Fictionist Gilda Cordero Fernando Death – Dead | Obituary – Passed Away
Gilda Fernando Death – Dead: A great loss was made known to InsideEko. As friends and families of the deceased are mourning the passing of their loved and cherished Gilda Fernando.
Rest in Peace Madame Gilda Cordero Fernando. Never met you but felt like I have in the books you published which have become part of my fascination and work on cultural heritage since long time ago. Maraming, maraming salamat po and hope your jamming the saya with Sir JC up there!
Writer Gilda Cordero Fernando was heard, so she remembered the UP Lantern Parade where the people based on the story she wrote were parked. Play is the Sun, Raining, Marrying the Tikbalang; the story is The Magic Circle.
Gilda Cordero Fernando passed away today. But this column, written six years ago, already had her pondering and planning for her wake, and eventual exit. Such grace, generosity and wisdom. A template for all of us to follow. I know I will. Thank you GCF, there will never be another one like you.
THANK YOU & GOOD BYE Ma’am GILDA CORDERO-FERNANDO (4 June 1930–27 August 2020) . She is a Filipino writer, visual artist, fashion designer and publisher. She was born in Manila, has a B.A. from St. Theresa’s College-Manila, and an M.A. from the Ateneo de Manila University. She has written soooooo many books that we love @cheftatung and I will never forget this time when she happily & instantly bonded with us while enjoying your food!!! IT WAS OUR HONOR TO HAVE KNOWN YOU, MA’AM. GODSPEED! #Idol #PhilippineCultureAndArts #ThankYou #RIPGildaCorderoFernando
Gilda Cordero-Fernando was one of my earliest literary heroes. When I was 15, I borrowed her first book, The Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick Maker (1962), from the UP Main Lib and went to Shopping Center to have my own book-a-like copy. Then, in a separate anthology, I read “A Wilderness of Sweets,” which has since been one of the most heartbreaking stories that I keep going back to, when I’m stuck and all I want is a good cry and a reminder of how much fiction can inspire and confound and hurt and amaze. Her works taught me that language could be uniquely elegant, authentic, and full of spirit, much like the way she’d been for most of her life. I didn’t know her personally, of course, but I always imagined we’d hit it off, like a cool, fashionista lola and her awkward gay grandkid.
Rest in power, GCF.
Gilda Cordero-Fernando was a writer and publisher. She was also a newspaper columnist, fashion designer, playwright, visual artist, curator, and producer of pop pageants, fashion shows, and plays. Born on 4 June 1930 in Manila, she obtained her B.A. from St. Theresa’s College in Manila, and later earned an M.A. major in English Literature from the Ateneo de Manila University. She would spend some years teaching in high school and has also worked for radio. Her collections of short stories included The Butcher, The Baker, and The Candlestick Maker (1962) and A Wilderness of Sweets (1973). Both would later be reissued in 1994 under the title Story Collection. The Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings would describe her stories as prose that “ring in the reader’s ears in well-turned English and fill the mind with curious characters—people in the war, sunburned Filipinos with the American twang, queer designers in the world of high fashion, the humble folk cooped in a bus, a Dust Monster, even the Anti-Christ.” Philippine Food and Life, which she co-authored with Alfredo Roces, was published in 1992. She has also written and illustrated children’s books, and worked on Filipino Heritage: The Making of a Nation, a 10-volume study on Philippine history and culture published by Lahing Pilipino in 1978. She founded GCF Books, which published acclaimed titles that dealt with various aspects of Philippine culture and society, including Streets of Manila (1977), Turn of the Century (1978), Philippine Ancestral Houses (1980), Being Filipino (1981), The History of the Burgis (1987), Folk Architecture (1989), and The Soul Book (1991). As a visual artist, she completed a series of portraits of women, which she then packaged as a card set. In 2000, she also produced Luna, An Aswang Romance, the Palanca-winning play by Rody Vera directed by Anton Juan that, according to theatre critic Gibbs Cadiz, “became a conversation-piece production melding together Cordero-Fernando’s lifelong pursuits: theater, literature, fashion (specifically Filipiniana), Pinoy melodrama, and mythology.” In 2001, she produced Pinoy Pop Culture, the book and the show, for the Bench Corporation. Fr. Miguel Bernad would write of her: “Women are the best writers in the Philippines. In 1957, when the judges for the Palanca Awards submitted their individual choices of the three best stories, it was found that all three lists were completely different in one respect: each list contained a story—a different story in each list—by Mrs. Gilda Cordero-Fernando. In the end, two of her stories were dropped and one (‘Sunburn’) served to dramatize the fact that a young woman writer had become the outstanding storyteller of that year.”
