Remembrance

It’s weird what a night of blog hopping with the radio blaring songs at 12 midnight can do to you. In a span of about 45 minutes, I heard the APL Song and Bebot by the Black Eyed Peas, and Bamboo’s revival of the Buklod classic Tatsulok. It got me writing about something I’ve been wanting to put off for about a week.

While I’ve been planning to write something about Bamboo’s revival of the song (it’s one of my favorites dating back to when I was a sophomore at UP), it never occurred to me that it would be, in more ways than one, be related to celebrated Fil-American Black Eyed Peas member Allan Pineda’s own experiences with migrating to the US to find greener pastures.

Tatsulok

To those of you who may not know the roots of this song, it was written in the 1980’s, during President Aquino’s time. It was right after the first People Power uprising, and even if Marcos was ousted in a peaceful manner, the country was still pretty much in turmoil. The countryside found the military and the anti-communist vigilante groups on one side, the New People’s Army on the other side, and the civilians in the middle. Things were really ugly, and the song inspired many an activist to fight for justice and meaningful change.

Totoy bilisan mo, bilisan mo ang takbo
Ilagan ang mga bombang nakatutok sa ulo mo
Totoy tumalon ka, dumapa kung kailangan
At baka tamaan pa ng mga balang ligaw

Totoy makinig ka, wag kang magpa-gabi
Baka mapagkamalan ka’t humandusay dyan sa tabi
Totoy alam mo ba kung ano ang puno’t dulo
Ng di matapos-tapos na kaguluhang ito

[Freely Translated]

Hey kid, prepare to run faster
To dodge the bombs pointing at your head
Kid, be ready to jump, or drop to your hands and knees
As you might get hit by stray bullets

Hey kid, don’t be found outside after nightfall
As they might mistake you for someone and shoot you
Kid, do you know what the root
of all this never ending mayhem is?

Given the height of military activity and anti-communist vigilante groups like the Alsa Masa in the countryside during the 80’s, it wasn’t hard for civilians to be caught in the crossfire. It’s said that history has a way of repeating itself. In this case, the saying is right. The same thing is happening now, left-wing activists and journalists across the country are being murdered one by one, and there was even the point where almost one activist was killed every day.

The Melo Commission, in it’s recently submitted report to Malacañang, recommended that retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and other military commanders be held responsible for the executions of left-wing militants under the doctrine of command responsibility. However it still virtually absolved the military, saying that the killings were done by “elements” within the military’s ranks, without the knowledge of their commanding officers, and didn’t even recommend the filing of any cases against Palparan and his colleagues. That in effect puts the lives of missing UP Diliman students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, in jeopardy as eye witnesses attribute their kidnapping to the military. They’ve been missing for almost a year now, and no one knows where they are. I can only pray that they’re okay, and that Sherlyn, who was pregnant at the time of her abduction, wasn’t forced to give her baby up or something.

Hindi pula’t dilaw tunay na magkalaban
Ang kulay at tatak ay di syang dahilan
Hangga’t marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan
At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman

Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok
Di matatapos itong gulo

Lumilikas ang hininga ng kayraming mga tao
At ang dating munting bukid, ngayo’y sementeryo
Totoy kumilos ka, baliktarin ang tatsulok
Tulad mong mga dukha ang ilagay mo sa tuktok

[Freely Translated]

It’s not the reds or the moderates who’re in conflict
Color or labels are not the real reason
As long as the majority of the people are poor
And only the rich people can find justice

As long as there’s the social pyramid, and they’re at the top
The mayhem will continue unabashed

An increasing number of people are breathing their last
What was once a peaceful farm is now a graveyard
Rise up kid, and invert the social pyramid
Put the destitute people like you at the top

In the latter parts, the song is literally enjoining the people to put a stop to what’s happening. Back in the 80’s it was stirring up people to rise up together and put an end to the injustice in society. The message of the song now is pretty much the same, the social conditions are still pretty much the same, and Bamboo’s revival couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. With the advent of things such as cellphones, the iPod, and the internet, today’s youth are more apathetic than their 80’s counterparts.

Let’s just hope that the song isn’t just limited to the radiowaves, or to some punk concert. It’s a good thing Bamboo gives some justice to the Tatsulok, with the rousing melody and the seeming anger in the way he sang it. At least this popular song among activist circles won’t be end up the same way as Buklod’s Kanlungan, which landed at a McDonald’s commercial, and instead of it having a “revolutionary flavor,” was “downgraded” to a mere mushy song.

The APL Song and Bebot

Ellie and I went to Red Box, in Makati about a couple of weeks ago, along with our officemates, to claim their teams’ prize for a contest we had in the office last December. Being close with Ellie’s teammates sure had it’s perks, and I found myself enjoying hanging out and unwinding after a long long time. The whole thing was a blast. The food was great, the service was great, and the best part was: our room had a billiards table and a videoke machine.

I heard one of her teammates sing Bebot, but didn’t put much thought into it, as I was busy playing billiard with some other guys in her team, and I think this was only the second time I heard the song, so I wasn’t aware that it also came from the Black Eyed Peas. At least I knew some of the song’s lyrics, which was: Filipino! Filipino! lol

I just found out recently that Allan Pineda didn’t expect the song Bebot to really hit it off the music charts, and he even if he was right, the song apparently stirred some nationalistic feelings with the Filipino community in the States, and it’s turning out to be some sort of “rap anthem.”

Hoy pare pakinggan nyo ko
Eto nang tunay na filipino
Galing sa baryo Sapang-bato
Pumunta ng LA nagtrabaho
Para makatulong sa nanay
Dahil sa hirap ng buhay

[Freely Translated]

Hey dude, listen to me
Here’s a true Filipino
Came from Barrio Sapang-bato
Went to LA to work
To help out my mom
Because life’s really difficult

Pretty cool, as Bebot, along with the APL Song, tells about Pineda’s personal experiences when he moved from the country, and how Filipinos are forced to seek their fortunes elsewhere because of lack of opportunities in the country and widespread poverty. At least someone’s trying to get other cultures to find out how poverty stricken the country is. Here’re some lines from the APL Song:

Lapit mga kaibigan at makinig kayo
Ako’y may dala-dalang, balita galing sa bayan ko
Nais kong ipamahagi ang mga kwento
Ang mga pangyayaring nagaganap
Sa lupang pinangako

[Freely Translated]

Come closer my friends and everyone listen
I brought news from my homeland
I’ll tell you how we live and what goes on
From my beloved homeland