Cecilia Brainard's Talk: UBEC: CEBU REIMAGINED (Feb. 19, 2022) is streaming in the FB site of the Cebuano Studies Center:
Cecilia Brainard's Talk can also be viewed on YouTube:
The complete 1 hour 41 minute program with Introductions, talk, and Open Forum can be viewed here:
>>>>
Following is the transcript of her talk.
UBEC: CEBU REIMAGINED
Cecilia
Manguerra Brainard
Copyright 2022 by Cecilia M. Brainard
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
My article "All Hair Cebu's Carnival Queens 1914-1941" was published in Positively Filipino. Here is the link:
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/all-hail-cebus-carnival-queens-1914-1941
"Six years after the Philippine Carnival took off in Manila, Cebu had its own regional Cebu Carnival or Cebu Petit Carnival. Cebu Carnivals ran from 1914 through 1941.
The Carnival festivities included commercial and industrial exhibits, and entertainment such as circus, ferris wheel and other rides, parades, vaudeville shows, balls, performances, and Carnival Queen events.
It was the Carnival Queen element however that grabbed people’s imagination and which is still remembered. The Carnival Queens evoked glamour, opulence, and they had a mystique that stayed with them all their lives. These Queens were treated with deference accorded to politicians and other dignitaries. My mother, Concepion Alesna Cuenco, who was Cebu’s Carnival Queen of 1931, had articles written about her carnival days even when she was in her 80s.
The candidates for Carnival Queen were nominated by newspapers, institutions, or districts; judging was done by either ballot system or by judges. They were chosen for their good-looks, proper breeding, accomplishments; most, if not all, came from influential and wealthy Cebu families... Continue reading in PF link.
Read more
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Official Website:
Tags: #Manilacarnival #Philippinecarnival #cebucarnival #MissCebu Cebu beauty queens, Carnival queens of Cebu
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
WORLD WAR TWO HERO - Alfonso Escaño Corominas, Sr.
Another World War Two hero from Cebu is Alfonso Escaño Corominas, Sr., who, with his two brothers (Manuel and Eduardo), was executed by the Japanese.
Alfonso was the son of Jose Corominas and Paz Escaño. He married Flora Abellana North and they had six children, including Assemblyman Alfonso Corominas Jr. (Baby).
Alfonso's granddaughter, Maritoni Corominas, who used to discuss the war and what happened to Alfonso Sr. to her grandmother Flora and father Victor North Corominas, shares this account:
Alfonso secretly supported the guerrillas by providing them with food, medicine, and other supplies. A Japanese collaborator pointed Alfonso out to the Japanese. Aware that he had been betrayed, Alfonso brought his family to the mountain area in San Fernando, Cebu. The Japanese went to the home of the parents of Alfonso. Fearing for the lives of his parents, Alfonso gave himself up. The Japanese imprisoned him at the Cebu Normal School, which was the Kempetai Headquarters. He was imprisoned with two or three other men. His siblings would bring him food, but they later learned the Japanese had starved him.
During this time the Americans had started bombing Cebu and during a bombing, part of Alfonso's prison cell was destroyed. Other prisoners managed to escape but Alfonso did not leave for fear of his parents' lives.
The Japanese took him and another prisoner to an area near Miller Hospital where they had to dig their own graves. They were shot and buried there. Alfonso was martyred on August. 11, 1944.
After the bombing, Flora (his wife) looked for his body. It took her two years of searching until she found the driver of the vehicle that had brought the prisoners to their execution site. Flora was able to identify his remains from a ring and his bone structure. He was interred at the old San Nicolas Church on T. Padilla St. in Cebu.
Photos of Alfonso Carominas Sr. holding Alfonso Jr. and Flora North are courtesy of Julius Anthony Corominas
Read more
World War Two Heroes in Cebu Philippines
Capt. Federico Arias Reyes
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-war-two-hero-cebu-federico-reyes.html
Alfonso Escaño Corominas, Sr.
