José Wendell Capili
Encyclopedia
is a writer and academic from the Philippines
. He earned degrees from the University of Santo Tomas
, University of the Philippines
, University of Tokyo
(東京大学), University of Cambridge and Australian National University
. He is a Professor of creative writing and comparative literature at the College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines
, where he was the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. His creative and scholarly works have been published in East and Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and Australia.
, "Edith L. Tiempo
, Rene Amper, Peter Bacho
, Jose Capili, Maria Carino, and the incomparable Fatima Lim-Wilson are included to remind us all of what reading good poetry, feels like. And read Luis Cabalquinto, Jose Capili, and Ricardo de Ungria carefully. You will be immensely rewarded if you do". A.R.D.S. Bordado said that Capili’s “The Great Australian Landscape” and “Gorilla Bay” show the Filipino sensibility imbibing foreign geography. The latter poem describes the beauty of the bay: “Gastropods on a drift/ conceive enclosures of/ bubbles shimmering forth,/ polished and white among/ rocks, splashing as spring/ time turns supremely aqua/ marine, even less torrential.” Of "Baguio: The Demise", Ralph Semino Galan of the University of Santo Tomas
writes how Capili utilizes the aftermath of another disaster, the gutted down remains of the Pines Hotel that burned down in 1984, as one of the objective correlatives (“the turn and flow of stones/ we perceived from childhood/ as walls, doors and ceilings/”) to express the emotional vacuity the personae in his elegiac poem are experiencing years after their major romantic breakup. For Galan, Capili is able to obfuscate the obvious intensity of the emotions that are being stirred by the reunion, for he makes the ex-lovers focus on the physical landscape, rather than the inner turmoil they are feeling in each other’s formerly familiar presence: “the rustle of leaves/ behaving like music,” “the landscape of cones/ falling on mountain sleeves,” “pure hemp and other bell-shaped/ things awakening from/ a sudden gush of the wind”.
to interview National Artist Napoleón Abueva
, the "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture". Capili's interview revealed Abueva's deeper insights about life and art, especially in connection with World War II. Says Abueva: "We sought the remains of our parents from a field of corpses and items belonging to the members of the resistance group. It was painful for me and my siblings to unearth the soiled white shirt with blue stripes, which belonged to my father. We also found a piece of my mother’s dress as well as her rosary. Later, we found my parents’ bodies and we buried them. It was very painful. As an artist, these experiences taught me to see life in a different way. More specifically, I tried my best to look for new ways of expressing ideas as a way of dealing with the pain".
Capili worked on a research project involving Southeast Asian diaspora writers in Australia at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University
. In 2004, he was one of fifteen postgraduate scholars from universities across Australia and New Zealand chosen by La Trobe University
to read papers during the Australian Perspectives Conference in suburban Melbourne. Professor Robert Manne
delivered the keynote presentation. In 2005, he was a Visiting Scholar at the National University of Singapore
, University of Sydney
, Westerly Centre of the University of Western Australia
; University of Melbourne
; and the University of Queensland
. These brought about the publication of From the Editors: Migrant Communities and Emerging Australian Literature (2007) and Salu-Salo: In Conversation with Filipinos (2008). But critic Michael Jacklin of the University of Wollongong
, in The Transnational Turn in Australian Literary Studies, commented that while publications on Southeast Asian diaspora writers and every other cultural group that has settled in Australia could be provided for the transnational dimensions of Vietnamese-Australian, Lao-Australian or Philippine-Australian writing, such work frequently remains undocumented by literature infrastructure. As Jacklin observes, "Cheeseman and Capili’s book is yet to appear in Library Australia’s listings; it does appear in the Blacktown City Libraries catalogue". Similarly, AusLit, the Australian Literature Resource, cited Capili's 'Southeast Asian diaspora writers in Australia and the consequence of community-based initiatives', in which he notes the difficulty of finding an audience for community-based Southeast Asian writers in Australia.
