Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, awarded National Artist for Theater after his death, will be honored a second time this Dec. 12 and 13 by the Office of the President, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the University of the Philippines and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. "Freddie" who published plays in English belonged to the Guerreros of Ermita whose scions made their names in many fields of both the arts and sciences for generations.
Many might still recall his name and better-known plays as subject matter during high school literature classes. Freddie was a playwright who acknowledged "the essential loneliness of my life", yet has found a place in the memories of tens of thousands of students, who, for an hour saw a splice of daily life vividly rendered in compelling words and perfectly-timed puns. He confessed many times that he was as poor as a rat but his mortal life has been blessed with each day that he touched the hearts and imagination of his audience. From Dec. 11, 1962 to 1981, a span of 19 years, Freddie and the UP Mobile Theater performed before the masses more than 2,500 times in the entire archipelago.
Guerrero has the unique distinction of having a theater named after him at the University of the Philippines while he was still alive. At the UP where he taught for 35 years, he was mentor to generations of the best talents in Philippine theater, television and film: Celia Diaz Laurel, Behn Cervantes, Joy Gamboa Virata, Winnie Collas Monsod, Tony Mabesa, Ishmael Bernal, Joonee Gamboa, Lino Brocka, Cris Vertido, Boots Anson Roa, to name a few. With the conferment of the National Artist award on Freddie in 1997 and his burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Dec. 13, a grateful country recognizes his "rare excellence and significant contribution to theater."
His UP Mobile Theater and UP Dramatic Club alumni initiated the transfer of his remains from a simple grave donated by former UP President and Mrs. Emmanuel Soriano at the Himlayang Pilipino to the Sanctuary of National Artists at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. On Dec. 12, 7 p.m. the remains of Freddie will arrive at the UP Catholic Chapel in Diliman, Quezon City for a vigil where former students, colleagues, peers, artists, friends and family will pay tribute to the man who chose to give his life to theater. On Dec. 13, n.n., he will be laid to rest with full honors after the 9 a.m. Funeral Mass.
To complete the tribute, the UP Library will mount a weeklong exhibit at the UP Diliman Palma Hall. Instead of flowers, donations to the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Memorial Scholarship Fund for Theater Arts will be accepted by the UP Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts to perpetuate Freddie’s legacy to Philippine Theater. (Mark Migallos)
