NATIONAL ARTIST SHORTENED

Fernando C. Amorsolo

National Artist for Visual Arts

Fernando C. Amorsolo

The country had its first National Artist in him.

Fernando C. Amorsolo

Returning from his studies abroad in the 1920s, he developed the backlighting technique that became his trademark.

Fernando C. Amorsolo

Among others, his major works include the following: Maiden in a Stream, El Ciego, Dalagang Bukid, The Mestiza, Planting Rice, and Sunday Morning Going to Town.

Guillermo Estrella Tolentino

National Artist for Sculpture (1973)

Guillermo Estrella Tolentino

The result was the UP Oblation that became the symbol of freedom at the campus.

Guillermo Estrella Tolentino

Acknowledged as his masterpiece and completed in 1933, The Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan stands as an enduring symbol of the Filipinos’ cry for freedom.

Agnes Dakudao Locsin

National Artist for Dance (2022)

Agnes Dakudao Locsin

A choreographer, director and teacher considered one of the “most progressive contemporary choreographers in the Philippines.”

Agnes Dakudao Locsin

She utilizes Filipino beliefs, rituals and ethnic traditions in her choreographies, concepts and direction, and calls it “neo-ethnic.”

Agnes Dakudao Locsin

The most successful of her works are Babaylan, Taong Talangka (Man-Crab); and Salome.

Alice Reyes

National Artist for Dance (2014)

Alice Reyes

Perhaps her biggest contribution to Philippine dance is the development of a distinctly Filipino modern dance idiom.

Alice Reyes

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).

Edith L. Tiempo

National Artist for Literature (1999)

Edith L. Tiempo

A poet, fictionist, teacher and literary critic, she is one of the finest Filipino writers in English.

Edith L. Tiempo

Her works are characterized by a remarkable fusion of style and substance, of craftsmanship and insight.

Edith L. Tiempo

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.

Levi Celerio

National Artist for Literature / Music (1997)

Levi Celerio

A prolific lyricist and composer for decades.

Levi Celerio

He made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the only person able to make music using just a leaf.

Levi Celerio

More importantly, he has enriched the Philippine music for no less than two generations with a treasury of more than 4,000 songs in an idiom that has proven to appeal to all social classes.

Ramon Valera

National Artist for Fashion Design (2006)

Ramon Valera

His contribution, 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.

Ramon Valera

In the early 40s, he produced a single piece of clothing from a four-piece ensemble consisting of a blouse, skirt, overskirt, and long scarf.

Ramon Valera

He constructed the terno’s butterfly sleeves, giving them a solid, built-in but hidden support.

Salvacion Lim-Higgins

National Artist for Fashion Design (2022)

Salvacion Lim-Higgins

Known to the fashion world as “Slim’s”, she is credited for having masterly innovated on and transformed the “national costume” into a world-class silhouette.

Salvacion Lim-Higgins

By marrying elements of Philippine costume with European couture details and construction, she modernized the look of the terno.

Salvacion Lim-Higgins

She founded her own fashion and design school, the Slim’s Fashion and Arts School.

Nora Aunor

National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts (2022)

Nora Aunor

The “Superstar” has an extensive filmography—170 films—is exceeded only by the number of awards and citations she has received from local and international organizations.

Nora Aunor

In November 2012, she won the coveted Best Actress Award from 6th Asia Pacific Screen Award, and consequently became the first Filipino actor to be inducted as a member of Asia Pacific Screen Academy.

Fernando Poe, Jr.

National Artist for Cinema (2006)

Fernando Poe, Jr.

Ronald Allan K. Poe, popularly known by this screen name, was a cultural icon of tremendous audience impact and cinema artist and craftsman—as actor, director, writer and producer.

Fernando Poe, Jr.

The image of the underdog was projected in his films.

Fernando Poe, Jr.

The mythical hero, on the other hand, was highlighted in Ang Alamat including his Panday series.

Fides Cuyugan-Asensio

National Artist for Music

Fides Cuyugan-Asensio

Known as the “grand dame of the Philippine stage,” her name has become synonymous with Philippine opera.

Fides Cuyugan-Asensio

She was the first Filipino accepted to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music.

Fides Cuyugan-Asensio

Her performance of Sisa in Felipe de Leon’s Noli Me Tangere became a hallmark in the country’s musical theater history.

Antonino R. Buenaventura

National Artist for Music (1988)

Antonino R. Buenaventura

He vigorously pursued a musical career that spanned seven decades of unwavering commitment to advancing the frontiers of Philippine music.

Antonino R. Buenaventura

In 1935, he joined Francisca Reyes-Aquino to conduct research on folksongs and dances that led to its popularization.

Antonino R. Buenaventura

He composed songs, compositions, for solo instruments as well as symphonic and orchestral works based on the folksongs of various Philippine ethnic groups.

Juan F. Nakpil

National Artist for Architecture (1973)

Juan F. Nakpil

An architect, teacher, and civic leader who is a pioneer and innovator in Philippine architecture.

Juan F. Nakpil

In essence, his greatest contribution is his belief that there is such a thing as Philippine Architecture, espousing architecture reflective of Philippine traditions and culture.

Juan F. Nakpil

He designed the 1937 International Eucharistic Congress altar and rebuilt and enlarged the Quiapo Church in 1930 adding a dome and a second belfry to the original design.

Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr.

National Artist for Architecture (2006)

Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr.

Distinguished himself by pioneering the practice of landscape architecture—an allied field of architecture—in the Philippines.

Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr

His contribution to modern Filipino landscape architecture was the seminal public landscape in Paco Park.

Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr.

His 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.