Ben Zubiri

Benjamin Wenceslao Dacayana Zubiri (September 28, 1911 – November 9, 1969), also known as Iyo Karpo, was a Filipino composer and entertainer from San Nicolas, Cebu City. While he never sold his songs, he was a prolific songwriter and many of his songs are now considered classics by Cebuanos.

Zubiri began his career in the 1930s, competing in singing contests on the radio. He acted in several films, including Bertoldo ug Balodoy (1938), the first talking picture in the Cebuano language. During World War II, Zubiri served as a guerrilla fighter in Bohol and composed his most famous song, "Matud Nila" (1941). After the war, Zubiri started directing radio dramas and musical programs. He hosted popular shows on Cebu City's KZRC (now DYRC), including the weekly PMC Amateur Hour and the advice show Pangutan-a Ako, under the pseudonym Iyo Karpo. During the 1950s and 1960s, Karpo was the best-known radio personality in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Biography Early life and career (1911–1945) Benjamin Wenceslao Dacayana Zubiri was born on September 28, 1911 in San Nicolas (now part of Cebu City). He attended San Nicolas Elementary School, and lived in San Nicolas for most of his life. His father, Jesus Zubiri, was Spanish. His mother, Sergia Dacayana, was a Cebuana who taught him how to play the guitar at a young age. Zubiri's passion for the stage allowed him to discard the idea of going to college. From 1950, Zubiri managed the radio dramas of the Philippine Manufacturing Corporation (PMC), including the morning programs Ligid sa Kapalaran, Sinugatan sa Bag-ong Adlaw, and Mugrazu Time, and the evening program Asa Ka Inday? It became so well-known that it was sung by First Lady Imelda Marcos and is still Zubiri's most renowned song.

Zubiri has received other honors after his death. He won the Posthumous Award at the 1970 Awit Awards, and a formerly unnamed street in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City, was named for him in 1981. He received the Jose R. Gullas award in 2007, In 2019, The Freeman named Zubiri one of the Top 100 Cebuano Personalities.

Translations All titles translated from Cebuano.