HONORATA “ATANG” DE LA RAMA (1902-1991) National Artist ...

HONORATA “ATANG” DE LA RAMA
(1902-1991)
National Artist
Famous during her prime as the “queen of zarzuela and the kundiman,” Honorata
“Atang” de la Rama was born in Pandacan, Manila on January 11, 1902. Her parents came from
Negros Occidental. During the latter part of her life she lived in Gagalangin, Tondo, birthplace
of her husband, Amado V. Hernandez, himself a National Artist, whom she married in 1932.
Orphaned at a very young age, she grew up under the care of “an elder sister, who was married
to Leon Ignacio, a zarzuela composer.” At the Ignacio residence, she was constantly exposed to
the zarzuela, for it was where the Hermogenes Ilagan-Leon Ignacio Zarzuela Company often
held their rehearsals.
At fourteen she played Angelita in “Dalagang Bukid,” a zarzuela, in 1917 and popularized
the song “Nabasag ang Banga.” The show was made into a movie in 1919, the first Tagalog fulllength
feature movie. She was so popular in her role as a simple maid turned flirt in “Ang Kiri”
that it was immortalized in the film “Mahiwagang Binibini.”
The first Filipino actress to appear in the movies, de la Rama finished her elementary,
secondary, and college education in Centro Escolar University. A holder of a bachelor of science
in pharmacy degree, she also took up lessons in voice under Victorino Carrion, Nelie Fornerie,
and Tinay Arellano; violin under Leon Ignacio; and piano under Vincenzo Gamberdella. She,
likewise, studied diction with Jovita Fuentes, who later, also became a National Artist. In 1925,
she went to New York to study at the Royal Dramatic Theater. Back home, with her training in
the theater arts, she began directing dramas and zarzuelas, advising theater groups, and
teaching voice. More important, she became the lead star in around 50 zarzuelas (in various
languages including Spanish and Tagalog) and performed not only in locally-renowned venues
as the Manila Grand Opera House, Manila Hotel, Metropolitan Theater and the teatro Zorilla,
but also in “open plazas” and “cockpits.” De La Rama also sung Kundiman created by some of
the most important composers of the 1920’s and 1930’s. She popularized the songs “Bituing
Marikit,” “Madaling Araw,” “Mutya ng Pasig” and “Anak Dalita.”
She gave public performances not just for a living. Firmly believing that the zarzuela and
the kundiman truly mirrored the Filipino identity she did her best to propagate and popularize
these art forms among the people. She traveled to remote places, to reach even tribal groups
like the Aetas or Negritoes of Zambales and the Sierra Madre in Luzon, and the Bagobos and the
Lumads of Mindanao. She performed before “revolutionary organizations” like the Hukbalahap,
the Sakdal, and the Colorum.
She likewise traveled abroad, propagating the Filipino Kundiman in such places as
Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo. She
established her own company called Zarzuela Tagal. She later formed the Samahan ng Bodabil,
an association of Philippine vaudeville performers. She was the mentor of Chichay, an
institution in Philippine entertainment. De La Rama later abandoned vaudeville back to
Zarzuela.
De la Rama also wrote lyrics for songs such as “Pag-asa,” whose music was composed by
L. Ignacio; skits in Spanish, English and Tagalog, including “Hele-Hele,” “Kabayanihan” and
“Milagros ng Birhen,” to name a few; short stories in Tagalog such as “Doon sa Dakong Timog,”
“Sa Malayang Lupain,” “Nakukubling Tala” (under the pseudonym of Herminia de la Riva) and

“Kahinahinayang na Pag-ibig” (under the pen name Matimtimang Laqui) and four operatas,
namely, “Bulaklak sa Kabundukan,” “Aking Ina,” “Anak ni Eva,” “Puri at Buhay.” She starred in
the first full film length Philippine feature film, “Dalagang Bukid” (1919), by Jose Nepomuceno.
Other films she appeared in were “Dugong Silangan” (1930), “Ay Kalisud” (1938), “Batong
Buhay” (1950) and “Ang Buhay at Pag-ibig ni Dr. Jose Rizal.”
During the Japanese occupation, she did her patriotic duty. She carried secret messages,
often hidden in her hairdo, back and forth to Filipino guerillas. When her husband was in
prison, “she smuggled out his poems, and did what part of his work she could do.”
A civic-minded artist, de la Rama led several groups involved not only in culture, but
politics as well, namely the Kaisahan ng Kababaihan sa Pilipinas, the Gagalangin Ladies
Association and the Red Cross Fund drive, and became a zealous supporter of such groups as the
Confederation of Labor Organization, the Home Nursing Association and the Girl Scouts of the
Philippines. Later, she supported various groups like the PETA Babaylan and GABRIELA, by
giving inspiring lectures.
De la Rama gave the best years of her life to the arts. In recognition of her contributions
to the enrichment of the nation’s cultural heritage, the encouragement and the spirit of
excellence in the arts and letters, and for sharing “her talent with the poor,” she was conferred
the National Artist Award for theater and music on June 11, 1987.
Other awards she received were: Panitik ng Kababaihan (1950), Kababaihan ng Lahi
(1975), Presidential medal of merit (1966), Sagisag ng Lungsod ng Maynila (1964), Diwa ng Lahi
(1974), Reyna ng Kundiman at Mutya ng Dulang Tagalog (1963), Queen of the Kundiman and
Prima Donna of Filipino Theater (1968), Reyna ng Kundiman, Paglilingkod sa Bayan (1973),
Tandang Sora trophy (1977), Walang Kupas Award (1982) and the Ateneo de Manila University
Tanglaw ng Lahi.
On July 11, 1991, she died of a lingering illness. She was given a state funeral, and buried
at the North Cemetery.
References:
CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art Volume 7. Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines,
1995.
Logarta, Michelle T. “A Portrait of Atang,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 18, 1991.
“Atang De La Rama Dies,” Phil. Daily Inquirer July 12, 1991.