In The Politics of Identity and Mimetic Constructions in the Philippine Transnational Experience, Sharon Orig noted that Capili's early work on displacement and reterritorialization in Philippine expatriate poetry in the United States (1993) "expounds on 'de-territorialization' as a 'displacement,' 'dislocation,' or simply a feeling of 'not being home'". Capili's interest in migration studies is more evident in Immigrant themes in Japanese-American and Filipino-American poetry (1995) and The Relocalisation of Japanese Immigrants in Davao
, Southern Philippines (1996). Arnold Molina Azurin, in The Japanese in our Midst: An Exploratory Analysis of the Experiences of Japanese Migrants/Settlers in the Philippines, and Shun Ohno (大野 俊), in Rethinking Okinawan Diasporas in 'Davaokuo (｢ダバオ国｣の沖縄人社会再考 －本土日本人、フィリピン人との関係を中心に－), noted how Capili described Japan as dura virum nutrix (a hard nurse of men) due to that country's open and shifting hierarchy. Ultimately, for Azurin, Capili suggests that wealth, not blood, was the greater recipient of position [of privilege], and wealth could be created by (war-making) skill or fraud. "It was a situation where money and contracts, not blood and status, ruled", Capili asserts. Azurin comments: "And then, with direct reference to the dire situation in the early 1900s among the common folk in Japan, he (Capili) suggests that 'Japanese emigrants decided to establish settlements in Davao because…[by his own sweat] a person can move up fairly quickly, certainly within a lifetime'".
noted how Capili identified Agnes Locsin's neoethnic choreographies as a prestigious and technically effective site for what Locsin calls "Filipinization", and on more than one level "the state of the art" in an internationally-oriented project of cultural nationalism. Says Ness: "Capili recognized this function of Locsin's work, when Ms. Locsin's neoethnic ballet Babalyan was awarded the prestigious Prince Norihito Takamado Award from Japan's Imperial Family in 1994. 'Once and for all', Capili wrote, in a feature article published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer
, 'Locsin asserted the fact that we are not a nation of domestics and prostitutes'.
In Who's Afraid of The Kayumanggi?, Stephanie Dychiu implied that openness to a non-white paradigm can be attributed to what Capili described as key incidents in history: "The emergence of the African-American and Asian-American movement; the liberation of colonized countries in Asia and Africa after World War II; the emergence of non-white artists in mainstream cultures, as exemplified by the domination of Motown music during the 1960s and 1970s; the emergence of colored supermodels like Anna Bayle, Naomi Campbell, and others—these are circumstances that were not there before World War II..."
In Barry Cyrus Viloria's Brand X, Brand Y, Brand RP, Capili reacts to the sudden rise of "branded nationalism" (e.g., Philippine map sewn on commercially-produced shirts): "self-expression can be achieved in many ways [and these] clothes can be very strong statements". Entrepreneurs behind this "branding" may have the most immaculate intentions. If they, Capili adds, have made sure that these "emblems and colors are utilized to achieve a particular effect on citizens," then they’re moving towards nationalistic. Unfortunately, when mass production and free market saw an opportunity, the event became a fad.
Following widespread public outrage over Miss Universe
2010 runner-up Venus Raj's response to actor William Baldwin
's question during the pageant's live telecast, broadcast journalist Mario Dumaual of ABS-CBN
's TV Patrol reported that for Capili and Miss Universe 1969
Gloria Diaz
, Philippine delegates should be allowed to speak in their native tongue. Says Capili: "Filipinos should speak in the language they are comfortable with...(Raj) should've been allowed to speak in Bicolano, but not because she's unintelligent or incapable of speaking in English. Look at Miss Mexico. She can speak in English but she had an interpreter for the question and answer portion. She had an opportunity to think about her answer twice or thrice".
In an interview with Sam L. Marcelo of BusinessWorld
during the 60th Palanca Awards
(2010), Capili also commented on the propensity of young Filipino writers to challenge form. For Capili, the aesthetics of the present generation are different owing to the influence of the Internet. Whereas writers in the old days emphasized formalism, writers today draw strength from mainstream literary tradition as well as indigenous and emerging or experimental culture.
