Way back in 1999, I received a Christmas gift that I have treasured ever since. It was a CD compilation of native Christmas songs and carols sung and performed by non-professional and non-commercial native Filipino groups meticulously sought out from their anonymity and obscurity.
The gift was given by the Societe Generale des Surveillance, at the time celebrating its 50th year of presence in the Philippines. The CD compilation was a brainchild of SGS country head Serge H. Guillaume, who was obviously smitten by the raw beauty of true Filipino music.
On the CD jacket, Guillaume wrote: “The trademark that probably best characterizes the Filipino people is their being great singers. All over the world, Filipinos are admired for their unique singing talent. Unfortunately, they almost always perform tunes of the dominant culture.”
That dominant culture is, of course, Western Culture. We may indeed have great singers, but for as long as they are identified by Western influences, the true beauty of our music, and their own artistic genius, will remain as mere gems waiting to be discovered, or recovered.
Guillaume wrote on: “We thought of paying tribute to the Filipino people through a record of native Christmas songs and carols belonging to them and embodying their culture. I believe the record will stir up the kind of emotion that only authenticity is able to generate.”
And I would be lying if I say, when I first heard the music and the unpretentious and unrefined voices that gave them life, and each time I played it since, that I did not feel a little ashamed it had to take a foreigner to show me how beautiful our music, and culture, are.
Maybe it is because it is tempting to take things that are familiar for granted that we seem to ignore our own. But we cannot succumb to this temptation forever. To do so is to run the risk of completely alienating ourselves from who we are.
And God knows how catastrophic it is for a people to forget who they are, to be ignorant of their own culture, to be strangers in their own land. No matter how mesmerized we are with, and how deeply immersed we have become in, a foreign culture, we need to keep our heritage alive.
For that is the only thing we can pass on. That is the only thing that distinguishes us from the others. The world may have shrunk and boundaries may have collapsed with the advent of the global nation and the global man. But must it mean also that we lose our distinctness?
I do not think so. The term global defines only situations and environments. It does not qualify individual persons and national spirits. We will forever remain who we are according to cultures and traditions that form the basis for our identities.
It has to be admitted, though, that rediscovering and recovering ourselves from all the outside influences that assault us daily has become quite a challenge. Worse, the challenge has inspired only very few takers.
Here in Cebu, at least, there is one. He is Jose “Dodong” R. Gullas. It comes as no surprise, however, because Sir Dodong is no stranger to challenges. As an educator, legislator, and newspaper owner, he has met and hurdled great challenges. But that is another story.
Right now, Sir Dodong is embarked on another great challenge, that of promoting and preserving the beauty and greatness of Cebuano music, culture and tradition. And the vehicle he has used to do this is the “Halad” which he started several years ago.
“Halad 2010” will be this coming January 13 at the Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and will feature Pilita Corrales, Dulce, Raki Vega, and the world-renown UV Chorale. This concert promises to be a most captivating evening ever of Cebuano music.
I cannot think of any other musical gathering that mixes the romantic songs of Pilita, the power ballads of Dulce, the contemporary tunes of Raki, and highly-calibrated choral pieces by the UV Chorale.
Do yourself a favor. Give yourself a gift. Hearing some of the most beautiful Cebuano music performed by some of the greatest Cebuano artists, you will truly be surprised why you probably never gave your Cebuano heritage a chance before.