Feeling diminished by the passing of Gilda Cordero-Fernando. Like many, I knew and loved her for her landmark books. She became a cheerful, playful, positive force in so many young writers’ lives, bridging generations. Behind her light manner was some heavy thinking and doing.
Feeling diminished by the passing of Gilda Cordero-Fernando. Like many, I knew and loved her for her landmark books. She became a cheerful, playful, positive force in so many young writers’ lives, bridging generations. Behind her light manner was some heavy thinking and doing. pic.twitter.com/bZ8BXEWoLi
— Manuel L. Quezon III (@mlq3) August 27, 2020
We mourn the passing of Gilda Cordero Fernando, a great Filipina whose art, passion, & take-my-quirks character, transcended eras. In her column years ago she described her funeral. Bouncing across time. Proud to have worked with her. #gildacorderofernando
We mourn the passing of Gilda Cordero Fernando, a great Filipina whose art, passion, & take-my-quirks character, transcended eras. In her column years ago she described her funeral. Bouncing across time. Proud to have worked with her. #gildacorderofernando pic.twitter.com/nTXQLMJUk5
— Thelma S. San Juan (@ThelmaSSanJuan) August 27, 2020
Few Filipino authors have been able to so accurately depict in heartbreaking detail the experiences, thoughts, and emotions of Filipino girls; Gilda Cordero-Fernando was definitely one of them. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us, Ma’am.
Few Filipino authors have been able to so accurately depict in heartbreaking detail the experiences, thoughts, and emotions of Filipino girls; Gilda Cordero-Fernando was definitely one of them. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us, Ma’am. pic.twitter.com/ZibYZMhqDg
— CONDÉ NASTY (@bloodyvints) August 27, 2020
One of my favorite writers, Gilda Cordero Fernando, has passed on. So saddened by this. Her storied life — so eclectic, so creative, so stylish — was one for emulation.
One of my favorite writers, Gilda Cordero Fernando, has passed on. So saddened by this. Her storied life — so eclectic, so creative, so stylish — was one for emulation. pic.twitter.com/5Es5nZBZz4
— Ian Rosales Casocot (@sandwichspy) August 27, 2020
Gilda Cordero-Fernando was one of the titans of Philippine literature. Her stories were consistently fabulous, brimming with wit and humanity. Rest well, Gilda. I hope you’re dancing with the Dust Monster somewhere, finishing your symphony.
Gilda Cordero-Fernando was one of the titans of Philippine literature. Her stories were consistently fabulous, brimming with wit and humanity. Rest well, Gilda. I hope you’re dancing with the Dust Monster somewhere, finishing your symphony. https://t.co/L6olhQ0GC9
— Lakan (@jacques_lakan) August 27, 2020
This was the sad news I got this a.m. Waited for the family’s announcement before I said anything about it. Rest in your trademark fun, funky flair, Tita G. I always told you I wanted to be like you when I grow up. Thank you for inspiring me to no end.
This was the sad news I got this a.m. Waited for the family’s announcement before I said anything about it. Rest in your trademark fun, funky flair, Tita G. I always told you I wanted to be like you when I grow up. Thank you for inspiring me to no end. ❤️ #GildaCorderoFernando https://t.co/gzMVQyGWGp
— kate torralba (@katetorralba) August 27, 2020
Rest in power. The Gilda Fernando. Thank you Maam for your gift of words. It was such a joy and pleasure meeting you. I will miss our conversations. Your energy. Your laughter. Bye for now, the great Aunt of Philippine literature.
Rest in power. The Gilda Fernando. Thank you Maam for your gift of words. It was such a joy and pleasure meeting you. I will miss our conversations. Your energy. Your laughter. Bye for now, the great Aunt of Philippine literature. https://t.co/kukfW05BjP
— Iris Gonzales (@eyesgonzales) August 27, 2020
Having heard about this great loss, the family of this individual is passing through pains, mourning the unexpected passing of their beloved.
This departure was confirmed through social media posts made by Twitter users who pour out tributes, and condolences to the family of the deceased.
We are still working on getting more details about the death, as a family statement on the death is yet to be released.