Martino “Tinong” Abellana

CEBU, Philippines - Martino Abellana was born on January 30, 1914. Pursuing a career in the visual arts field, he finished his formal art studies at the School of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines in Manila in 1938, where he honed his skills under the tutelage of celebrated Filipino master painters Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino.

Abellana – together with friend and contemporary painter Professor Julian Jumalon – helped establish the fine arts program of the University of the Philippines Cebu, from where he left his greatest legacy in influencing and inspiring a generation of Cebuano painters.

He died on the latter half of the 1980s.

An Evening for Authors

The University of San Carlos Press (USC Press) and Phialo Trading Corporation capped 2016 by hosting the organizations’ forerunning “Author’s Night” last December 29, an occasion which drew published Cebuano authors together in one venue.

Held at the PhiloSophia Library Café located along the Maguikay Highway in Mandaue City, the gathering was mainly a celebration of the various titles that were released in 2016, covering coffee table books that delve into the diversity of Cebuano cuisine and titles that focus on significant historic periods in Cebu, Cebuano heritage, culture and traditions.

Among the authors present during the gathering were Dr. Resil Mojares, J. Eleazar Bersales, Dr. Clodoveo Nacorda, Louella Theresa Eslao-Alix, Raymond Fernandez and Eileen Mangubat.

Singer-songwriter and poet Juanita Romualdez sang a selection of songs during the event, bringing to the fore her brand of spoken work-cum-performance art style.

Established as the San Carlos Press in 1964, USC Press, together with Phialo Trading Corporation, the holding firm of Soline Publishing Company, continues to be at the forefront in publishing titles penned by Cebuanos, titles that are proudly made and are about all things Cebu. (FREEMAN)