strong & stable destablizier

J.K Rowling sent out a thread of tweets earlier this week on how female politicians, specifically British Prime Minister Theresa May, are being treated. The U.K.’s recent general election on June 8 is likely what caused Rowling to speak out about the important issues that female politicians are still facing today.

This is one of the first few times I’ve seen a white woman attempt intersectional feminism and not fail at it. I have yet to see Taylor Swift do the same, despite the fact that she hangs out with women of various backgrounds and the fact that there are some WOCs among her squad.

You may have all the women of color, and women from various backgrounds in your squad, but those alone can’t make you an intersectional feminist until you are able to show solidarity with them, no matter the differences you may hold. 

Ang Laya Mo’y Babantayan: The History of the patriotic song, Pilipinas Kong Mahal

Not much could be gathered of the famous patriotic song, Pilipinas Kong Mahal. Sung in numerous state events and in Philippine flag ceremonies, it doesn’t invoke the usual unfeeling tune performed by marching bands. This was understandable because these songs were designed to rouse the fighting spirit and sound the call to arms. But Pilipinas Kong Mahal stands out. When one observes the tune, one could feel a tinge of sadness that wraps up in a powerful resolve to defend Pilipinas, redeemed at such a high cost.

*The raising of the Philippine flag at the Independence Flag Pole at Rizal Park, Manila (taken last June 11, 2017).

The song itself surprises us. It’s inspiration is foreign, the song, aptly rooted from the Philippine colonial experience. It arose at the time when the Philippines was under American rule. By virtue of Act No. 1696 enacted by the American-led Philippine Commission on August 23, 1907, the display of the Philippine flag, and all symbols of the First Philippine Republic, including the Katipunan flags, emblems, and the Marcha Nacional Filipina (our national anthem) were strictly prohibited. Violators were fined, or imprisoned from 3 months to 5 years.

As part of the American apparatus of pacifying the islands, Prescott F. Jernegan, an American civics teacher at Philippine Normal School (now Philippine Normal University), composed a hymn to replace the Marcha Nacional Filipina with a national hymn entitled, “Philippines, My Philippines.” The hymn was inspired by “Maryland, My Maryland,” the official anthem of the U.S. State of Maryland. 

I love my own, my native land

Philippines, my Philippines

To thee I give my heart and hand

Philippines, my Philippines

The trees that crown thy mountains grand,

The seas that beat upon thy strand

Awake my heart to thy command,

Philippines, my Philippines

Ye islands of the Eastern sea

Philippines, my Philippines

Thy people we shall ever be

Philippines, my Philippines

Our fathers lived and died in thee

And soon shall come the day when we

Lie down with them at God’s decree

Philippines, My Philippines

Yet still beneath thy ardent sky

Philippines, my Philippines

More numerous sons shall live and die

Philippines, my Philippines

In them shall breathe the purpose high

The glorious day to bring more nigh

When all may sing without a sigh

Philippines, My Philippines

The anthem was included as part of the music textbook Philippine Progressive Music Series for the Primary Grades in 1914 and taught to Filipino children. Sources suggests it was quite similar to the Maryland anthem that inspired it, which in turn was inspired by O Tannenbaum, a German Christmas song. There was nothing wrong with the lyrics, but since it’s in English, and the feel of the music was American, there was a certain distance between the common Filipino and the song being sung.

In 1930, Filipino musical composer and the first Filipino director of the U.P. Conservatory of Music and known “Father of Kundiman,” Francisco Santiago, set out to compose the melody for Philippines, My Philippines. The music that came out, evoked the musical tradition of Kundiman (in ¾), the type of Tagalog music from the late 19th century that is characterized by sad, rhythmic and smooth undertones, it’s lyrics often fatalistic, often portraying a heartbroken lover willing to bear his all just to get the heart of an unreachable beautiful maiden. Kundiman comes from “Kung hindi man” (if it’s not meant to be) making it sad and beautiful. Santiago’s music was original and truly Filipino.

The exact date was lost to us in history but probably sometime in the post war years, poet Ildefonso Santos Sr., translated, shortened, and tweaked the lyrics. By this time, the song–music and lyrics– has transformed into a Filipino favorite. In effect, we have transformed something that was designed to subjugate us into something that became inherently ours. Since then, it has become part of the line up of patriotic songs in state ceremonies. Consider the simple lyrics that was sung up to the 70s. It begins with the cherishing of a country, “Ang bayan ko’y tanging ikaw…”, with a promise that our heart and life will be offered to her without hesitation.

Ang bayan ko’y tanging ikaw

Pilipinas kong mahal

Ang aking puso’t buhay man

Sa iyo’y ibibigay

Tungkulin kong sinumpaan

Ang lagi kang paglingkuran

Ang laya mo’y isanggalang

Pilipinas kong hirang

Listen to the song HERE performed Philippine Constabulary Band and the Philippine Constabulary Choral Ensemble, circa 1970s. 

During the country’s experience under the scourge of dictatorship, the song further evolved, being sung among a host of Filipino patriotic songs in massive protests that led to the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986. It was a small addition to the lyrics, but the song remains powerful.

Ang bayan ko’y tanging ikaw,

Pilipinas kong mahal

Ang puso ko at buhay man

Sa iyo’y ibibigay

Tungkulin ko’y gagampanan

Na lagi kang paglingkuran

Ang laya mo’y babantayan

Pilipinas kong hirang

It is such a wonder that such a song with a few words could stir such emotion. I’ve wondered about it when I listened to it being sung and performed at yesterday’s Independence Day rites at Luneta and at Quirino Grandstand. 

The song captures the story of the nation that has, time and time again, brought itself up to its feet. Now that we have celebrated our 119th Independence Day, may we always cherish this freedom that was bought at a high price. Let us never belittle it or take it for granted. Let us guard it with our lives, as did the Filipinos who’ve gone before us.

Indeed, “Ang laya mo’y babantayan, Pilipinas kong hirang!”

The Bay Area’s Filipino Food Movement sparks a national conversation

Aug. 30, 2014, at around noon, was the moment Joanne Boston realized that the Filipino Food Movement, the organization she helped found, had grabbed the public’s attention. It was the moment the organization’s first big event threatened to spiral out of control.

Boston and the other organizers of Savor Filipino, the country’s first Filipino food festival, had anticipated — hoped for — 14,000 attendees to come to Justin Herman Plaza in downtown San Francisco.

More than double that number showed up.

Shouldering her way through the press of bodies to reassure chefs who were running out of rice and meat, Boston would force herself to stop for frequent breathing breaks, channeling panic back into motion. Then she would catch sight of the festival’s banners, the Ferry Building’s clock tower rising behind them, and a different emotion would catch her up in its swell: pride.

Since that day, the Filipino Food Movement, based in the Bay Area, has become a force online. It can barely keep up with the dozens of Filipino restaurants and one-off dinners appearing in cities like New York, Washington, D.C., Detroit and Seattle. Nearer to home, the organization is trying to whip up the same ebullience in the country’s largest Filipino community outside of Los Angeles.