“The awards validate the authors and provide a platform to showcase their work”
WHEN GUMIL Filipinas, the national association of Ilokano writers at home and abroad, meet later this month in Cagayan for their annual convention, included in their template is the handing out of the Pedro Bucaneg Award and the Pamulinawen Award to two distinguished writers of the region.
The literary awards signify GUMIL’s recognition of and support for excellence in writing, reflecting positively on its commitment to regional literature and its members’ achievements while demonstrating its value of literary talent, potentially boosting its reputation and attracting new members or recognition.
Beyond doubt, these awards – to be given out on April 26 in the coastal town of Santa Teresita – underline and symbolize the recognition of outstanding writing and contributions by the two awardees to the literary world, signifying excellence and achievement in specific genres or for overall bodies of work.
They also validate the authors and provide a platform to showcase their chef-d’oeuvre and potentially boosting public awareness.
This year’s Pedro Bucaneg Awardee is Danilo Bautista, of San Juan Ilocos Sur, who, the awarding association GUMIL Filipinas said, had immensely contributed to enriching Ilokano literature through his novels, fiction, poetry, essays published by different magazines and books apart from winning in literary contests.
Bautista is the 78th to receive this coveted award – medallion and plaque – since GUMIL Filipinas, arguably the oldest and biggest literary organization in the Philippines founded in 1968, started bestowing this to outstanding Ilokano men of letters.
The Pamulinawen Award, also granted by GUMIL Filipinas. is given posthumously to Virgilio Domaloy of Sison, Pangasinan for his boundless efforts to help enrich Ilokano literature through his fiction, poems, esays, some of which won in literary contests where he underlined the aspirations of Ilokanos and their love for the Ilokano culture.
The Bucaneg Award, named after the considered “Father of Iluko Literature, is the highest award given by GF, which also has chapters in Hawaii and Canada.
Bucaneg (1592-c. 1630), a Filipino poet, is believed by generations of writers from the region to have authored parts of the Ilokano epic Biag ni Lam-ang, which portrays Ilokano culture and values through his actions, highlighting his bravery, promise-keeping, and the importance of family.
Blind from birth and lived in the Ilocos.Bucaneg was instrumental in translating religious texts between Spanish, Latin, and Ilocano, contributing to local conversion efforts, according to available documents.
One may ask what literary awards like the Bucaneg and the Pamulinawen awards symbolize.
Off the cuff, these acknowledge the exceptional quality and artistic merit of a particular work or the author’s overall body of work and enhance the author’s reputation and credibility within the literary community.
At the same time, the Awards can give the recipients a platform to promote their work and connect with a wider audience, foster a sense of community among writers and readers, encouraging dialogue and appreciation for literature.
There have been criticisms, with some arguing that literary awards can be elitist, favoring established authors and controlling perceptions of literary merit. There have also been concerns about sexism and racism in the selection process of some awards.
Some awards may prioritize specific genres or writing styles, potentially excluding other forms of literature.
Authorities say the true currency of prizes is recognition – in scarce supply as books struggle to cut through the glut of the crowded culture. Others have said, with some good muscle, that literary prizes sometimes seem to function like parents whose approval we crave as well as turn down
Awards are an acknowledgment of a job well done and, culture experts add, justification for the agony, the self-doubt, and the hard work that went into winning them.
Awards can make winners and their fellows feel proud, happy, overwhelmed, and delighted.
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While we are on GUMIL chapters, we congratulate GUMIL Canada, headed by Prodie Gar. Padios of Santa Teresita, Cagayan after reorganizing itself in early April.
Award-winning Padios, poet and novelist, now lives with his family in Red Deer, Alberta, known for its strong oil and gas industry, vibrant arts and culture scene.