Nonoy Marcelo
Encyclopedia
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
born in Malabon, Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, an alumnus of the Institute of Arts and Sciences from Far Eastern University
Far Eastern University
Far Eastern University in the University Belt area, West Sampaloc, City of Manila, is a nonsectarian, private university in the Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and Finance, FEU became a university in 1934 under the guidance of...
, and a former cartoonist in the The Advocate (the official student publication of Far Eastern University), best known for creating the character Ikabod Bubwit
Ikabod Bubwit
Ikabot Bubwit is one of the most noteworthy and most memorable comic book, comic strip, and cartoon characters created in the 1980s by Nonoy Marcelo, one of the foremost cartoonists in the Philippines. Ikabod Bubwit himself is considered as the most famous mouse character created by Marcelo...
(literally "Ikabod the Small Rodent" or "Ikabod the Small Mouse" in Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
) in the comic strip Ikabod. He also created the comic strips Plain Folks, which appeared in the Daily Mirror during the early 1960s, and Tisoy in 1963 for the Manila Times
Manila Times
The Manila Times is the oldest existing English language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. with editorial and administrative offices at 371 A...
, which tells about the lifestyle of young Filipinos. His main character, Tisoy (slang for "mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
"), and cast members such as Aling Otik, Maribubut, Caligula, Tatang, Tikyo and Kinse, soon became established in Philippine pop culture.
Tisoy became a 1977 film directed by Ishmael Bernal
Ishmael Bernal
Ishmael Bernal was an acclaimed Filipino film, stage and television director. He was also an actor and screenwriter...
, starring Christopher de Leon and Charo Santos.
Ikabod ran from the late 1970s to 2002. It was a satirical strip that re-cast the Philippines as a nation called Dagalandia. The strip humorously depicted the socio-political woes of ordinary Filipinos, as represented by the tailless Everymouse hero, Ikabod - who became as iconic in his own way as that other popular cartoon rodent, Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
. Marcelo often used the strip to caricature political figures from Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
and Cory Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
to Joseph Estrada
Joseph Estrada
Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency.Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in...
and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
, re-imagining them as mice.
In 1985, Marcelo was given the Catholic Mass Media Award for print journalism, a category usually given to reporters or columnists. In 1998, Marcelo received the Cultural Center of the Philippines
Cultural Center of the Philippines
The Cultural Center of the Philippines is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines. The CCP was established through Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos...
' Centennial Artist Award, the only cartoonist so honored.
He died in Manila on October 22, 2002 at the age of 63 of sepsis due to complications from his diabetes.
External links
- A sample Ikabod strip (in Tagalog)
- A eulogy to Nonoy Marcelo on WittyWorld
- Ptyk is home, an article memorializing his life
- An article about Nonoy Marcelo
- Nonoy Marcelo Obituary
- Nonoy Marcelo's Sense of the Absurd by Eric S. Caruncho
- Tinig.com, "Nonoy Marcelo" by Alexander Martin Remollino
- Nonoy Marcelo's gone by Joan Orendain
