Compiled by Graphic Editorial
“Our sense … of our country is a sustained act of imagination. From that vantage, it can be said that our writers and artists, who are men and women of imagination, create our country (italics mine). That is to say: they evoke those images of ourselves as we live life day and night, those images of ourselves which we share and by which we recognize our nativity. We are our own best interpreters of our history and culture because it is we who have lived through that history and created our own values by which we live.”
—National Artist for Literature Gemino Abad
THE EARLY YEARS
AGUSTIN FABIAN
Agustin Caralde Fabian (Aug. 15, 1901-Apr. 24, 1976) served as editor of the Graphic when the magazine made its debut as a magazine in 1927.
He was one of the first Filipino writers widely recognized as a pillar of journalism and literature for his significant contributions to English and Tagalog publications.
Fabian worked as literary editor of the Graphic from 1929 up to 1940, when the magazine, along with almost all independent, English-language publications, was shut down at the start of the Japanese occupation.
During the Second World War, he served as a colonel of the guerillas in the Bulacan area. After
the war he became the general manager of Liwayway Publications, Inc. until he retired in 1960.
In 1953, Fabian wrote his most acclaimed novel, Timawa, the story of a poor Filipino medical student who migrates to the United States and overcomes societal prejudice. His other novels include: Sino Ako? (Who Am I), Basta Mayaman (Wealth is Enough), Hindi Man Hanapin (No Need to Search), Magbayad Ka! (Pay Up), Maria Mercedes (1953), and Ana Malaya (1964).
VICENTE ALBANO PACIS
Vicente Albano Pacis was the first Editor-in-Chief of the Graphic when the magazine was founded and launched by media mogul Don Ramon Roces in 1927.
Pacis guided the Graphic in establishing a reputation for rigorous public interest reportage.
His well-researched editorials and follow-up reports stressed on the importance of political accountability among elected and appointed officials in government.
Uncovering the infrastructure disaster of the Laoag-Vintar Dam in Ilocos Norte became one of his most notable exposes, which came out in the Graphic on July 30, 1927 (“The Laoag-Vintar Dam Scandal”) and on Aug. 6, 1927 (“The Laoag-Vintar Dam Tragedy”).
In partnership with Roces, he spearheaded the Graphic’s distinct layout, which became famous for its expansive pictorial pages. This visual appeal, combined with deep news coverage, set a new aesthetic and professional standard for local English-language weeklies.
BARNEY SARECKY
Barney A. Sarecky was an American editor, writer, and Hollywood film producer. He briefly held the position of advertising director and co-editor for Ramon Roces’s Graphic during the pre-war years.
Media historians like Dr. John A. Lent have chronicled the pre-war press. They note that Filipino
media moguls such as Ramon Roces deliberately integrated American advertising managers and technical advisors to master Western mass-circulation techniques when crafting their business models.
Roces reportedly recruited Sarecky to inject Hollywood-style visual appeal and Western advertising strategy into the Graphic.
By seamlessly blending advertisements with the publication’s signature large pictorial spreads, Barney Sarecky secured the Graphic’s financial viability.
ALFREDO ELFREN ‘AE’ LITIATCO
Alfredo Elfren Litiatco (A.E. Litiatco) was a Filipino essayist, critic, and poet who served as the Literary Editor of the Graphic from 1927 until the outbreak of the Second World War. Litiatco curated stories that found its home in the inside pages of the magazine. Born in July 1908, he became one of the country’s leading figures in the development of personal essay.
National Artist for Literature Jose Garcia Villa had a close and open friendship with Litiatco.
According to a 1940 Graphic editorial, Villa criticized Litiatco more than once but recognized the immense talent of the latter, ranking Litiatco as one of the best short story writers in the country.
Literary critics of his time refer to the Graphic Literary Editor as the “Ariel of Philippine letters,” being a master of the light verse, characterized by an ethereal and gentle tone. Litiatco’s vast body of work include the poetry collection, With Harp and Sling (1943) and the short story, “It Isn’t Just Horses.” De La Salle University established the Alfredo E. Litiatco Professional Chair in Literature in his honor, and hosts the Alfredo E. Litiatco Lectures that further promote the scholarly study of our country’s literature.
JOSE GARCIA VILLA
National Artist for Literature Jose Garcia Villa was a regular contributor and external literary critic of the Graphic during the late 1920s and the early 1930s.
Widely recognized as one of the most influential avant-garde Asian writers of the 20th century, Villa was also the country’s most feared and revered independent literary arbiter between 1927 and 1940.
His Annual Roll of Honor for the Best Filipino Short Stories served as a year-end critique of all the short stories that were published in the nation’s top newspapers and magazines such as the Graphic, The Tribune, The Philippines Herald, the Literary Apprentice, The National Review, and The Leader.
Every December, Villa would strike a deal with a single major publication to exclusively host the release of the Roll of Honor. Villa would gather short stories printed over the course of the year
from all competing publications, grade them using his strict three-star system, and publish the final “Roll of Honor” (for three-star stories) alongside a “Yearbook Index” (for one- and two-star stories).
Earning “three stars” from Villa was the highest honor a pre-war Filipino writer could achieve.
Magazine editors actively convinced their writers to produce short fiction that will be entered in Villa’s Annual Roll of Honor.
FEDERICO MANGAHAS
Federico Mangahas was a Filipino journalist, satirist, and essayist.
He contributed critical essays and reviews to the Graphic during the pre-war and post-war periods, from the late 1920s to the 1940s and during the 1960s.
