Meet the Author

MERCE JOSE-DELA CRUZ is the author of the UNESCO publication, Sourcebook of Philippine Traditional Art Motifs and Crafts Processes. A postgraduate in Sociocultural Anthropology and Archaeology, she was a recipient of a Hanns Seidel Foundation scholarship in Germany, where she co-curated the traveling exhibit, Die Philippinen: Perle im Östlichen Meer.

Now residing in sunny California, Merce draws on a decade of experience in the food import industry and her ongoing engagement in the sharing economy, managing rental properties in both the US and the Philippines. In her retirement, she finds joy in the quiet arts: playing the piano, writing creative non-fiction, and cooking to keep her loved ones close by.