Nicolas Rafols
Nicolas Mercado Rafols Jr was born in Toledo, Cebu in 1894 and died on May 2, 1947. He was a poet and fictionist.
His parents are Ignacia Mercado and Nicolas Rafols Sr, a Spanish mestizo who was one of those responsible for opening up the Toledo area to large-scale commercial agriculture. He studied in the elementary school of Toledo, obtained his secondary education and bachelor of arts degree at the Liceo de Manila, then finished law at Escuela de Derecho, also in Manila. He became a journalist, politician, landowner, and businessman involved in mining ventures in the Toledo area. He served as representative of Cebu’s sixth district, 1922-1925, 1928-1931, and 1934-1935; member of the First National Assembly, 1935-1938; and delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention.
Rafols edited such Cebu papers as El Precursor and El Democrata. His creative works consist of a collection of poetry, Damgo (Feelings), 1918, and a historical novel, Ang Pulahan (The Pulahan), 1919, one of the early Cebuano novels. He also compiled a four-volume anthology of Cebuano writing, provisionally titled Ang Kalibutan sa Katitikang Binisaya (The World of Visayan Letters), ca 1947, but he died before the work could be published.
Source: Compilation of Cebuano Writers – CSCL
Category: Special Collections