Guillermo E. Tolentino on Stamps

-
Guillermo Estrella Tolentino (1890-1976) is the "Father of Philippine Arts", a product of the Revival period in Philippine art. He also is the fourth director of the UP School of Fine Arts.

Tolentino was named National Artist in Sculpture in 1973. He first attained National recognition for his masterpiece, the multi-figural Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City- the symbol of the Filipinos' cry for freedom. His other famous work include the Oblation in the University of the Philippines-symbol of freedom at the campus, and the statue of Ramon Magsaysay in the lobby of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) building.

His design for the Ramon Magsaysay Award the gold and bronze medals and the seal of the Republic of the Philippines made him the "National Artist for Sculpture" in 1973.

Date of Issue: June 1, 1990

Popular posts from this blog

Manuel H. Bernabe on Stamps

-
Image
Manuel H. Bernabe (1890-1960) “King of Balagtasan ” in Spanish was a poet, linguist and politician, Manuel Bernabe was born on February 17, 1890 to Timoteo Bernabe and Emilia Hernandez of Paranaque, Rizal .   At the age of 10, he already started writing verses. He studied at the Ateneo de Manila where he finished his Bachelor of Arts degree with high academic standing in 1907, and then took up law at the University of Santo Tomas , but not able to took up the bar exams. In 1910, Manuel’s first poem was published in the Renacimento Filipino.   In 1912, he translated Virgil’s Aenid from Latin to Spanish. In 1913, he received an award for his poems: “Himno al Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (Hymn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus ), “El Zapote,” and “Espana a Filipinas”.   In 1912, he joined the staff of La Democracia and in 1918, of La Vanguardia of the Roces Publications . He was a columnist but from time to time he also published poems and short stories in the magazine Exelsi...
Read more

The Kudyapi- The Philippine Two-Stringed Lute

-
Image
The kutiyapi or kudyapi, is a Philippine two-stringed, fretted boat-lute. It is the only stringed instrument among the Maguindanao people, and one of several among other groups such as the Maranao and Manobo . It is four to six feet long with nine frets made of hardened beeswax . The instrument is carved out of solid soft wood such as from the jackfruit tree.   Common to all kutiyapi instruments, a constant drone is played with one string while the other, an octave above the drone, plays the melody with a kebit or rattan pluck (commonly made from plastic nowadays). This feature, which is also common to other related Southeast Asian "boat lutes", which were influenced by varying degrees by Indian concepts of melody and scale via the Malay archipelago .   Among the T'Boli , Manobo and other Lumad groups, the instrument (known as Hegelung, Kudyapi or Fedlung) is tuned to a major pentatonic scale . Among groups like the Bagobo , the Kutiyapi (Kudlung) is also used as...
Read more

The National Anthem of Sweden on Postcard

-
Image
Sweden's de facto anthem"Du Gamla, Du Fria" (Thou Ancient, Thou Free) was written in 1844. The author of the lyrics, Richard Dybeck , chose a Swedish folk tune from the province of Västmanland to set his words to to create the anthem. The song was created at a time when a "pan-Scandinavian" movement was strong, which is why it is a "Song to the North" instead of just to Sweden. This has led to other verses being written that are more patriotic to Sweden, but these additional verses have never gained popularity and have never been considered part of the national anthem.   In the late 19th century the anthem started to be considered as Sweden's "national anthem", differentiating it from the royal anthem that was being used as both a royal and national anthem. The anthem has never been officially legislated as Sweden's national anthem, one attempt in the 1930s by a member of parliament brought forth claims of wanting state controlled ...
Read more

STEM and ART - The First One Women Show of Dr. Josette T. Biyo at the PICC

-
Image
Dr.  Josette T. Biyo  (née  Talamera ; born 1958) is a  Filipino  educator and former executive director of the  Philippine Science High School System . She has received international recognition for her contributions to science and education.  A small planet has been named after her by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory and USA.  Early Life and Education Hometown: Born in Janiuay, Iloilo. Initial Dream: She originally aspired to be a medical doctor but pivoted to teaching due to financial constraints. Academic Degrees B.S. Biological Sciences: University of the Philippines Visayas. M.S. and Ph.D. in Biology: De La Salle University, where she specialized in seagrass community dynamics. Honorary Doctorate: Conferred with a Doctor of Humanities degree by Manila Central University in 2004.  Career Highlights Rural Educator: Spent eight years teaching in rural Iloilo, where she developed outreach programs and used loca...
Read more

The National Anthem of Tunisia

-
Image
The lyrics of the Tunisian anthem, "Himat Al Hima" (Defenders of the Fatherland) were written by an Egyptian in the 1930s. Originally just one verse, another two were added by the Tunisian national poet Aboul-Qacem Echebbi. The music was composed by Mohammed Abdel Wahab, the same person who wrote the music of the royal Libyan anthem and the anthem of the United Arab Emirates . The new anthem was introduced in 1987 since the previous anthem was closely tied to the government of Habib Bourguiba. Mohammed Abdel Wahab , (1907 - M ay 3, 1991) was a prominent 20th century Arab Egyptian singer and composer. He composed 10 songs for Umm Kulthum, including Enta omri. He was the first Egyptian singer to move from silent-era acting to singing. He died in 1991, and he is considered one of the best composers of all tim es. He composed the "Ya Beladi", the National anthem of the Kingdom of Libya (1951–1969). Born in Bab El-Shaariyah area of Cairo, Egypt (where his statue stands)...
Read more

The National Anthem of Sri Lanka

-
Image
" Sri Lanka Matha " is the national anthem of Sri Lanka. The words and music were written by Ananda Samarakoon in 1940 in the Sinhala language, and was officially adopted as the national anthem on November 22, 1951 by a committee headed by Sir Edwin Wijeyeratne. The first line of the anthem originally read: "Namo namo matha, apa Sri Lanka". There was some controversy over these words in the 1950s, and in early 1962 they were changed to their present form. Ananda Samarakoon was born George Wilfred Alwis to a Christian family in Padukka, in Ceylon, on January 13, 1911 in Sri Lanka. In 1936, He had his primary and secondary education at Christian College, Kotte,presently known as Sri Jayawardenapura M.V.Kotte. His Sinhala Guru was Pandit D.C.P. Gamalathge. Later he served his Alma mater as a teacher of Music and Art. Samarakone left for Santiniketan in India to study art and music. After six months he abandoned his studies and returned to Sri Lanka, and changed his n...
Read more

The National Anthem of Albania

-
Image
Back when Albania first gained independence as a monarchy in 1912 from Italy, "Hymni i Flamurit" was adopted, and has been kept as the anthem through it's period as a Communist/Marxist state and now as a democratic nation. The original title of the hymn was "Betimi mi flamur," or "Pledge to the Flag." The hymn was first published as a poem in Liri e Shqipërisë (Freedom of Albania), an Albanian newspaper in Sofia, Bulgaria, in its issue of 21 April 1912. Later that year it appeared in a volume of collected poems by Aleksander Stavre Drenova , under the title ëndra e lot (Dreams and Tears), which was published in Bucharest. The official anthem is two verses shorter than the original poem. The music was composed by the same person (a Romanian) who wrote the Romanian anthem in use from 1977-1990, Ciprian Porumbescu.    Ciprian Porumbescu born Cyprian Gołęmbiowski on October 14, 1853 – June 6, 1883) was a Romanian composer born in Şipotele Sucevei in Buk...
Read more