Lázaro Francisco y Angeles, also known as Lazaro A. Francisco (February 22, 1898 – June 17, 1980) was a Filipino

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

. Francisco was posthumously named a

National Artist of the Philippines The Order of National Artists of the Philippines ( Tagalog: ''Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas'') is an order bestowed by the President of the Philippines on Philippine nationals who have made significant contributions to ...

for Literature in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Biography

Lazaro Francisco was born on February 22, 1898, to Eulogio Francisco and Clara Angeles, in Orani, Bataan. He spent his childhood years in

Cabanatuan Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan (; ; kapampangan language, Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Cabanatuan''), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Acco ...

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

. He took his college education at the Central Luzon Agricultural College (now Central Luzon State University), but was not able to finish due to poverty. He became a messenger of the Provincial Treasurer's Office of Nueva Ecija. Later on, he took third degree civil service examination where he qualified to become an assessor of the provincial government of Nueva Ecija. He started writing in 1925, with five of his novels took him to fame. Being an assessor in an agricultural province, most of his writings were focused on small farmers and their current conditions with foreign businessmen. This lead him to win separate awards from Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1940 and 1946, for his masterpieces, ''Singsing na Pangkasal'' and ''Tatsulok,'' respectively''.'' In 1958, he established the ''Kapatiran ng mga Alagad ng Wikang Pilipino'', roughly translated as "Brotherhood of the Disciples of the Filipino Language", a society that campaigned the use of Tagalog as the national language of the Philippines. He received other distinguished awards and accolades in literature in his lifetime, including the Balagtas Award (1969), the Republic Cultural Heritage Award (1970) and the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award from the government of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. In 2009, former president

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

awarded the National Artist of the Philippines for Literature to Francisco, posthumously, for his significant contribution to

Philippine literature Philippine literature is literature associated with the Philippines from prehistory, through its colonial legacies, and on to the present. Characteristics According to journalist Nena Jimenez, the most common and consistent element of Philipp ...

Major works

The following are the major works of Lazaro Francisco:

Novels

* ''Binhi at Bunga'' (Seed and Fruit), 1925 * ''Cesar'', 1926 * ''Ama'' (Father), 1929 - translated to French by linguist Jean-Paul Potet as ''Maître Tace'' (Master Tace). * ''Bayang Nagpatiwakal'' (Country That Committed Suicide), 1931-1932 * ''Sa Paanan ng Krus'' (At the Cross' Foot), 1934 * ''Ang Pamana ng Pulubi'' (Beggar's Heritage), 1935 * ''Bago Lumubog ang Araw'' (Before the Sun Sets), 1936 * ''Singsing na Pangkasal'' (Wedding Ring), 1939-1940 * ''Tatsulok'' (Triangle), 1946 * ''Ilaw sa Hilaga'' (North Light), 1946-1947 * '' Sugat ng Alaala'' (Wound of Memory), 1951 * '' Maganda pa ang Daigdig'' (The World is Still Beautiful), 1956 * '' Daluyong'' (Wave), 1961 Except ''Bayang Nagpatiwakal'', all of his works were published in ''

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

,'' a weekly magazine published in Tagalog language.

Short stories

* ''Deo'', 1927 * ''Ang Beterano'' (The Veteran), 1931 * ''Ang Idolo'' (The Idol), 1932 * ''Ang Pagtitika'' (Persistence), 1932 * ''Utos-Hari'' (King's Command), 1932 * ''Puwit ng Baso'' (Glass Bottom), 1932 * ''Kapulungan ng mga Pinagpala'' (Meeting of the Blessed People), 1932

Plays

* ''Utos-Hari'' (King's Command), 1935, stage adaptation of Francisco's short story, ''Utos-Hari'' * ''Ang Ikaapat na Mago'' (The Fourth Mage), 1942

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francisco, Lázaro Tagalog-language writers Filipino male dramatists and playwrights People from Bataan 1898 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Filipino novelists 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Filipino male writers