Larry Alcala: A Filipino cartoonist

[jamesbond]

Larry Alcala: A Filipino cartoonist

Larry Alcala lived a full life. And it showed amply in his works. His name, even if he is now gone, remains synonymous with Philippine cartoons, an art form that he served well to his last days. In fact, among the practitioners of this art form on the national scene, he stood tall.

In his lifetime, Alcala commanded a popular following, not only because of the number and variety of cartoon characters that came out of his drawing board, but for the incisive wit that he willfully breathed into his characters and the participative humor that he engendered in his works have more than endeared him to his audience.

Alcala made over 500 characters, 20 comic strips, six movies, two murals, and 15,000 published pages in 56 years of cartooning. Through his works, he eloquently depicted the Filipino’s capacity to face squarely the challenges of life in the country, peppered with satirical humor and a wee bit of sarcasm.

In the practice and pursuit of his art, Alcala unwittingly became one with his readers. It was as if he knew them by heart–able to read their pulse, their likes and dislikes, in short, their being.

Many of his readers, in turn, even without personally meeting him, often regard him as a companion. The humor of Alcala visits them regardless of time and space–whether in the comforts of home while sipping their first cup of coffee at the breakfast table, or in the punishing constraints of city traffic while inching their way through a jeepney ride back home. It is this degree of intimacy that makes the art of Alcala an all-time favorite. In sum, his cartoons are for all seasons, and for all people of diverse persuasions.

Alcala also introduced a favorite pastime among his readers. Young and old, his readers would meticulously look for his trademark profile ingeniously hidden among the bushes, wall, people and places that he drew.

He also significantly contributed to the popularity of Tagalog, and without meaning to, Taglish as well.

Alcala started his career as cartoonist in 1946. The myriad achievements that he collected in his 56-year career all attest to his being widely recognized as a razor-edged satirist, a humor machine, a Filipino artist, all rolled into one.

Alcala's Slice of Life, which originally appeared in the Philippines Daily Express, moved to The Philippine STAR, and was adjudged Best in Humor by the Catholic Mass Media Awards in February 1988. He was cited "for helping to keep alive the Filipino’s ability to laugh at himself, through the lively marriage of art and humor, and through commentaries that are at once critical and compassionate, evoking laughter and reflection."

The citation may have been written for all the characters that Alcala created in his more than half-a-century career, from Islaw Palitaw and Tipin to Kalabog and Bosyo and Asiong Aksaya. For in the dispatch of his responsibilities as an artist, Alcala steadfastly pushed the art form of cartooning to cogently affirm the Filipino’s peculiar coping mechanism of laughing at himself even in the face of adversity, and of absorbing life’s vicissitudes with characteristic resilience and candor.

Alcala was born to Ernesto Alcala and Elpidia Zarate on August 18, 1926 in Daraga, Albay. He finished his fine arts degree at the University of the Philippines in 1950 after obtaining a scholarship grant from Ramón Roces, publisher of the Manila Times. He taught at the UP College of Fine Arts from 1951 to 1981.


During his teaching stint at the University, he would always instill among his students the value of creativity. He discouraged imitation of works – more so of his works.

Alcala became instrumental in designing and offering a degree course in commercial design. It was from this shift in program focus that the department of visual communication at the UPCFA was eventually born, a revolution of a new diversified segment in the field of fine arts, a new line of thinking and approach. Until his retirement, Alcala steered this department as chairperson, pushing graphic design, in particular, the field of cartooning, to the same level that painting and sculpture have achieved through time.

The University was quite keen of the significant contributions Alcala made to the world of visual arts. In 1977, the UP Alumni Association honored him with a professional award in fine arts. The following year, he was accorded the status of artist-in-residence for cartooning.


Outside of the academe, Alcala received awards and citations such as the Araw ng Maynila Award, the Pamana Award for Cartooning, the Press Award for Best in Humor, the MOPC-SPIC Excellence in Cartooning, and the Philippine Board on Books for Young People Lifetime Achievement Award, to cite a few.


Recognized as the dean of Philippine cartoonists, he founded the Samahang Kartunista ng Pilipinas and which he served as president in 1979.

He is survived by his wife Guadalupe, children Lauro Jr. and Menchu; Toti, and Drs. Lizette and Vic Guazon; grandchildren Ana Iris, Angela Ingrid, Anjelica Ida, Andrea Isabel and Anton Ivy; and siblings Joventino and Ody, Vic and Cloty, Aurora and Leo Amatong, and Elena and Rudy Obial.

credit to source: Philstar.com

  hereunder are some of his works, try mo nga hanapin ang cartoon image nya hidden among his works? Thanks.... enlarge ko para sa inyo...

