstretched as a
gesture of sacrifice and freedom.
 Guillermo Estrella Tolentino
(July 24, 1890 – July 12, 1976)
• was a Filipino sculptor and
professor of the
University of the Philippines
school of fine arts and have been
influential as teacher and artists.
• He was designated as a
National Artist of the Philippines
for Sculpture in 1973, three
years before his death.
BONIFACIO MONUMENT
 BENEDICTO R. CABRERA
(April 10, 1942)
• better known as "BenCab“
• is a Filipino painter and was
awarded
National Artist of the Philippines for
Visual Arts (Painting) in 2006.
• Primarily figurative, Cabrera’s work
often depicts woman and
occasionally men wrapped in
swirling, bundled fabrics and capes
• He has been noted as "arguably the
best-selling painter of his generation
of Filipino artists."
VARIATIONS OF SABEL
 VARIATIONS OF SABEL
• “Sabel” is a major subject that
recurs through BenCab’s works
through the decades, inspired by a
real-life scavenger, he photographed
and sketched in 1965, the Sabel
image has become the artists
vehicle for the transmission of
intensely emotional moods.
• When pushed to the limits of
abstraction, the Sabel image serves
as a fertile ground for the
investigation of shape and structure.
 José Joya
(Filipino, 1931–1995)

• He was awarded as NATIONAL

ARTIST year 2003
• Joya was a printmaker, painter,
mixed media artist, and a former
dean of the University of the
Philippines' College of Fine Arts.
• He pioneered abstract
expressionism in the Philippines.
• His canvases were characterized by
"dynamic spontaneity" and "quick
gestures" of action painting.
“Space
Transfiguration”
 LUNAR
LANDSCAPES
 NAPOLEON ABUEVA
(January 26, 1930 – February 16, 2018)
• was known as the "Father of
Modern Philippine Sculpture"
Through Proclamation No.
1539
• He was proclaimed
National Artist for Sculpture in
1976 when he was 46, making
him the youngest recipient of
the award to date.
TRANSFIGURATION MAGDANGAL
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES CHAPEL
CHURCH OF THE HOLY SACRIFICE
Double Sided Crucifix
by Napoleon Abueva
 Double Sided Crucifix
• One side of the crucifix depicts Christ
crucified, while an image of the resurrected
Christ is on the other vantage point.
 CHURCH OF THE HOLY
SACRIFICE
• It is the country’s first circular chapel and
thin-shell dome. It also features the works of
several National Artists.
• It is recognized as a National Historical
Landmark as well as a Cultural Treasure by
the National Historical Institute and by the
National Museum, respectively.
• It consolidates the works of five National
Artist: Leandro Locsin for architecture and
four other modernist in the visual arts, whose
works are found inside the chapel.
 LEANDRO LOCSIN
(August 15, 1928 – November 15, 1994)

• was a Filipino architect, artist,

and interior designer known for
his use of concrete, floating
volume and simplistic design in
his various projects.
• He was proclaimed a
National Artist of the Philippines
for Architecture
in 1990 by the late President
Corazon C. Aquino.
Cultural Center of the Philippines
Folk Arts Theater
Philippine International Convention Center,
Manila
Sofitel Philippine Plaza (Westin Philippine
Plaza)
Philippine Pavilion, Osaka, Japan
Benguet Center (Banco de Oro Building)
Manila International Airport (NAIA Terminal
1)
Istana Nurul Imam Palace, Brunei
Church of Saint Andrew, Bel-Air Village,
Makati
 Church of Monastery of the
Transfiguration, Malaybalay, Bukidnon
 PABLO S. ANTONIO
National Artist for Architecture
(1976)
(January 25, 1902 – June 14, 1975)

• His basic design is grounded

on simplicity, no clutter. The lines
are clean and smooth, and where
there are curves, these are made integral to the
structure. Antonio’s major works
include the following: Far Eastern University
Administration and Science
buildings; Manila Polo Club; Ideal Theater; Lyric
Theater; Galaxy
Theater; Capitan Luis Gonzaga Building;
Boulevard-Alhambra (now Bel-Air)
apartments; Ramon Roces Publications Building
(now Guzman Institute of
Electronics)
 LEANDRO V. LOCSIN
National Artist for Architecture, 1990
(August 15, 1928 – November 15, 1994)

