Members of the family of National Artist Cirilo Bautista witness the state honors. (Photo by Kiko Cabuena)
MANILA — The Cultural Center of the Philippines recently paid tribute to the late National Artist for Literature Cirilo F. Bautista through a state necrological ceremony at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater), followed by an internment at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
National Artist Bautista died on May 6, 2018 at the age of 76. A poet, fictionist and essayist with exceptional achievements and significant contributions to the development of the country’s literary arts, Bautista was acknowledged by peers and critics, and the like as the foremost writer of his generation. He contributed to the development of Philippine literature as a writer, through his significant body of works; as a teacher, through his discovery and encouragement of young writers in workshops and lectures; and as a critic, through his essays that provided insights into the craft of writing and correctives to misconceptions about art. His notable literary works include Summer Suns (1963), Words and Battlefields (1998), The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus (2001) and Galaw ng Asoge (2003).
CCP Board of Trustees Chair Margarita Moran-Floirendo delivers the welcome remarks. (Photo by Kiko Cabuena)
From left: A representative of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Office of the President represented by Commission on Higher Education Officer-in-Charge J. Prospero E. De Vera III and CCP Board Chair Margarita Moran-Floirendo entrust the guardianship of the Medallion to the family of National Artist Cirilo Bautista. (Photo by Kiko Cabuena)