Spanish novelist and screenwriter Ignacio Martinez de Pison's La Filipinas de Amparo Muñoz (The Philippines of Amparo Muñoz, 2011), published in El País, referred to Capili's third book, Mabuhay to Beauty (2003), as a starting point to help explain the iconic nature of beauty pageants and luminaries like Miss Universe
1974 Amparo Muñoz
in the Philippines.
Seminar on Contemporary Literature (Downing College, University of Cambridge, 2000), the Hong Kong International Literary Festival (University of Hong Kong, 2000), the Sydney Writers' Festival (2007, 2008) and the 76th International PEN
Congress (Tokyo, Japan, 2010).
Philippines
' Laki sa Gatas advocate for Bear BrandMilk. He joined the product's other television, radio and print campaign endorsers, Batangas
Governor and actress Vilma Santos
, Manila
Vice Mayor Isko Moreno
, Miss International
2006 Precious Lara Quigaman
, actor Marvin Agustin
, singer Regine Velasquez
, comedian Michael V.
and actress Eugene Domingo
. Says BusinessWorld columnist Nanette Franco-Diyco, "With all these very well-chosen endorsers partnering with Nestléin this much-needed educational campaign targeted at the D and E socioeconomic groups, important health benefits may indeed be obtainable".
In 2010, after newly posted Chilean Ambassador to the Philippines Dr. Roberto Mayorga launched "Chile: Odes from the Philippines-A Poetry Contest for Filipino Students" to commemorate the Bicentenary of Independence of the Republic of Chile, and to celebrate the rescue of 33 Chileans in San Jose Mines, Capili says, "it's a way for Filipino students to connect with Chile...Chile may be geographically remote, but the situation of the miners is not far from our OFWs (overseas foreign workers)." For Capili, poetry may capture a limited number of people, but these are people who can preserve the memories and the close ties, adding that it is a way of nurturing cultural literacy.
While promoting the Philippines as a university destination to secondary students in Hong Kong, Capili commented that courses in top Philippnes universities, especially in the arts and social sciences, enable students to be more creative by thinking "outside the box". At the University of the Philippines, "students and faculty members enjoy academic freedom, which is not (being) underscored in many schools and universities in the region,” Capili added.
The budget of Philippine state colleges and universities (SUCs) has been cut due to the dwindling national government budget. Capili reacted to suggestions that SUCs should look for other sources of income externally, like leasing land and other services to private companies, or selling products and technology. Capili stressed, "it is not the mandate of the university to make money. Our job is to educate and train students." Capili added that SUCs should not spend so much time and energy raising funds, so he is appealing to the government to prioritize education.
approved the appointment of Capili as Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs and Director of the Office of Alumni Relations. He was also the Director of the UP System Information Office (2009–2011).
(as co-editor, with John Cheeseman) Salu-Salo: In Conversation with Filipinos, (Blacktown and Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia: Blacktown Arts Centre and Casula Powerhouse, 2008)
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. He earned degrees from the University of Santo Tomas
University of Santo Tomas
The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
, University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
, University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
(東京大学), University of Cambridge and Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. He is a Professor of creative writing and comparative literature at the College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
, where he was the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. His creative and scholarly works have been published in East and Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and Australia.
Background and writing career
Despite Capili's lean output, his poems received some critical attention. Says Al Camus Palomar of the University of OklahomaUniversity of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, "Edith L. Tiempo
Edith L. Tiempo
Edith L. Tiempo , poet, fiction writer, teacher and literary critic was a Filipino writer in the English language.Tiempo was born in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya...
, Rene Amper, Peter Bacho
Peter Bacho
Peter Bacho is a writer and teacher best known for his book Cebu which won the American Book Award. The book is considered literary significant among Filipino American literature because of its explorations in themes such as neocolonialism and Filipino-American identity.Bacho also won the...
