LET Spoken by an estimated 21 million people in the Philippines, Cebuano has finally found MUSIC its way into By Crystal Neri Photography Takeshi Shinohara mainstream contemporary music, thanks to a young generation of musicians who are asserting their cultural identity through a new genre called Visayan pop PLAY THE FEATURES | CEBU and live music spills out of a crowded music channel MYX. Both Lucente and more Bisaya songs, then the next IT’S A STICKY restaurant and into a lively compound Rosales find the song’s success baffling. generation can grow up listening to filled with casual dining spots. On a “I guess it reminds listeners of their them,” she says. “Hopefully, they’ll be SUMMER NIGHT thrust stage, a band bathed in blue light younger days,” says Lucente, clad in an encouraged to support it.” performs a song with melodic sounds and oversized T-shirt and worn-out bucket IN CEBU CITY’S peppy beats, as its clear hopeful lyrics hat, a style he has been sporting since he POP MUSIC IS A BIG PART OF THE KASAMBAGAN about young love moves the audience to first joined the band scene as a teenager nation’s culture and local radio stations sway and sing along to the chorus. a decade ago. “You can write a song ad are required by law to play original songs DISTRICT Waiters carrying trays of ice-cold beer infinitum, but to write it in Bisaya and from the Philippines every hour. Stations, bottles and sizzling pulutan (bar chow) make it connect with the audience – however, have largely been limited to deftly weave between tables, as late- that’s a feat,” adds Rosales, whose short local compositions written in Filipino or comers form shadows in the back of the hair and ironic eyeglasses give off a English. “It’s hard to write songs in Bisaya room. The venue gets uncomfortably geek-next-door vibe. because the writers are ill-equipped,” overcrowded, but no one seems to mind. Cebuano – colloquially referred to as multi-award-winning Cebuano songwriter The music has taken control of the night. Bisaya – is spoken by an estimated 21 Jude Gitamondoc explains, echoing the Right after their set, Karl Lucente and million people in Mindanao, Central and sentiments of Mandaue Nights and Gino Rosales, the singer-guitarist and Eastern Visayas. Not formally taught in Teodorico. It’s another hot summer day in synthesizer player of Mandaue Nights, schools, it’s easy to speak but a challenge Cebu and we have retreated from the step out of Mac Restobar on an adrenaline to write. “I go into this rabbit hole of punishing heat outside by stepping into a high. The band, formed in June last year, research just to find the right words for crowded mall where Gitamondoc walks to has been killing it. “First Kiss”, the first of my songs,” says Jerika Teodorico, who his favorite café and orders a cup of two Cebuano songs off their Love City wrote the lyrics to “First Kiss”. It’s the brewed coffee. “The language isn't really album that came out in January, has been morning before Mandaue Nights’ gig and taught in schools, so there's a lot of ranking high in the daily countdown of we’re sitting in a café. Teodorico is insecurity and confusion on grammar. Most dressed in a faded T-shirt and a baseball songwriters use this as an excuse to avoid cap that’s partially covering her eyes. The writing original songs in the vernacular.” self-taught musician recalls how she used Gitamondoc, who was born in Surigao, to rewrite the lyrics of pop songs as a discovered his musical inclination while THIS SPREAD, CLOCKWISE FROM child. By 19, she had already written a attending secondary school in Cebu, TOP LEFT song, “Labyu langga” (“Love you, where the Salesian priests at Don Bosco Karl Lucente and Gino Rosales of Mandaue darling”), that made it into a Filipino Missionary Seminary encouraged him to Nights; songwriter movie, sung by a popular actress. write songs for school events. He later Jerika Teodorico; inside the studio of “My work’s message is kamao ko mo enrolled at the state university’s College radio DJ June Rabin Bisaya (I know how to speak Bisaya). It’s in of Music in Diliman, Quezon City, but only my heart,” says Teodorico, who has stayed for two semesters because he was already written over 20 songs in Cebuano. more interested in pop music. In 2001, “There’s so many intangible Bisaya Gitamondoc went back to Cebu to thoughts that can’t be conveyed in become a full-time songwriter. “Back another language.” She whips out her then, there was no name for mainstream phone and starts reciting verses from and contemporary music written in “Anino” (“Shadow”) – a ballad about Bisaya. Bisaya songs either sounded like unrequited love which took her almost rock or nakaraan (old),” he recalls. three years to write: Ayaw lag palabot, To