Gardenia Bread Philippines
1. Francisco Alonso Liongson - Outstanding Philippine playwright in Spanish and founding president of Circulo Escenico, Pampanga's Spanish theatrical group that became nationally renowned. 2. Aurelio Tolentino - one of the mystics of the Katipunan, a compadre of Andres Bonifacio, a nationalist writer in both Kapampangan and Tagalog. He coined the worddula for drama and ironically became known in history as the Father of Tagalog Drama for his anti-US colonial masterpiece Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas. A theatre at the Cultural Center of the Philippines is named Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino in his honor. 3. Jose Abad Santos - First Kapampangan to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. After Pres. Manuel L. Quezon and Vice-President Sergio Osmena left Philippine soil for the safety in America, Justice Abad Santos was the highest ranking official of the Philippine government until his execution on May 2, 1942 by the Japanese Imperial Army for his refusal to cooperate. 4. Sotero Baluyot- Provincial governor during the Commonwealth, he formed an organization known as "Cawal ning Capayan," described as "the largest amd most powerful provincial organization" of its time (Sturtevant, Popular Uprisings in the Philippines: 1840-1949). Although it claimed to be a "conservative labor union," it was, in fact, a strike-breaking group of "Fascist thugs," as the communists called them. (Pol Kekai Manansala). 5. Rosalina Icban Castro - Married to Jose Luna Castro, and while born in Rosales, Pangasinan, both her parents are from Pampanga and she speaks Kapampangan fluently. Obtained an M.A. in English at Syracuse University , was a professor in English at U.E. for several decades. During all her years as an educator, she was sought by researchers in Kapampangan literature for her intimate knowledge of Kapampangan writing. She is the author of "The Literature of the Pampangos - an anthology and at the same time a political literary history. (ref.