Severino Reyes y Rivera (February 11, 1861 – September 15, 1942) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

writer, playwright, and director of plays. He used the pen name Lola Basyang. He was nicknamed "Don Binoy".

Early life and education

Severino Reyes was born on February 11, 1861 in Santa Cruz,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

during the Spanish colonial era to Rufino Reyes and Andrea Rivera. He pursued his early education in an institution owned by Catalino Sanchez and acquired a bachelor's degree at the Escuela de Segunda Enseñanza of the

Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers i ...

. He also attended the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

to pursue a degree in Philosophy.

Career

Reyes wrote 26 zarzuelas and 22 dramas in his career. He is known as the "Father of Tagalog Plays" and as the "Father of the Tagalog Zarzuela". He took a clerical job at the Tesoreria General de Hacienda as a means to get avoided to being enlisted into the Spanish Army to fight against the

Moros In Greek mythology, Moros /ˈmɔːrɒs/ or Morus /ˈmɔːrəs/ (Ancient Greek: Μόρος means 'doom, fate') is the 'hateful' personified spirit of impending doom, who drives mortals to their deadly fate. It was also said that Moros gave peop ...

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

and

Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilāya sin Lupa' Sūg''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sulu), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago and part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamor ...

. However he quit the job and decided to set up a store at Calle Ascarraga after he struggled supporting his family with low income he got from his old job. The Gran Compania de Zarzuela Tagala was established in 1902 by Reyes, also directing '' zarzuellas'' himself for the group. The first one-act piece of the troupe, ''Ang Kalupi'' premiered at Zorrilla Theatre in April 1902. On June 14, 1902, Zarzuela Tagala staged '' Walang Sugat'' a drama set in Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution. Still on the same year, Reyes staged the ''R.I.P (Requiescat in Pace)'' in Manila. His other Tagalog-language zarzuelas include ''Minda Mora'', ''Mga Bihag ni Cupido'', ''Ang Bagong Fausto'', ''Ang Tunay na Hukom'', ''Ang Tatlong Bituin'', ''Margaritang Mananahi'', ''Ang Halik ng Isang Patay'' and ''Luha ng Kagalakan''. The program of his plays was also exhibited by

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

at the St. Louis World Exposition and the Panama Pacific International Exposition Reyes helped found the ''

Liwayway ''Liwayway''''Liwayway''
Komiklopedia, The Philippine Komiks Encyclopedia, Komiklopedia.wor ...

'' magazine in 1922, where he published '' Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang'' a series of short stories. He used the titular character

Lola Basyang ''Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang'' ( Tagalog, literally "The Stories of Grandmother Basyang") is an anthology of short stories written by "Lola Basyang," the pen name of Severino Reyes, founder and editor of the Tagalog magazine, ''Liwayway''. Th ...

as his pen name and the work became the magazine's most widely read feature.

Works

*'' Walang Sugat'' *''R.I.P (Requiescat in Pace)'' *''Mga Bihag ni Cupido'' *''Ang Tunay na Hukom'' *''Kalye Pogi'' *''Ang Halik ni Hudas'' *''Cablegrama Fatal'' *''Puso ng Isang Pilipina'' *''Ang Bagong Fausto'' *''Filotea, o Ang Pag-aasawa ni San Pedro'' *''Opera Italiana'' *''San Lazaro'' *''Alamat ng Lamok''

Personal life

Reyes married his childhood friend Maria Paz Puato with whom he had 17 children. He spoke both Tagalog and Spanish, and understood Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and various

Philippine languages The Philippine languages or Philippinic are a proposed group by R. David Paul Zorc (1986) and Robert Blust (1991; 2005; 2019) that include all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi, Indonesia—except Sama–Bajaw (languages ...

aside from Tagalog.

Death

Severino died on September 15, 1942 in Manila due to

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Legacy

On February 11, 2022, Reyes was honored with a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

in commemoration of his 161st birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Severino Colegio de San Juan de Letran alumni Filipino writers Filipino dramatists and playwrights Filipino theatre directors People from Santa Cruz, Manila Writers from Manila 1861 births 1942 deaths University of Santo Tomas alumni

Severino Severino is an Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese given name and sometimes surname: * Saint Severinus of Noricum (c.410–482), a Roman Catholic saint: * Severin of Cologne, a Roman Catholic saint * Emanuele Severino (1929–2020), Italian philos ...