, Jose Capili, Maria Carino, and the incomparable Fatima Lim-Wilson are included to remind us all of what reading good poetry, feels like. And read Luis Cabalquinto, Jose Capili, and Ricardo de Ungria carefully. You will be immensely rewarded if you do". A.R.D.S. Bordado said that Capili’s “The Great Australian Landscape” and “Gorilla Bay” show the Filipino sensibility imbibing foreign geography. The latter poem describes the beauty of the bay: “Gastropods on a drift/ conceive enclosures of/ bubbles shimmering forth,/ polished and white among/ rocks, splashing as spring/ time turns supremely aqua/ marine, even less torrential.” Of "Baguio: The Demise", Ralph Semino Galan of the University of Santo Tomas
University of Santo Tomas
The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
writes how Capili utilizes the aftermath of another disaster, the gutted down remains of the Pines Hotel that burned down in 1984, as one of the objective correlatives (“the turn and flow of stones/ we perceived from childhood/ as walls, doors and ceilings/”) to express the emotional vacuity the personae in his elegiac poem are experiencing years after their major romantic breakup. For Galan, Capili is able to obfuscate the obvious intensity of the emotions that are being stirred by the reunion, for he makes the ex-lovers focus on the physical landscape, rather than the inner turmoil they are feeling in each other’s formerly familiar presence: “the rustle of leaves/ behaving like music,” “the landscape of cones/ falling on mountain sleeves,” “pure hemp and other bell-shaped/ things awakening from/ a sudden gush of the wind”.
Research career
In 2001, Capili was commissioned by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (Philippines)National Commission for Culture and the Arts (Philippines)
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines is the official arts council for the Philippines.-History:In 1987, then President Corazon C. Aquino penned Executive Order No. 118 creating the Presidential Commission on Culture and Arts...
to interview National Artist Napoleón Abueva
Napoleón Abueva
Napoleón Isabelo Veloso-Abueva , more popularly known as Napoleón Abueva, is a Filipino artist. He is a sculptor given the distinction as the Philippines' National Artist for Sculpture. He is also entitled as the "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture"...
, the "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture". Capili's interview revealed Abueva's deeper insights about life and art, especially in connection with World War II. Says Abueva: "We sought the remains of our parents from a field of corpses and items belonging to the members of the resistance group. It was painful for me and my siblings to unearth the soiled white shirt with blue stripes, which belonged to my father. We also found a piece of my mother’s dress as well as her rosary. Later, we found my parents’ bodies and we buried them. It was very painful. As an artist, these experiences taught me to see life in a different way. More specifically, I tried my best to look for new ways of expressing ideas as a way of dealing with the pain".
Capili worked on a research project involving Southeast Asian diaspora writers in Australia at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. In 2004, he was one of fifteen postgraduate scholars from universities across Australia and New Zealand chosen by La Trobe University
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
to read papers during the Australian Perspectives Conference in suburban Melbourne. Professor Robert Manne
Robert Manne
Robert Manne is a professor of politics at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.Born in Melbourne, Manne's earliest political consciousness was formed by the fact that his parents were Jewish refugees from Europe and his grandparents were victims of the Holocaust...
delivered the keynote presentation. In 2005, he was a Visiting Scholar at the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
, University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, Westerly Centre of the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
; University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
; and the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
. These brought about the publication of From the Editors: Migrant Communities and Emerging Australian Literature (2007) and Salu-Salo: In Conversation with Filipinos (2008). But critic Michael Jacklin of the University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...
, in The Transnational Turn in Australian Literary Studies, commented that while publications on Southeast Asian diaspora writers and every other cultural group that has settled in Australia could be provided for the transnational dimensions of Vietnamese-Australian, Lao-Australian or Philippine-Australian writing, such work frequently remains undocumented by literature infrastructure. As Jacklin observes, "Cheeseman and Capili’s book is yet to appear in Library Australia’s listings; it does appear in the Blacktown City Libraries catalogue". Similarly, AusLit, the Australian Literature Resource, cited Capili's 'Southeast Asian diaspora writers in Australia and the consequence of community-based initiatives', in which he notes the difficulty of finding an audience for community-based Southeast Asian writers in Australia.
