Nicanor Tiongson, champion of Philippine culture

Nicanor G. Tiongson has spent much of his life bringing Filipino culture—especially traditions overlooked by colonial education and Manila-centered institutions—into fuller view. As a playwright, scholar, critic, editor, teacher and cultural administrator, he has worked to reconcile traditional forms with contemporary expression and to make the national cultural narrative more inclusive.

Tiongson was declared National Artist for Literature in September 2026. He joined Gabriel “Gabby” Formoso in the field of architecture and allied arts; Rafael “Nonoy” Froilan in dance; Maria Beatriz “Patis” Tesoro in design; Armando “Bing” Lao in film and broadcast arts (posthumous); Gregorio C. Brillantes (posthumous) in literature; Alfredo S. Buenaventura in music; Teodoro L. Hilado in theater (posthumous); and Imelda Cajipe-Endaya and Nunelucio M. Alvarado in visual arts. | Roel Hoang Manipon

Born on 10 January 1946, Tiongson grew up in Malolos, Bulacan, a town rich in history and performance traditions. He earned a Bachelor of Humanities degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and completed his master’s degree and doctorate in Philippine Studies at the University of the Philippines.

His scholarship challenged the tendency to dismiss popular and community-based theater as unsophisticated. Through research and documentation, he established the historical and aesthetic importance of the komedya, sinakulo, sarsuwela and other traditional dramatic forms.

Among his major scholarly works are Kasaysayan at Estetika ng Sinakulo at Ibang Dulang Panrelihiyon sa Malolos (1975), Kasaysayan ng Komedya sa Pilipinas: 1766–1982 (1982), Komedya: Philippine Theater History and Anthology 2 (1999) and Komedya sa Parañaque: Kasaysayan at Estetika (2024). These works helped preserve traditions that might otherwise have remained undervalued or poorly documented.

Tiongson brought the same depth of research to his plays. Pilipinas Circa 1907, a contemporary sarsuwela based on Severino Reyes’s Filipinas para los Filipinos, portrays the political, economic and cultural conflicts of the early American colonial period. Realizing Rama uses the Ramayana to explore ethical leadership, while Labaw Donggon, Ang Banog ng Sanlibutan draws from the Panay Bukidnon epic tradition.

His musical Mabining Mandirigma examines the life of Apolinario Mabini and his struggles with colonial power and self-serving members of the Filipino elite. By giving dramatic form to historical research, Tiongson makes the past immediate and connects it with continuing questions about nationhood, leadership and social justice.

Beyond his writing, Tiongson served as vice president and artistic director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines from 1986 to 1994. He is a founding member and former chair of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino and professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines Film Institute.

His most expansive editorial undertaking is the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art. Tiongson served as editor-in-chief of its 1994 and 2018 editions, leading scholars in documenting Philippine peoples and the country’s architecture, visual arts, film, music, dance, theater, broadcast arts, and literature.

Across his many roles, Tiongson has consistently advocated Filipinization, democratization, decentralization, and artistic excellence. His legacy rests on a fundamental conviction: Filipino traditions do not belong only in archives. Properly understood and creatively renewed, they remain vital to how the nation sees itself and imagines its future.