Essay: Remembering Nora Aunor, 1st living actor honored as National Artist

By Michael Obenieta

(Last of Two Parts)

Spotlighting the Superstar again today as the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) honors Ms. Nora Aunor— the first living actor ever enshrined as National Artist (for Film and Broadcast Arts). The ceremony (𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘗𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 2022) is a tribute to her and seven fellow laureates in literature, music, theater, dance, and fashion design.

The same venue spells a déjà vu for her and three other honorees (scriptwriter Ricardo Lee, musician Fides Cuyugan-Asensio, and the late dramatist Tony Mabesa) after sharing the stage at the 𝘎𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘥 𝘊𝘊𝘗 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 ceremony in 2015. Conferred every three years, the Gawad CCP is in recognition of outstanding Filipinos who have been consistent with outstanding works that have "enriched the development of their art form." http://entertainment.inquirer.net/.../la-aunor-leads...

The award reiterates CCP's recommendation of La Aunor as National Artist after she topped the joint selection process by the CCP and the NCCA (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) way back in 2014 as well as her historic distinction in 1999 when the CCP hailed her as “Actress of the Century” and bestowed upon her the Centennial Honor for the Arts-- the only female showbiz luminary included in the prestigious list of 100 awardees that include Juan Luna, Resil Mojares, Lino Brocka, Edith Tiempo, among other stellar figures in various fields of the humanities, who have enriched Philippine culture in the last century.

Indeed, her multi-media artistry—recording, television, film, and theater— has made her the living legend of Philippine entertainment and pop culture.

In light of her formidable filmography, the Hollywood Reporter magazine has hailed her as “the grand dame of Philippine cinema” whose portrayals continue to affirm the Filipino as a world-class artist. Indeed, La Aunor is first and only Filipino actor whose films have been showcased in the world’s top three film festivals (Cannes, Berlin, and Venice where she made history as the first actor to win the Bisato de Oro critics’ prize for her performance in 𝙏𝙝𝙮 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙗) on top of being the first Filipino to win Best Actress not only in Cairo, Brussels, Sakhalin (Russia), and Malaysia but also at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia as well as the Asian Film Awards (AFA) in Hong Kong.

So far in her unprecedented career, she has been amply rewarded with a museum’s worth of accolades, such as:

One of The Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (TOWNS) honorees for Performing Arts in 1983.

One of the 50 Best Live Entertainers of the Century at the Aliw Awards where she received the Gawad Siglo in 1999.

One of the "10 Best Asian Actresses of the Decade" in the company of Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Maggie Chiung, etc. at the Green Planet Film Awards in Hollywood, California in 2010.

Lifetime Achievement recipient at three different award-giving institutions in 2011-- the Cinemanila International Film Festival, the Cinema One Originals Independent Film Festival, and the Star Awards of the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) where she was also named as an Icon ng Original Pilipino Music (OPM).

Lifetime Achievement recipient (2015 Natatanging Gawad Urian) from the country's most enduring clique of film critics (the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino). She is also a Hall of Fame recipient at the FAMAS and holds the most number of awards from the Metro Manila Film Festival and the Young Critics Circle (YCC).

One of the recipients of the Gantimpalang Lampara ng Kultura at Sining (Light of Culture and Art Award) in 2012 for helping "spread the light of Philippine culture and arts inside and outside the country," according to the Philippine Centre of the International Theater Institute.

The prestigious 2014 Gawad Plaridel, an annual media award from the University of the Philippines in recognition of “Filipino media practitioners who have excelled in any of the media (print, radio, film, and television) and who have performed with the highest level of professional integrity in the interest of public service.” As affirmed by her Gawad Plaridel citation, she has distinguished herself for “sheer artistry and stunning virtuosity as a performer that has brought luster and light to Philippine radio, television, and film, made her the exemplar and benchmark of excellence for both her contemporaries and successors, and raised the film and broadcast media to levels higher than where she found them at the start of her felicitous career as an artist."

Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Asian International Film Festival and Awards (AIFFA) in Kuching, Malaysia “for her cinematic achievement that transcends national borders…”

Congratulations, La Aunor!

(About the author: Michael Obenieta is a well-known poet and writer from Cebu and self-confessed big fan of National Artist Nora Aunor. He was the recipient of the 2021 Gawad Balagtas (Lifetime Achievement Award for Cebuano poetry) awarded by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL).

Obenieta is now based in Topeka, Kansas where he finished his Sociology and Criminal Justice (Master’s degree) from Washburn University.

This essay was first published on the writer’s Facebook account on June 29, 2022. We publish Obenieta’s work with permission to honor the memory of Ms. Aunor, the Philippine superstar.)