In The Politics of Identity and Mimetic Constructions in the Philippine Transnational Experience, Sharon Orig noted that Capili's early work on displacement and reterritorialization in Philippine expatriate poetry in the United States (1993) "expounds on 'de-territorialization' as a 'displacement,' 'dislocation,' or simply a feeling of 'not being home'". Capili's interest in migration studies is more evident in Immigrant themes in Japanese-American and Filipino-American poetry (1995) and The Relocalisation of Japanese Immigrants in Davao
Davao
Davao refers to several closely related places in Mindanao in the Philippines. The term is used most often to refer to the city.*Davao Region, an administrative region*Davao del Norte province*Davao del Sur province*Davao Oriental province...
, Southern Philippines (1996). Arnold Molina Azurin, in The Japanese in our Midst: An Exploratory Analysis of the Experiences of Japanese Migrants/Settlers in the Philippines, and Shun Ohno (大野 俊), in Rethinking Okinawan Diasporas in 'Davaokuo (｢ダバオ国｣の沖縄人社会再考 －本土日本人、フィリピン人との関係を中心に－), noted how Capili described Japan as dura virum nutrix (a hard nurse of men) due to that country's open and shifting hierarchy. Ultimately, for Azurin, Capili suggests that wealth, not blood, was the greater recipient of position [of privilege], and wealth could be created by (war-making) skill or fraud. "It was a situation where money and contracts, not blood and status, ruled", Capili asserts. Azurin comments: "And then, with direct reference to the dire situation in the early 1900s among the common folk in Japan, he (Capili) suggests that 'Japanese emigrants decided to establish settlements in Davao because…[by his own sweat] a person can move up fairly quickly, certainly within a lifetime'".
Commentator of popular culture
Aside from creative writing and comparative migration studies, Capili also discussed aspects of popular culture in the Philippines. In Originality in the Postcolony: Choreographing the Neoethnic Body of Philippine Ballet, critic Sally A. Ness of the University of California, RiversideUniversity of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system. UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United...
noted how Capili identified Agnes Locsin's neoethnic choreographies as a prestigious and technically effective site for what Locsin calls "Filipinization", and on more than one level "the state of the art" in an internationally-oriented project of cultural nationalism. Says Ness: "Capili recognized this function of Locsin's work, when Ms. Locsin's neoethnic ballet Babalyan was awarded the prestigious Prince Norihito Takamado Award from Japan's Imperial Family in 1994. 'Once and for all', Capili wrote, in a feature article published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Philippine Daily Inquirer, popularly known as the Inquirer, is the most widely read broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines, with a daily circulation of 260,000 copies. It is one of the Philippines' newspapers of record...
, 'Locsin asserted the fact that we are not a nation of domestics and prostitutes'.
In Who's Afraid of The Kayumanggi?, Stephanie Dychiu implied that openness to a non-white paradigm can be attributed to what Capili described as key incidents in history: "The emergence of the African-American and Asian-American movement; the liberation of colonized countries in Asia and Africa after World War II; the emergence of non-white artists in mainstream cultures, as exemplified by the domination of Motown music during the 1960s and 1970s; the emergence of colored supermodels like Anna Bayle, Naomi Campbell, and others—these are circumstances that were not there before World War II..."
In Barry Cyrus Viloria's Brand X, Brand Y, Brand RP, Capili reacts to the sudden rise of "branded nationalism" (e.g., Philippine map sewn on commercially-produced shirts): "self-expression can be achieved in many ways [and these] clothes can be very strong statements". Entrepreneurs behind this "branding" may have the most immaculate intentions. If they, Capili adds, have made sure that these "emblems and colors are utilized to achieve a particular effect on citizens," then they’re moving towards nationalistic. Unfortunately, when mass production and free market saw an opportunity, the event became a fad.
Following widespread public outrage over Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
2010 runner-up Venus Raj's response to actor William Baldwin
William Baldwin
William Joseph "Billy" Baldwin is an American actor, producer, and writer, known for his starring roles in such films as Flatliners , Backdraft , Sliver , Fair Game , Virus , Double Bang , as Johnny 13 in Danny Phantom , Art Heist , The Squid and the Whale , as himself...