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-hero-alfonso-escano.html
Dr. Colonel Emilio Veloso Osmeña
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-dr-col-emilio.html
Conrado Colina Tudtud
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-conrado-colina.html
James M. Cushing
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-james-m-cushing.html
Herbert Zipper
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/01/remembering-dr-herbert-zipper-world-war.html
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Official Website:
tags: #Philippines #pacificwar #WWII #Worldwartwo #Philippinewar #Cebuwar
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
WORD WAR II CEBU HERO, Dr. Emilio Veloso Osmeña
Dr. Emilio Veloso Osmeña was the son of President Sergio Suico Osmeña and Estefania Rosales Chiong-Veloso. Born in 1906, he was a physician and had the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the USAFFE before the war. When war broke out, he was active in the guerilla movement in Cebu. He was executed by the Japanese Imperial Army in 1942.
Dr. Emilio Osmeña was married to Maria Luisa Oriol Renner (Mary Renner, who was of German-American background, and whose family owned the "Elite Bakery" which was established in the 1920s and eventually managed by the couple . Emilio and Mary were parents of Senator John Henry (Sonny) Osmeña, Governor Emilio Mario (Lito) Osmeña, Jr.,and Annie Osmeña (who married Luis Aboitiz).
During World War II, Emilio Osmeña was beheaded by the Japanese for refusing to cooperate with them. He reportedly was fingered by a Cebuano collaborator for aiding the guerrilleros. He was brought to the Cebu Normal College, headquarters of the Kempetai and scene of many brutal executions by the Japanese.
A street -- Dr. Emilio Osmeña St-- was named in Cebu Philippines to honor this war hero.
https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/opinion/2014/01/27/1283432/dr-emilio-osmea-st-cebu-city
Here is a photo of the hero during happier days. He had been Consort to Manila Carnival Queen of 1930.
Read more
World War Two Heroes in Cebu Philippines
Capt. Federico Arias Reyes
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-war-two-hero-cebu-federico-reyes.html
Alfonso Escaño Corominas, Sr.
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-hero-alfonso-escano.html
Dr. Colonel Emilio Veloso Osmeña
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-dr-col-emilio.html
Conrado Colina Tudtud
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-conrado-colina.html
James M. Cushing
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-james-m-cushing.html
Herbert Zipper
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/01/remembering-dr-herbert-zipper-world-war.html
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Official Website:
tags: #Pacificwar #Worldwar2 #worldwarII #Cebuworldwar2 #Cebu #philippines #battleofcebu #bataandeathmarch
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
WORLD WAR II CEBU HERO - Conrado Colina Tudtud
Tudtud Street in Cebu was named after Cebuano CONRADO COLINA TUDTUD, a World War Two hero who spied on the Japanese and gave information to the Filipino Guerrillas and Americans.
Owner of Conrad's Ice Drop factory, he also provided employment to many ice drop distributors including the legendary boxer Flash Elorde.
https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/opinion/2013/11/11/1255453/conrado-c-tudtud-street-cebu-city
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Conrado_Colina_Tudtud
Read more
World War Two Heroes in Cebu Philippines
Capt. Federico Arias Reyes
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-war-two-hero-cebu-federico-reyes.html
Alfonso Escaño Corominas, Sr.
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-hero-alfonso-escano.html
Dr. Colonel Emilio Veloso Osmeña
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-dr-col-emilio.html
Conrado Colina Tudtud
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-conrado-colina.html
James M. Cushing
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-james-m-cushing.html
Herbert Zipper
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/01/remembering-dr-herbert-zipper-world-war.html
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Official Website:
#wwii #worldwartwo #pacificwar #battleofcebu #bataandeathmarch
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
I'll be doing writeups focusing on World War Two in Cebu where I was born and raised. Here's the first one.
