Virgilio Senadren Almario (born March 9, 1944), better known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Rio Alma, is a Filipino author, poet, critic, translator, editor, teacher, and cultural manager.UP Newsletter; 4 April 2008; Volume xxviii Number 03
/ref> He is a

National Artist of the Philippines The Order of National Artists of the Philippines ( Tagalog: ''Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas'') is an order bestowed by the President of the Philippines on Philippine nationals who have made significant contributions to ...

. He formerly served as the chairman of the

Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino The Commission on the Filipino Language (CFL), also referred to as the (KWF), is the official regulating body of the Filipino language and the official government institution tasked with developing, preserving, and promoting the various local ...

(KWF), the government agency mandated to promote and standardize the use of the

Filipino language Filipino ( ; , ) is the national language of the Philippines, the main lingua franca, and one of the two official languages of the country, along with Philippine English, English. It is only a ''de facto'' and not a ''de jure'' standard langu ...

. On January 5, 2017, Almario was also elected as the chairman of the

National Commission for Culture and the Arts The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines (NCCA; , ) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. It is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, d ...

(NCCA).

Early life and education

Growing up in

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

, Almario sought his education at the City of Manila and completed his degree in A.B. Political Science at the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

. His life as a poet started when he took master's units in education at the

University of the East The University of the East (), also known as UE, is a private university located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1946, business tycoon Lucio Tan acquired the university in 1990. UE was once labeled as the "largest university in Asia" when i ...

where he became associated with Rogelio G. Mangahas and Lamberto E. Antonio. He did not finish the program. He only took his M.A. in Filipino in 1974 at the

Career

A prolific writer, he spearheaded the second successful modernist movement in Filipino poetry together with Mangahas and Antonio. His earliest pieces of literary criticism were collected in ''Ang Makata sa Panahon ng Makina'' (1972), now considered the first book of literary criticism in Filipino. Later, in the years of martial law, he set aside modernism and formalism and took interest in nationalism, politics and activist movement. As a critic, his critical works deal with the issue of

national language '' '' A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection— de facto or de jure—with a nation. The term is applied quite differently in various contexts. One or more languages spoken as first languag ...

. Almario campaigned against the usage and proliferation of '' siyokoy'' words in the Filipino language, which according to him were improperly derived from English and Spanish. He also advocated the use of ''Filipinas'' as the Philippines official name in both Filipino and English languages. Aside from being a critic, Almario engaged in translating and editing. He has translated the best contemporary poets of the world. He has also translated for theater production the plays of

Nick Joaquin Nicomedes "Nick" Marquez Joaquin (; May 4, 1917 – April 29, 2004) was a Filipino writer and journalist best known for his short story, short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila. Joaq ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

and

Maxim Gorki Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an auth ...

. Other important translations include the famous works 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 ...

' national hero,

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...

, namely ''

Noli Me Tangere ''Noli me tangere'' ('touch me not') is the Latin version of a phrase spoken, according to John 20:17, by Jesus to Mary Magdalene when she recognized him after His resurrection. The original Koine Greek phrase is (). The biblical scene has b ...

'' and '' El filibusterismo''. For these two, he was awarded the 1999 award for translation by the Manila Critics Circle. Almario has been a recipient of numerous awards such as several

Palanca Awards The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, popularly known as the Palanca Memorial Awards, are a set of literary awards for Philippine writers. Usually referred to as the "Pulitzer Prize of the Philippines," it is the country's highest ...

, two grand prizes from the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) established to preserve, develop and promote Arts in the Philippines, arts and Culture of the Philippines, culture in the Philippines.Presid ...

, the ''Makata ng Taon'' of the ''Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino'', the TOYM for literature, and the Southeast Asia Write Award of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. He was an instructor at the Lagao Central Elementary School from 1969 to 1972. In 2003, he was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the

. On June 25 of the same year, he was proclaimed National Artist for Literature. Almario is also the founder and workshop director of the Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA), an organization of poets who write in Filipino. Award-winning writers and poets such as Roberto and Rebecca Añonuevo, Romulo Baquiran Jr., Michael Coroza, Jerry Gracio, and Vim Nadera are but some of the products of the LIRA workshop. He was a founding member of the Gallan sa Arte at Tula (GAT), along with fellow poets Teo Antonio and Mike Bigornia.

Works

Poetry collections

*''Mga Retrato at Rekwerdo'' (1984) *''Palipad-Hangin''. (1985) *''Katon Para sa Limang Pandama''. (1987) *''Sentimental''. (2004) *''Estremelenggoles''. (2004) *''Memo Mulang Gimokudan''. (2005) *''Dust Devils''. (2005) *''Sonetos Postumos'', book of poems with translation by Marne Kilates and paintings by National Artist Ang Kiukok. (2006) *''Tatlong Pasyon sa Ating Panahon'', poems for children with illustrations by Mark Justiniani, Neil Doloricon, Ferdinand Doctolero. (2006) *''Buwan, Buwang, Bulawan''. (2009) *''UP Diksyunaryong Filipino'' *''Kulo at Kolorum'' *''Baklang Kolorum'' * ''Pasyon Kay EJ'' (At sa mga Atletang Pinoy sa Paris Olympics) (2024)

Filmography

''Sariling Gunita'' (2022)
a documentary film directed by Mark Daniel De Castro.

References

External links

* *
The Official website of Rio Alma
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almario, Virgilio S. 1944 births Living people Academic staff of Ateneo de Manila University Benigno Aquino III administration personnel Chairpersons of the Commission on the Filipino Language Duterte administration personnel National Artists of the Philippines People from San Miguel, Bulacan University of the East alumni University of the Philippines alumni Academic staff of the University of the Philippines Writers from Bulacan Tagalog-language writers