Alejandro Roces
Quick Facts
CancerBiography
Alejandro Reyes Roces (13 July 1924 – 23 May 2011) was a Filipino author, essayist, dramatist and a National Artist of the Philippines for literature. He served as Secretary of Education from 1961 to 1965, during the term of Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal.
Noted for his short stories, the Manila-born Roces was married to Irene Yorston Viola (granddaughter of Maximo Viola), with whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth Roces-Pedrosa. Anding attended elementary and high school at the Ateneo de Manila University, before moving to the University of Arizona and then Arizona State University for his tertiary education. He graduated with a B.A. in Fine Arts and, not long after, attained his M.A. from Far Eastern University back in the Philippines. He has since received honorary doctorates from Tokyo University, Baguio's St. Louis University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and the Ateneo de Manila University. Roces was a captain in the Marking’s Guerilla during World War II and a columnist in Philippine dailies such as the Manila Chronicle and the Manila Times. He was previously President of the Manila Bulletin and of the CAP College Foundation.
In 2001, Roces was appointed as Chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). Roces also became a member of the Board of Trustees of GSIS (Government Service Insurance System) and maintained a column in the Philippine Star called Roses and Thorns.
Literary works
During his freshman year in the University of Arizona, Roces won Best Short Story for We Filipinos are Mild Drinkers. Another of his stories, My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken, was listed as Martha Foley’s Best American Stories among the most distinctive for years 1948 and 1951. Roces did not only focus on short stories alone, as he also published books such as 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 the widely anthologized piece “My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken”. Fiesta, is a book of essays, featuring folk festivals such as Ermita's Bota Flores, Aklan's Ati-atihan, and Naga's Peñafrancia.
Something to Crow About, on the other hand, is a collection of Roces’ short stories. The book has been recently brought to life by a critically acclaimed play of the same title; the staged version of Something to Crow About is the first Filipino zarzuela in English. This modern zarzuela tells the story of a poor cockfighter named Kiko who, to his wife's chagrin, pays more attention to the roosters than to her. Later in the story, a conflict ensues between Kiko’s brother Leandro and Golem, the son of a wealthy and powerful man, over the affections of a beautiful woman named Luningning. The resolution? A cockfight, of course. Something to Crow About won the Aliw Award for Best Musical and Best Director for a Musical Production. It also had a run off-Broadway at the La Mama Theater in New York.
Through the years, Roces has won numerous awards, including the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award, the Diwa ng Lahi Award, the Tanging Parangal of the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining, and the Rizal Pro Patria Award. He was finally bestowed the honor as National Artist of Literature on 25 June 2003.
When once asked for a piece of advice on becoming a famous literary figure Roces said, "You cannot be a great writer; first, you have to be a good person".
Socio-Cultural-Civic Affiliations
- Trustee, Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)
- Chairman, College Assurance Plan Foundation
- Columnist, “Roses and Thorns” of The Philippine Star
- Chairman, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), 2001
- President, Bagong Katipunan Foundation
- President, UNESCO Philippine Centre of the International Theatre Institute
- President, Bulletin Publishing Corporation
- Secretary of Education, Republic of the Philippines, 1961
- Dean of the Institute of Arts and Science, Far Eastern University
- Co-Founder of the Philippine PEN
- Board of Regents, University of the Philippines
- Chairman, Board of Trustees, Colegio San Agustin
- Chairman, Board of Regents, Pamantasan ng Lungsond ng Maynila
- Chairman, Board of Regents, St. Louis University, Baguio City
- Chairman, Board of Regents, St. Mary's University, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
- Chair, United Way Philippines
- Chairman, UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines
- President, Cultural Nationalism of the Philippines
- Head, FEU Cultural Research Team
- President, Philippine International Friendship Organization
- President, Research Foundation in Philippine Anthropology and Archeology, Inc.
- Vice President, Art Association of the Philippines
- Vice President, Manila Symphony Society
- President, Philippine-Italian Association
- Chair, Philippine Selection Committee - Eisenhower Fellowship Inc.
- Member of the Board, Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española
- Member of the Board, Association for Philippine China Understanding
- Member of the Board, National Historical Commission of the Philippines
- Board of Authenticators, National Museum
- Member of the Board, TOYM Foundation
- Member of the Board, Casino Español de Manila
- Member of the Board, Philippine National Bank
- Member of the Board, Brent International School, Baguio
- Member of the Board, Yuchengco Museum
- First Chairman of the Board, PETA Theater
- First Chairman of the Board, Philippine Ballet Theater