WORLD WAR II HERO CEBU - JAMES M. CUSHING & PLAN Z
Lt. Col. James M. Cushing, head of the guerrilla movement in Cebu, came across highly important Japanese plans in early 1944. Called Plan Z, thesedocuments were recovered when 2 Japanese planes crashed near Cebu. The planes carried important Japanese military officers -- Koga and Fukudome. Koga died but Fukudome survived the crash.Cushing had to turn in Fukudome to the Japanese who killed many Cebuanos and threatened to kill more unless Cushing released him. Cushing did, but he kept the documents.The Japanese documents turned out to be top secret military plans. After great difficulty, Cushing managed to get the documents to his superiors in Brisbane who figured out that the Japanese planned to give it their all at the next battle in the Mariannas.The American discovery of these top secret plans turned the War in the Pacific and hastened Japanese defeat.The following account is by a historical archivist, worth the read.
Read more:
World War Two Heroes in Cebu Philippines
Capt. Federico Arias Reyes
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-war-two-hero-cebu-federico-reyes.html
Alfonso Escaño Corominas, Sr.
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-hero-alfonso-escano.html
Dr. Colonel Emilio Veloso Osmeña
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-dr-col-emilio.html
Conrado Colina Tudtud
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-conrado-colina.html
James M. Cushing
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-james-m-cushing.html
Herbert Zipper
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/01/remembering-dr-herbert-zipper-world-war.html
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Official Website:
Tags: #worldwar2 #worldwarII #pacificwar #Cebuworldwartwo #jamescushing #jimcushing #battleofcebu #bataandeathmarch
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
This is Part 2 of my blogs on Cebu Carnival and Other Queens (updated 2022)
Here is part 1: https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/01/cebu-carnival-queens-philippines-from.html
These are additional photos and information related to Cebu Carnival and Other Old Time Beauty Queens. Thanks to Alex Castro who has blogs on Philippine Carnival Queens.
Note: Photos precede the writeups.
1909 Reina de la Belleza of the First Philippine Free Press National Contest, Corazon Rosales Chiong Veloso was born February 25, 1889, died July 14, 1968. She was the daughter of the very wealthy Chinese Cebuano Nicasio Chiong Veloso and Genoveva Visitacion Rosales. She married Antonio Torres and was the mother of Helen Cu Unjeng. (The picture of Corazon when she is older is courtesy of Pilar Balce. The others are courtesy of Alex Castro.)
1912 Queen of Visayas in the Manila Carnival, Amparo Benitez Noel from Carcar Cebu. She was second among the 13 children of Maria Benítez and Jose Maria Borromeo. On coronation night, her consort was Juan Orbeta. She married Dr. Jose Ma. Borromeo, and they had 7 children: Milagros, Rosario Josefina, Dolores, Ramon, Jose Jr., Manuel, and Luis.
1927 Miss Visayas in Manila's Carnival Queen: Lourdes Rodriquez. She was Miss Cebu. She was the daughter of Celestino and Ignacia Lasala Rodriguez. She came in third in the Carnival Queen event and was named Miss Visayas. She married Buenaventura Veloso and they had five sons.
1931 Bito-on sa Babaye Rita Villaflor Pañares was in the court of 1931 Cebu Carnival Queen Concepcion Cuenco. Rita was the daughter of BartolomePañares and Manuela Villaflor of Barili. She married a UP Professor, Atty. Alvarez. Rita was valedictorian at the Inmaculada Concepcion and was a champion debater at the UP. Her huge portrait remains in her family's ancestral home in Barili.
1934 Miss Mindanao in the Cebu Carnival Queen Event, Daisy Pardo Hontiveros, was in the court of Cebu Carnival Queen Maria Lagrimas Ong. Daisy married National Artist Lamberto V. Avellana. She became an actress, director and writer. Born in Roxas City, Capiz, she elevated legitimate theater and dramatic arts to a new level of excellence by staging and performing in breakthrough productions of classic Filipino and foreign plays and by encouraging the establishment of performing groups and the professionalization of Filipino theater. Together with her husband, National Artist Lamberto Avellana and other artists, she co-founded the Barangay Theatre Guild in 1939 which paved the way for the popularization of theatre and dramatic arts in the country, utilizing radio and television.
