Lualhati Bautista

Lualhati Bautista

Born Lualhati Torres Bautista

December 2, 1945 (age 74)

Tondo, Manila, Commonwealth of the Philippines

Nationality Filipino

Alma mater Lyceum of the Philippines University

Occupation Novelist, film and television screenwriter

Lualhati Torres Bautista (born December 2, 1945) is one of the foremost Filipino
female novelists in the history of contemporary Philippine literature. Her novels include Dekada
'70, Bata, Bata, Pa'no Ka Ginawa?, and ‘GAPÔ.

Contents

 1Biography
 2Works as novelist
 3Short stories
 4As screenwriter
 5Other honors
 6Translations of her novels
 7Works
o 7.1Books
 7.1.1Novelettes
o 7.2Screenplays
o 7.3Teleplays
 8Awards
 9See also
 10References
 11External links

Biography[edit]
Bautista was born in Tondo, Manila, Philippines on December 2, 1945, to Esteban Bautista and
Gloria Torres. She graduated from Emilio Jacinto Elementary School in 1958, and from Torres High
School in 1962. She was a journalism student at the Lyceum of the Philippines, but dropped out
because she had always wanted to be a writer and schoolwork was taking too much time.[citation
needed]
Her first short story, "Katugon ng Damdamin,"[1] was published in Liwayway Magazine and thus
started her writing career.[2]
Despite a lack of formal training, Bautista as a writer became known for her honest realism,
courageous exploration of Philippine women's issues, and compelling female protagonists who
confront difficult situations at home and in the workplace with uncommon grit and strength.

Works as novelist[edit]
Bautista garnered several Palanca Awards (1980, 1983 and 1984) for her novels ‘GAPÔ, Dekada
'70 and Bata, Bata… Pa'no Ka Ginawa?, which exposed injustices and chronicled women's activism
during the Marcos era.
‘GAPÔ, the Palanca Awards 1980 grand prize winner, published in 1992, is the story of a man
coming to grips with life as an Amerasian. It is a multi-layered scrutiny of the politics behind US
bases in the Philippines, seen from the point of view of ordinary citizens living in Olongapo City.
Dekada '70 is the story of a family caught in the middle of the tumultuous decade of the 1970s. It
details how a middle-class family struggled and faced the changes that empowered Filipinos to rise
against the Marcos government. These events happened after the bombing of Plaza Miranda, the
suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, the proclamation of martial law and the random arrests of
political prisoners. The oppressive nature of the Marcos regime, which made the people become
more radical, and the shaping of the decade were all witnessed by the female protagonist, Amanda
Bartolome, the mother of five boys.
Bata, Bata… Pa'no Ka Ginawa?, literally, "Child, Child… How Were You Made?", narrates the life of
Lea, a working mother and a social activist, who has two children. In the end, all three, and
especially Lea, have to confront Philippine society's view of single motherhood. The novel deals with
the questions of how it is to be a mother, and how a mother executes this role through modern-day
concepts of parenthood.
Bautista's 2013 book In Sisterhood received the Filipino Readers' Choice Award Nominee for Fiction
in Filipino/Taglish in 2014, organized by the Filipino Book Bloggers Group.[3]
In 2015, Bautista launched the book Sixty in the City, about the life of friends Guia, Roda and
Menang, who are in their mid-60s and realize that there's a good life in being just a wife, mother and
homemaker.[4]

Short stories[edit]
Two of Bautista's short stories won the Palanca Awards, namely "Tatlong Kwento ng Buhay ni Juan
Candelabra" (Three Stories in the Life of Juan Candelabra), first prize, 1982; and "Buwan, Buwan,
Hulugan mo Ako ng Sundang" (Moon, Moon, Drop Me a dagger), third prize, 1983.
In 1991 Bautista with Cacho Publishing House, published a compilation of short stories
entitled Buwan, Buwan, Hulugan Mo Ako ng Sundang: Dalawang Dekada ng Maiikling Kuwento.[5]

As screenwriter[edit]
Bautista's venture as a screenwriter produced several critically acclaimed works. Her first screenplay
was Sakada (Seasonal Sugarcane Workers), 1976, which exposed the plight of Filipino peasants.
Her second film was Kung Mahawi Man ang Ulap in 1984, which was nominated for awards in
the Film Academy of the Philippines. Also written during the same year was Bulaklak ng City Jail,
based on her novel about imprisoned women, which won almost all awards for that year from
various awards guilds including Star Awards and Metro Manila Film Festival. In 1998 her work was
used for Chito Rono's film adaptation of Bata Bata Paano Ka Ginawa, starring Vilma Santos. In 2000
she wrote Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya, the screenplay for Maryo J Delos Reyes' political drama thriller.

