Balmori--a poet, fictionist, and essayist--is considered one of the most prominent figures in Philippine literature in Spanish. He wrote under the pseudonym Batikuling. Filipino lyric poet in Spanish, Jesus Balmori was famous for his humorous and satirical verses in his column "Vida Manileña" in La Vanguardia, an afternoon daily in Spanish. Considered as "poet laureate" of the Spanish-speaking Filipinos, he wrote 4 vols. of poetry: Rimas Malayas, El Hombre y la Mujer, El libro de mis Vidas Manileñas and Mi Casa de Nipa, which won the poetry prize in Spanish in the Commonwealth literary contest in 1940. Balmori, who wrote under the pen name of a local wood, "Batikuling" was born in Ermita, Manila on January 10, 1886, to a wealthy couple from Pangasinan. He studied first at Letran and then finished philosophy at Santo Tomas. Even during his student days he was already interested in poetry. In a contest sponsored by El Renacimiento, he won all the prizes for his entries "Specs", "Vae Victis" and "Himo a Rizal". Again, in 1908, his poem "Gloria" won the first prize in the Renacimiento contest and in 1920, his "Nuestro Señor Don Quijote de la Mancha" and "Triplico Real" won the major prizes in the Casa de España sponsored literary contest. Aside from writing poems, Balmori also wrote novels like "Bancarrota de Almas", "Se Deshojo la flor" and "Pajaros de Fuego", completed during the Japanese occupation and brought by the government; five one-act plays, and an operetta, "Aves de Repiña". Moreover, he wrote regularly for La Vanguardia, El Debate and Voz de Manila. In 1929, he was honored in Madrid as a world poet in Spanish and during the Japanese occupation was crowned "poet laureate of the Philippines". Balmori died of cancer of the throat on May 23, 1948. Before he died he wrote a short poem, "A Cristo", which he dedicated to his wife Dolores Rodriguez, embodying his religious beliefs. He was astigmatic and wore glasses which delighted caricaturist when drawing his image.