1935 Cebu Carnival Queen courts showing various princesses.
1937 Miss Visayas in the Cebu Carnival Queen, Valeriana Alducente
1939 Miss Luzon in the Cebu Carnival Queen
1940 Miss Luzon in the Cebu Carnival Queen, Milagros Lebumfacil. She was in the court of Queen Cristina Aberasturi. Milgaros married the elder brother of Imelda Marcos.
I will continue to update this page, so check back.
Read also Positively Filipino's article on Cebu Carnival Queens : http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/all-hail-cebus-carnival-queens-1914-1941
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Official Website:
Tags: #Cebuqueens #Carnivalqueens #Cebucarnival #manilacarnival #Philippinecarnival
Cebu, Philippines. Cebu society, Cebu beauty queens
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
I did research for a couple of articles about Cebu's Carnival Queens. It's published in Positively Filipino, click here. In a nutshell, Cebu celebrated the Carnival similar to that in Manila. While Manila's Carnival started in 1908, Cebu started in 1914.
The Carnival was an extravanganza that included circus; parades; exhibits; vaudevilles; military displays; comedies; comparsas; costume and masquerade balls, including the popular Children’s Fancy Dress Ball. But the highlight was the coronation of the Carnival Queen. Before the queen’s crowning however, there was a huge buildup, starting with the recruitment of the candidates, judging or counting of ballots, and so on. The Carnival Queen events were thematic (Arabic, Greek, Hindu, Egyptian, Chinese, etc.) allowing for exotic and extravagant costumes for all, including the queen’s court, which had a king consort, damas (maids of honor), and sometimes page boys and attending girls. Since there were nightly events, participants needed many outfits.
My articles will provide more information and I will provide the links later on, but here are the Cebu's Carnival Queens from 1914-1941. Thanks to Isidra Reyes and Alex Castro who has blogs about the Philippine Carnival. including Cebu Carnivals. If you have pictures of Cebu Carnival Queens, please let me know.
Cebu’s
Carnival Queens from 1914-1941
1914 - Enriqueta Lasso de Vega Aldanese: (photos above) Daughter of Carlos Owens Aldanese and Carmen Figueroa Lasso de Vega, Enriqueta was a Spanish-English mestiza from Sibonga, Cebu. In 1914, she was also named Dia del Espanol Queen. In 1918 she became queen for both the Manila and Zamboanga Carnival. Orphaned at a young age, she lived with her older brother, Vicente, in Zamboanga. She attended Inmaculada Concepcion in Cebu and an Italian Convent School in Hong Kong. She married Jose Paris, an electrical engineer who worked for the Luzon Stevedoring Company. They had three children. Her husband died of a heart attack during the War and Enriqueta took care of her children on her own. She lived to be in her 80s.
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
Hi, I'm giving a zoom talk for the Cebuano Studies Center, as part of their Vicente Sotto Lecture Series. I'm hoping you can forward this information to teachers, students, and those interested in Philippine literature. If you're in the media, I hope you can plug this lecture in your column.
It should be a lively talk about the background of my mythical setting Ubec, and I'll have a few slides about Cebu and some people who inspired my writing.Thank you. And I hope you are all safe..
From the Cebuano Studies Center:After a brief hiatus, the Vicente Sotto Lecture Series will resume with a lecture by renowned writer Cecilia Brainard on February 19, 2022 from 10:00 -11:30 AM, Philippine time.
NOTE: Philippine time; Sat. Feb. 19, 2022, 10-11:30 a.m. is California time: Fri, Feb. 18, 2022, 6 -7:30 pm.
In her lecture titled "Ubec: Cebu Reimagined" Cecilia Manguerra Brainard talks about how she created her mythical setting of Ubec, which she uses in many of her short stories and her three novels: When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, Magdalena, and The Newspaper Widow. She explains how creating this mythical setting freed her up to reimagine Cebu and its inhabitants. She talks about some of the fictional characters that were inspired by people of Cebu.
Click this link to register: https://forms.gle/Jgo7ZtmxJELXbBJh8. Zoom details will be sent to your email once registration closes.
