User:LBForonda/sandbox

"Marcelino Andrión Foronda, Jr." (1926-1996) is a prominent twentieth-century Filipino historian. He is considered the long-standing authority in the history of the Ilocos and a pioneer in the field of Oral History in the Philippines.

To Filipino scholar and leading Philippine educator, Dr. Andrew Gonzales, F.S.C., he calls him: "“The classical man of letters in our culture and society. His works encompass creative writing in prose and poetry versed in Ilocano, Filipino, Spanish, and English.”

His writings cover a gamut of areas – literature, folklore, anthropology, history, religion, and folk philosophy. His passion for Philippine life has earned him the title as the successor of the outstanding yet controversial humanist – Don Isabelo de los Reyes. His thorough collection of Ilocano studies locates himself in the likes of Ignacio Villamor, also an Ilocano writer. Like Norberto Romualdez, the legislator of the Philippine national language, Dr. Foronda possesses several books, and other materials pertaining mostly to Philippine life.

“Above all,” Dr. Gonzales points out, “one must think of Dr. Foronda as a bibliophile in the tradition of Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Epifanio de los Santos, and from across the continent, Vicente Barrantes, and that great bibliographer during Rizal’s time, Wenceslao Retana, and more recently, Isacio Rodriguez of the order of Saint Augustine.”"

Early Life and Education
Dr. Foronda grew up in the idyllic town of Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, where he was born on the fourth of November 1926. Born to parents, Marcelino Q. Foronda, Sr. and Gavina T. Andrion, who were lovers of culture, education came a little too easy for him. As early as his formative years the young Foronda was inculcated with the deepest wisdom of learning by his parents, He was bred under the best opportunities of education that his parents could financially handle. He was also provided with books, magazines, newspapers, and some classical records to supplement his lessons in school which paved the way for him to the real world outside home and classroom.

At the advent of war, in 1941, he and his brother, Juan, was forced to stay at the Vigan Seminary where he got acquainted with the mental discipline as indoctrinated by their religious mentors, mostly German Society of the Divine Word priests who taught them the subtleties of the Latin language, literature, and the arts. During this period in Foronda’s life, he began collecting materials on Ilocano history and culture which eventually were to form part of his extensive Filipiniana collection.

Foronda managed to equip himself with the proper tools in mental and spiritual matters which other youngsters fail to embrace. These strengthened his character and his horizons widened, his resolve became subsequently dominant. He graduated high school as the valedictorian from the Vigan Minor Seminary in 1947.

Foronda at the University of Santo Tomas (1947-1953)
The same year Foronda entered the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila where he received two bachelor’s degrees. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English, Magna Cum Laude (1950), and Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Letters, Cum Laude (1951). Foronda worked his way through college, serving one time as a clerk of the Father Dean of Religion in UST.

At UST, Foronda was an editor for the now-defunct Religion section of The Varsitarian. Foronda was also a student of Paz Latorena, the acclaimed Filipina lady of letters in English. In her classes, Foronda met his fellow writers, Celso Al. Carunugan, Nick Joaquin, and F. Sionil José, two of whom would later be named National Artists for Literature.

While an undergraduate, he was also an instructor in Religion for the College of Commerce and a volunteer instructor of the Philippine Red Cross at Fort William McKinley Hospital where he taught English. Foronda also became President of the Student Council of the College of Liberal Arts, Vice-President to the already-defunct Holy Name Society, and an editor at the Religion section of the The Varsitarian in 1948."To wit," according to Sergio Rustia, "…he is a full scholar. Isn't it wonderful? He is a bespectacled fellow with a scholarly personality."