• He reshaped the urban landscape with a distinctive architecture

reflective of
Philippine Art and Culture. He believes that the true Philippine
Architecture is “the product of
two great streams of culture, the oriental and the occidental… to
produce a new object of
profound harmony.” It is this synthesis that underlies all his works,
with his achievements in
concrete reflecting his mastery of space and scale.
Locsin’s largest single work is the Istana Nurul Iman, the palace of
the Sultan
of Brunei, which has a floor area of 2.2 million square feet. The CCP
Complex itself
is a virtual Locsin Complex with all five buildings designed by him —
the Cultural
Center of the Philippines, Folk Arts Theater, Philippine
International
Convention Center, Philcite and The Westin Hotel (now Sofitel
Philippine Plaza)
 JUAN F. NAKPIL
National Artist for Architecture, 1973
(May 26, 1899 – May 7, 1986)

• An architect, teacher, and civic leader is a pioneer and

innovator in Philippine
architecture. Nakpil’s greatest contribution is his belief
that there is such a thing as Philippine
Architecture, espousing architecture reflective of
Philippine traditions and culture.
Among others, Nakpil’s major works are the Geronimo
de los Reyes Building,Magsaysay
Building, Rizal Theater, Capitol Theater, Captain
Pepe Building, Manila Jockey
Club, Rufino Building, Philippine Village Hotel,
University of the Philippines
Administration and University Library, and the
reconstructed Rizal house in Calamba,
Laguna
 ILDEFONSO P. SANTOS, JR.
National Artist for Architecture, 2006
(September 5, 1929 – January 29, 2014)

• Ildefonso Paez Santos, Jr., distinguished himself by pioneering the

practice of
landscape architecture–an allied field of architecture–in the Philippines
and then producing
four decades of exemplary and engaging work that has included hundreds
of parks, plazas,
gardens, and a wide range of outdoor settings that have enhanced
contemporary Filipino life.
Santos, Jr., who grew up in Malabon, made his first mark with the Makati
Commercial Center where he introduced a new concept of outdoor
shopping with
landscaped walks, fountains and sculptures as accents. Santos, Jr.’s
contribution to modern
Filipino landscape architecture was the seminal public landscape in Paco
Park. Santos, Jr.’s
most recent projects were the Tagaytay Highland Resort, the Mt.
Malarayat Golf and
Country Club in Lipa, Batangas, and the Orchard Golf and Country
Club in Imus, Cavite
 FRANCISCO T. MANOSA
National Artist for Architecture and Allied Arts (2018)
Birthday: 12 February 1931

• For all his more than 60 years of architecture

life, Arc. Bobby Mañosa designed
Filipino. From the 1960s in his landmark design
of the Sulo Hotel until his retirement about
2015, he courageously and passionately created
original Filipino forms, spaces with intricate and
refined details. But what is most valuable is that
Mañosa was in the heart and soul of a Philippine
architectural movement. He has developed a
legacy of Philippine architecture, which is
essential to our Filipino identity and at the same
time, deeply appreciated and shared in our world
today
• Major Works:
– San Miguel Building, Ortigas Center, Pasig City (designed
with the Mañosa Brothers)
– Chapel of the Risen Lord, Las Piñas City
– Our Lady of Peace Shrine, EDSA, Quezon City
– World Youth Day Papal Altar, Quirino Grandstand, Manila,
1995
– Metrorail Transit System Stations for LRT 1, circa 1980s
– Quezon Memorial Circle Development Plan
– Lanao del Norte Provincial Capitol, Tubod, Lanao del Norte
– Tahanang Pilipino (Coconut Palace), CCP Complex, Manila
– Amanpulo Resort, Palawan
– Pearl Farm Resort, Samal Island, Davao, completed 1994
– La Mesa Watershed Resort and Ecological Park, La Mesa
Dam, Quezon City
 LAMBERTO V. AVELLANA
National Artist for Theater and
Film (1976)
(February 12, 1915 – April 25, 1991)

