Larry Alcala's slice of style

MANILA, Philippines - Remember Slice of Life and Kalabog en Bosyo? Whether you’re a Pinoy comic fan or not, sure you loved the playful characters from these works. Relive the inner child in you as Solo brings the Pinoy Cartoonist Memorabilia featuring cartoonist Larry Alcala.

Larry Alcala was a well-known editorial cartoonist and illustrator.  In his over 50 years of cartooning, he has made over 500 characters, 20 comic strips, six movies, two murals and 15,000 published pages. His most popular cartoon series was Slice of Life, which is a reflection of the many unique aspects of everyday life in the Philippines. Slice of Life received the Best in Humor award and was also cited for helping to keep alive the Filipino’s ability to laugh at himself — through the lively marriage of art and humor, and through commentaries that are at once critical and compassionate, evoking laughter and reflection. Remember spending your Sundays looking for the concealed caricature of his face on Slice of Life? Now, you get to do this again.

For the first time, Solo, a brand who has built a strong following by offering hip vintage merchandise, is now bringing in Pinoy Cartoonist Memorabilia collection featuring Larry Alcala. This prolific cartoonist’s Slice of Life playful characters will be immortalized in a limited special edition consisting of graphic tees, polo shirts, woven tops and dresses and men’s long sleeves and accessories such as tote bag, clutch, notebook and mugs.

Lauro Zarate Alcala, also known as Larry Alcala, was a well-known editorial cartoonist and illustrator in the Philippines. Born on Aug. 18, 1926 in Daraga, Albay and died June 24, 2002 at the age of 75.

Larry Alcala was well aware of the far-reaching role of cartoons in education and value formation. He started his cartooning career in 1946 while still attending school. After World War II, he created his very first comic strip, Siopawman, which was printed on the pages of the Filipino comic book, Halakhak (Laughter). Later, he had created more comic strips, which had become huge and made him famous because of unique humor and interesting cartoon characters. Some of these works are Slice of Life, which is most popular cartoon series, Mang Ambo and Kalabog en Bosyo. He pioneered animated cartoons for television commercials. His campaign for the advancement of illustration and commercial art in the Philippines resulted to the establishment of the Visual Communication Department at the UP College of Fine Arts.

In 1988, his Slice of Life received the Best in Humor award. 

In 1997, the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) granted him the title Dean of Filipino Cartoonists, an achievement award for his lifetime dedication to the art of capturing humor in the character and everyday life in the Philippines. In 1991, he promoted the formation of a group of young children’s book illustrators called Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK).

Solo’s Online Model Search is now on its second year. After the brand successfully launched Jaggy Tallada and Jhonna Flor as last year’s grand winners of Solo’s Discover You Poster-Making Contest, there is an ongoing search for two new faces of Solo for 2011.

Check out www.solo.com.ph/modelsearch for contest details. Participants are asked to wear one of Larry Alcala’s items in their entries with the creative use of graphic elements available on the contest website. Anyone registering on the site can vote. The winners win cash and products and will be featured in the next Solo campaign. Contest is ongoing until Nov. 15.

For information, visit www.solo.com.ph, at Facebook, search for “Solo Online,” or visit Twitter.com/mySoloOnline.