Mario Cuezon

Si Mario L. Cuezon usa ka magsusulat sa pinulongang Binisayang Sinugboanon. Natawo siya ug nagdako sa Jimenez, Misamis Occidental, Mindanao.

Education

He finished Bachelor of Arts, major in Philosophy and minor in Political Science from the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

He finished Master of Arts in Malikhaing Pagsulat at the College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman, Quezon City.

His thesis is "Isang Mama, Tatlong Akda sa Tatlong Wika (Ang mga Unang Akdang Prosa ni Mario L. Cuezon sa Cebuano, Ingles at Filipino)". (One Man, Three Works in Three Languages, The First Prose Works of Mario L. Cuezon in Cebuano, English and Filipino). It was the longest thesis then submitted to the UP CAL Graduate Studies Office. It includes two novels (Revolution, An Office Job, in English) and Amang Djani : Usa ka Kaswal sa Usa ka Munisipyo Usa ka Hapon Niana), in Cebuano (The Mute Djani: One Casual Employee of a Town Hall in One Afternoon). It also includes a collection of Filipino short stories titled Ang Barkada at ang Puta o ang Puta at ang Barkada at iba pang mga Kuwento, The Friends and the Prostitute and the Prostitute and the Friends and Other Stories.)

It was the first time that a Cebuano novel was submitted without a translation.

Among the panel members in his thesis defence were Dr. Ariel Agcaoili, Prof. Ligaya Tiamson-Rubin, Prof. Eugene Evasco and Prof. Luna Sicat-Cleto.

Mga Sinulat

• Amang Djani: Usa ka Kaswal sa Usa ka Munisipyo Usa ka Hapon Niana, nobela (Bisaya Magasin)
• Saga sa Gugma Ni Jimmy ug Perly, mga sugilanon

Publikasyon

Sa iyang pag-eskuyla sa kolehiyo isip usa ka UP-Government Scholarship Grantee, nahimo siyang staffmember sa mga campus publications sama sa Sinag (official student paper sa UP College of Arts and Letters ug pagkabuak niini sa tulo ka kolehiyo, sa UP College of Social Sciences and Philosophy) ug sa Philippine Collegian (official student paper sa UP Diliman). Nahimo usab siyang contributor sa Diliman Review.

Nakadaog siya og ganti sa maikling dula (Cubicle) ug sa maikling kuwento (Ang Barkada at ang Puta o ang Puta at ang Barkada) sa Gawad CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines) sa 1998 ug 1999. Napablis ang Cubicle sa Diliman Review ug ang Ang Barkada... sa Ani (Dec. 1989). Naapil usab ang "Ang Barkada..." sa antolohiyang Women's Bodies, Women's Health diin siya lamang ang lalaking manunulat nga naapil.

Matud pa sa hurado sa CCP contest nga sila si Dr. Rosario Cruz Lucero, Liwayway Arceo ug Fanny Garcia, makit-an sa iyang istoryang "Ang Barkada..." "ang lawak ng naabot ng naabot ng kanyang eksperimentasyon".

Cited ang iyang ngalan sa artikulong Short Story sa CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Literatures isip usa sa mga manunulat nga nagpadayon sa "fusion of modernism and committment in the Philippine short story" uban nila ni Ninotchka Rosca, Jose Dalisay, ug uban pa.

Uban sa mga modernist niyang mga istorya ang "Pastilan" (Filipino, published sa Mirror Weekly, gihubad sa Bisaya), "Ang Babaeng Walang Utong" (Mirror Weekly), "Musang" (Phil. Collegian Literary Folio), "Ang Huling Dalaw sa Fort Santiago" (Filmag), "Tagay" (Likhaan 2006), "Tagay Pa" (Philippine Humanities Review, UP).

Napablis ang iyang nobelang Amang Djani sa Bisaya gikan niadtong Mayo 2005 taman sa Marso 2006. Usa kini ka nobelang nagpakita sa korapsyon sa usa ka munisipyo.

