This National Women’s Month, we recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of our female national artists. These women have made significant strides in their respective fields, breaking barriers and paving the way for future generations of artists.

Today’s featured national artist is Daisy H. Avellana, National Artist for Theater.

DAISY H. AVELLANA
National Artist for Theater (1999)
(January 26, 1917 – May 12, 2013)

Daisy H. Avellana, is an actor, director and writer. Born in Roxas City, Capiz on January 26, 1917, she elevated legitimate theater and dramatic arts to a new level of excellence by staging and performing in breakthrough productions of classic Filipino and foreign plays and by encouraging the establishment of performing groups and the professionalization of Filipino theater. Together with her husband, National Artist Lamberto Avellana and other artists, she co-founded the Barangay Theatre Guild in 1939 which paved the way for the popularization of theatre and dramatic arts in the country, utilizing radio and television.

She starred in plays like Othello (1953), Macbeth in Black (1959), Casa de Bernarda Alba (1967), Tatarin. She is best remembered for her portrayal of Candida Marasigan in the stage and film versions of Nick Joaquin’s Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. Her directorial credits include Diego Silang (1968), and Walang Sugat (1971). Among her screenplays were Sakay (1939) and Portrait of the Artist as Filipino (1955).

(Source: https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-philippines/daisy-h-avellana/)