Aida Rivera-Ford

born 1926 · died 2026 · Jolo, Sulu

Short story writer born in Jolo, Sulu, best known for “The Chieftest Mourner”. She studied at Silliman University, edited its literary magazine Sands and Coral, and made her life in Davao, where she founded the Ford Academy of the Arts, the first fine arts school in Mindanao. She died in January 2026, days before her hundredth birthday.

2 books on the shelf

1997In print
Born in the Year 1900 and Other Stories
Aida Rivera-Ford
University of the Philippines Press
Short stories by the Jolo-born writer best known for “The Chieftest Mourner”, still one of the most taught stories in Philippine classrooms, from the University of the Philippines Press.
2012Out of print
Collected Works
Aida Rivera-Ford
C & E Publishing
Aida Rivera-Ford’s stories, essays and other writing gathered in one volume late in her long life in Davao.

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