SEVENTEEN ARTLETS earned prizes across different categories at the 40th Gawad Ustetika Gabi ng Parangal, an annual competition that recognizes outstanding literary works of Thomasian students.
Creative Writing students swept the fiction, one-act play and dulang may isang yugto categories and were recognized on Saturday, March 29, at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. building.
Juniors took over the fiction category. Sean Paolo Carlos received the first prize with “Garnish.” Irene Louise Rustia earned second place with “Polluted,” while Andrea Guevarra took third place with “Gamugamo.” Creative Writing student Hannah Garcia also earned an honorable mention for her work “Pork Molo.”
This year’s Gawad Ustetika separated the one-act play category and dulang may isang yugto category. Under one-act play, only the first and third prizes were given. Rustia claimed first prize with “Gin BEAR-ly Hits,” while junior Angela Maria Tabios won the third prize with her piece “Choke.”
Third-year student Wycliff Steven Concepcion won first place with “Bangka,” Michelle Andres, also a junior, earned second prize for her work “Doppio,” while senior Anjellyca Villamayor bagged third place with “Hongkong, Here I come!” in the dulang may isang yugto category.
For the tula category, Concepcion also placed second with “Barker at iba Pang Tula.”
In the poetry category, Creative Writing senior Elijah Aaron Molina bagged first place for his work “Babylan,” while Communication freshman Charlize Ann Lavastida was hailed second placer for “Where is Home?”
Philosophy sophomore Lharz Gilbert Dapla led the essay category with his work “The Bastard Pope,” while third-year Literature student Janaya Caira Obuyes received an honorable mention for her piece “Mother in White.”
Brandon Lance Capiña, a Creative Writing junior, obtained second place in the katha category with “Ang Ingay,” while Concepcion placed third with “Field Trip.” Communication sophomore J-Rhic Tanghal received an honorable mention for “Manukan sa Kabilang Pinto ni Old McDonald” and Joseph Earl Jordan Quintana, also a Creative Writing junior, earned the same recognition for “Bangkay sa Cubao.”
Creative Writing seniors Sophia Nicole Mendoza won second prize with “Manginginom Confessions,” while Aedan Jefferson Tropa bagged third place with “Ang Propeta at ang Sumpa” in the sanaysay category.
Artlets alumni also feted
UST Graduate School students were also among the winners of the competition. Two Artlets alumni who are taking their Masters in Creative Writing at the University earned prizes in different categories.
Jericho Christian Lopez, a Creative Writing alumnus, won third place in the poetry category for his work “Whale Fall.” Literature alumna Ma. Doreen Evita Garcia earned an honorable mention in the same category for her work “Kitch Sitch,” as well as the third prize in the essay category for “Oh Favored Son, Oh Sacrificial Lamb.”
Graduate school student Paulo Lorenzo Garcia earned honorable mentions for his works “War of Words” and “Ruins and Revelations” in the fiction and poetry categories, respectively, and the second prize in the essay category for “Spit.”
Juan Pablo Karlo Marko Kristiyano Cortes and John Roniel Canimo received honorable mentions in the tula category for their works “Magtanim ay ‘di biro” and “Isang Araw sa Bangko,” respectively.
Noji Bajet topped the katha category with “Benny, krusiberbalista,” as well as the essay category with “Pag-aabang sa Tubig Kasama ni John Denver.”
Emil Buidon Belbis secured third place in the poetry category for his work “Sa Talyer.”
Chemistry major Faye Julianne Rafael won the Rector’s Literary Award for her piece “Laro,” which landed in first place in the tula category. The Rector’s Literary Award is given to the best piece among the first-prize winners in all categories.
Authenticity in literature
Palanca award-winning poet and Philosophy alumnus Michael Coroza was conferred the Parangal Hagbong, which honors Thomasian alumni’s achievements and outstanding contributions to art and literature. During his speech, Coroza talked about the appreciation and importance of trusting a writer and his work, saying literary works stem from authenticity, not deceit.
“Mayabong ang haraya na nakapag-aakalas at nakalalampas sa mga hangganan ng sariling limitasyon. Isang ganap na pagpapakatao ang paglinang sa haraya,” Coroza said.
(“An abundant imagination is the one that is able to strike and transcend the boundaries of one’s limitations. Cultivating imagination is an avenue for complete humanization.”)
Organized by UST official student publication The Varsitarian, Gawad Ustetika drew 220 entries this year. F