• director for theater and film, has the

4 distinction of being called “The Boy Wonder of Philippine
Movies” as early as 1939. He was the first to use the motion
picture camera to establish a point-of-view, a move that
revolutionized the techniques of film narration.
• Sakay was declared the best picture of 1939 by critics and
journalists alike and set the tone for Avellana’s career in
film that would be capped by such distinctive achievements
as the Grand Prix at the Asian Film Festival in Hong Kong
for Anak Dalita (1956); Best
Director of Asia award in Tokyo for Badjao, among others.
Avellana was also the first filmmaker to have his film
Kandelerong Pilak shown at the Cannes International Film
Festival. Among the films he directed for worldwide release
 LINO BROCKA
National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts (1997)
(April 3, 1939 – May 22, 1991)

• Catalino “Lino” Ortiz Brocka, director for film and broadcast arts,
espoused the term “freedom of expression” in the Philippine Constitution.
Brocka took his social activist
spirit to the screen leaving behind 66 films which breathed life and hope for
the marginalized sectors of society — slum-dwellers, prostitutes,
construction workers, etc. He also directed for theater with equal zeal and
served in organizations that offer alternative visions, like the
Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and the Concerned
Artists of the Philippines (CAP). At the same time, he garnered awards and
recognition from institutions
like the CCP, FAMAS, TOYM, and Cannes Film Festival.
• To name a few, Brocka’s films include the following: “Santiago” (1970),
“Wanted:
Perfect Mother” (1970), “Tubog sa Ginto” (1971), “Stardoom” (1971),
“Tinimbang Ka
Ngunit Kulang” (1974), “Maynila: Sa Kuko ng Liwanag” (1975),
“Insiang” (1976),
“Jaguar” (1979), “Bona” (1980), “Macho Dancer” (1989),
“Orapronobis” (1989),
“Makiusap Ka sa Diyos” (1991).
 ISHMAEL BERNAL
National Artist for Cinema (2001)
(September 30, 1938 – June 2, 1996)

• Ishmael Bernal was a filmmaker of the first order

and one of the very few who can
be truly called a maestro. Critics have hailed him as
“the genius of Philippine cinema.”
Among his notable films are “Pahiram ng Isang
Umaga” (1989), “Broken Marriage”
(1983), “Himala” (1982), “City After Dark”
(1980), and “Nunal sa Tubig” (1976). He was
recognized as the Director of the Decade of the
1970s by the Catholic Mass Media Awards;
four-time Best Director by the Urian Awards (1989,
1985, 1983, and 1977); and given the
ASEAN Cultural Award in Communication Arts in
1993.
 FERNANDO POE, JR.
National Artist for Cinema (2006)
(August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004)

• Ronald Allan K. Poe, popularly known as Fernando Poe, Jr., was a

cultural icon of tremendous audience impact and cinema artist and
craftsman–as actor, director, writer and producer. *
• The image of the underdog was projected in his films such as Apollo
Robles(1961), Batang Maynila (1962), Mga Alabok sa Lupa (1967),
Batang Matador and Batang Estibador (1969), Ako ang Katarungan
(1974), Tatak ng Alipin(1975), Totoy Bato (1977), Asedillo (1981),
Partida (1985), and Ang Probisyano (1996), among many
others.
• The mythical hero, on the other hand, was highlighted in Ang Alamat
(1972), Ang Pagbabalik ng Lawin (1975) including his Panday series
(1980, 1981, 1982, 1984) and the action adventure films adapted from
komiks materials such as Ang Kampana sa Santa Quiteria(1971),
Santo Domingo (1972), and Alupihang Dagat (1975), among others.
Poe was born in Manila on August 20, 1939. After the death of his father,
he dropped out of the University of the East in his sophomore year to
support his family. He was the second of six siblings. He married actress
Susan Roces in a civil ceremony in December 1968. He died on
December 14, 2004.
 KIDLAT TAHIMIK
National Artist for Film (2018)
Birthday: 3 October 1942