Ang uban niyang mga istorya, balak, gumalaysay, feature articles ug balita napablis sa lain-laing publikasyon sama sa Graphic, Free Press, Bisaya, Liwayway, Malindang Herald (Ozamiz), Malindang Tribune (Oroquieta), Panguil Bay Monitor (Ozamiz), Misamis Observer, Misamis Weekly, Salaysayon ug uban pa.

What Writers Say About his Writings:

http:// mgabisayangdako.blogspot.com. February 20, 2007.

“Awtoridad si Bay Mario sa magic realism. Ang iyang literary tradition sa panulat atong mahitalay niining maong natang sa kapanulatan. Nag-inusara siya niini sa atong katitikan.”

(Bay Mario is an authority on magic realism. His literary tradition can be lined along this kind of writing. He is alone in this in our (Cebuano/Visayan) literature.)

Rosa Mercado, Putting a Human Face to Globalization : the Cooperative Model (An Integrative Paper: Asia-Pacific Conference on Cooperatives 2006)

“Poverty eradication also figures highly in two other papers. The paper of Mario L. Cuezon narrates the various lessons and setbacks experienced by some ten cooperatives in Misamis Occidental in their uphill drive to become millionaire coops and make a difference in their communities. He narrates how these cooperatives have made use of their power of borrowing money from various sources, made the risk of branching out and expanding from rural areas to towns and made use of the Grameen method, a micro-financing concept designed to mobilize rural women to engage in small business. Misamis coops have adopted the attitude of “learning from the world, learning from themselves” to make a dent in their communities.”

Omar Khalid, Mubong Kurso sa Pagsulat og Sugilanon, Bisaya Forum Website, also published earlier in Bisaya magasin

http://bisayawearefilipinos.com/index.php?topic=36.msg36

Estilo “...Ang plastada nato sa atong mga linya, kon maantigo ta, makapaikag usab sa mga magbabasa. Dunay sugilanon si Mario L. Cuezon nga may ulohang “Pastilan”. Ning maong sugilanon, gikuha sa tagsulat ang transkripto sa usa ka inahan nga naghilak ibabaw sa patay niining anak. Gani, gisugdan kini niyag letrang gamay ug hangtod sa tumoy sa kataposang bahin sa sugilanon ang inahan di pabangbang sa kahinugon sa iyang namatayng anak. Sa laktod, usa ra gyod ka tudling ug usa ka parapo ang maong sugilanon. .. Kon nakabantay ka sa nobela ni Cuezon (Amang Djani) naa siya’y estilo nga gitawag sa atong magtutudlo sa literatura og interior monologue...”

(The structure of our lines can also attract the interest of our readers. Mario L. Cuezon has a story with the title, “Pastilan”. In this story, he presents the transcript of a mother crying over her dead son. He started with small letters and until the end of his story, the mother wails over the death of her son. In short, there is only one line and one paragraph in the said story... In Cuezon’s novel (Amang Djani) he has a style called by our literature teachers as interior monologue.”

Richel Dorotan, award-winning Cebuano writer, staff of Bisaya magazine (from Bisaya e-groups, June 6, 2006) Dili sa pagpanghambog, usa sa dakong ngalan sa kapanulatang Binisaya ang dagang nga Mario L. Cuezon. Pero dili puydeng pabasahon sa iyang mga sugilanon kadtong sobra ka conservative ug kadtong dunay sakit sa kasingkasing kay magsige lang ra ba tag katawa ining iyang mga trabaho. Mario’s work is funny without being comical. Nagsuwat siya nga morag wa lang magpakatawa. What a writer! (It is not a boast, one of the big names in Cebuano literature is the literature of Mario L. Cuezon. But we cannot allow the ultra-conservatives and those with heart diseases to read his stories as we will always laugh in reading his works. Mario’s work is funny without being comical. He writes as if he was not intending us to laugh. What a writer!)