's question during the pageant's live telecast, broadcast journalist Mario Dumaual of ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN
ABS–CBN Corporation is a Philippine-based media conglomerate. It is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate. The corporation was the merger of Alto Broadcasting System which at that time owned by James Lindenberg and Antonio Quirino, and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network ...
's TV Patrol reported that for Capili and Miss Universe 1969
Miss Universe 1969
Miss Universe 1969, the 18th edition of the Miss Universe pageant, was held in Miami Beach, Florida, USA. The winner was Gloria Diaz, an eighteen year old Miss Philippines. Ms...
Gloria Diaz
Gloria Diaz
Gloria Maria Aspillera Diaz is an award-winning actress in the Philippines, and the first Filipino to bring home the Miss Universe crown.-Early Life and Family:...
, Philippine delegates should be allowed to speak in their native tongue. Says Capili: "Filipinos should speak in the language they are comfortable with...(Raj) should've been allowed to speak in Bicolano, but not because she's unintelligent or incapable of speaking in English. Look at Miss Mexico. She can speak in English but she had an interpreter for the question and answer portion. She had an opportunity to think about her answer twice or thrice".
In an interview with Sam L. Marcelo of BusinessWorld
BusinessWorld
BusinessWorld is a business newspaper in the Philippines. Its forerunner, BusinessDay, whose maiden issue came out on February 27,1967, was Southeast Asia’s first business daily. As of September 2011, it has a daily circulation of 65,000....
during the 60th Palanca Awards
Palanca Awards
The Palanca Awards or Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature is the Philippines' most prestigious and most enduring literary awards and is dubbed as the "Pulitzer Prize" of the Philippines...
(2010), Capili also commented on the propensity of young Filipino writers to challenge form. For Capili, the aesthetics of the present generation are different owing to the influence of the Internet. Whereas writers in the old days emphasized formalism, writers today draw strength from mainstream literary tradition as well as indigenous and emerging or experimental culture.
Spanish novelist and screenwriter Ignacio Martinez de Pison's La Filipinas de Amparo Muñoz (The Philippines of Amparo Muñoz, 2011), published in El País, referred to Capili's third book, Mabuhay to Beauty (2003), as a starting point to help explain the iconic nature of beauty pageants and luminaries like Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
1974 Amparo Muñoz
Amparo Muñoz
Amparo Muñoz Quesada was a Spanish actress who, in 1974, became the first, and so far, only Spaniard to win the Miss Universe pageant.-Miss Universe 1974:Amparo Muñoz came from the town of Vélez-Málaga, Andalusia,...
in the Philippines.
Literary festivals and conferences
Capili's works were read and featured during the British CouncilBritish Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
Seminar on Contemporary Literature (Downing College, University of Cambridge, 2000), the Hong Kong International Literary Festival (University of Hong Kong, 2000), the Sydney Writers' Festival (2007, 2008) and the 76th International PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
Congress (Tokyo, Japan, 2010).
Advocacies
In 2008, Capili became NestleNestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
' Laki sa Gatas advocate for Bear BrandMilk. He joined the product's other television, radio and print campaign endorsers, Batangas
Batangas
Batangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...
Governor and actress Vilma Santos
Vilma Santos
Maria Rosa Vilma Tuazon Santos-Recto commonly known as Vilma Santos-Recto or Ate Vi is a multi-awarded actress and politician...
, Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
Vice Mayor Isko Moreno
Isko Moreno
Francisco Domagoso is the current vice mayor of Manila, Philippines, and a former three-term councilor of the city's first congressional district...
, Miss International
Miss International
Miss International is an annual international beauty pageant held since 1960.The current Miss International is Fernanda Cornejo, from Ecuador...
2006 Precious Lara Quigaman
Precious Lara Quigaman
Precious Lara San Agustin Quigaman is a model, host, freelance web page writer, and former beauty queen who won the 2005 Miss International beauty pageant held in Tokyo, Japan. She is the fourth Filipina to have won the crown, after Gemma Cruz in 1964, Aurora Pijuan in 1970, and Melanie Marquez...
