Santiago B. Villafania

Santiago Villafania
Santiago B. Villafania
Born	31 January 1971 (1971-01-31) Santa Barbara, Pangasinan, Philippines
Occupation	Poet, Web Designer, Teacher
Nationality	Filipino
Ethnicity	Pangasinan
Genres	Poetry
www.dalityapi.com

Santiago Villafania is a bilingual Filipino poet who writes in English and in his native language of Pangasinan. Born in Tuliao, Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan on 31 January 1971, Villafania graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Pangasinan in 1991.

Some of his poems have appeared in local and international print and web publications: Balon Silew, Sunday Punch, Philippines Free Press, Philippine Graphic, ANI, UNDER THE STORM: An Anthology of Contemporary Philippine Poetry, Crowns and Oranges: Works by Young Philippine Poets, Philippine Panorama, Manila Times / Sunday Magazine, Magnapoets, Poezia, Literary Apprentice, Taj Mahal Review, The Heron's Nest, HaikuHut's Short Stuff, Ygdrasil, Crimson Feet, In Our Own Words 1 & 2, Picolata Review, MindFire, etc. His poetry collection in Pangasinan language Balikas na Caboloan is among the works published by the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA) under its UBOD New Authors Series (2005).

Villafania advocates for the resurgence of Pangasinan as a literary language. He was awarded the Writer of the Year (2004) by the Ulupan na Pansiansia'y Salitan Pangasinan (Association for the Preservation of the Pangasinan Language) and Award of Merit (2005) by the Association of Writers and Authors for Regional Development (Region I) for his first book, Pinabli tan arum ni'ran Anlong (Beloved and Other Poems) published in 2003.

His second book of poems, Malagilion: Sonnets tan Villanelles, is an attempt to open the propylaea of literary renaissance in Pangasinan. Malagilion was recognized by the National Book Development Board and Manila Critics Circle as Finalist for Best Book of Poetry in the 27th National Book Award.

Villafania is one of the 11 Outstanding Pangasinenses conferred with the 2010 Asna Award for the Arts and Culture (Literature) during the first Agew na Pangasinan and also the 430th Foundation Anniversary of the province on 5 April 2010. He is a member of Philippine PEN.

Published works

Books

• 100 Poems: Cirilo F. Bautista. (a Centennial Publication of De La Salle University, 2011). Santiago B. Villafania (Ed.) – ISBN 9789710113200
• Malagilion: Sonnets tan Villanelles. (Manila: Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino & Emilio Aguinaldo College, 2007). – ISBN 9789716917376
• Balikas na Caboloan. (Manila: National Commission for the Culture and the Arts, 2005). – ISBN 9718140921

Poetry

• In Esclusiva Per Il Dinanimismo: Versi Del Poeta Filippino Santiago Villafania – 10 February 2012
• The Enchanting Verses Literary Review | To a Rebel Poet & Catwalk – Translation Project, Volume 1 No. 2 October, 2011
• Bonsaic Verses – Philippines Free Press, 25 June 2011
• Six poems translated into Arabic | TEXT - the Cultural Monthly Journal, Issue No: 13
• 2 Poems – The Asia Writes Project, 21 April 2011
• Esaes ed Kareenan (Pangasinan poetry) – Taboan 2011, Literary Works
• Erolalia with translations in German, Spanish, Bulgarian, Italian and Arabic language
• Sonnet to a Pilgrim Soul with translations in different languages
• Pangasinan Villanelle – Philippine Literature Portal
• Vox Pangasinense: Aristos – MindFire, Winter 2006
• 5 Haiku – Simply Haiku, 2005
• Pangasinan Sonnets – Our Own Voice, March 2004
• Mumbaki – Poetic Voices, July 2003
• On A Rainy Night & Other Poems – The Golden Lantern, 2003
• Haiku – The Heron's Nest, September 2002
• Poems – Ygdrasil, May 2003
• Haiku – The Heron's Nest, August 2002
• Poems – Ygdrasil, June 2002
• Fragments – The Circle Magazine, issue sixteen/winter 2001

Others

• Braid, Florangel Rosario. "Learning With The Mother Tongue (Part 2) ." Manila Bulletin 29 July 2011. Retrieved on: 16 August 2011 <http://www.mb.com.ph/node/328821/learning-with-the-mother-tongue-part-2>
• Braid, Florangel Rosario. "Culture, language, and the arts." Manila Bulletin 21 May 2011. Retrieved on: 26 May 2011 <http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/319205/culture-language-and-arts>
• TABOAN 2011: The 3rd Philippine International Writers Festival, Davao City, 10–12 February 2011
• "Pangasinan Anlong: Oral Tradition into the 21st century" – a paper presented at the Philippine PEN International Conference in Cebu, December 2010
• April 2010, Commendation from the Office of the Sangguniang Bayan and the Office of the Mayor of Santa Barbara, Pangasinan for being hailed as one of the eleven outstanding Pangasinenses and ASNA Awardees.
• Pangasinan poetry featured in Christopher Gozum's award-winning film Anacbanua (2009) as voice over narration providing concrete ideas and emotions to the cinematic images presented.
• Finalist for Best Book of Poetry, 27th National Book Awards, for Poetry collection "Malagilion: Sonnets tan Villanelles," published by Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino & Emilio Aguinaldo College
• Unang Gantimpala, 2007 Gawad Komisyon (Gantimpalang Tamayo sa Tulang Pangasinan)
• Retrospect and Prospect of Pangasinan Anlong: Oral Tradition into the 21st century – a paper (in Pangasinan language) presented at the 1st Conference on Revitalizing the Pangasinan Language and Cultural Heritage
• Nolasco, Ricardo Ma., Jose Laderas Santos & Santiago Villafania, eds. Ani ng Wika 2006. Maynila: Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino – ISBN 9789718705940