Trivia

A National Artist in the Philippines.

Popularized the Filipino word bakya, a slang term for lowbrow, unsophisticated, or mass-oriented entertainment. Originally referring only to traditional wooden clogs worn by the working class, legendary film director Lamberto Avellana used "bakya crowd" in the late 1950s to mock audiences who preferred formulas over his high-art films. The word bakya evolved into a descriptive adjective for anything considered cheap, provincial, or tacky.