Three UP Diliman (UPD) faculty members and two artistic groups received the Philippine Live Entertainment, Arts, and Festival (LEAF) Awards at the Metropolitan Theater on Feb 8.
Victor Emmanuel Carmelo “Vim” D. Nadera Jr., PhD, and Felipe M. de Leon Jr., PhD were recipients of the Golden LEAF Presidential Award, while Basilio Esteban S. Villaruz was given the Gintong Dahon (Iconic) Award. Dulaang UP’s The Reconciliation Dinner won as outstanding play and UP Dulaang Laboratoryo’s Nawawalang Gabi, Ninakaw na Araw earned the outstanding one-act play award.
Nadera was honored for his participation in performance art. He is a professor at the UPD College of Arts and Letters (CAL) Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature. Nadera is a recipient of various literary awards that include the Carlos Bulosan Award in the tula category (1990), Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature for Poetry in Filipino (1992), Gantimpalang Collantes, Talaang Ginto: Gawad Komisyon sa Tula (1992), and National Book Award (1995).
Meanwhile, De Leon was recognized for his participation in cultural education. He is a retired professor of the CAL Department of Art Studies.
De Leon is widely known in cultural administration, having published works such as the Philippine Art and Literature, Volume III of the Filipino Nation Encyclopedia, and On Art, Man, and Nature: Selected Readings in the Humanities.
On the other hand, Villaruz received his award for his contribution to the field of dance. He is a professor emeritus at the UPD College of Music Department of Voice, Music Theater, and Dance, and the founder of the UP Dance Company.
His past choreographic works include Spiritual Canticle: An Eclogue-Operatorio (1991) and Ay Kalisud (1990). He is the author of the book, Walking Through Philippine Theater, published in 2012.
The play The Reconciliation Dinner, directed by Dexter M. Santos, is about a reconciliation dinner held between two families with opposing political stances, six months after the Marcos-Robredo presidential campaign. On the other hand, Nawawalang Gabi, Ninakaw na Araw directed by Banaue Miclat-Janssen is an adaptation of Joshua Lim So’s Araw-Araw, Gabi-Gabi and is about two prisoners locked in a cell for an alleged revolt instigated by paramilitary forces.
According to the Philippine LEAF Awards website accessed on Feb. 12, the Philippine LEAF Awards “is a prestigious award-giving body that recognizes excellence in theater, festivals, dance, music, and fashion. It aims to celebrate and promote the rich cultural heritage and artistic talent of the Philippines, both nationally and internationally.” The first Philippine LEAF Awards were held in February 2020 and halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
