Alex C. Delos Santos

Alex C. Delos Santos born on September 24, 1967 in San Jose, Antique is a Karay-a writer^[1] and theater artist based in San Jose, Antique, the Philippines. He completed his Master of Education with an academic excellence award from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas. His research and writing interests are in culture and arts and gay literature.

His first recognition as a poet came in 1992 when he was awarded the CCP Literature Grant in Kinaray-a poetry for his collection "Dandansoy: Mga Kanta kang Pagbiya kag iban pa nga Panghayhay" (Dandansoy: Songs of Leaving and other Sighs), which contained poems about the plight of the "layas nga Antiqueños" - Antiqueños who, by choice or by circumstance, leave home in search of greener pasture. This collection included the poem "Sulat," about a son writing his mother not to write anymore because his mother's one page letters are so heavy with the sad news about home. He won Homelife Magazine's National Poetry Prize in 1994 for his poem "Child" (English Category, third prize), in 1995 for "Prusisyon" (Filipino Category, third), in 2001 for "Macramé" (English Category, second), and in 2008 for "Kurbata" (Filipino Category, first). He has been a fellow at the Iligan National Writers Workshop (1995), the Silliman National Writing Workshop in Dumaguete City (2000), and the UP National Writers Workhop in Davao City (2001). His first book The Rise of Kinaray-a: A history and anthology of contemporary literature in Antique (2003), was published by the University of San Agustin. He is also the author of Mga Kanta ni Datu Lubay (Libro Agostino, 2003), a collection of poems in Kinaray-a, Filipino, and English, Agi, agi may putay sa dahi (Hiraya Media Arts, 2006), a collection of gay stories in Kinaray-a, "Ugsad kang Kinaray-a" (Hiraya Media Arts, 2007), essays on Kinaray-a language and literature, and "Mga Sugidanun ni Datu Lubay" (Tales of Datu Lubay, 2010).

As a theater artist, Delos Santos has trained under the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) in 1988, and with Teatro Metropolitano under Frank G. Rivera in 1991. He has organized his own theater groups, like Stage, while he was a student at St. Anthony's College, and Teatro San Antonio. His significant works are the dance-drama "Hiniraya" (2001) and the trilogy "Tres Mujeres" (2002), which represented Antique province in the Duag Teatrokon Regional Theater Festival at Iloilo City in 2002. He also organized the Hiraya Theater Company that staged the komedya "Kasanag batok sa sugal" presented in the National Komedya Fiesta at UP Diliman on February 15, 2008, the komedya "Ang Kapid," premiered during the National Heritage Festival in San Jose, Antique in May 2009, and "Ang Pagtaban ni Tumaka kay Maria Katsila," which was presented during the 3rd Karay-a Arts Festival at EBJ Freedom Park on October 25, 2009. Since 2005, Delos Santos is the festival director of Antique's annual Binirayan Festival celebrated in the third weekend of April, and the Karay-a Arts Festival, which he initiated in Antique in October 2007.

Delos Santos is also a dolls and folk toys collector. His collections can be viewed at the Balay ni Datu Lubay Toys Museum at 1 Progreso St., San Jose, Antique.

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