18 winning women writers

Oh, and one man. But we’ll get to him later.

Last Tuesday was a big day for 13 women writers who were honored at the Ateneo’s Mateo Ricci Hall with their inclusion in a prestige roster as "new stars" of Philippine literature.

A brainchild of ALIWW or the Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings, which started an annual lecture-exhibit series 12 years ago to honor the memory of Paz Marquez Benitez, this year’s innovation veered from the usual practice of singling out an established Filipina writer as the subject.

Previous honorees had included the illustrious likes of Angela Manalang Gloria, Linda Ty Casper, Gilda Cordero Fernando, Tita Lacambra Ayala and Virginia Moreno.

This year, ALIWW named 13 emerging women writers below the age of 40, whom ALIWW director Edna Zapanta Manlapaz observed in her opening remarks as "chronologically constitut(ing) the fourth generation of writers following Paz Marquez Benitez." Thus, for the 12th PMB Lecture/Exhibit, it was 12 plus one for good measure!

Edna recounted: "When we were in search of a title for this event, we thought: why not "New Stars," a playful allusion to "Dead Stars," written by PMB, published in 1927, and acknowledged as the first modern Filipino short story."

She also clarified that ALIWW is not an award-giving body but "an archive that procures, preserves and promotes the writings of Filipino women of achievement in all fields."

Named among the 13 New Stars were Frances Alcaraz, Nikki Go Alfar, Christine Bellen, Becky Bravo, Conchitina Cruz, Nerissa del Carmen Guevara, Cyan Abad Jugo, Mookie Katigbak, Fran Ng, Jema Pamintuan, Rica Bolipata Santos, Girl Valencia, and Mirava Yuson (ehem).

"Predictably," Manlapaz said, "the writings of these 13 aspiring writers first emerged in the pages of magazines and journals, in anthologies and in textbooks, not just here in the Philippines but also abroad. But today, each of these 13 writers has at least one published book to her name. Among them they have published 28 titles."

Children’s literature is but one genre these young writers have engaged in, with Fran Ng authoring seven children’s books, three of which won the National Book Award, while Becky Bravo has published four books for children and gained first prize in the Palanca Awards for two of her stories. Girl Valencia won an NBA last year for a children’s book, and our 16-year-old daughter Mirava co-authored a children’s book when she was five, won the RCBC Kwentong Kalikasan national contest at eight, and has contributed a teen story and book reviews to READ magazine.

Multi-media has also been fair game for this "NOW generation." Christine Bellen collaborated on a stage musical retelling of the stories of Lola Basyang. Nerisa Guevara has an award-winning CD of her poems. Girl Valencia has a music CD of songs she composed. Nikki Alfar and Cyan Abad Jugo contribute to Mango Jam, a girl power comics series.

Fran Ng used to edit Seventeen magazine. "Chingbee" Cruz edits Forum, a UP publication, while Rica Bolipata Santos writes a regular column for The Philippine STAR. "Punch" Alcaraz designs websites.

Highlighting the event was a solo dance number by Nerissa Guevara while Mookie Katigbak read a poem. Girl Valencia sang, and Chingbee Cruz delivered the response in behalf of all the honorees. Special guest was Virginia Bemitez Licuanan, Paz’s daughter, who received the individual albums prepared by the 13 honorees.

ALIWW had fashioned a questionnaire and asked them to write down their answers in a big scrapbook – whose pages they could fill up any way they wished. These scrapbooks now serve as their initial installment in the document box at the ALIWW archives already bearing their names.

Thirteen humongous tarpaulins honoring each writer were also hung alongside the pathway that led to the rites site. Before the event began, guests perused the scrapbooks placed on high tables by the tarps, which will be placed inside Ricci Hall until January. The albums will in turn be exhibited at ALIWW, where guests are invited to "write in" whatever they wish, all the way through the Christmas break, as it’s an inter-active exhibit.

Edna announced that what ALIWW has done is to render "only what all writers, but especially young writers, crave: recognition of work well written and encouragement for work yet to be written."

Congratulations to this baker’s dozen – all much more than promising, emerging, live and glowing stars.

Last Monday, five other "emerging" women writers (and one plucky, lucky male) also distinguished themselves by winning the top prizes in the 5th Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing contest.

