By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA

(© 2009 Journal Group Link International)

--As updated on Jan. 19, 2010

C HICAGO, Illinois (JGLi) – The Media Breakfast Club of Los Angeles will hold a memorial service on Wednesday (Feb. 3rd) in honor of Filipino American writer Benjamin P. Alcantara who died last Christmas Day in Los Angeles, California at the age of 96.

(Editor's Note: The service was originally scheduled for Jan. 20, 2010, but it was moved to Feb. 3, 2010, due to the expected heavy rains that were forecast for Los Angeles tomorrow, January 20th. The new date happens also to be the 40th day after Mr. Alcantara's death.)

Bobby M. Reyes, founding chair emeritus of the MBC, said the weekly 1,035th meeting of the club will highlight the memorial service for Mr. Alcantara at the FACLA Social Hall at 1740 West Temple St., Los Angeles at 10 a.m.

Deputy Consul General Daniel R. Espiritu will represent the Philippine government at the memorial service that will be attended by media members. It will be followed by luncheon compliments of Roger and Cora Oriel, the publishers of the Asian Journal and Tony R. Berango of  the Knights of Rizal.

Colleagues at Los Angeles-based California Examiner will eulogize Mr. Alcantara. Among them is Fred B. Bunao, who was one of Alcantara’s “friends the past 50 years,” according to book author Mar de Vera.

Mr. Bunao, who retired as the editor of the Woman’s supplement of the Manila Times, described Mr. Alcantara as “one of the best short-story writers in the Philippines” in the league of Camilo Osias.

Mr. Alcantara's family would publish the compilation of his short stories entitled “Living the Good Life in L.A.” He kept his other works in his house in the Los Angeles’ suburb of Highland Park.

An Army sergeant during World War II assigned in communications, Ben would later work and retire as a public-relations officer of the Manila Railroad Company (later renamed Philippine National Railways), where this writer met him.

PNR was headed in the early eighties by Col. Nicanor Jimenez, father of Letty Jimenez Magsanoc, editor-in-chief of Philippine Daily Inquirer.

When he immigrated to the U.S., Ben was one of the original columnists of California Examiner, edited by Romy P. Borje as its first editor-in-chief in the late 1970s.

Mr. Alcantara was one of the 11 Filipino American journalists who were recipients of the First Media Breakfast Club-Dean Jose S. Reyes Award for Journalistic Excellence and Literary Distinction in 2001. Already sickly at that time, he sent his representative, Jun Sillona, to receive the award for him.

In his retirement days, Mr. Alcantara started a reforestation project in his home province of La Union, Philippines.

A native of Naguilian, La Union, Ben was buried at the suburban Glendale Forest Lawn cemetery last Jan. 2nd. # # # (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)

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