, actor Marvin Agustin
Marvin Agustín
Marvin Jay Cuyugan Agustin, better known by his stage name Marvin Agustin is a Filipino actor and entrepreneur.-Showbiz career:...
, singer Regine Velasquez
Regine Velasquez
Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez , better known as Asia's Songbird, Regine Velasquez, is a Filipino singer, actress, record producer and TV host...
, comedian Michael V.
Michael V.
Michael V. , also known as "Bitoy" or "Toybits", is a Filipino comedian, actor, director, composer, singer, rapper, voice artist and parodist, who appears in the GMA Network show Bubble Gang, and in his own TV show Bitoy's Funniest Videos...
and actress Eugene Domingo
Eugene Domingo
Eugene Domingo is a Filipina theater, movie and television actress. She is the only actress in the Philippine entertainment history to have participated in six films produced by eight different Filipino production companies...
. Says BusinessWorld columnist Nanette Franco-Diyco, "With all these very well-chosen endorsers partnering with Nestléin this much-needed educational campaign targeted at the D and E socioeconomic groups, important health benefits may indeed be obtainable".
In 2010, after newly posted Chilean Ambassador to the Philippines Dr. Roberto Mayorga launched "Chile: Odes from the Philippines-A Poetry Contest for Filipino Students" to commemorate the Bicentenary of Independence of the Republic of Chile, and to celebrate the rescue of 33 Chileans in San Jose Mines, Capili says, "it's a way for Filipino students to connect with Chile...Chile may be geographically remote, but the situation of the miners is not far from our OFWs (overseas foreign workers)." For Capili, poetry may capture a limited number of people, but these are people who can preserve the memories and the close ties, adding that it is a way of nurturing cultural literacy.
While promoting the Philippines as a university destination to secondary students in Hong Kong, Capili commented that courses in top Philippnes universities, especially in the arts and social sciences, enable students to be more creative by thinking "outside the box". At the University of the Philippines, "students and faculty members enjoy academic freedom, which is not (being) underscored in many schools and universities in the region,” Capili added.
The budget of Philippine state colleges and universities (SUCs) has been cut due to the dwindling national government budget. Capili reacted to suggestions that SUCs should look for other sources of income externally, like leasing land and other services to private companies, or selling products and technology. Capili stressed, "it is not the mandate of the university to make money. Our job is to educate and train students." Capili added that SUCs should not spend so much time and energy raising funds, so he is appealing to the government to prioritize education.
Other activities
Aside from teaching and writing, Capili continues to work as a university administrator. The Board of Regents of the University of the PhilippinesUniversity of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
approved the appointment of Capili as Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs and Director of the Office of Alumni Relations. He was also the Director of the UP System Information Office (2009–2011).
Anthology
(as editor) From the Editors: Migrant Communities and Emerging Australian Literature, (Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia: Casula Powerhouse, 2007)(as co-editor, with John Cheeseman) Salu-Salo: In Conversation with Filipinos, (Blacktown and Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia: Blacktown Arts Centre and Casula Powerhouse, 2008)
Translation
(translated and edited with John Jack Wigley) Lupito and the Circus Village (translation of Si Lupito at ang Barrio Sirkero written by Rowald Almazar, artworks by Jose Santos III), (Manila: University of Santo Tomas Publishing House, 2008)Honors and awards
- Palanca AwardsPalanca AwardsThe Palanca Awards or Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature is the Philippines' most prestigious and most enduring literary awards and is dubbed as the "Pulitzer Prize" of the Philippines...
- Cultural Center of the PhilippinesCultural Center of the PhilippinesThe Cultural Center of the Philippines is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines. The CCP was established through Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos...
Literature Award - British Councilfellowship, Downing College, CambridgeDowning College, CambridgeDowning College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
- Visiting Scholar at the University of MelbourneUniversity of MelbourneThe University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, University of QueenslandUniversity of QueenslandThe University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
, Seoul National UniversitySeoul National UniversitySeoul National University , colloquially known in Korean as Seoul-dae , is a national research university in Seoul, Korea, ranked 24th in the world in publications in an analysis of data from the Science Citation Index, 7th in Asia and 42nd in the world by the 2011 QS World University Rankings...
