FIVE ATENEANS were honored for their literary works in the 67th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature held last September 1 at the Rigodon Ballroom of The Peninsula Manila.
For the Filipino Division, Dominique Beatrice La Victoria (BFA CW ‘14; BFA TA ‘15) was awarded third prize in the “Dulang May Isang Yugto” category for her one-act play “Ang Bata sa Drum”
In the English Division, Patricia Celina Ngo (BS ME ‘17) got second prize for her work “Magical Mall of Mysteries,” while Maria Amparo Nolasco Warren (AB COM ‘11) won third place for her work “Animal Songs/Just So Poems,” both for the “Poetry Written for Children” category.
English instructor Glenn L. Diaz also won the Grand Prize for his novel The Quiet Ones.
Alpheus Matthew Llantero, a Grade 12 student from Ateneo Senior High School, won first prize for his essay “The Adventure of an Alien and the Matalino Kid” for the English Kabataan Division. It is his second Palanca award.
For and from children
Warren’s piece was inspired by the work of her best friend, who is an illustrator of children’s books. The poetry collection includes 12 poems that are about lessons learned from animals. Warren adapted these from some poems she wrote while pursuing her masters’ degree.
“I think it’s a very friendly, very candid collection. All of the poems come from the viewpoint of animals or people who encounter animals in their daily lives,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ngo’s piece on a “magical mall” was written in such a way that Filipino children can enjoy malls in a more imaginative way. This is Ngo’s third Palanca Award.
“It’s a really big thing for us Filipinos to go to the mall on weekends, but then, I’ve never been really that fond of the mall because I’m not fond of shopping. I reimagined a mall that would be fun for kids, [for instance,] a ‘Perfect Pajama Palace’ where [kids] can buy their perfect set of dreams through pajama pairs,” she said.
For La Victoria, the source of inspiration for her work came from her mother. “She told me a story about her brother being punished by being put inside a water drum, and from there the whole story weaved out. So my mother is a big part of this story,” she said.
“A lot of it had to do with taking the point of view of a child, so I had to figure out if the dialogue seemed natural for children,” she added.
According to Llantero, his piece was inspired by a young sampaguita vendor he met on Matalino Street who wanted to become an artista just like his father. He said that this experience led him to realize that children have the capacity to carry on Philippine culture.
“This is what the future of our culture looks like. Because these children are going to grow up be artists, be writers, and they’re going to continue to promote our culture. So that’s basically what struck me in those conversations. This is how the youth will contribute to our culture, if they show a genuine interest in partaking in it,” he said.
New manifestation of colonialism
According to Diaz, the manuscript that won is set in the call center industry. He said that it is one of the first long works that deals with that sector. Diaz used to work for a call center, and says his work is for that sector.
He says his novel is about a call center agent who discovers a way to embezzle money from the call center industry. “I situate the industry in the larger continuum of Philippine colonial history, so it’s sort of a contemporary take on history…[I]t’s a comment on colonialism; it looks at the BPO sector as the newest manifestation of colonialism,” said Diaz.
What’s next?
Warren dedicated her first Palanca-winning work to future readers and children. She hopes to release her poetry for children. “I’m happy for this moment. It’s actually not a win that I expected, but syempre it’s something that I’m happy about,” she added.
For La Victoria, winning the Palanca award for her piece was a way of putting her play to rest, for she feels that has gotten the message across.
“I honestly felt so humbled, and a little bit relieved because the play’s been journeying since 2016, I think it was at that moment when I said, it’s time to let this play go and move on,” she said.
Meanwhile, Diaz wants writers to know that although the Palanca Awards may serve as validation for their work, it is not the end-all and be-all of writing.
“The Palanca award is important [because] it’s one of the more recognizable names even outside the literary community… [but] I think it’s important to not overstate the value of the awards, to understand that it’s a very political process, it’s not a perfect process, so as much as it brings validation to individual writers…there’s something beyond the Palanca awards,” he said.
Ngo said that what fulfills her the most is to be able to write for children and help promote the use of their imagination.
“It’s a great honor to be here, but I’m doing my best to just look past it and just cherish writing for myself. The more I write poetry for children, the more I become passionate about it,” said Ngo.
“In this digital world, it can be hard because of so many different [media] we have, but then, I really hope that I’ll be able to help the written word be a big part of children’s lives, and I will keep writing to help instill that wonder, no matter what form or shape stories get told in. That is what I write for and what I continue to write for,” she added.
Meanwhile, Llantero talked about some learnings he gained from his teachers, such as writing as an extension of oneself and how such an act can give hope.
“Just keep writing for the sake of writing. It doesn’t matter how bad or horrible you think it is. Writing is a process; it’s imparting yourself onto others with your works… To write is an act of hope,” he said.