Rolando B. Tolentino (Ang Aklat Likhaan ng Tula at Maikling Kuwento 2000, page 109): Leading post-modern fictionist, Department of Film, College of Mass Communications, UP Diliman): “Lahat ng ating paniniwala—sinasabi at ikinikilos—ay usaping ideolohikal. May pinapanigan itong interes sa lipunan –mas kampi o kaaway ba ito ng naghahari o pinaghaharing uri, makababae ba o sexista, reaksyonaryo o rebolusyonaryo ba – hindi man ito lantarang inihahayag ng kwento at ng kanyang manunulat. Ang mga kwentong napabilang sa koleksyon ay mas masinop na pagtatangkang bigyan-linaw –kahit hindi bigyan resolusyon—ang mga politikang sinasambit ng naratibo. Ano ang politika ng pagbabagong inaasam at sinasambit ng mga kwento? At tulad ng ating mismong pagkilos sa highly stratified na lipunan, ang mga kwento ay representasyon ng ating pang-araw-araw at pangmatagalang pakikitunggali sa personal at political na karanasan. Kaya mapangahas itong aktibidad ng pagkukwento –naghaharap ito ng sitwasyong iniinugan nito, at nagpepresenta, sa dinamidami ng posibilidad—ng, sa karaniwan, isa lamang resolusyon. At ito ang pinaninindigan ng kwento. Kaya ang kwento ay isang manifesto ng isang karanasan : paano dadanasin at bibigyan-sustansya ang karanasan, halimbawa, ng paghihiwalay sa kwento ni Ellen Sicat, o ng pagdanas ng sakit at paggaling kay Cuezon.

(All our beliefs—words and actions—are ideological terms. They are biased for certain interests in our society—are they friends or enemies of the ruling or the ruled class, are they pro-women or sexist, reactionary or revolutionary—this might not be explicitly expressed in the story or by the writer. The stories included in the collection are clear attempts to present –even if they don’t resolve them—the politics mentioned in the narratives. What is the politics of change wished for or mentioned in the stories? And just like our actions in a highly stratified society, the stories are representations of our everyday and long-term contradictions of our personal and political experiences. So the activity of store telling is a courageous act –it presents a situation and a possibility, out of so many, of only one resolution. And this is the stand of the story. So a story is a manifesto of an experience: how an experience is to be felt or given substance, like separation in the story of Ellen Sicat or the feeling of pain and healing in the story of Cuezon.)

Dr. Thelma B. Kintanar, Department of English and Comparative Literature, College of Arts and Literature, UP Diliman. Last December 2001, his story, Ang Barkada at ang Puta o ang Puta at ang Barkada, was published in the anthology Women's Health, Women's Lives published by the UP Women's Studies Center. Thelma B. Kintanar, the editor, commented in the introduction :

"Mario L. Cuezon is the only male writer included in this anthology, not because we needed a "token male" but because, in "Ang Barkada at ang Puta o Ang Barkada at ang Puta," he portrays powerfully and with deep understanding the socio-economic forces that lead to prostitution among female university students in the Metro Manila area. At the same time, however, he shows us the other side of the question, the socialization and background of male university students who patronize the commercial sex trade as one more pastime. What makes the story effective is not the accretion of starkly realistic detail with which he depicts every move and thought of the characters but his skillful use of technique. Relying mainly on juxtaposition and shifts in point of view, he tells the story from a dual perspective : that of the desperate female student from the slums who must prostitute herself to pay her next semester's tuition and that of the male students from an exclusive school, rich and spoiled rotten, who think of themselves as playing a game in which they carelessly spend hundreds of pesos for a few hours of pleasure. True, this is not enforced prostitution but commercial sex - the girl willingly engages in it. It is easy to condemn her but the story poses the question : given her circumstances, what are her options? As for the males, they turn vicious and change the game to one of sadistic pleasure when they think that she may have infected them with STD. The parallel presentations of consciousness and the shifts in point of view which the author deftly negotiates, not just from one paragraph to the other, not just from one sentence to the next but even within the same sentence, shed light on situation and character better than overt authorial comment."

Jun Cruz Reyes (Ang Aklat Likhaan ng Tula at Maikling Kuwento, 1996, page 42): (Award-winning novelist and short story writer teaching fiction at the Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas at College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman) “Sa Tagay ni Mario Cuezon, nilasing niya sa detalye, sa pasatirikong pamamaraan, ang mambabasa. Sa biglang tingin, hindi nakakagalit ang burukrata-kapitalismo, kapag ang kwento’y ganito. Pinapatawa niya ang mambabasa, hanggang magsawa at magalit. At mag-isip-isip, bakit ganito?”

