Asst. Prof. Maria Eloisa C. Reyes of the Languages Area of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Asst. Prof. Manuel Zamora, Jr. of the Center for Community Development were among the speakers at the 21st Annual Manila Studies Conference.

Held at the University Conference Center, Far Eastern University last July 18 and 19, 2012, the conference highlighted works of various professionals and educators from prestigious universities on the various aspects of history, development, and culture of Manila. The event is co-sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts' Committee on Historical Research.

Reyes delivered her paper entitled "A Journey of a Letranite, A Legacy of a National Artist." The paper uses stylistic analysis of selected works of fiction of Rolando Tinio as an Apprentice writer. As a three-fold study that analyzed history-biography, themes, and stylistics, Reyes mentioned that, "the data presented and discussed in this study were drawn from the collected works of fiction of the young Rolando Tinio in the school paper Letran News which were kept in the Letran Archives Center."

Reyes added that Tinio had helped modernize the traditionally sentimental Filipino style. His works are definitely universal but of the highest order of thought. The study presumed that Tinio's language morphed from "Taglish", which he initiated,  a mixture of Tagalog and English, to pure Filipino and back to English. He bridged the gap between English (heaven) and Tagalog (earth).   

On the other hand, Zamora presented his paper "UST-Sto. Rosario Writings of Tinio" that focused on the life and work of Tinio in UST. He gathered a list of poems and narratives of Tinio’s life as a UST student. He focused on the list and analysis of the data to construct Tinio in the post-Letran era of his life.

Reyes also added that Rolando S. Tinio is one of the greatest masterpieces of Letran.  She further stressed that he may not be a spiritual leader or a political leader, but he was able to achieve his prominence in his own craft- the arts. In the literature, Tinio as a Letranite knows many things but he was not boastful.  

He loves his school and he is proud of it. A Letranite is always humble but people need not to ask for it.  With the guidance of the Dominican Fathers, a Letranite is always spirited and good hearted.

Both Reyes and Zamora are part of the strong line-up of faculty researchers of the Colegio. Reyes is current faculty researcher of the CLAS for the Languages while Zamora is known for his historical researches that are affiliated with Intramuros Studies.