(SPOT.ph) Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa, 72, a Filipino cultural researcher, was honored with the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award on Monday, August 31 for her efforts to preserve ancient Filipino dances.
The Ramon Magsaysay Foundation awarded Amilbangsa for "her single-minded crusade in preserving the endangered artistic heritage of southern Philippines, and in creatively propagating a dance form that celebrates and deepens the sense of shared cultural identity among Asians."
In an interview, Amilbangsa said that her passion for dances began in 1969, after being captured by an ethnic dance called Pangalay in a wedding that she attended. From that time on, she worked on her research by interviewing elders to codify their gestures.
She is among five winners from all over Asia. Other awardees are Sanjiv Chaturvedi (India), Kommaly Chanthavong (Laos), Kyaw Thu (Myanmar), and Anshu Gupta (India).
Each awardee received a certificate, a medallion, and U.S. $30,000 in cash.
Photo from ABS-CBN News