(In Tagay by Mario L. Cuezon, he makes the readers drunk with his details, in a satirical way. At one glance, bureaucrat capitalism is not something to be angry against, if a story is like this. He makes his readers laugh, until they get bore and get angry. And think, why are things like this?)

Liwayway Arceo, Fanny Garcia, Rosario Cruz Lucero (as judges in Gawad CCP 1989), in Ani, December 1989: (Award-winning writers in Filipino and English)

“ Sa Aming pagbabalik sa Ang Barkada at ang Puta O ang Puta at ang Barkada, muli naming ‘nakita’ ang mga kadahilanan ng aming pag-ayaw sa nasabing obra. Kung paiiralin naming ang aming ‘mata’ bilang editor, ilalathala namin ang akda nang halos ay hindi lalapatan ng editing upang maipakita ang kakanyahan ng awtor, at ang lawak ng naabot ng kanyang eksperimento. “Hindi namin inihihiwalay sa hindi-nasusulat na pamantayan na ang isang akdang nagwagi sa isang pambansang timpalak ay laging may posibilidad na isalin sa ibang wika. Bilang babae, at batay na rin sa ‘pagtutol’ ng aming mga kasama sa propesyon ng babae, iyon din ang aming sinasabi ngayon: “Wala na bang maaaring pasuking gawain ang isang babaeng dukha kundi ang ipagbili ang kanyang sarili?”

(In our review of Ang Barkada at ang Puta O ang Puta at ang Barkada, we saw again the reasons for our dislike of the said work. If we were to let our eyes reign as editor, we will publish the work with almost no editing to show the ability of the writer and the breadth of what his experimentation had reached. We cannot separate from the unwritten standard that a work which had won in a national contest always has the possibility of being translated in another language. As women and based on the protest of our colleagues against the profession of the woman, this is what we will say now: “Does a poor woman have no other possible job except to sell herself?”)

Rosario Cruz Lucero with notes from Soledad S. Reyes, Recil Mojares, M. Bulong and P.E. Marino. (Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Encyclopedia on Philippine Literatures (“Short Story, page 258):

“In English and Tagalog, the fusion between modernism and commitment in the Philippine short story, is continued by writers like Jose Y. Dalisay, Mario I. Miclat, Leoncio P. Deriada, Amadis Ma. Guerrero, Ninotchka Rosca, Noel Salonga, Roland Tolentino, Eli R. Guieb, R. Fullones Santos, Mario L. Cuezon, Lemuel Torrevillas, Luning Bonifacio Ira and many others.

PUBLISHED WORKS NOVEL

Amang Djani Bisaya (Usa ka Kaswal sa Usa ka Munisipyo June 2005 – March 2006 Usa ka Hapon Niana)

STORIES/ POEMS. Filipino Stories 17 Balikbayan Ani 32. 2006 16. Tagay, Do Philippine Humanities Review 2004 15. Lingin Buhangin Liwayway, Oktubre 18, 2004 14. Batito Liwayway, September 20, 2004 13 Pagdaan ng Bagyo, Gaganda ang Bukas Liwayway, July 19, 2004

         (Drowing ni Anne)

12. Totong Bontong Liwayway, May 2004 Ani 30. Bantay Sining. 2004 (Cultural Center of the Philippines) 11. Bato Liwayway, Hulyo 14, 2003 10. Ang Babaeng Walang Utong Mirror Weekly, April 16, 2001 9. Pastilan Mirror Weekly, June 4, 2001 Lagda 2 (1999) 8. Actually Philippine Collegian, March 5, 2001 7. Akyu Mirror Weekly, 2000 2000 Aklat Likhaan. UP Institute of Creative Writing 6. Tagay 1996 Aklat Likhaan UP Institute of Creative Writing 5. Giatay (Shanananana) Liwayway, Oktubre 26, 1998 4. Musang Balitaw 1998 Collegian Literary Folio 3. Ang Lalaki sa Buhay ni Inday Amelia Liwayway, Marso 2, 1998. 2. Huling Dalaw sa Fort Santiago Filmag, February 2, 1998. 1. Ang Barkada at ang Puta Ani, Disyembre 1989

  o ang Puta at ang Barkada	     	 	Women's Health, 

Women’s Bodies, Dec. 2001 (Anthology of Women’s Writings) UP Center for Women’s Studies

