Fred Bunao, Award-winning Poet, Dies at 84

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Fred Bunao, Award-winning Poet, Dies at 84

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Monday, 04 October 2010 22:35

By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA

(Journal Group Link International)

Filipino-American Award-winning Poet Dies in Los Angeles at 84

C HICAGO (jGLi) – Award-winning Filipino poet Fred Burce Bunao died in his sleep Oct. 1 at 7:00 p.m. in Los Angeles, California, according to the MabuhayRadio website. He was 84.

Quoting artist Willie Samson, the website said Mr. Bunao “was already sickly, as he was developing symptoms of the Parkinson’s disease.”

He is survived by his wife, Fe, and nine children – six sons and three daughters – and seven children in-laws and 11 grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending. All children are still to arrive from the Philippines, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Virginia. They will decide on funeral arrangements and other memorial services.

Born on Aug. 3, 1926, in Intramuros, Manila of Bicolano parents, Fred Bunao retired from the post-martial law Manila Times in the late 1970s as a copy editor.

He won the Palanca Award for Poetry in English in 1969. It is the Philippine equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. He took up English Literature at the University of the Philippines and became a staff member of the Philippine Collegian, “the tabloid of the University of the Philippines,” according to Las Vegas, Nevada-based Lourdes Ceballos, director of the Chicago Journalists Association. He is also described as “'the’ poet of the national College Editors Guild of the Philippines.”

M abuhayRadio’s Bobby Reyes considers Mr. Bunao as his mentor and literary guru and compiled his wits and humors into "Bunaoisms."

When the vertically-challenged literary giant was asked how tall he was, he would answer, “Six-four.” To which he added the punch line, “Six inches and four feet.”

Bunao is also being best remembered for coining a satirical slogan that made the rounds during the martial-law days of the Marcos regime. To read Mr. Bunao’s funny slogan, please click on this link, Fred Burce Bunao's 1970 Slogan

Mr. Bunao was one of Reyes’ six co-founders of the Media Breakfast Club, which held its first meeting on July 7, 1993. The other cofounders are Romeo P. Borje, Mar G. de Vera, Henry von Seyfried, Carrie Garcia Lorenzana (now deceased) and Nena Aragon-Decena (now also deceased). # # #

Editor’s Note: To contact the author, please e-mail him at: (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)

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Last Updated on Monday, 04 October 2010 22:40

Comments (1)

Re: J. Lariosa's Story on Fred Burce Bunao's Death #1 in Google Search Engine

In a message dated 10/6/2010 8:30:09 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it writes:

Hi, Bobby:

Here's a news link to Fred Bunao story:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/202774/award-winning-poet-fred-bunao-writes-30
It mentioned your website.
Congrats! You are now going places.
Tinapay na lang ang kulang mo. Baka mag-alsa na rin ako, sabi ng nasirang Ka Fred!

Joseph

JOSEPH G. LARIOSA
Correspondent
Journal Group Link International

Dear Joseph:

Thank you for having your story about Fred Burce Bunao's death that was published in our website get printed also in the GMAnews.tv.

On the other hand, your story has been picked up by Google.com and is the number-one result in the Google's category, Filipino Community News. As of March 2008, the MabuhayRadio.com has occupied the number-one slot in the "Filipino Community News" category of the Google Search Engine, as reported in this article:
MabuhayRadio.com Now #-1 in "Filipino Community News" Category of Leading Search Engines

URL: http://www.mabuhayradio.com/education/mabuhayradio-com-now-1-in-filipino-community-news-category-of-leading-search-engines

Here are today's Top Ten Results in the "Filipino Community News" Category of Google.com" -- with more-than 4-million, 700-thousand results:

Advanced searchAbout 4,710,000 results (0.23 seconds)

Search Results
Home | MabuhayRadio
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The publication of your story about Fred Bunao's death in the GMANews.tv just adds luster to our "Google" bragging rights. LOL.

Thanks to you and our other columnists and writers, we continue to be number-one in the said Google category.

Mabuhay,

Bobby M. Reyes
Editor
www.mabuhayradio.com

BCC: Filipino Fourth Estate and Overseas-Filipino Press