Estrella D. Alfon (July 18, 1917 – December 28, 1983) was a
Filipina author who wrote in
English. She held an
AA degree from the
University of the Philippines and was a member of the
UP Writers Club.
Personal life
Estrella Alfon was born in
Cebu City in 1917. Her parents were
shopkeeper
A shopkeeper is a retail merchant or tradesman; one who owns or operates a small store or shop. Generally, shop employees are not shopkeepers, but are often incorrectly referred to as such. At larger companies, a shopkeeper is usually referred t ...
s.
She attended college, studying
medicine. After being mistakenly diagnosed with
tuberculosis and sent to a
sanitarium, she resigned from her
pre-medical
Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...
education, leaving with an
Associate of Arts
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The fi ...
degree.
Alfon had several children: Alan Rivera, Esmeralda "Mimi" Rivera, Brian Alfon, Estrella "Twinkie" Alfon, and Rita "Daday" Alfon (deceased). She had ten grandchildren. Her youngest daughter was a
stewardess for
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Internati ...
, and was part of the
Flight 163 crew on August 19, 1980, when an in-flight fire
forced the aircraft to land in
Riyadh. A delayed evacuation resulted in the death of all aboard the flight.
Alfon died on December 28, 1983, following a
heart attack suffered on-stage during the
Manila Film Festival Awards Night.
Career
While a student in Cebu when, Alfon published her first short stories, in periodicals such as ''Graphic Weekly Magazine'', ''Philippine Magazine'', and the ''Sunday Tribune''. She was a prolific storywriter,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
, and
journalist. In spite of being a
Cebuana, she wrote almost exclusively in English. She published her first story, “Grey Confetti”, in the Graphic in 1935.
Alfon was at times charged with sloppy writing and suspected of writing exclusively for profit, rather than passion.
She was the only female member of the Veronicans, an
avant-garde group of writers in the 1930s led by
Francisco Arcellana
Francisco "Franz" Arcellana (September 6, 1916 – August 1, 2002) was a Filipino writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and teacher.
Biography
Francisco Arcellana was born on September 6, 1916. He already had ambitions of becoming a write ...
and H.R. Ocampo, being also regarded as their
muse. The Veronicans are recognized as the first group of Filipino writers to write almost exclusively in English and were formed prior to the
World War II. Alfon was a regular contributor to Manila-based national magazines, having several stories cited in
Jose Garcia Villa
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galile ...
’s annual honor rolls. Thelma E. Arambulo described her in the following way:
In the 1950s, her short story, "Fairy Tale for the City", was condemned by the
Catholic League of the Philippines as being "
obscene".
She was even brought to court on these charges. While many of her fellow writers did stand by her, some did not. These events hurt her deeply.
In spite of having only a basic A.A. degree, she was eventually appointed as a professor of
Creative Writing at the
University of the Philippines, Manila. She held the National Fellowship in Fiction post at the U.P. Creative Writing Center in 1979. She would also serve on the Philippine Board of Tourism in the 1970s.
Awards
* 1940: A collection of her early short stories, “Dear Esmeralda,” won Honorable Mention in the Commonwealth Literary Award.
* 1961-1962: Four of her
one-act plays won all the prizes in the Arena Theater Play Writing Contest: “Losers Keepers” (first prize), “Strangers” (second prize), “Rice” (third prize), and “Beggar” (fourth prize).
* 1961-1962: Won top prize in the Palanca Contest for “With Patches of Many Hues.”
* 1974: Second place Palanca Award for her short story, "The White Dress".
* 1979: National Fellowship in Fiction post at the U.P. Creative Writing Center.
Alfon won the
Palanca Awards a number of times:
* ''Forever Witches'', one-act play (Third place,
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
)
* ''With Patches of Many Hues'', one-act play (First place,
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...
)
* ''Tubig'', One-act Play (Second place,
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
)
* ''The Knitting Straw'', one-act play, (Third place,
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
)
* ''The White Dress'', short story (Second place,
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
)
Partial bibliography
* ''Magnificence and Other Stories'' (1960)
* ''Stories of Estrella Alfon'' (1994) (published posthumously)
* ''Servant Girl'' (short story)
Legacy
In an interview, Luisa Igloria said of Alfon:
References
External links and other sources
www.bisaya.com Visayan Literature pagedefunct
Full Text: Rice by Estrella AlfonFull Text: Magnificence by Estrella Alfon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfon, Estrella D.
1917 births
1983 deaths
Cebuano writers
University of the Philippines alumni
Filipino women writers
People from Cebu City
Writers from Cebu
English-language writers from the Philippines
20th-century women writers
20th-century Filipino writers