[naruto789544]

i remember having a contest with my siblings every sunday when the newspaper arrives in our house and see who will be the fastest to see his hidden face... a small reward was usually given by our parents on the winner... thank you for sharing sir @jamesbond   

[jessie19]

maraming salamat sa share mo sir @jamesbond,naalala ko tuloy noon hinahanap ko rin sa mga works niya sa magazines ang mukha niya.isa talaga siyang napakahusay na cartoonist dahil nakaka-relate ang lahat sa mga cartoons niya.Thanks ulit!

[jamesbond]

i remember having a contest with my siblings every sunday when the newspaper arrives in our house and see who will be the fastest to see his hidden face... a small reward was usually given by our parents on the winner... thank you for sharing sir @jamesbond   

maraming salamat sa share mo sir @jamesbond,naalala ko tuloy noon hinahanap ko rin sa mga works niya sa magazines ang mukha niya.isa talaga siyang napakahusay na cartoonist dahil nakaka-relate ang lahat sa mga cartoons niya.Thanks ulit!

yeah... sir Larry truly defines what a local cartoonist should be... hanga ako sa kanyang talento, the way he observes his environment, what's going on in the philippines, the trends, all put into his drawings... i remember one time, he issued one drawing with 10 hidden images on it just to culminate the newspaper's anniversary and that was really cool for me... +likes po sa inyo mga sirs...

[lovemarie]

nakakalibang talaga hanapin yung image nya dun sa drawings nya . . .

[Heathcliff]

I still remember that familiar name.And his expert way of drawing  odd caricatures on that popular newspaper..

... funny cartoon satires . ..madalas pag agawan namin magkakapatid first one to see the hidden figure. ..exempted sa dishwasher assignment.  Hehe..

Truly one of the best cartoonist in our country.

Thanks again for sharing Sir!

 

[jamesbond]

nakakalibang talaga hanapin yung image nya dun sa drawings nya . . .

  salamat naman po at nagustuhan nyo po... +like syo mam...

I still remember that familiar name.And his expert way of drawing  odd caricatures on that popular newspaper..

... funny cartoon satires . ..madalas pag agawan namin magkakapatid first one to see the hidden figure. ..exempted sa dishwasher assignment.  Hehe..

Truly one of the best cartoonist in our country.

Thanks again for sharing Sir!

 

no problemo madam . . . +like po syo...

[razorsharp]

wala na pala si tatang larry alcala. champion talaga sya sa mga comics lalo na nung bata pa ako, most notably yung kalabog en bosyo. I remember nasa mod magazine din yung mga gawa nya nun.

RIP: June 2002 

[jamesbond]

wala na pala si tatang larry alcala. champion talaga sya sa mga comics lalo na nung bata pa ako, most notably yung kalabog en bosyo. I remember nasa mod magazine din yung mga gawa nya nun.

RIP: June 2002

yep.. he truly captured every Filipino's hearts with his wit and humor... galing naman talaga... +like syo sir...

[tonistork]

the best Filipino cartoonist ever. . ang naabutan ko rin na work nya eh ung 'kalabog en bosyo'.

thanks sir TS for sharing.

[jamesbond]

the best Filipino cartoonist ever. . ang naabutan ko rin na work nya eh ung 'kalabog en bosyo'.

thanks sir TS for sharing.

 let's not forget na kanya din pala yung Asiong Aksaya comic cartoon.... +like syo boss....

[tnod26]

nakakamiss ang mga likha ni sir larry alcala d ko pwedeng hinde tingnan o basahin sa cartoon section... ang pagbasa nuon ng Funny Komiks kung saan naduon ang creations niang: Bing, Bam, Bum; Planet Opdi Ayps; niknok... Ang pinaka-astig na "Slice of Life" na typical na gawaing Pinoy na nuo'y naging documentary stamp pa ng PhilPost... salamat pag-share sir james + K sayo sir.

[jamesbond]

nakakamiss ang mga likha ni sir larry alcala d ko pwedeng hinde tingnan o basahin sa cartoon section... ang pagbasa nuon ng Funny Komiks kung saan naduon ang creations niang: Bing, Bam, Bum; Planet Opdi Ayps; niknok... Ang pinaka-astig na "Slice of Life" na typical na gawaing Pinoy na nuo'y naging documentary stamp pa ng PhilPost... salamat pag-share sir james + K sayo sir.

  yes.. Slice Of Life... no problemo sir... thanks and catch your +like too.... 

[jamesbond]

Where's Larry?

In 1983, San Miguel Corporation's calendar featured Filipino cartoonist and illustrator Larry Alcala. 

There was one page per quarter.









They were filled with his Slice of Life.  Here are some of them:













Naturally, one would find his signature at the corner of each work.









But what people were really looking for was the the hidden Larry Alcala cleverly drawn as part of the picture.









Do you see him?

[tamao]

thank you for this memory too sir jamesbond balik din alala sakin ito sa mga dyaryo nuon at sa komiks