Richard Allan Santos Aquino, or Asnallar, (born May 18, 1981) is a Filipino graduate of philology, with a degree in BA European Languages from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, where he also received a Gawad Chanselor award for "Outstanding Student Achievement in a National Competition" in 2003, a year before he graduated. He majored in Spanish and his secondary discipline was Comparative Literature and English. He also earned a Post-baccalaureate Diploma in Magazine Editorial from the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in 2008. He went to St. James Academy during grade school and high school.
Aside from Spanish, he speaks and writes fluently in English and Tagalog, his mother tongue. His undergraduate thesis, written in Spanish, focused on the translated spells (from their original form in English) used in the American television series Charmed (Seasons 1-5) for its Spanish broadcast, and how they related with Romanticism. He chose that topic to incorporate all he had learned in his major and minor tracks in college.
He was part of a radio broadcast in Spanish called Filipinas, Ahora Mismo (Season 3) on DZRM as a scholar, segment host and translator. Currently, he is working as a language specialist/research analyst for an information and newswire company. He also works as a freelance creative writer and translator.
Asnallar is an anagram of his real name. He has been using this as an alias for his creative ventures in the last six years. The pseudonym was created by his best friend in Christmas 2001.