Manuel Baldemor born in Paete Laguna 1947, He is a painter, sculptor, printmaker, writer and book illustrator. Studied and graduated in UST 1968. First attracted attention in the early '70s with pen-and-int drawings, capturing in meticulous detail the folk spirit of Paete.

His works are known not only in the Philippines but also in other countries. He is an artist-in-residence in Chile, Estonia, France, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, and Portugal. His works are known internationally as UNICEF selected his works to be made into greeting cards that are distributed worldwide.