Senate lauds Ilocano artist

The Senate today adopted a resolution commending an Ilocano public school teacher for his contribution in the preservation of Philippine history by documenting the culture of San Vicente town in Ilocos Sur.

Sen. Loren Legarda, who introduced Resolution 1447, said Lorenzo Lucero Mata published a book called "The History of San Vicente," which detailed the history and culture of San Vicente, a fifth class municipality in Ilocos Sur known for its artisans and intricate furniture.

According to the resolution, Mata "culturally documented San Vicente and its people to identify the community's strengths and resources in a bid to tell its story and archive a snapshot of Philippine rural living for future generations."

A prolific writer, Mata also wrote speeches, dramas, plays, poems in both English and Ilocano, including Zarzuelas, a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes. Mata's works include "Gene or the love of an abandoned child," "Lorgene," "Virgille Prospero or my child! My brother!," "Odette," Diak Impagarup (I did not expect).

Mata also contributed to Philippine visual arts through paintings and carvings including the sculpting of hundreds of statues of saints and other religious icons for Ilocos churches and bust figures of past presidents, the resolution said.

Mata was born to master carpenter Melecio Mata and Maria Lucero on August 10, 1925 in San Vicente, Ilocos Sure. He got his degree in Fine Arts and Master of Arts in Education degree at the University of the Philippines.