Carmen Guerrero Nakpil

Carmen Guerrero Nakpil (1922-2018) was a journalist, writer, historian, and government official.

Early years

Guerrero Nakpil is a child of Alfredo Leon Guerrero, a doctor, and Filomena Francisco, who is the first Filipino pharmacist. She came from a family of writers and successful professionals. Her brother, Leon Ma. Guerrero III, is an essayist and fictionist. Her uncle, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, is a poet and essayist. Her cousins are Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, who is a playwright and stage director; and Nilda Guerrero-Barranco and Evangelina Guerrero-Zacarias, who are poets. Her paternal grandfather is Lorenzo Guerrero, who is a poet; while her maternal grandfather is Gabriel Beato Francisco, who is a fictionist.

She first married Ismael Cruz, with whom she had two children, including Gemma Cruz, who is also a writer. After her husband's death, she married architect Angel E. Nakpil, with whom she had three children.

She studied at St. Theresa’s College, where she also taught literature.

Career

After the Second World War, Guerrero Nakpil went into journalism. She began working as a proofreader, before becoming a magazine editor and columnist. She wrote columns for the Manila Chronicle for 12 years and a weekly column for the Sunday Times Magazine, Evening News Saturday Magazine, Weekly Women’s Magazine, Malaya, and other newspapers.

Later, she became the chairperson of the National Historical Commission and the cultural committee of the Philippine commission for UNESCO. She also worked as a representative elected by the UNESCO General Assembly in Paris from 1983 to 1986.

Notable works

Guerrero Nakpil’s published works include Woman Enough and Other Essays (1963), Question of Identity (1973), The Philippines and the Filipino (1977), The Philippines: The Land of the People (1989), and a novel The Rice Conspiracy (1990).

Awards and recognitions

Guerrero Nakpil received numerous awards, including the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas Award for English fiction in 1988 from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL); the Southeast Asian Writers (SEAWRITE) Award in 1990; and the National Book Award for anthology from the Manila Critics Circle for her The Philippines: The Land and the People in 1990.

Death

Guerrero Nakpil died on July 30, 2018 at the age of 96. She was buried at Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.

Citation

Original content from WikiPilipinas. under GNU Free Documentation License. See full disclaimer.