English Stories

3. Herod, the Brave Utitud Ani 33, 2007 2. Dodong Botong and Tata Nipa Junior Inquirer. 2005. 1. The Mango and the Tamarind Diliman Review, 2003

Cebuano Stories (stories in bold are about the love story of Jimmy and Perli) 29. Emperor sa Alak Bisaya.Agosto 2010 28. Ang Gingharian sa mga Baksan Bisaya, Agosto 11, 2010 27. Ang Rayna sa Binalbal Bisaya, Hulyo 2010 26. Ang Tulay sa Pangulo Bisaya, Hulyo 2010 25. Ang Pangumpisal ni Jimmy Bisaya, Hulyo 2010 24. Si Dodong, Ang Batang Bayoti Bisaya, Enero 27, 2010 23 Ang Gala nga Giapilan ni Juan ug Jimmy Bisaya, Septiyembre 8, 2009

     Ang Gala nga Giapilan ni Juan ug Jimmy	            Bisaya, Septiyembre 2, 2009
      Bagani sa Dagang Bisaya					Bisaya, Hulyo 8, 2009

22. Bagani sa Dagang Bisaya Bisaya, Hulyo 1, 2009 21. Ang Gidamgong Trahe ni Perlita Bisaya, Hunyo 3, 2009 20. Coroy Bisaya, Disyembre 10, 2008 19. Ang Katapusang Gabii sa Pagkaulitaw Bisaya, Nob. 26, 2008 18. Ang Sugilanon ni Lanie Bisaya, Setyembre 3, 2008 17. Ang Hari sa Habalhabal Bisaya, Hulyo 23,2007 (Titles in bold print are those about the love saga of Jimmy and Perli) 16. Hain si Roan? Bisaya, Enero 9, 2007 15. Naay Daan, Naay Hinulaman Bisaya, Nobiyembre 28, 2007 14. Trahe de Bodo Bisaya, Septyembre 12, 2007 13 Naay Bag-o, Naay Blue Bisaya, Agosto 27, 2007 12 Ang Gala ug Ganas sa Kasal ni Jimmy ug Perly Bisaya. Marso 2007 11. Si Miss Talent Bisaya. Pebrero 2007 10. Ang Stag Party alang kang Jimmy Bisaya, Nob. 2006 9. Ang Katapusang Pagbisita sa Gala Theater Bisaya, Okt. 4, 2006 8.. Ang Labing Dakong Kombera sa Barangay Hilithilit Bisaya, Hulyo 2006 7.. Ang mga Boarders ug si Beautiful Girl Bisaya 2005 6.. Ang Labing Gwapo ug Labing Dako sa UP Diliman Bisaya, 2005 5. Ang Lalaki nga Nangita og Perpekto nga Asawa Bisaya, 2004 4. Buwagi Bisaya, Oktubre 2004 3. Ang Gikahinamang Kasal ni Jimmy ug Perli Bisaya, July 4, 2004 2. Ang Pamalaye Nilang Juan-Maring Bisaya, 2003 1. Ang Karibal ni Farah Bisaya, September 25, 2002

Filipino Poems

9. Hagkan Ta ang Olibo Kabayan, Pebrero 23, 2001 8. Lalaki pa Kaya Itong mga Halaman Sidhaya, Collegian Folio 7. Isang Masakit na Ngipin Katipunan, June 1986

                    (US-Based paper,       Movt. For Democratic Philippines)

6. Huwag kang Magsalita ng Kalayaan Phil.Collegian, Dec. 1, 1981 5. Isang Pumpon ng mga Salita Sinag,March 1982

    Nagpipilit Maging Tula

4. Hayaan mo, Kaibigan Breakthrough, Oct.-Nov. 1981 3. Sa Araw Mo Phil. Collegian, Aug.20, 1981 2. Gising na, Ina Campus Journal,Mar. 1989. 1. Gabing Wari ay Walang Hanggan Phil.Collegian, Dec. 4, 1980