, National University of SingaporeNational University of SingaporeThe National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
, University of SydneyUniversity of SydneyThe University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, Waseda UniversityWaseda University, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
, University of Western AustraliaUniversity of Western AustraliaThe University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
and Yonsei UniversityYonsei UniversityYonsei University is a Christian private research university, located in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1885, it is one of the oldest universities in South Korea, the top private comprehensive universities in South Korea, and is widely regarded as one of the top three comprehensive... - Japan PEN grant
- Manila International Literary Festival
- Sydney Writers Festival 2007 and 2008
- Standard Chartered BankStandard Chartered BankStandard Chartered PLC is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom with operations in more than seventy countries...
and University of Hong Kong 1st Hong Kong International Literary Festival - Waseda UniversityWaseda University, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
grant - Korea FoundationResearch Fellowship
- University of Malaya Asia-Europe Institutegrant
- University of MalayaUniversity of MalayaThe University of Malaya is located on a campus near the centre of Kuala Lumpur, and is the oldest university in Malaysia. It was founded in 1905 as a public-funded tertiary institution...
Cultural Centregrant - Carlos P. RomuloCarlos P. RómuloCarlos Peña Rómulo was a Filipino diplomat, politician, soldier, journalist and author. He was a reporter at 16, a newspaper editor by the age of 20, and a publisher at 32...
Professorial Chair, U.P. Diliman - University of the Philippines Diliman Centennial Professorial Chair
- University of the Philippines Diliman Gawad Chancellor
- University of the PhilippinesUniversity of the PhilippinesThe ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
President's International Publication Award - University of the PhilippinesUniversity of the PhilippinesThe ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
System creative writing grant - British CouncilFellow, 5th Philippine-British Literary Conference, University of St. La SalleUniversity of St. La SalleThe University of St. La Salle , located in La Salle Avenue, Bacolod City, Philippines, is a Catholic private university run by the De La Salle Brothers. Established in 1952 as La Salle College-Bacolod, it is the second oldest campus originally founded by the congregation in the country...
-BacolodBacolod CityThe City of Bacolod , is a highly urbanized midsize Philippine city. It is the capital of the Negros Occidental province. Having a total of 499,497 inhabitants as of August 1, 2007, it is the most populous city in the Western Visayas Region. It is currently ranked as the 17th most populous city in... - Australian National UniversityAustralian National UniversityThe Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
Vice Chancellor's PhD Scholarship - Australian National UniversityAustralian National UniversityThe Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
Graduate School Travel Award - University of the PhilippinesUniversity of the PhilippinesThe ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
Doctoral Studies Fellowship - Cambridge Overseas Trust Scholarship, Clare Hall, CambridgeClare Hall, CambridgeClare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students.Informality is a defining value at Clare Hall and this contributes to its unique character...
- Meguro UNESCOtravel grant
- National Olympics Memorial Youth Centre(Japan) grant
- Monbusho (文部科学省, Monbukagakushō?) Research Scholarship
- Mowelfund Film Instituteand Quezon CityQuezon CityQuezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
International Short Film Festival Essay Competition - The Humanist: A Magazine of Critical Inquiry and Social Concern(New York and Washington D.C.: American Humanist AssociationAmerican Humanist AssociationThe American Humanist Association is an educational organization in the United States that advances Humanism. "Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that...
) North American Essay Contest - University of the PhilippinesUniversity of the PhilippinesThe ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...
Outstanding Student Artist - Writing Fellow, 18th U.P. National Writers Workshop
- Writing Fellow, 28th National Writers Workshop
External links
- Philippine Literature Portal
- Review of Flippin': Filipinos on America
- Austlit – The Australian Literature Resource
- 1st Hong Kong International Literary Festival
- Nestle Philippines – Nestle Bear Brand Milk TV Commercial
- Sydney Writers Festival 2007
- Sydney Writers Festival 2008
- Tokyo hosts 76th PEN Congress