• Kidlat Tahimik has continually invented himself

through his cinema, and so his cinema is as
singular as the man. His debut film, Mababangong
Bangungot (1977), was praised by critics
and filmmakers from Europe, North America, Asia, and
Africa and is still considered by many
as a pioneering postcolonial essay film. Tahimik’s
intense independence as an artist and, at
the same time, the film itself called for Filipinos to
actively live out their independence and
not allow their culture to be imperialized by the west.
Kidlat’s “imperfect” film is an exemplar
of what is worldwide known as “Third Cinema,” a
cinema that is critical of neocolonial
exploitation and state oppression.
• Notable Works:
– Balikbayan #1: Memories of Overdevelopment Redux
(2015)
– Japanese Summers of a Filipino Fundoshi (1996)
– Why Is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow? (1983-1994)
– Orbit 50: Letters to My 3 Sons (1990-1992)
– Turumba (1983)
– Who Invented the Yoyo? Who Invented the Moon
Buggy? (1979)
– Mababangong Bangungot/Perfumed Nightmare (1977)
 HERNANDO R. OCAMPO
National Artist for Visual Arts (1991)
(April 28, 1911 – December 28, 1978)

• He is a self-taught painter and was a leading member of the pre-

war Thirteen
Moderns, the group that charted the course of modern art in the
Philippines. His works
provided an understanding and awareness of the harsh social
realities in the country
immediately after the Second World War and contributed
significantly to the rise of the
nationalist spirit in the post-war era.
Ocampo’s acknowledged masterpiece Genesis served as the basis
of the curtain
design of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater. His
other major works
include Ina ng Balon, Calvary, Slum Dwellers, Nude with
Candle and Flower, Man and
Carabao, Angel’s Kiss, Palayok at Kalan, Ancestors,Isda at
Mangga, The
Resurrection, Fifty-three “Q”, Backdrop, Fiesta.
 ABDULMARI ASIA IMAO
National Artist for Visual Arts (2006)
(January 14, 1936 – December 16, 2014)

• A native of Sulu, Abdulmari Asia Imao is a sculptor, painter,

photographer, ceramist,
documentary filmmaker, cultural researcher, writer, and
articulator of Philippine Muslim art
and culture. Through his works, the indigenous ukkil,
sarimanok and naga motifs have been
popularized and instilled in the consciousness of the Filipino
nation and other peoples as
original Filipino creations.
Industry Brass Mural, Philippine National Bank, San
Fernando, La Union
Mural Relief on Filmmaking, Manila City Hall
Industrial Mural, Central Bank of the Philippines, San
Fernando, La Union
Sulu Warriors (statues of Panglima Unaid and Captain
Abdurahim Imao), 6 ft., Sulu
Provincial Capitol
 LAURO “Larry” ALCALA
National Artist for Visual Arts (2018)
(18 August 1926-24 June 2002)

• His comic strips spiced up the slices of Filipino

lives with witty illustrations executed
throughout his 56 years of cartooning. He
created over 500 characters and 20 comic strips
in widely circulated publications. Alcala’s most
iconic work, Slice of Life, not only made for
decades long of widely circulated images of
Filipino everyday life, it also symbolically
became an experiential way for his followers to
find a sense of self in the midst of an often
cacophonic, raucous and at odds environment
that Filipinos found themselves amidst.
• Notable Works:
Slice of Life Weekend 1980-1986
Asiong Aksaya, Daily Express, Tagalog Klasiks,
1976-1984
Smolbatteribols, Darna Komiks 1972-1984
Siopawman, Daily Express, 1972-1983, 2002
Kalabogesyons, Pilipino Komiks, 1966-1972
Congressman Kalog, Aliwan Komiks, 1966-1972
Baryo Pogspak, Holiday Komiks, 1966-1972
Loverboy, Redondo Komiks, 1964-1969
Mang Ambo, Weekly Graphic, 1963-1965
Kalabog en Bosyo, Pilipino Komiks, 1949-1983
Islaw Palitaw, 1946-1948
 FRANCISCO ARCELLANA
National Artist for Literature (1990)
(September 6, 1916 – August 1, 2002)

• Francisco Arcellana, writer, poet,

essayist, critic, journalist, and teacher is
one of the most important progenitors of
the modern Filipino short story in English.
He pioneered the development of the short story
as a lyrical prose-poetic formA
brilliant craftsman, his works are now an
indispensable part of a tertiary-level-syllabi
all over the country. Arcellana’s published books
are Selected Stories (1962), Poetry and
Politics: The State of Original Writing in
English in the Philippines Today (1977), The
Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990).
 EDITH L. TIEMPO
National Artist for Literature (1999)
(April 22, 1919 – August 21, 2011)

