Patron is best remembered for writing Filipino komiks, especially during the time when it was dominated by male writers
Award-winning Filipina scriptwriter, essayist, dramatist, and novelist Elena Patron-delos Angeles, commonly known, as Elena Patron, passed away on Jan.14, Thursday, at age 87. News about her demise was shared by entertainment journalist Mell Navarro through a Facebook post.
A prolific writer and a legend in the local publishing scene, Patron was a writer and columnist for Liwayway Magazine’s movies and women’s pages. Throughout her writing career, she was able to chat with some of show business’ brightest stars, including American actor Jeffrey Hunter, who played the role of Christopher Pike in the pilot episode of Star Trek in 1965, and Paul Anka, the American singer behind the songs “Diana,” “Lonely Boy,” and “Put Your Head On My Shoulder.”
Apart from her contribution to the magazine, Patron was best remembered for writing Filipino komiks, especially during the time when it was dominated by male writers. Her interest in doing it started when one of her columns for the magazine, Mga Payo ni Ate Mameng, was turned into a comic book format.
Soon enough, her komiks were translated into films. The movie adaptation of her first komik, “Kapatid Ko ang Aking Ina,” led her to a Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) victory for Best Story.
According to Navarro, among Patron’s memorable komik novels that were adapted to movies were “Blusang Itim,” ”Lord, Give Me a Lover!," “Ako Si Emma, Babae,” “Kislap sa Dilim,” “Adult Kid,” “Mumay,” “Oras-Oras, Araw-Araw,” “Isinilang Ko Ang Anak Ng Ibang Babae,” “Pompa,” “Dalawa Ang Nagdalantao Sa Akin,” “Padre, Si Eba,” “Bago N’yo Ako Sumpain,” “Ligaw-Tingin, Halik-Hangin,” “Kape’t Gatas,” "Balbakwa," and "Nagbabagang Luha."
“For us who knew her, she was just a very strong, simple, and caring woman who put her loved ones first before herself,” Jenny Fatima Macatiag, a close family friend, tells Navarro. “Most of all, a very loving and supportive mom to Ardee, who even at her last moments was still thinking about him. She was an inspiration.”
Rest in power, Elena