catapult Cebuano-language music basta magpaabot lang ko nga ikaw into the future, Gitamondoc started an molutaw / Gikan sa lalom sa langitnong annual songwriting contest, called gahom, nagbaga ug wa pa maugdaw. “In Vispop, in 2013. Short for Visayan pop, it English, that translates to 'Don't mind if I has gained support from Artist Ko, a wait for you to be free from such heavenly Cebu-based cooperative for musicians power / Scorching and not yet burned and artists, and the Filipino Society of down'. That’s the best translation because Composers, Authors and Publishers. “Our English dilutes the actual meaning.” goal was to create music that’s Now 21 and working as a paralegal, contemporary, radio friendly and unlike Teodorico says that her dream job is to anything anyone has heard from Bisaya write Cebuano songs full-time. “If I write music before,” Gitamondoc says. From 63 PHILIPPINEAIRLINES.COM | MABUHAY 69 FEATURES | CEBU “ There's so many intangible Bisaya thoughts that can't be conveyed in another language ” format, so we’d usually play just one original song from a Cebuano artist, and usually it was in English.” entries in the inaugural edition, the Vispop, Rabin says, has given birth to competition received 300 entries from all music that people in the Visayas region over the Philippines in 2017. can actually identify with. “Vispop songs “During Vispop's first year, we didn't reflect the Cebuano personality – really have a definite sound in mind, but sometimes it is self-deprecating, but we were sure about what sound we didn't always funny and honest. So now, we like. But during our first screening session have more of those songs in our of contestants, one of the songs that primetime playlists.” captured our attention was ‘Historias’ by Alphecca Perpetua. That song helped us HANDURAW PIZZA, A RESTAURANT identify what kind of songs we were chain in Cebu, has always championed looking for: fresh, youthful, infectious,” the province’s local creative industry. At Gitamondoc says. its branch in Mango Square, colorful He elaborates that before Vispop, Cebuano music was stereotyped into three molds: the classic kundiman (folk THIS PAGE, song) in the same vein as “Usahay” and FROM TOP “Matud Nila”, the loud birit (belter) type Dropout Club performing at Handuraw better suited for singing competitions Pizza; musician Jude and the novelty mold like the songs of Gitamondoc Yoyov Villame and Max Surban. “There was a lot of musical ground not covered," Gitamondoc says. "Vispop, the contest, became this sort of playground, especially for a younger generation of songwriters who took on the challenge to write fresh Bisaya songs, on genres and topics that hadn't been used before.” Vispop has now evolved from being the name of a competition to its own genre. June Rabin, a radio DJ whose career has spanned two decades over a number of radio stations in Cebu, has witnessed firsthand this paradigm shift. “Before Vispop, we had the rock genre and a lot of banda-banda (garage bands). Some songs didn’t even fit our radio PHILIPPINEAIRLINES.COM | MABUHAY 71 FEATURES | CEBU LISTEN IN artwork greets guests before they sink THIS PAGE, Feel the Vispop beat CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT with Cebu’s independent into bean bags facing a stage where 22 Tango Records owner, record labels poetry readings, film screenings and live Cattski Espina; musician performances are held most days of the Kurt Fick; inside 22 Tango Records' office week. I meet Zarah Smith, whose family owns this establishment. “We realized 14 years ago that there’s really a need for a record label 22 Tango Records, observes. venue where people can go enjoy “That’s why we not only provide artists a homegrown music and art,” Smith says. A safe space to express themselves, but musician herself, she empathizes with her also give them an opportunity to really peers when “most venues just play what’s connect with the audience.” popular to get more audience”. Handuraw One of the bands featured in Songs of is the opposite – here, artists and Summer recently were Wonggoys, musicians come first. “We intentionally comprised of three brothers. After nearly built Handuraw to showcase local music a decade of producing English songs, and the arts,” Smith says. Wonggoys recently released “Wa’y Five years ago, a marketing executive ‘Blema” (“No Worries”), their first song in from one of the country’s biggest mall Cebuano. Gabriel Keith Wong, lead 22 Tango Records In 2001, singer-songwriter operators attended an event at vocalist and eldest of the brothers, says Cattski Espina and guitarist Handuraw Pizza and was inspired to the lyrics were inspired by a failed Anne Muntuerto formed organize Songs of Summer, now an 13-year relationship.