Jolico Cuadra

A. Z. Jolicco Cuadra (24 May 1939 in Zamboanga City - 30 April 2013 in Calamba City) was a poet and artist, art critic, essayist, and short story writer. He was known as the "enfant terrible of Philippine art" in the 1960s, and his good looks and writings dubbed him the Byron of Philippine literature.

He wrote poetry, the art form that he held as the highest form of art, although he also painted and even held a one-man show at Cafe Giorgio in Makati City in the 1990s. After his death, some of his poet-friends launched a book of poems on October 24, 2013, entitled Companionable Voices as a tribute to him. The book was a special edition commemorative folio dedicated to Cuadra. The group, composed of major Filipino poets in English from the 1960s, selected a long poem written by Cuadra, a poem of not less than 1,000 lines. Joining his poem in the anthology were poems by Cesar Ruiz Aquino, Recah A. Trinidad, Erwin E. Castillo and Wilfredo Pascua Sanchez.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Cuadra was educated at the Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines, University of the East, art schools in Barcelona, Ecole des Beaux-Art and Académie de la Grande Chaumière also in Paris.^[6]

His awards include First Recipient of the Art Critic of the Philippines Award from the Art Association of the Philippines, 1967; recipient of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, 1978; and first Filipino recipient of the Southeast Asian Writers Award (SEAWRITE Award) from Queen Sirikit of Thailand, 1979 in Bangkok, Thailand.^[7]

Cuadra's other awards include 1983 Cultural Center honorable mention for poetry and 1967 Art Association of the Philippines art criticism award.^[8] Cuadra worked as an Art and Editorial Sections columnist for the Manila Chronicle and the Manila Bulletin, from 1964 to 2010, while writing as an essayist and art critic for various publications.

Cuadra's best known poem was "Dogstar." It was included in the Doveglion, a book of Philippine poetry in English edited by National Artist for Literature poet Jose Garcia Villa.^[6]

The poem, "Dogstar," is a short but powerful poem, to quote:

Personal Life

Cuadra married Joan Edades in 1960 in Barcelona. Edades is daughter to National Artist Victorio Edades and American University of the Philippines professor Jean Garrott. Cuadra and Edades separated in the early 1970s. Later, Cuadra fell in love with a fellow poet, Chiqui Gomez, also known as Augustta de Almeidda, in the 1970s.

Cuadra had two children with Edades, Christopher and Jason, and three children with Gomez. They are Rajjna, Earl and Cristina.^[6]

In an interview with Augustta de Almeidda, she said: "Jolico devoted his entire life to art and literature, painting, and art criticism, too. We seem to share a common non pursuit of publishing our obras. He has immortalized himself, like all great artists, in spite of lack of any honors given by awarding bodies. And if he be given any more honors, it would be to name him National Artist, too."

References

External links

• Panitikan.com
• GMA Network