Commemorating the 112th birth anniversary of Clodualdo del Mundo, Sr.
The late 20th century writer Clodualdo del Mundo, Sr. was born on 7 September 1911 in Santa Cruz, Manila. He was active in the Philippine media and literary scene for nearly five decades – from 1929 up until his passing on October 3, 1977 at the age of 66.
His career started in the 1930s when he became one of the founding members of the College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines and the literary organization Panitikan. Considered as one of the pioneers of literary criticism in the country, del Mundo and Alejandro Abadilla released “Mga Kuwentong Ginto: 1925-1935,” a book compilation of the best stories in Filipino that came out mostly in magazines during those years.
After World War II, del Mundo became one of the leading figures in Philippine comics during the late 1940s up to the 1960s, alongside National Artist for Visual Arts Francisco Coching, Marcial “Mars” Ravelo, and Pablo S. Gomez.
He is best remembered for the radio series “Prinsipe Amante” which was aired by DZRH from 1949 to 1953. It was eventually adapted into a comics serial and later on, as a movie by LVN Pictures starring Rogelio dela Rosa, Delia Razon, and Ben Rubio. It is one of the first colored films to be produced in the Philippines.
Throughout his lifetime and even posthumously, del Mundo earned numerous awards and recognition for his work in the media.
In 1998, del Mundo was included among the recipients of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Centennial Honors for the Arts as one of the “100 pioneering Filipino artists who have shown lifetime dedication to their work.”
The first of two journal articles that I have written about his career will be published this December 2023.
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