The House committee on basic education and culture adopted House Resolution 1099 which acknowledges the great contribution of the late famed artist Mauro “Malang” Santos to Filipino culture and arts.
The committee chaired by Rep. Ramon Durano VI adopted the resolution authored by Rep. Deogracias Victor Savellano.
Malang was an award-winning cartoonist, illustrator, and fine arts painter. He won in competitions sponsored by the Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists.
Malang started learning how to draw from Teodoro Buenaventura, a private tutor, when he was 10 years old.
Malang started learning how to draw from Teodoro Buenaventura, a private tutor, when he was 10 years old.
Malang studied at the Antonio Regidor Elementary School in 1994, and attended Arellano High School in 1941.
For one semester, Malang studied at the College of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines in 1946.
He stopped attending formal school at the age of 19 in order to work for the art department of the Manila Chronicle newspaper.
While with the newspaper, Malang apprenticed under cartoonist Liborio “Gat” Gatbonton.
Malang also attended art classes at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, California under a three-month scholarship in 1972.
Malang created Kosme the Cop (Retired), the country’s first English-language daily comic strip, for the evening edition of the Manila Chronicle.
Malang created Kosme the Cop (Retired), the country’s first English-language daily comic strip, for the evening edition of the Manila Chronicle.
In 1955, Malang, along with cartoonist colleagues Gatbonton, Larry Alcala, Hugo Yonzon and Elmer Agustan, established the Bughouse, a gallery specializing in cartoons.
Then in 1966, Malang brought printmaking to a large number of artwork enthusiasts at affordable prices through the project Art for the Masses, according to Savellano.
He was also included by the Philippine Art Gallery founder, Lyd Arguilla in the Twelve Artists in the Philippines Who’s Who in 1957.
In 1958, the Art Directors Guild of the Philippines conferred Malang the Award for Editorial Design.
Malang was named Artist of the Year by the Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists in 1964.
Among the awards he won in the annual art competition held by the Art Association of the Philippines were for his works: Street Fight (Second Prize, 1951), Traffic (Third Price, 1953), The Yellow Sky (Honorable Mention, 1959), Quarter Moon (Second Prize, and Gate to Intramuros (Honorable Mention, 1963).
Malang was also included among the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in 1963.
In 1981, the City of Manila awarded him the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan (“Guide of Arts and Culture”) award.
On June 10, 2017, Filipino artist Mauro “Malang” Santos passed away at the age of 80 due to lingering illness.