Manny’s Season – a dream realised!

By Adrian Prophet
Photos by : Edwin Tuazon
Melbourne, Australia
September 14, 2014



Dulaang Bayan Melbourne actor, Bridget Zubiri wrote, “...The plays do not stray from their day-to-day struggle to adjust to an unfamiliar place. The audience immediately finds sympathy for characters that they can easily identify with.”

Over 100 guests attended the occasion, with guest speakers from the Filipino community of Victoria.

Special guest speaker was Adjunct Associate Professor Felix Pintado who addressed those present with information about Manny’s background, and the importance of Manny’s achievement as a playwright, poet, short story writer, producer, director, teacher and interpreter and translator amongst his many achievements.

The publisher, Mr John Richard Alayon, spoke about the experience of publishing Manny’s book, and made reference to how Manny liked feed-back at every stage of production, and how the process was recorded on a GANTT chart.  Alayon presented Manny with one of the books that had been bound upside down and back the front, as a humorous gesture of good will and how the production of the book had, as Alayon said “turned everything upside down”. It was John Alayon’s first time to be a publisher.

Immediately following the launching, the three composers of the music for Asuncion’s lyrics performed their works from “Summer Butterflies”, “Kesehoda” , “Autumn Sonata” and “Ikalawang tag sibol ni Mang Florante”.


There were celebratory messages from individual community speakers who paid tribute to the author’s  work over 29 years with the Filipino Community, and the importance of his “Seasons” to educate younger Filipinos of the effects migration had on their parents, and how they adapted to Australia.