The distinguished bard hailed from Cabatuan, Iloilo, the hometown of another renowned Ilonggo, Tomas Confesor. His parents were Sinforoso Zaragoza y Casten and Agapita Cano y Montero. His birth took place on June 27, 1892, in barrio Janipaan of Cabatuan.

At the age of four Flavio was given to the care of his grandmother, Doņa Petra Casten who three years later, sent him to the Centro Escolar de Molo under the Salas brothers. In this school his grades were sobresaliente (excellent).

His literary genius first showed itself in 1906, when he was only fourteen. He wrote a poem "Alma Joven", which was accepted for publication in Nuevo Heraldo. Two years later he obtained the Bachiller en Artes degree from the Instituto de Molo, where he was president of the Sociedad Recreativa Literencia.

After graduation he taught in the Escuela Parochial de Molo, administered by the Rev. Father Nicolas Valencia. It was at this time that he wrote his first zarsuela entitled "Ang Binunga sang Bisyo".

Helping in the campaign of Don Manuel Locsin, his teacher, for the governorship of Iloilo in the elections of 1906 made him desire to study law; so, in 1910, he sailed for Manila where he enrolled at the Escuela de Derecho and later at the Colegio de Derecho directed by Felipe Buencamino. In order to support himself and finance his studies, he worked as bookkeeper in the Farmacia Filipina in Binondo and at the same time taught school at the Colegio de Mercantil.

While in Manila, furor scribindi made him produce literary pieces which he contributed to La Vanguardia, Renacimiento, El Ideal and the Philippines Free Press (Spanish section) in Manila; El Tiempo, Makinaugalingon, and La Semana in Iloilo; The union in Mindanao; La Revolucion in Cebu; and the Philippine Republic in Hong Kong. He also had several articles published in Libertad, Renacimiento Filipino, Bayang Filipina, and Kahirup. He was also the director of the bilingual publication "Bugtot Pagui." His much inspired La Roca Eterna was published in Mexico.

The poet Flavio Zaragoza Cano found his muse in the person of Josefa Francisco of Manila. To marry her in 1914, he gave up his studies and dreams of becoming a lawyer.

After his marriage he took his wife to Albay, where he became manager and part-owner of a printing press and a newspaper, Heraldo Bicolandia.. In 1916, he managed a bazaar in Legaspi and also the Imprinta Monserrat in that town. In the same year, the people of Albay, Albay, in recognition of his literary powers and journalistic achievements, elected him to their municipal council.

Don Flavio always had soft heart for the poor and the laboring class. In 1917, in order to help the working man, he organized the first labor union in the Bicol region. One of his feats as a labor leader was the settling of the labor trouble in the steamship Vapor Poizat.

Five years in Bicol made the poet homesick for his native province, so in 1919 he came back to Iloilo. Here he at once plunged into full-time writing. He edited four papers simultaneously: Nuevo Heraldo, El Adalid, Baganiban, and El Pueblo. An oratorical contest was held that year at the Casino Espaņol, and Don Flavio won the first prize of five hundred pesos. The following year, 1920, he again received another five hundred pesos when his poem won the first prize in another contest. From then on he was much in demand as public speaker, especially in the proclamation of town fiesta queens and barrio indays.

His hometown of Cabatuan called him to act as municipal secretary in 1922; then he served in the capacity for the municipality of Dumangas, Iloilo, from 1923 to 1927.

Although he was not able to finish his study of law, he was given a license as notary public, which professor he practiced from 1923-1931. After his stint as municipal secretary of Dumangas, he became the private secretary of Senator Jose M. Arroyo.

His first major honor as a poet came in 1926, the same year that he was appointed secretary of the Provincial Board of Iloilo. He was crowned as "Rey de Balagtas en Poesia en Dialecta Bisaya." The second honor came in May, 1938, when he was proclaimed "Poet Laureate" and awarded a silver medal during a velada in Bacolod City. As further recognition of his talents, he was admitted member of the Academia Espaņola de la Lengua Castellana and the Sociedad de Literatos y Artistas Filipinos. In 1929 he gained national recognition when he won the Zobel Prize for Spanish poetry.

His government service was unbroken from 1923 to 1934 when, after passing the Civil Service Examination, he was appointed as interpreter in the Iloilo Court of First Instance. He served in this capacity up to 1935.

In 1935, his first book Cantos A Espaņa, an anthology of selected verses was in fact a glorious tribute to mother Spain, at the same time a triumph of the Spanish language.

The work that brought him national fame was his magnum opus, the book-length De Mactan a Tirad. This book was entered in the memorable Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1940. Impartial critics as well as the author him-self expected it to win the coveted first prize. To the author’s mortification and the critics' surprise, however, the work won only second prize. Next to Jesus Balmori's entry in the category of Spanish poetry.

Zaragoza refused the second prize of P2,000 and, at the presentation of Prizes by President Quezon, he tore up the check in front of the President, then stalked out of august hall amidst the stunned hush of the audience. The poet contended that his work was superior to that of Balmori in historical facts, in style, in beauty of expression and in eloquence.

As far as is known, the irrepressible Ilonggo poet was the only person who had defied the explosive temper of the fiery Quezon by such an impulsive act in the president's presence. The late Dr. Severo Hervas, Zaragoza's close associate, could hardly believe Don Flavio's action. "Muy terrible!" Dr. Hervas used to say when reminded of the incident. (Regalado and Franco, History of Panay. Iloilo City: Central Philippine University, 1973)

Read some of Flavio Zaragoza Cano's poems