Alejandro Roces

Alejandro Reyes Roces, better known as Anding Roces or Alejandro R. Roces, is a Filipino fictionist, essayist, dramatist and a National Artist of the Philippines for literature. He is also a short story writer and essayist. "Anding", as he is fondly called by friends and family, was born in Manila 13 July, 1924. He is married to Irene Viola and has a daughter named Elizabeth. He received his elementary and high school education at the Ateneo de Manila University. He graduated from the State University of Arizona with a B.A. in Fine Arts and went on to get an M.A. from Far Eastern University [http://www.panitikan.com.ph/nationalartistsforliterature/aroces.htm Panitikan.com] ] . He was a captain in Marking's Guerillas during World War II and later on ran a column in the "Manila Chronicle" and in the "Manila Times". He was the former president of the Manila Bulletin, and presently runs a column titled "Roses and Thorns" in the Philippine Star. He was a former Secretary of Education and is now President of CAP College Foundation, a distance learning college in Makati City, Philippines. In 2001, he was appointed to as chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

Writings

During his freshman year in the University of Arizona, Roces won Best Short Story for "We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers." Along with "We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers, My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken" was also listed as Martha Foley’s Best American Stories among the most distinctive for 1948 and 1951. He has also received honorary doctorates from Tokyo University and Polytechnic University of the Philippines [http://www.panitikan.com.ph/nationalartistsforliterature/aroces.htm] . He has won numerous awards, including the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinlangan Award, the Diwa ng Lahi Award, the Tanging Parangal of the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining, and the Rizal Pro Patria Award. He was named National Artist of Literature in 2003. His books are "Of Cocks and Kites" (1959), "Fiesta" (1980), and "Something to Crow About" (2005). "Of Cocks and Kites" earned him the reputation as the country's best writer of humorous stories. It also contained a widely anthologized piece called “My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken”. "Fiesta", a book of essays, featured folk festivals such as Ermita's Bota Flores, Aklan's Ati-atihan, and Naga's Peñafrancia.

Roces is also the author of the critically-acclaimed play "Something to Crow About". It the first Filipino zarzuela in English. This modern zarzuela was adapted from his collection of short stories with the same title. The story is about a poor cockfighter named Kiko who, to his wife's chagrin, pays more attention to the roosters than to her. His brother Leandro later becomes rivals against Golem, the son of a wealthy and powerful man, over the affections of a beautiful woman named Luningning. The solution? A cockfight, of course. "Something to Crow About" won the Aliw Award for Best Musical and Best Director for a Musical Production.

Regarding writing, Roces has said, "You cannot be a great writer; first, you have to be a good person". [http://rocesfamily.com/sm2002/rocesphils/anding.htm Rocesfamily.com] ]

Awards

Among the awards he received are the Rizal Pro Patria Award, the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award in 1970 and the Diwa ng Lahi Award in 1988--both from the city government of Manila, and the Tanging Parangal of the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining in 1990.

References

External links

* [http://www.panitikan.com.ph/nationalartistsforliterature/aroces.htm National Artist for Literature Alejandro R. Roces]
* [http://blog.rocesfamily.com/ The Roces Family Around the World]
* [http://rocesfamily.com/sm2002/rocesphils/anding.htm "Alejandro 'Anding' Roces"]
* [http://www.lamama.org/archives/2007/SomethingToCrowAbout.html "Something to Crow About" at the Lamama Theatre in New York City]
* [http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/may/08/yehey/life/20060508lif1.html "NCAA to stage original zarzuela for UNESCO Theatre Congress"]