Long Live Mabuhay Singers!

Last night, I had a wonderful musical and cultural experience brought about by KKK (Kantahan, Kainan, Kasiyahan), a dinner-concert fundraiser for the construction of San Jose de Ampid Parish (SJDAP) church in San Mateo, Rizal. 

The concert was "traditional Pinoy" in nature, with palm leaves, bahay kubo, banderitas and senior citizens (hehe) very evident at the venue. It started off with folk dance performances by SJDAP parish workers - Youth Ministry, Knights of the Altars and Finance Council, followed by a choral medley (Mamang Sorbetero and Kalesa) courtesy of SJDAP Music Ministry and for the main act, there came to the spotlight one of the country's seasoned singing group called THE MABUHAY SINGERS.

For youngsters (including those from my generation teehee) who might have not heard of them, I have sought help from Mr. Wikipedia to introduce The Mabuhay Singers. 

The Mabuhay Singers is a group of singers from the Philippines that was formed in 1958. Some of the members went on to become soloists like Cely Bautista, Raye Lucero, Naning Alba, and the late Rene Evangelista, among many others.

The Mabuhay Singers recorded more than 100 albums; some were released internationally. The albums contained traditional and modern Filipino music in major languages of the Philippines, and some songs in English and Spanish. In 1973, the Philippine Records Association awarded a citation for the group for their best-selling albums.

The Mabuhay Singers, donned in elegant red Terno and dashing Barong Tagalog, performed a whole lot of Filipino songs, the lineup consisting of kundiman and other folk songs, traditional Christmas tunes plus some pop songs which were popularized even before I was conceived.

Mabuhay Singers doing what they do best - singing and wowing the audience the Filipino way.
Photo taken during KKK concert at Ampid, San Mateo, Rizal

Honestly, I did not expect that I would really be able to immerse myself in their music   since I was actually directing the program and doing some last minute troubleshooting. Besides, watching cultural shows is not really on my list of favorite things to do nowadays. :D But I was mistaken because after the grand finale, I realized that I did not only savor each moment but I was brought to an unexpected cultural reawakening through music. 

The impressive vocal harmony, amazing artistic prowess and funny antics of The Mabuhay Singers made listening to the songs like Kung Ako'y Mag-aasawa, Sinisinta Kita, Rosas Pandan, Pamulinawen, Hahabol-Habol, Balut, Bakit Ikaw Pa (originally sung by Didith Reyes), Pandangguhan, Ako ay Pilipino, Pilipinas, Ay Ay Ay Pag-ibig (rendered alongside SJDAP Music Ministry) etc. very enjoyable and interesting. The songs, some of which I have only heard for the first time, took me back to the old times when courtship was still an art, when husbands and wives only fight over undercooked rice, when traditions were still celebrated and when colonial mentality has not yet prevailed. 

Here's a link to the audio recording of their performance of Pandangguhan to give everyone an idea on how they sounded last night.:D 

Click here to listen to PANDANGGUHAN by MABUHAY SINGERS.:)

I am indeed very grateful and very much honored to be part of KKK's production team, but even more so to be given the chance to see The Mabuhay Singers perform in flesh songs that are distinctly Pinoy, and reminisce the culture that may have been forgotten, or worse, totally unknown to what I would call the "Gangnam Style" generation.

Here's my directorial outfit against the reddish set - dark jeans,  black tank top and
sneakers (well, initially until I  decided to change into wedge for additional height haha)

I will end this post by wishing that more young Filipinos would be given a chance to see, and more importantly appreciate, cultural shows such as this.:) Long live Filipino music! Long live Mabuhay Singers!

P.S. The english translation of "Mabuhay" is actually "Long live!"

P.P.S. The concert was organized in celebration as well of the 24th sacerdotal anniversary of SJDAP priest Fr. Pepe Pedraja.

P.P.P.S. God bless San Jose de Ampid Parish, I pray that the construction of your church would go on smoothly and everything will be done in no time. To the rest of the production team and the performers, 'twas nice working with you!

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In the recent days, have you had any experience of cultural reawakening and appreciation?