This year, the theme was "Kakanin" – with the usual mafia of foodies serving as burping judges: punong-abala Micky Fenix, author Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, Food magazine editor Norma Chikiamco, writer-editor Maya Besa Roxas who happens to be the late lamented Doreen Fernandez’s niece, Anvil Publishing director Karina Bolasco, chef and Meralco executive Mol Fernando, and yours truly as a dessert expert and midnight snack aficionado.

Such was the level of competition among the nearly hundred entries that we had to meet over five-hour lunches at least twice – at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel and The Peninsula Manila – and still had to continue our warmed-up, indeed heated, arguments for the final rankings over the Internet. That way, knives were off the table, so to speak.

The winning essays and many others that didn’t make it to the Magic (Kitchen) 6, as well as contributions from the Manila Ladies Branch of the International Wine and Food Society, will be developed into a book early next year.

Seeing how elated the winning writers were at the gloriously designed Cafe Juanita in Bgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig, especially when their prizes kept piling up on their respective forklifts by the curb outside, I swore to resign as a judge so I can join next year’s contest. May I suggest Canned Corned Beef as the theme?

In fact, bags of Argentina corned beef, Regular and Chunky, were among the winners’ piles of delights. (I managed to purloin one bag off Micky’s otherwise scrupulous watch.) Other sponsors pitching in with cash and products were ABS-CBN Corporation through Gabby Lopez and Monchet Olives; Heritage Foundation, which pledged to endow the DGF Award for three years; Unilever Food Solutions; Century Tuna represented by Donna Morales; and San Miguel Pure Foods represented by Maricel Manalo and Christine Duran.

Of course, books figured among the prizes, with donations from Anvil Publishing, the CCA or Center for Culinary Arts as represented by Badgie Trinidad, and Summit Publishing through Lisa Gokongwei. Free subscriptions were given for the following magazines: Appetite, as represented by Lorraine Belmonte; Cook by Nancy Reyes; F&B by Manila Lady Nana Ozaeta; Flavors by Dolly Dee and Raffy Zulueta; Food by Manila Lady "Omay" Chikiamco; and Good Housekeeping from Summit Publishing.

Gift certificates were provided by Cravings, Larry Cruz for the LJC Group of Restaurants, Jenny Peña for the InterCon, Joy Wassmer for Shangri-La Makati, Charisse Chuidian for Mandarin Oriental, and Monique Trinidad Toda for New World Renaissance.

Bobby Castillo of Seagull Glass Works donated the trophies, as he has generously done since Year One of the DGF Awards.

CJ Juntereal of the Manila Ladies helped introduce the winners, while chef Myrna Segismundo and writer-editor Chit Lijauco read excerpts from the winning essays.

And the winners are:

First Prize – Rodessa Dauigoy-Lachica, a chief of staff at the House of Representatives, for her essay, "The Undiscovered Divine Binallay," an Ibanag rice cake with accompanying laro or syrup that was traditionally served only during Lent.

Second Prize – Nimfa Doroteo Camua, a media consultant at the Asian Institute of Journalism, who wrote about "Antala," the simple rice cake done by her grandmother in Santolan, Pasig, and which was usually served at the patapos of a dearly departed or at the Lenten pabasa.

Third Prize – Dely Fernandez for "Aling Curing’s Heavenly Tibok-Tibok" or what maja blanca is called in Pampanga. She runs Azure Café in Makati. Her daughter, Yvette Fernandez, won first prize in last year’s contest.

A student and two professionals were runners-up this year. Mary Bianca S. Consunji, a BS Journalism senior at UP Diliman, was the only student who made it to the winners’ list, with "A Tapestry of Tastes" about several kinds of suman. She won the top prize in last year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awards essay contest.

A lawyer, Engracia Bangaoil is pursuing a doctorate at UP Diliman. She wrote on "The Disappearing Tradition of the Tinungbo," an Ilocano rice delicacy cooked in bamboo tubes right after the November harvest, a period called "Panagdadaton" or thanksgiving.

And, not exactly to bring up the rear, as the only male to be honored with a writing distinction last week, is Romel Oribe of the DTI in Surigao del Sur. He also teaches public administration at a state university, and has been a writing fellow in the Iligan and Dumaguete workshops. His taste memory of his family’s afternoon merienda of cassava pudding with arnibal (syrup topping) inspired him to write about the town’s kakanin maker and her culinary technique.

Mabuhay ka, Romel! Thanks for holding up 1/19th of the sky. But wait till next year, when I submit "Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina Corned Beef (Albeit PureFoods, I Never Left You)."