 |
| http://tagalogrepublic.blogspot.com/2009/12/lualhati-torres-bautista.html |
Two of Bautista's short stories won the Palanca Awards, namely "Tatlong Kwento ng Buhay ni Juan Candelabra" (Three Stories in the Life of Juan Candelabra), first prize, 1982; and "Buwan, Buwan, Hulugan mo Ako ng Sundang" (Moon, Moon, Drop Me a dagger), third prize, 1983.
In 1991 Bautista with Cacho Publishing House, published a compilation of short stories entitled Buwan, Buwan, Hulugan Mo Ako ng Sundang: Dalawang Dekada ng Maiikling Kuwento.
Excerpts of Bautista's novels have been anthologized in Tulikärpänen, a book of short stories written by Filipino women published in Finland by The Finnish-Philippine Society (FPS), a non-governmental organization founded in 1988. Tulikärpänen was edited and translated by Riitta Vartti, et al. In Firefly: Writings by Various Authors, the English version of the Finnish collection, the excerpt from the Filipino novel Gapô was given the title "The Night in Olongapo", while the excerpt from Bata, Bata, Pa'no Ka Ginawa? was titled "Children's Party".
A full translation of Bautista's best works could better represent the characteristics of Filipino writing in international publishing. Dekada '70 has been translated to the Japanese language and was published by Mekong Publishing House in the early 1990s. Tatlong Kuwento ng Buhay ni Julian Candelabra (1st prize, Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, 1983) was translated in English and published by The Lifted Brow in Australia.
Lualhati started out as a journalism student at the Lyceum of the Philippines, but dropped out of school even before finishing her first year in college. Known to consciously use "Taglish" instead of pure Tagalog as a stylistic device, her first screenplay was Sakada (1975), a story exposing the plight of Filipino peasants/sugarcane workers. Her other award-winning screenplays include Bulaklak sa City Jail (1984), Kung Mahawi Man ang Ulap (1984), and Sex Object (1985), among others.
In 2005, the Feminist Centennial Film Festival presented Lualhati with a recognition award for her outstanding achievement in screenplay writing. She was also the recipient of the 2006 Diwata Award for the best writer by the 16th International Women's Film Festival, and the only Filipino included in a book on foremost International Women Writers published in Japan, 1991.
