Filipino writer
Pete Lacaba |
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| Born | Jose Maria Flores Lacaba
(1945-11-25) November 25, 1945 (age 78)
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| Other names | Pepito, Brader, Boo Rader |
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| Alma mater | Ateneo de Manila University (BA) |
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| Occupation(s) | Screen writer, editor, journalist |
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| Years active | 1950[citation needed]–present |
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| Spouse | Marra PL. Lanot |
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| Children | Crisanto Malaya Lacaba |
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| Parent(s) | Jose Montreal Lacaba
Fe Flores |
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| Relatives | Eman Lacaba (brother) |
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| Awards | Cinemanila International Film Festival conferred the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award |
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Jose Maria Flores Lacaba (born November 25, 1945), also known as Pete Lacaba, is a Filipino screenwriter, editor, poet, journalist, activist and translator.
Early life
Born in Misamis Oriental in 1945 to Jose Monreal Lacaba of Loon, Bohol and Fe Flores from Pateros, Rizal. He is the brother of writer and activist Eman Lacaba, who was murdered in March 1976 and later honored at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani memorial as a martyr who fought the Marcos dictatorship.[1][2]
Early career
He is also well known for his role in the fight against President Ferdinand Marcos and his US-backed military dictatorship during the Philippines' martial law era. Among his most notable works during this time are his coverage of the First Quarter Storm protests for the Philippines Free Press magazine, which were compiled into the book Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage in 1982,[3] and the controversial poem "Prometheus Unbound," an acrostic poem through which he managed to trick the publishers of a pro-Marcos magazine to publish a secretly anti-Marcos message.[4]
Lacaba has been especially recognized for his coverage of the First Quarter Storm, an anti-Marcos movement, in 1970.[5] His firsthand account of the events of the First Quarter Storm protests, Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage (1982), compiled from articles first published in the Philippine Free Press and the Asia-Philippines Leader magazines, are considered important accounts of that period.[3]
Another influential work Lacaba wrote during this period, under the nom de plume Ruben Cuevas, was the poem "Prometheus Unbound," which was published by Focus, a magazine allied with the Marcos regime.[4] The editors did not immediately realize that the work was an acrostic poem, whose first letters spelled out the popular protest slogan "Marcos Hitler Diktador Tuta" (Marcos, Hitler, Dictator, Lapdog).[6]
Later career
Lacaba is recognized as one of the leading figures in Philippine literature today.[7][8] He is well known in various fields, including creative writing, journalism, editing and scriptwriting.
He worked with well-known directors like Lino Brocka and Mike de Leon in producing films that expose ordinary people's lives that experienced poverty and injustice. His screenplay credits include Jaguar, which competed at the Cannes International Film Festival in 1980, while Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim competed in 1984. Orapronobis was screened out of competition in 1989. Ricky Lee co-wrote Jaguar with Lacaba.
He continued writing poems, and in 1999, was decorated as one of 100 "Bayani ng Sining". Lacaba's poetry has been compiled in collections which include Ang Mga Kagilagilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Juan de la Cruz (1979), Sa Daigdig ng Kontradiksyon (1991) and Sa Panahon ng Ligalig (1991).
Lacaba is currently the executive editor of Summit Media's YES! magazine, the sister publication of PEP.
In honor of Lacaba for being the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Awardee, the classic film Bayan Ko was screened as the closing film of Dekada Cinemanila. According to Anima Aguiluz, the daughter of Direk Tikoy and festival programmer of Cinemanila, Bayan Ko could be found in Toronto, Canada.
