Santiago B. Villafania
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Santiago Bergantinos Villafania is a Pangasinan poet based in Manila, Philippines. Born in Tuliao, Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan on January 31, 1971, Villafania graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Pangasinan in 1991. He is an adjunct faculty member at Emilio Aguinaldo College - Manila.
Some of his poems have appeared in local and international print and web publications: Balon Silew, AWARD, Philippines Free Press, Philippine Graphic, ANI, Philippine Panorama, Sunday Times Magazine, The Heron's Nest, HaikuHut's Short Stuff, Ygdrasil, Circle Magazine, 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. He is currently coming out with a collection of his poems in English entitled Murtami: Songs for the Lover and Other Poems.
He is the owner-editor of The Makata: An online journal and web anthology of Philippine and International contemporary poetry and maintains the Dalityapi Unpoemed: Vox Pangasinense.
[edit] Others
- Unang Gantimpala, 2007 Gawad Komisyon (Gantimpalang Tamayo sa Tulang Pangasinan)
- Co-editor, Ani ng Wika 2006 (Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino)