#Philippineliterature #Cebuanoliterature #Filipinoliterature #Filipinoauthor #Philippineauthor
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
In around 1992 I met an elderly gentleman Dr. Herbert Zipper, who had been a Jewish composer-conductor in Germany in the 1930s when Hitler was chancellor. Zipper was picked up and sent to Dachau where he organized an orchestra that gave clandestine concerts from an abandoned latrine. He was released from Buchenwald and he went to Manila to marry the love of his life Trudl Dubsky. Zipper became the conductor of the Manila Symphony Orchestra.
When the Japanese invaded Manila, he was interrogated and held prisoner for five months. Upon his release, he worked for the underground. A few weeks after Manila's Liberation he held the famous orchestra on the ruins of Manila.I met him in the 1990s because he was looking for a publisher for his wife's World War Two watercolor caricatures. A big publisher had accepted the work for publication in 1964-65 but backed out for what seemed to be political reasons. Crossroads School went on to publish Trudl Dubsky Zipper's book.I've been watching World War Two documentaries and just realized what a privilege that was to meet Dr. Zipper.Further, I felt proud that the Philippines had provided refuge to some 1,200 Jews just prior to the brunt of World War Two, the Zippers among them.
Read more
World War Two Heroes in Cebu Philippines
Capt. Federico Arias Reyes
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/03/world-war-two-hero-cebu-federico-reyes.html
Alfonso Escaño Corominas, Sr.
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-hero-alfonso-escano.html
Dr. Colonel Emilio Veloso Osmeña
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-dr-col-emilio.html
Conrado Colina Tudtud
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-conrado-colina.html
James M. Cushing
https://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2022/02/world-war-two-in-cebu-james-m-cushing.html
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Official Website:
tags: #Philippines #pacificwar #WWII #Worldwartwo #Philippinewar #Cebuwar
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
Author Cecilia Manguerra Brainard writes a tribute for Philippine National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose who passed away last January 7, 2022:
The article appeared in Yahoo News and Sunstar Cebu with more pictures:
"After several years of not seeing Frankie Jose, I met him again in Cebu in 2013 at the opening of the musical production of his short story “Progress.” Hendri Go was the man behind the show about an unappreciated government clerk. Hendri had invited me to the musical.
The program went well, and afterwards, I went up to greet Frankie. I was feeling a bit guilty because I had not seen him nor Tessie for well over a decade, and indeed the first thing he said, was something like, “Where have you been?”
I had launched my first two books at Solidaridad, the iconic bookshop owned by Frankie and his wife Tessie. The first launch in 1988 (for Woman with Horns and Other Stories) had been arranged by Cebuana writer Lina Espina Moore, who had taken me under her wing. In 1991, I also launched the Philippine edition of my first novel, Song of Yvonne (aka When the Rainbow Goddess Wept) at Solidaridad; I recall that was the day Mt. Pinatubo had exploded, so the evening had a strange and memorable quality with fine dust falling outdoors and blanketing streets and cars. Despite the volcanic eruption, the top floor of Solidaridad where the launch was held was packed; events at Solidaridad were always somewhat bohemian, cultured, and exhilarating.
I was surprised that he and Tessie cared whether I visited them or not, given how busy they were. The two of them were like royalty amongst Manila’s literati and intelligentsia; and they had numerous events and people to see. Aside from that, they had Solidaridad to run; they published books; Frankie headed PEN Manila. By this time, Frankie had authored some thirty books, with his five-book Rosales Saga novels published and translated by big international publishers. He had a string of awards including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Cultural Center of the Philippine Centennial Award, the Chevalier dans O’order des Arts et Letters, Pablo Neruda Centennial Award, and the National Artist for Literature...."Read on in the Yahoo link please.
Tags: Philippine literature, Filipino literature, Filipino authors, Philippine authors, Filipino novelists, In memoriam, Tribute
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
l-r : Hope Sabanpan-Yu (Cebuano Studies Center), Senja Pozar (literary agent), Cecilia Brainard, Prashant Pathak (PublishersvWithout Borde...