Other honors[edit]
Bautista became a national fellow for fiction of the University of the Philippines Creative Writing
Center in 1986. She also served as vice-president of the Screenwriters Guild of the Philippines and
as chair of the Kapisanan ng mga Manunulat ng Nobelang Popular.
She was the only Filipino included in a book on foremost international women writers published in
Japan in 1991.
Bautista was honored by the Ateneo Library of Women's Writings on March 10, 2004 during the 8th
Annual Lecture on Vernacular Literature by Women. In 2005, the Feminist Centennial Film Festival
presented her with a recognition award for her outstanding achievement in screenplay writing. In
2006, she was given the Diwata Award for best writer by the 16th International Women's Film
Festival of the UP Film Center.[6][7]

Translations of her novels[edit]

Excerpts of Bautista's novels have been anthologized in Tulikärpänen, a book of short stories written
by Filipino women published in Finland by The Finnish-Philippine Society (FPS), a non-
governmental organization founded in 1988. Tulikärpänen was edited and translated by Riitta Vartti,
et al. In Firefly: Writings by Various Authors, the English version of the Finnish collection, the excerpt
from the Filipino novel Gapô was given the title "The Night in Olongapo", while the excerpt
from Bata, Bata, Pa'no Ka Ginawa? was titled "Children's Party".[8][9][10][11]
A full translation of Bautista's best works could better represent the characteristics of Filipino writing
in international publishing. Dekada '70 has been translated to the Japanese language and was
published by Mekong Publishing House in the early 1990s. Tatlong Kuwento ng Buhay ni Julian
Candelabra (1st prize, Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, 1983) was translated in English and
published by The Lifted Brow in Australia.[citation needed]

Works[edit]
Books[edit]

 Bulaklak sa City Jail

 Dekada '70
 Bata, Bata… Pa'no Ka Ginawa?
 ‘GAPÔ
 Sixty in the City
 In Sisterhood
 Sonata
 Hinugot sa Tadyang (non-fiction)
 Buwan, Buwan, Hulugan Mo Ako ng Sundang: Dalawang Dekada
ng Maiikling Kuwento
 Desaparesidos
Novelettes[edit]
  Sila At Ang Gabi: Isang Buong Laot at Kalahati ng
Daigdig (1994) ISBN 9712703290
 Ang Babae sa Basag na Salamin (1994) ISBN 9716850328
 Araw ng mga Puso ISBN 971685014X
 Apat Na screenplay ISBN 9712704475
 Ang Kabilang Panig ng Bakod
 Hugot sa Sinapupunan
 Desisyon
 Sumakay tayo sa buwan
Screenplays[edit]

 Sakada (co-writer)
 Kung Mahawi Man ang Ulap
 Bulaklak sa City Jail
 Kadenang Bulaklak
 The Maricris Sioson Story
 Nena
 Bata, Bata...Pa'no Ka Ginawa?: The Screenplay
 Dekada '70
 Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya (screenplay)
 Sex Object
 Isang Kabanata sa Libro ng Buhay ni Leilani Cruzaldo (television
drama)
Teleplays[edit]

 Dear Teacher (co-writer)

 Daga sa Timba ng Tubig
 Mama
 Pira-pirasong Pangarap
 Balintataw (Episode title: "Labinlimang Taon"; 1987)[12]
 Desaparesidos (1998)

Awards[edit]

Year Award Category Work Result

Best Story Won

Metro Manila Film
1984 Bulaklak sa City Jail
Festival[13]
Best Screenplay Won

See also[edit]
 Edgardo M. Reyes
  Manuel Buising
 Paz Márquez-Benítez

References[edit]
1. ^ Liwayway Magazine, November 17, 1963 issue
2. ^ Ong, ed. by Aihwa; Peletz, Michael G. (1995). Bewitching women,
pious men : gender and body politics in Southeast Asia. Berkeley,
Calif.: University of California Press. p. 217. ISBN 0520088611.
Retrieved 8 October 2016.
3. ^ Filipino Readers' Choice Award Winners, date retrieved: 5 July 2016
4. ^ Sixty in the City, Lualhati Bautista, date retrieved: 4 July 2016
5. ^ "Buwan, Buwan, Hulugan Mo Ako ng Sundang". Goodreads.
Retrieved 8 October 2016.
6. ^ Lualhati Bautista, Ateneo Library of Women's Writings, date
retrieved: 27 May 2007
7. ^ Lualhati Torres Bautista: The Author, Geocities.com, date retrieved
27 May 2007]
8. ^ Firefly: Writings by Various Authors (Lualhati Bautista Translated
into Finnish and English), Edited and Translated by Riitta Vartti, et al.
Our Own Voice June 2001 (OOV Bookshelf 2001), date retrieved: 27
May 2007
9. ^ "Bata, Bata Pa'no Ka Ginawa? (Lea's Story): Title Page from
Geocities.com". Archived from the original on October 27, 2009.
Retrieved 2010-10-07., date retrieved: 27 May 2007
10. ^ English Language Summary of Bata, Bata Pa'no Ka Ginawa? (Lea's
Story) from Geocities.com, date retrieved: 27 May 2007
11. ^ Vartti, Riitta (editor). Preface to the Finnish anthology Tulikärpänen -
filippiiniläisiä novelleja (Firefly - Filipino Short Stories), Kääntöpiiri:
Helsinki, Finland 2001/2007, retrieved on: April 14, 2007
12. ^ "Mother's Love in 'Balintataw'". Manila Standard. Standard
Publications, Inc. 2 December 1987. p. 10. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
13. ^ "Metro Manila Film Festival:1984". IMDB. Retrieved 2014-04-09.