English Poems

11.When He Dives Phil. Free Press, Jan. 16, 1999 10. We Wage a War with Words Diliman Review, 1998 9 Don't Give Up Life Today, June 1996 8. And These Plains Will be Our Mountains Philippine Collegian, 1986 7 They Shoot my Brothers in Negros National MIDWEEK, May 1986 Phil. Free Press, April 21, 2001 6. Your Body is a Jungle Collegian Literary Folio, May 1986. 5. Coitus Politicus The Literary Apprentice 1984-85

    (Political Penetration)

4. If I were to Court You Phil.Collegian, Dec. 1, 1981 3. In Response to my Doctored Lines Sinag, September 1981 2. How Could I Write Phil. Collegian, Feb. 26, 1981 1.. I Cannot Sleep Because Phil. Collegian, Sept. 18, 1980 Venture, March 1981 The Literary Apprentice 1984-85.

Cebuano Poems Print Media 30 Dela Paz, Panaon Bisaya, Hulyo 2010 29. Kakatol sa Lapalapang Aloman Bisaya, Pebrero 4, 2009 28. Kukabildo sa Mamintosay Bisaya, Oktubre 22, 2008, p. 18. 27.Pasagdi Akong Mobalak Bisaya, June 4, 2008 26.Kinsay Nag-ingon nga Ganahan Siyang Magluto Bisaya, March 2008

Published Online 25. Usa ka Langgam Usa ka Buntag,

  Panahon sa Rumble/ 				Lunsayng Binisaya (online)
  One Bird, One Morning, Rumble Times		Lunsayng Binisaya (online)

24.Usahay Mousab ko Pagkagod, Pinangga/

   Minsay Muli Akong Nagkudkod II			Lunsayng Binisaya (online)

23.Ug Ila Siyang Gilubong/And They Buried Him Lunsayng Binisaya (online) 22.Gisuot niya ang iyang Kaulay nga Daw

    Mahalong Alahas/She Wears her Virginity	Lunsayng Binisaya (online)
     Like a Precious Jewel

21. Frat Night (with English translation) Lunsayng Binisaya (online) 20. Pagtapos sa Bansay-Bansay /Ending a Training 19. Fotbol/ Football Lunsayng Binisaya (online) 18. Misagubang Kami og Gubat sa mga Pulong/

     We Wage a War with Words I			Lunsayng Binisaya (online)

Published Print Media Mga Balak sa Suroy-Suroy (Poems of Travel) Bisaya, January 2, 2007 (Won 6th prize, Bathalad-Mindanao contest 2007) 17.Sa Catadman, Mangga (performed, Ozamiz ) 16.Bugnaw (performed, Clarin, MisOcc) 15.Fotbol 14.Pagpaminaw sa mga Baki 13.Pagtapos sa Bansay-Bansay (performed, Linconan, Bonifacio 2000) 12.Sa Baybay 11.Sulat kang James 10. Nahinumduman ko ang Sierra Madre Bisaya, Setyembre 2007 9. Molabay Pa Gihapon ang mga Logging Trucks Bisaya, Setyembre 5, 2007 8.Di Mi Mosungkod og Armalite, Higala Bisaya, 2005 7. Nanay Justa Malindang Herald, Feb. 6-12, 2005 6. Sulat Kang Budok Malindang Herald, Jan. 30-Feb 5, 2005 5. Rayna sa Kaanyag Malindang Herald, Jan 23-29, 2005 4. Sulat Kang Ingka Sepa Bisaya, September 2000 Kawit sa Buntagon (anthology) 3. Harana Bisaya, Hulyo 3, 1996 2. Kasal Salaysayon, Hunyo 1986 1. Ang Subang Palilan Salaysayon, Hunyo 1986

PLAY 1. Cubicle Diliman Review,

							Vol.45, No. 4-Vol. 46,No. 1