Based in Pinili, Ilocos Norte, Magdalena Gamayo is a master weaver who has dedicated her life to make inabel textiles and keep the craft alive. In 2012, she became an awardee of Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA), also known as National Living Treasure Award.
Led by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the GAMABA recognizes Filipino artisans, "whose distinctive skills have reached such a high level of technical excellence and have been passed on to and widely practiced by the present generation in his/her community with the same degree of technical and artistic competence."
In August 2023, Magdalena celebrated her 99th birthday making her one of the oldest National Living Treasure. She is currently passing her knowledge of the craft to younger relatives and new groups of Filipino weavers. Through her workshops held at the Gamaba Cultural Center in honor of Magdalena Gamayo, the Ilocano weaver hopes that the future generation will discover and learn more about the art of weaving inabel textiles.
“Sana magkaroon ng interes ang mga kabataan na pag-aralan ang paghahabi at pumunta sila dito upang aking gabayan, kasama kayong nagtratrabaho dito upang matururan sila (I wish the younger generation will gain interest in learning how to weave and come here so I can guide them, to work with them and teach them),” Magdalena said. “Dahil lahat ng ginagawa naman natin dito ay sigurado akong babalik sa atin. Para sa atin ang lahat ng ito. (Because everything that we are doing here will benefit all of us. Everything here is for all of us).”