By Connie Calipay
LEGAZPI CITY – The public will have the chance to appreciate once more the works of Lauro “Larry” Alcala, the National Artist for Visual Arts from Albay whose humorous drawings depicting everyday life captivated many.
The National Museum of the Philippines-Daraga (NMP-Daraga) opened the yearlong “Larry Alcala: Slices of Life, Wit and Humor” on Friday to celebrate his centennial birth year.
He was born in Daraga on Aug. 18, 1926.
It features prints of selected cartoons, including works dating back to the 1980s and pieces inspired by Bicol’s cultural heritage and Mayon Volcano. Admission to the exhibit is free.
Alcala began his comics career in 1946 while studying at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, major in Painting, in 1950.
Known as the “Dean of Filipino Cartoonists,” Alcala created more than 500 characters and 20 comic strips, including “Islaw Palitaw,” “Kalabog en Bosyo,” “Asiong Aksaya,” “Tipin,” “Mang Ambo,” and “Siopawman.” Several were later adapted into films.
His popular weekly series, “Slice of Life,” captured Filipinos’ humor, culture, and everyday experiences. The comic became a fixture for newspaper readers, who searched each installment for Alcala’s hidden self-caricature among the characters.
His granddaughter, Ana Alcala, said the centennial celebration seeks to highlight that creativity is not exclusive to artists but something everyone can express.
“Creativity is not reserved for a select few. Creativity belongs to everyone because everyone is creative,” she said.
Ana said the activities for his grandfather’s centennial year celebration, which began in August, promote creativity in many forms, from traditional exhibitions to interactive technology experiences, and invite more people to engage with his legacy.
She cited a recent collaboration with Cebuano designer Vito Selma, in which children from a fishing community in Olango, Cebu colored Alcala’s illustrations on fishing boats.
Local families who depend on fishing for their livelihoods later received the boats.
“Lolo (Grandfather) had those particular illustrations published without color because he really meant for children to color them themselves. So that’s exactly what we did. Children colored them, but this time, instead of pages of newsprint, they were colored onto boats that will, of course, serve their community,” Ana said.
She said the initiative shows how creativity can unite communities and make art meaningful beyond traditional exhibition spaces.
“I often say that for my grandfather, his museums were the newspapers. His gallery frames were the panels of his comic strips,” she added.
Honey Beso, Director II of the NMP’s South Luzon National Museums, thanked the Alcala family and exhibition organizers for entrusting the institution with bringing the artist’s works to his home province.
Beso said the exhibition will rotate its displays to showcase the range of Alcala’s work and give visitors a reason to return.
“We didn’t want to put all the works on display at once. We also wanted to emphasize that there are many works by Larry Alcala. So we decided the displays needed to change, giving people a reason to come back,” she said.
Lesson and legacy
Beso said “Slice of Life” encouraged readers to observe their surroundings and recognize what makes Filipino society distinctive.
“I think it’s an ingenious and wonderful way to invite people to look closely. A lot is going on in a single artwork. To me, it’s a lesson in being present and observant in your surroundings, your world and your society,” she said.
For cartoonist Alfonso Miguel Baleda, Alcala’s legacy extends beyond his celebrated works. He inspired generations of aspiring artists, including him.
Baleda recalled discovering Alcala’s comics in elementary school. He rented comic books from neighborhood stores and looked forward to seeing the artist’s “Slice of Life” cartoons carried by a daily broadsheet.
“One of my childhood dreams was to become a cartoonist, and one of the biggest inspirations of that young boy was none other than our National Artist for Visual Arts, Larry Alcala,” he said.
He remembered eagerly searching each illustration for Alcala’s hidden caricature.
He also cut out the cartoons and kept them in a personal collection, unaware that the childhood hobby would help shape his artistic path.
“Who would have thought that the child I once was would eventually have the opportunity to meet his idol, work alongside him in a publication and become a member of an organization he founded?” Baleda said.
He said Alcala’s influence sustained him through the challenges of pursuing cartooning.
“For me, Larry Alcala is not just an excellent cartoonist. He is an inspiration and one of the reasons why the art of cartooning continues to be loved,” he added.
Alcala was the founding president of the Samahang Kartunista ng Pilipinas and founded Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK), an organization of illustrators devoted to children’s literature.
His 100th birth anniversary celebration invites the public to rediscover his work and see how his observations of everyday Filipino life continue to resonate across generations.
He died of heart failure on June 24, 2002 in Bacolod City, two months before he would have turned 76. (PNA)
