The continuous modernization of our world has forced traditional practices to fade over time – sometimes even be discontinued. Liwayway, the oldest magazine in the Philippines announced that they are returning to publishing new issues on print.
Liwayway – which translates into ‘dawn’ in Filipino – was the leading Tagalog weekly magazine back in its time, as it is the only magazine that features novels, stories, poems, and comics in Filipino.
Publishing its first issue in 1922, the magazine is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary this November, 2022.
Over the past century, Liwayway has cultivated the evolution of Filipino pop culture as it showcased up-and-coming Filipino talents and housed renowned comics illustrators and writers.
An example of this is Bernardo Carpio, a legendary figure in Philippine mythology, and the popular Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang anthology – which both served as inspirations for a lot of Filipino movies. The popular Filipino comic character Kenkoy also started in Liwayway, too.
Liwayway has a significant impact to Philippine literature as it also housed great Filipino poets and writers such as Jose Corazon de Jesus, Florentino Collantes, Lope K. Santos, Efren Abueg, and Lualhati Bautista, to name a few. It also produced several renowned artists and illustrators such as Severino Reyes, Antonio S. Velasquez (regarded as the Father of Tagalog comics), Francisco Coching, and many more.
Back in mid-2021, Liwayway decided to discontinue its print edition and shifted to a purely digital format, probably for many reasons including modernization and the pandemic – but now they are back on the shelves ready to keep the tradition of Filipino comics alive.
On a Facebook post, Liwayway writes: “Ito ay plataporma para sa mga kabataang may talento sa sining… (This is a platform for the younger generation who are artistically talented)”
“Ang suporta ninyo sa Liwayway ay suporta sa pagyabong ng sining sa ating bansa (Your support for Liwayway is a support for the progression of the arts in our country)” they added.
If you are an aspiring writer or artist who wants to pursue your craft and contribute to Philippine literature, Liwayway is continuously looking for applicants to join their team. You may check their guidelines here.
You can purchase a physical copy of Liwaway at National Book Store for only P100.
Featured photo from Liwayway Magazine