Alejandro Reyes Roces (13 July 1924 – 23 May 2011) was a Filipino author, essayist, dramatist and a
National Artist of the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
for literature. He served as
Secretary of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
from 1962 to 1965, during the term of
Philippine President
The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in- ...
Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the 5th Vice President of the Philippines, V ...
.
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.
He attended elementary and high school at the
Ateneo de Manila University, before moving to the University of Arizona and then
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
for his tertiary education. He graduated with a B.A. in Fine Arts and, not long after, attained his M.A. from the
Far Eastern University
Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and ...
back in the Philippines.
[Panitikan.com](_blank)
He has since received honorary doctorates from Toyo University, Baguio's St. Louis University,
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP; ) is a public, coeducational, research university in Santa Mesa, Manila, Philippines. It was founded on 19 October 1904, as the Manila Business School (MBS) and as part of Manila's public sch ...
, and the Ateneo de Manila University. Roces was a captain in the Marking's Guerilla during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and a columnist in Philippine dailies such as the ''Manila Chronicle'' and the ''
Manila Times
''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrative offices at 2/F ...
''. 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
''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...
called Roses and Thorns.
Career
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 1958 and 1951. Roces also published books such as ''
Of Cocks and Kites'' and (1959) ''Fiesta'' (1980). He collected his short stories in the book ''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.
The book ''Something to Crow About'' was adapted into a stage musical, which is considered the first Filipino zarzuela in English. The 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. Kiko's brother Leandro competes with Golem, the son of a wealthy and powerful man, over the affections of a beautiful woman named Luningning. They try to resolve this conflict through a cockfight. ''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 Theatre 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".
[Rocesfamily.com]
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In 1994, Roces was the chair of the Board of Jurors for the 1994 Metro Manila Film Festival, in which he and the board made the unprecedented decision not to award any film entry that year six of the major awards, including Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Director.
References
External links
National Artist for Literature Alejandro R. Roces
The Roces Family Around the World
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roces, Alejandro R.
1924 births
2011 deaths
Arroyo administration personnel
Ateneo de Manila University alumni
Burials at the Libingan ng mga Bayani
Chairpersons of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board
Far Eastern University alumni
Filipino columnists
Filipino educators
Macapagal administration cabinet members
Manila Bulletin people
National Artists of the Philippines
People from San Miguel, Manila
The Philippine Star people
Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Secretaries of education of the Philippines
University of Arizona alumni
Writers from Manila
Academic staff of Far Eastern University