MANILA, Philippines — Original Pilipino Music (OPM) will play an important role in the commemoration of a momentous milestone in Philippine and global history. PhilPop is partnering with the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) in a series of music projects and activities to mark the 500th anniversary of the Victory of Mactan in 2021. The event will coincide with the international celebration of 500 years since the first circumnavigation of the world.
Through the Executive Order No. 55 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on May 8, 2018, the NQC was created to prepare the country for the celebration of the triumph of Filipino hero Lapulapu and his warriors in the famous Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521 against Spanish conquerors led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
The 500-day countdown to the Quincentennial celebration officially began on Dec. 14, 2019.
Under the partnership between PhilPop and NQC, the OPM institution serves as the screening committee and curator of a nine-track album dubbed the National Quincentennial Commemorations Playlist that pays tribute to the triumph of the Filipinos in the Battle of Mactan.
According to Dr. Rene Escalante, National Historical Commission of the Philippines chair and NQC vice chair, they tapped PhilPop to produce the Quintcentennial compilation because they want to reach out and encourage young people to be part of this hugely important event. “We are happy and lucky that PhilPop accepted the offer to liase for the songs for the commemoration,” he said.
They also chose to work with PhilPop because “we want to come up with a streaming playlist that best represents the collective musical taste of this generation, while also taking into consideration the Filipino-ness of pop music and the celebration of the quincentennial,” explained NQC head of secretariat Ian Alfonso.
For National Artist and PhilPop Music Fest Foundation board member Ryan “Mr. C” Cayabyab, they are very excited to be part of the commemoration because “this is not just an ordinary story that we are tasked to tell. This is the story that has pivoted the past 500 years of our lives as a nation and as an active participant in the global community. It is a story best told through the universal language called music.”
For several years now, the PhilPop Music Foundation, chaired by Manny V. Pangilinan, has had discovered and mentored young composers across the country through PhilPop songwriting boot camps and competition. However, instead of simply getting established songwriters, music festival champions, popular alumni and coaches to come up with the Quincentennial songs, Mr. C said they decided to take the “harder but more impactful route.”
“Since summer (of 2019), we have been going around the country in search for songs that best represent people’s perspective on the history that has transpired in Mactan,” he said.
Through PhilPop’s 2019 boot camps in Batangas, Tagum and Lingayen (plus one more next month in Visayas), they were able to “screen those who had the potential to write your songs, engage young and talented songwriters, you know, coordinate training, help them express themselves through their music and challenge them to write the song that they believe will best tell the story of our victory and humanity 500 years ago, and after.”
Eight songs come from the boot camps while one song is a collaborative work of the coaches.
Top songwriters and PhilPop coaches like Trina Belamide and Jungee Marcelo gave an idea of the selection process. Campers, they said, were first given a lecture/briefing about the commemoration and its signifance, after which they were asked to write the songs. “During the briefing, (they were told) you can be different and not do the usual ethnic (songs), do the genre that you think would speak to the youth and same age group. that’s why they were really encouraged to write like pop-rock style, anthemic, world beat… to make it current,” Marcelo said.
The first single was already launched on PhilPop’s YouTube last Dec. 14 along with the start of the countdown. Titled Bagani, the soaring anthem was written and composed by Roel Rostata, arranged by Marcelo, and performed by Anthony Castillo with Pinopela. Expect more songs soon — carefully chosen so that the album will present diversity and variety. The entire playlist will be available on Spotify and other digital platforms. Radio airplay is also being planned. Pinopela, Noel Cabangon, Reuben Laurente are just some of the singers tapped to interpret the songs on the album.
“We want the playlist to sound as nice as possible. Di ba, pag merong album, gusto mo iba-iba, kasi sabi namin baka mamaya puro Mactan ang title or Bagani ang title, or ethnic-sounding lahat. So we wanted to make sure that every cut has something different to offer so as to hopefully give listeners a nice variety of songs,” Belamide said.
Mr. C said that coming up with an entire playlist is the “best approach” to talk — or sing — about the Quincentennial.
He said, “Don’t you find this an exciting prospect that it became a playlist because usually for commemorations, isang kanta lang. With this, you have nine songs that talk about the commemoration of the 500th anniversary, with different angles and levels of temperament and patriotism. It’s very prismatic in a way. I would like to tell you that this partnership is a better approach to commemorating something very, very important.”
Aside from the National Quincentennial Commemorations Playlist, NQC and PhilPop are also looking into mounting music shows and concerts for the historical occasion.