Aklatmulat’s first big picture book titled The First Brown Man and First Brown Woman was launched recently after the UP Centennial lecture, “The Challenging Art of Puppetry in the Fields of Medicine and Education” by UP university professor emeritus Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio of the department of English and comparative literature, college of arts & letters. The ICW Centennial lecture was introduced by Jose Dalisay Jr., Wendell P. Capili and Elmer Ordoñez and followed by a panel of reactors consisting of Alberto B. Roxas, Vivien Talisayon, Naida U. Rivera and master puppeteers, Ony Carcamo, Danny Liwanag and Lolit Aquino.
Written in English and Filipino texts by Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio and beautifully illustrated by Bernadette Solina-Wolf, this book narrates how Bathala created the first white, black and brown man. It also follows the first brown man and his discovery of the first brown woman.
The folktale on which the book is based was clearly intended by our ancestors to awaken pride in our brown skin. This delightful retelling won the CCP First Award in Fiction for Children and was created for young readers who will rejoice in the knowledge that Bathala watched the creation of the first brown man very carefully so that in the end, this complexion came to be just the right shade. Proceeds from this book project will be used for children’s theater of Teatrong Mulat.
For information and orders, call 921-9773 or e-mail mulatpuppets77@yahoo.com.