One of the most engaging cultural debates published in the Graphic involved Mangahas, with his famous critique, “Usable Past.” He wrote it in response to the romanticized Spanish colonial views popularized by a young Nick Joaquin.
Born in 1904, during the American period, Mangahas earned the sobriquet “Literary Czar” during the Commonwealth era in the Philippines, known for his signature wit and sharp social commentary, which he displayed in all its colors when he contributed to the Graphic.
His political essays and social criticism inspired many for the skill displayed and the courage it took to make them. But it did not come without some cost to Mangahas.
As political aide to President Elpidio Quirino, he wrote a headline regarding an American official and a supposed corruption, which did not sit well with the Americans. Mangahas was soon dismissed from his position.
Perhaps Mangahas’ greatest impact on the Graphic stemmed from his presidency of the Philippine Writers League (1939–1941). In this capacity, he urged the publication’s regular contributors, including Estrella Alfon, to abandon “art for art’s sake” in favor of narratives focused on social relevance and labor issues.
Federico Mangahas is the father of Mahar Mangahas, a highly respected economist, best known as the co-founder and longtime president of the prominent polling organization, the Social Weather Stations (SWS)
AMANDO G. DAYRIT
Amando G. Dayrit was a journalist, creative writer, and satirist. He was a contributor of the Graphic during the 1930s.
Dayrit became widely known for his satirical “Good Morning Judge” column for The Tribune, and contributed short stories to the Graphic.
The Japanese wanted to turn Dayrit into a propaganda writer. Instead, he joined the underground resistance, where his writings were published in the anti-Japanese newspaper, Free Philippines.
However, joining the resistance affected his health, contracting tuberculosis and eventually passing away in San Fernando, Pampanga at the age of 32.
TEOFILO DEL CASTILLO ‘TD’ AGCAOILI
Teofilo del Castillo Agcaoili is perhaps one of the few writers who have been part of the Graphic’s pages for the longest time, first contributing in the late 1930s up to the 1990s, going through all of the magazine’s death and rebirth, and the three owners who sustained it.
Apart from being a writer, he was also a poet, editor, and a distinguished filmmaker. He is known for the films, Intramuros: The Rape of a City (1946), Ang Limpia Bota (1952), Dalagang Ilokana (1954), and Halik na Lumalatay (1977).
He also edited the famed anthology Philippine Writing: An Anthology, published by Archipelago Publishing House, with an introduction written by Edith L. and Edilberto K. Tiempo.
ESTRELLA ALFON
Celebrated fictionist, playwright, journalist, and public relations practitioner Estrella Alfon began her literary career with the Graphic. Writer Jose Wendell P. Capili recounted Alfon’s beginning experience with the Graphic.
“My mother sent my school themes to a literary contest in Graphic. And of course, I won…For a Cebuana girl to be in a Manila paper, that was something! The next mail brought me two pesos as prize for this weekly contest. I was so happy! Two pesos to spend!
This was before 1930, so you can imagine how much money that was then. And then the monthly competition I again won! They paid me ten pesos, so I said, ‘This is the profession for me,” said Alfon.
Alfon contributed to the Graphic from 1935 and throughout the post-war decades. Many of her fiction stories came out in the Graphic in the late 1930s and the 1940s.
“Grey Confetti” was her first published short story in the magazine.
SINAI C. HAMADA
(1901–1937)
Sinai C. Hamada was a lawyer, journalist, and writer. Half-Japanese, his essays and fiction reflected the emerging voices of Filipino writers during the American colonial period.
He wrote for the Graphic as contributor in the early 1930s.
While still a senior high school student, he submitted to the magazine his first short story, “Whose Home.” It was published on Jan. 8, 1930.
On October 12, 1932, the Graphic published Hamada’s undisputed masterpiece, “Tanabata’s Wife,” a poignant, quiet romance between a Japanese immigrant farmer and an Igorot woman.
“Tabanatha’s Wife” was awarded the top prize in Garcia’s Annual Roll of Honor. It was proclaimed the best short story of 1933.
BIENVENIDO N. SANTOS
Highly acclaimed Filipino-American short story writer and novelist Bienvenido N. Santos began his professional literary career in the Graphic.
At the very young age of 19, Santos short story, “The Horseshoe” was published in the Graphic in 1930.
Santos received numerous literary honors, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts.
He also won the prestigious American Book Award for his award winning collection, Scent of Apples in 1979. His short story, “The Day the Dancers Came” remains one of the most anthologized works in Philippine literature.
N.V.M. GONZALEZ
The literary career of National Artist for Literature Néstor Vicente Madali ‘NVM’ González took seed in the fertile literary landscape of the Graphic. It was in 1934 when Gonzales wrote his essay about the visit to Calapan, Oriental Mindoro of American Governor General of the Philippines Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
The essay won the student literary contest sponsored by the Graphic Years later, Gonzalez moved to Manila and worked as writer-contributor of the Weekly Graphic for many years.
He authored acclaimed collections, including Children of the Ash-Covered Loam and The Bamboo Dancers. Gonzalez also mentored generations of Filipino writers through his teaching in the Philippines and the United States.
EDILBERTO K. TIEMPO
Edilberto K. Tiempo was a distinguished fictionist, novelist, literary critic, and educator.
He published his first pre-war short story, “The Postscript” in the Graphic in July 1934.
The story was highly acclaimed and immediately selected by the country’s premier critic, Jose Garcia Villa, for his annual list of the “20 Best Stories of the Year.”
