Cebuano queer stories break margins, win international recognition

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CEBU, Philippines – It took 85 years for Bisaya Magasin, the country’s oldest Cebuano magazine, to publish its first queer short story — a milestone achieved by R. Joseph Dazo, who began writing fiction in Sugboanong Binisaya in 2015.

“For me, it was already a win for both myself and Cebuano literature,” he recalled.

Since then, Dazo has continued to break ground in Cebuano queer literature. His debut collection, Ubang Gabii sa Mango Avenue — a series of stories depicting queer men or bayot in Cebuano-speaking communities — went on to gain international recognition, being named one of six winners in the inaugural PEN Presents x International Booker Prize program.

The collection is among the first PEN Presents winners to feature works originally published in Cebuano, Filipino, and Malay, marking the first time works from the Philippines have been recognized.

Launched in 2024 by the Booker Prize Foundation and English PEN, the program honors translators from the global majority and highlights works in underrepresented languages.

In an interview with Rappler, Dazo said his aim has always been to promote Cebuano queer literature without expecting an audience beyond the Philippines, but translation allows stories to “carry across” and reach wider readers.

The collection had already made waves locally, winning the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 2019 and landing on CNN Philippines’ Best Books of the 2010s.

Dazo added that writing is not just an intellectual exercise but also a form of self-insertion. “Fictionists may be intentional and overt with self-insertion, thinly disguising themselves as one of the characters, but I believe that writing is ultimately an act of giving yourself to the work,” Dazo said.

Breaking margins

The collection’s international reach was made possible through the English translation by John Bengan, a writer and UP Mindanao faculty member, who had already translated three of Dazo’s short fiction works published in Words Without Borders, ANMLY, and SLICE Magazine.

“There is no one else who can capture the nuances of Cebuano and queer identity the way he does,” Dazo said. “In fact, Bengan has been one of my inspirations to write queer works ever since I read his Palanca-winning short story Armor.”

Bengan, on his part, described translation as both labor and partnership, calling it “a demanding art form” where the translator also becomes an author. Despite the difficulty, he said he could not single out the hardest part because he also enjoyed the process.

More than the technical challenges, what struck Bengan most was how Dazo’s fiction filled a void in Cebuano literature.

“The lives of these characters trying to exist and survive as bayot in the city or in rural towns were so familiar to me. But I feel that they were not yet being written about as much in our Cebuano-language literature,” he told Rappler.

“Joseph’s work is one of the most exciting we have. And he writes about us Bisaya queer folks in his own queer Binisaya way.”

Beyond personal triumph, Dazo sees the recognition as a challenge to long-standing prejudices against local literature.

“Cebuano literature is still at the margins, dismissed as ‘pambakya — low-class, unsophisticated, unrefined,’” he said, echoing National Artist Resil Mojares. “Major presses do not yet accept manuscripts written in Cebuano and other Philippine languages unless they are translated into English or Tagalog.”

Rooted in the places that shaped him, Dazo said the people, streets, and neighborhoods he grew up around shaped both his voice and the worlds he writes about. Inspired by his love of films, he wants readers to feel like they’re walking alongside his characters, experiencing the places with them.

“Whether the story is set in a rural area in Alcantara, the streets of Cagayan de Oro City, or Mango Avenue [in Cebu], readers are immersed in the setting just as deeply as I was when I first experienced these places,” he said.

Teaching and advocacy abroad

Now teaching in Texas, Dazo said he faces a different kind of struggle under the current US administration, which he noted is targeting the LGBTQ+ community, especially trans individuals.

“Navigating life here is both challenging and dangerous,” he said, citing districts that are banning queer-themed books, prohibiting correct pronouns, and refusing affirmed names.

“As both a fictionist and a teacher, my role is to continue creating a safe and inclusive environment for my students, one where everyone feels heard, seen, and that they truly belong,” he said.

Looking ahead, Dazo envisions a brighter future for Cebuano literature. “The art of storytelling is in good hands with both established and emerging writers such as Omar Khalid, Januar Yap, Manuel Avenido, Elizabeth Joy Serrano-Quijano, John Danté, Hannah Leceña, Alden Arsèn, among others,” he said.

Dazo stressed that Cebuano literature should reach readers across the Philippines and expressed hope that Filipinos will recognize and celebrate the diversity and richness of local literature.

Alongside Dazo’s work, the 2025 winners include Time of the Eye by Alvin B. Yapan, written in Filipino and translated by Christian Jil R. Benitez, as well as works in Malay, Indonesian, and Arabic from Sudan and Palestine. – Rappler.com

Marjuice Destinado is a senior political science student at Cebu Normal University (CNU). An Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow of Rappler for 2025, she is also the feature editor of Ang Suga, CNU’s official student publication.

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