AUTHORS AND LITERARY

PIECE FROM MIMAROPA

REGIONS
Mindoro

 Ambahan
 the traditional poetry of the Hanunuo Mangyans of Oriental Mindoro. It is
usually written on bamboo in the Surat Mangyan, a centuries-old pre-Spanish
script. The syllabic script and the ambahan poetry have complemented each
other, contributing to their continued existence today.
 As a definition, it can be stated that the ambahan is:
 A rhythmic poetic expression with a meter of seven syllable lines and having
rhythmic end-syllables.
 It is most often presented as a chant without a determined musical pitch or
accompaniment by musical instruments.
 Its purpose is to express in an allegorical way, liberally using poetic language,
certain situations or certain characteristics referred to by the one reciting the
poem.
Ginaw Bilog is a Hanunoo Mangyan poet from Mansalay, Oriental
Mindoro. He is considered as a master of the Ambahan poetry. This
wisdom is his key to the understanding of the Mangyan soul. In 1993, he
was given the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan award.
MARINDUQUE
 Paz Latorena (1907 - 1953)Paz Latorena was born in Boac, Marinduque in
1907. At a young age she was brought to Manila where she completed her
basic schooling, first at St. Scholastica and later at South High School. In 1925
she enrolled at the University of the Philippines for a degree in education.
Working by day as an elementary school teacher, she attended evening
classes. One of these was a short story writing class conducted by Mrs. Paz
Marquez Benitez. It was not long before Mrs. Benitez invited Latorena to write
a column in the Philippines Herald, of which she was then literary editor. In
1927 Latorena joined some campus writers to form the U.P. Writers Club and
contributed a short story, “A Christmas Tale” to the maiden issue of “The
Literary Apprentice. That same year, her short story “The Small Key” won
third place in Jose Garcia Villa’s Roll of Honor for the year’s best short
stories. Some of her other stories received similar prizes over the next several
years.
Jose Y. Dalisay Jr.
 Dalisay was born in Romblon in 1954. He completed his primary education at
La Salle Green Hills, Philippines in 1966 and his secondary education at the
Philippine Science High School in 1970. He dropped out of college to work as a
newspaper reporter. He also wrote scripts mostly for Lino Brocka, the
National Artist of the Philippines for Theater and Film. Dalisay returned to
school and earned his B.A. English (Imaginative Writing) degree, cum laude
from the University of the Philippines in 1984. He later received an M.F.A.
from the University of Michigan in 1988 and a Ph.D. in English from the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1991 as a Fulbright scholar.
  
 Killing Time in a Warm Place is Jose Y. Dalisay's Palanca-winning novel about
life during and after Martial Law. Following the experiences and recollections
of a former activist, the novel allows for the juxtaposition of persons and
contexts. It was first published in 1992 and won that year's Manila Critics
Circle National Book Award for Fiction. In 1993, it won the Palanca
Awards Grand Prize for the Novel, and the UP President's Award for Most
Outstanding Publication.
PALAWAN

 “Kudaman” is an epic of Palawan. It is dramatization of nature and social life,

a validation of the beliefs, ethics, way of life to Palawan culture. The
complete epic is composed of six songs. It takes seven nights to perform the
epic. The first night is used to introduce the epic; each of the six songs takes
a night to perform. The hero Kudaman appears after the introductory chant.
 Ploning is a 2008 Philippine romantic family drama film based on a popular
Cuyonon song of the same title about a girl's hidden feelings in a man's point
of view. It starred veteran actress Judy Ann Santos and was directed by Dante
Nico Garcia, who won a directing award in Singapore through the film. The
filming was done in the municipality of Cuyo in Palawan, which is,
incidentally, the director's hometown. The film is the official entry of the
Philippines for Best Foreign Language Film of the 81st Academy Awards.