• A poet, fictionist, teacher and literary critic, Edith L. Tiempo is one of

the finest
Filipino writers in English. Her 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
country’s best writers.
 BIENVENIDO LUMBERA
National Artist for Literature (2006)

• Bienvenido Lumbera, is a poet, librettist, and scholar. As a poet, he

introduced to Tagalog
literature what is now known as Bagay poetry, a landmark aesthetic
tendency that has
helped to change the vernacular poetic tradition. He is the author of the
following
works: Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa (poems in Filipino and English),
1993; Balaybay, Mga
Tulang Lunot at Manibalang, 2002; Sa Sariling Bayan, Apat na
Dulang May Musika,
2004; “Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita,” Pakikiramay, 2004.
As a librettist for the Tales of the Manuvu and Rama Hari, he
pioneered the creative fusion
of fine arts and popular imagination. As a scholar his major books include
the
following: Tagalog Poetry, 1570-1898: Tradition and Influences in its
Development;
Philippine Literature: A History and Anthology, Revaluation: Essays
on Philippine
Literature, Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa.
 VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO
National Artist for 2003

• He is also known as Rio Alma, is a poet, literary

historian, and critic, who has revived
and reinvented traditional Filipino poetic forms,
even as he championed modernist poetics.
In 34 years, he has published 12 books of poetry,
which include the
seminal Makinasyon and Peregrinasyon, and the
landmark trilogy Doktrinang
Anakpawis, Mga Retrato at Rekwerdo and Muli,
Sa Kandungan ng Lupa. In these works,
his poetic voice soared from the lyrical to the
satirical to the epic, from the dramatic to the
incantatory, in his often severe examination of the
self, and the society.
 RAMON L. MUZONES
National Artist for Literature (2018)
(20 March 1913-17 August 1992)

• Ramon Muzones was a Hiligaynon poet, essayist, short story

writer, critic, grammarian, editor, lexicographer, and novelist who
authored an unprecedented 61 completed novels. A number of
these represent groundbreaking “firsts’ in Hiligaynon literature
such as the feminist Ang Bag-ong Maria Clara, the roman a clef
Maambong Nga Sapat (Magnificent Brute,1940), the comic Si
Tamblot (1946), the politically satirical Si Tamblot Kandidato
Man (Tamblot is Also a Candidate, 1949), the 125- installment
longest serialized novel Dama de Noche (1982-84), etc. Hailed by
his peers as the longest reigning (1938-1972) among “the three
kings of the Hiligaynon novel,” Muzones brought about its
most radical changes while ushering in modernism. With a
literary career that spanned fifty- three years (1938-1990), his
evolution covers the whole history of the Hiligaynon novel from
its rise in the 1940s to its decline in the 1970s. Muzones tried his
hand at a variety of types and proved adept in all as literary
fashions. In the process, he not only extended with
remarkable versatility and inventiveness the scope and style of
the Hiligaynon novel, but he also enriched Hiligaynon literature’s
dramatis personae.
 RAMON VALERA
National Artist for Fashion Design
(2006)
(August 31, 1912 – May 25, 1972)

• The contribution of Ramon

Valera, whose family hails from Abra,
lies in the tradition of excellence of his
works, and his commitment to his
profession, performing his magical seminal innovations
on the Philippine terno. Valera is
said to have given the country its visual icon to the
world via the terno. In the early 40s,
Valera produced a single piece of clothing from a four-
piece ensemble consisting of a blouse,
skirt, overskirt, and long scarf. He unified the
components of the baro’t saya into a single
dress with exaggerated bell sleeves, cinched at the
waist, grazing the ankle, and zipped up
at the back.
 SALVADOR F. BERNAL
National Artist for Theater Design (2003)
(January 7, 1945 – October 26, 2011)

• Salvador F. Bernal designed more than 300

productions distinguished for their originality.
Sensitive to the budget limitations of local productions,
he harnessed the design potential of
inexpensive local materials, pioneering or maximizing
the use of bamboo, raw abaca, and
abaca fiber, hemp twine, rattan chain links and gauze
cacha.As the acknowledged guru of
contemporary Filipino theater design, Bernal shared his
skills with younger designers
through his classes at the University of the Philippines
and the Ateneo de Manila University,
and through the programs he created for the CCP
Production Design Center which he
himself conceptualized and organized.
 CARLOS QUIRINO
National Artist for Historical
Literature (1997)
(January 14, 1910 – May 20, 1999)

