Antonio Abad

Antonio Abad

Antonio Mercado Abad (Antonio M. Abad) (1894-1970) was a poet, fictionist, playwright and essayist from Cebu, Philippines, who wrote in Spanish when such was the language of the Filipino society. He was educated at the University of San Carlos (formerly the Seminario-Colegio de San Carlos). He was a master of costumbrismo (local color), in a personal form of anecdote known as instantánea or ráfaga. He won the Premio Zobel in 1928 and 1929. He was a professor at Far Eastern University and the University of the Philippines, where he taught Spanish and co-founded the Department of Spanish (now European Languages). His novel La oveja de Nathan is widely discussed in the following article in Spanish, by Professor Manuel Garcia Castellon, from University of New Orleans: http://members.aol.com/farolan1/revprima.html# He is the father of literary critic and poet Gémino Abad.