04
THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 5 Number 3 | December 2014
NEWS
Alfredo ‘Ding’ Roces
‘Pamana ng Pilipino’ 2014 Aw
By TITUS FILIO
AT 82, he’s still a
bundle of surprises.
He’s the indefatigable
genius who never
stops learning;
certainly not one
resting on his laurels.
PHOTO: JAIME K. PIMENTEL
ARTIST Alfredo ‘Ding’ Roces closes this year with a
carol being named the 2014
recipient of the Philippine
Presidential ‘Pamana ng Pilipino’ award – a biennial national award for Filipino
achievers overseas.
The artist-writer (and a
lot more!), seen by many as
the compleat maestro, is set
to travel to the Philippines
this month to receive this latest laurel, one in a string of
awards that marked an illustrious life stretched out over
a half-a-century of achievements in two countries.
“This award is special to
me because it bridges both
my life in Australia and the
Philippines,” Mr. Roces says
in a recent chat with AK.
“I am grateful for the recognition the Philippine government and Filipino people
are now giving to those of
us who find ourselves laboring outside our native homeland, but whose hearts are
forever Filipino.”
Forty years in Australia but Ding has indeed re-
mained the true Pinoy. His
works manifest love of
country and a love of humanity. For him, the world
is an art where in every corner lies beauty waiting to be
appreciated. One only has to
look at it – and maybe capture it.
“Every day I walk with
my camera to photograph
what is around me,” he says.
Yes, he is always ready to
explore and loves to get busy
in his studio at his home in
Davidson, NSW. A normal break would be a oncea-week Tai Chi class for his
well-being, quite a routine
he does “para hindi kalawangin”, as he says in jest.
Having retired a decade
ago from an eight-to-five
work, Ding has not ran short
of pursuits, his passion is
still in writing and visual arts
and “depending on the opportunities and inspiration
that come my way.”
Only recently he completed a commissioned
book, one that piles up to already over a dozen under his
authorship. Still there are