• Carlos Quirino, a biographer, has the distinction of having written

one of the earliest biographies of Jose Rizal titled The Great Malayan.
• Quirino’s books and articles span the whole gamut of Philippine
history and culture–from Bonifacio’s trial to Aguinaldo’s biography,
from Philippine cartography to culinary arts, from cash crops to
tycoons and president’s lives, among so many subjects. In 1997, Pres.
Fidel Ramos created historical literature as a new category in the
National Artist Awards and Quirino was its first recipient.
• He made a record earlier on when he became the very first Filipino
correspondent for the United Press Institute.His book Maps and
Views of Old Manila is considered as the best
book on the subject.
• His other books include Quezon, Man of Destiny, Magsaysay of the
Philippines, Lives of the Philippine Presidents, Philippine
Cartography, The History of
Philippine Sugar Industry, Filipino Heritage: The Making of a
Nation, Filipinos at War: The Fight for Freedom from Mactan to
EDSA.
 FRANCISCA REYES AQUINO
National Artist for Dance (1973)
(March 9, 1899 – November 21, 1983)

• Francisca Reyes Aquino is

acknowledged as the Folk-Dance
Pioneer. This Bulakeña began
her research on folk dances in
the 1920s making trips to remote
barrios in Central and Northern
Luzon. Her research on the unrecorded forms of
local celebration, ritual, and sport resulted into a
1926 thesis titled “Philippine Folk Dances and
Games,” and arranged specifically for
use by teachers and playground instructors in
public and private schools.
 RAMON OBUSAN
National Artist for Dance (2006)
(June 16, 1938 – December 21, 2006)

• Ramon Obusan was a dancer, choreographer, stage designer, and artistic

director.
He achieved phenomenal success in Philippine dance and cultural work. He
was also
acknowledged as a researcher, archivist and documentary filmmaker who
broadened and deepened the Filipino understanding of his own cultural life
and expressions. Through the
Ramon Obusan Folkloric Grop (ROFG), he had affected cultural and
diplomatic exchanges
using the multifarious aspects and dimensions of the art of dance. mong the
full-length productions he choreographed 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”“Saplot (Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group): Philippines Costumes
in Dance
 ALICE REYES
National Artist for Dance (2014)
•
She is 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. Her biggest contribution 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.

• Her masterpiece Amada to the modern dance classic Itim-Asu, to her last
major
work Bayanihan Remembered which she staged for Ballet Philippines
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).
 LEONOR OROSA GOQUINGCO
National Artist for Dance
(July 24, 1917 – July 15, 2005)

• Dubbed the “Trailblazer”, “Mother of Philippine Theater

Dance” and “Dean of Filipino
Performing Arts Critics”, Leonor Orosa Goquingco, pioneer
Filipino choreographer in balletic folkloric and Asian styles,
produced for over 50 years highly original, first-of-a-
kindchoreographies, mostly to her own storylines. These
include “TREND: Return to Native,” “In a Javanese
Garden,” “Sports,”
“VINTA!,” “In a Concentration Camp,” “The Magic
Garden,” “The Clowns,” “Firebird,”
“Noli Dance Suite,” “The Flagellant,” “The Creation…”
Seen as her most ambitious work is
the dance epic “Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend and
Lore.” With it, Orosa brought
native folk dance, mirroring Philippine culture from pagan to
modern times, to its highest
stage of development
 LUCRECIA REYES-URTULA
National Artist for Dance (1988)
(June 29, 1929 – August 4, 1999)

• A choreographer, dance educator and researcher, spent almost four decades in the
discovery and study of Philippine folk and ethnic 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 following: 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 Verbena.
 ANTONINO BUENAVENTURA
National Artist for Music
(1988)
(May 4, 1904 – January 25,
1996)

• In 1935, Buenaventura joined Francisca Reyes-Aquino to

conduct research on folksongs and dances that led to its
popularization. Buenaventura 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 Philippine 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 a
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.
 ERNANI J. CUENCO
National Artist for Music (1999)
(May 10, 1936 – June 11, 1988)
 HONORATA “ATANG” DELA RAMA
National Artist for Theater and Music (1987)
(January 11, 1902 – July 11, 1991)