Looks like nostalgia is back in style in the Philippines as the country’s oldest Tagalog magazine is back in print.
Liwayway magazine announced that it has published new issues of its print publication on Facebook.
“NAGBABALIK SA PRINT! (We’re returning to print!) Ang bagong isyu ng Liwayway ay mabibili na sa National Book Store at sa mga piling convenience store at newsstand (The new Liwayway issue is now available at National Bookstore and in selected convenience stores and newsstands),” the publication wrote.
“Let us support Filipino literature,” Liwayway added in Filipino. “Liwayway — which will turn 100 years old this November — is the only magazine that features novels, stories, poems, and komiks (Filipino comics) in Filipino. This is a platform for young talented artists such as Ardie Aquino, who created the cover of this issue. Supporting Liwayway meaning supporting our country’s arts,” they wrote with the hashtag #BagongLiwayway (#NewLiwayway).
Liwayway, which means dawn in Filipino, was first published in 1922 as a weekly magazine. The magazine was instrumental to the development of Filipino popular culture as it showcased up-and-coming Filipino talents such as komiks illustrators and writers. It anthologized the Lola Basyang stories and catapulted the careers of artists like Carlo J. Caparas and writers like Lualhati Bautista.
Over the years, Liwayway persevered despite dwindling its readership, eventually shifting to a fortnightly publication until it discontinued its print edition in mid-2021 and shifted to a purely digital format.
But with the resurgence of Tropical Hut thanks to nostalgia powered by social media, perhaps the fortunes of the historic magazine will change as well.
