Sunday, March 8, 2009

Paalam, Kiko! Salamat sa Musika! Salamat sa Makabagong Kamalayan!!


His was the 'new' voice of my generation. His music was 'out of the box' OPM rap that resonated amongst the youth of the mid 80s and early 90s. My generation.

I did not particularly like rap music but his was different. It spoke of pagkakaisa, of our being kababayans, of being Filipino, of being one nation and people. He spoke of kasarinlan, kapatiran, kalayaan and other Filipino values lost in a shrinking, globalized world.

His music then resonated with me, with many in my generation. A generation of young people who were slowly awakening to a new consciousness, a new awareness of being Pinoy in a world of many cultures, of many nations, of many peoples.

Thus his death resonates with me and perhaps with many others because apart from his message and his music, he was one of us, he belonged to my generation and his music, it was different in that it dwelt on our identity as a People.

He popularized our sense of ourselves as a people at a time when the information age was exploding around us and when information about the world all around us was spreading like wildfire and engulfing and consuming us all. He reassured us of our being distinctly Filipino at a time that was both confused and confusing. He gave us clarity. He gave us certainty about ourselves. For this, my generation will forever be thankful.

Kiko will be missed.

And to paraphrase Shakespeare...Good night, sweet Prince, may a thousand flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!

Paalam, Kiko! Salamat sa iyong musika at sa iyong gabay sa mga kabatan ng iyong henerasyon! You will live forever amongst a generation of Filipinos. A generation of Filipinos who now have a greater sense of self because of your music, your message and the gift of song.


K


Paalam, Kiko! Salamat sa Musika! Salamat sa Makabagong Kamalayan!!

Siya ang bagong boses ng aking henerasyon. Ang kanyang musika – OPM rap – ang tumatak sa kamalayan ng mga kabataan mula mid-80s hanggang early 90s. Ang aking henerasyon.

Hindi ako mahilig sa rap music, pero ang rap ni Francis “Kiko” Magalona ay iba sa lahat. Nagsasabi ito ng pagkakaisa, ng ating pagiging magkababayan. Binabanggit n’ya sa kanyang musika ang kasarinlan, kapatiran, kalayaan at mga ugaling Pilipino na unti-unting nawawala sa ating kultura.

Naimpluwensiyahan ako ng kanyang musika kagaya ng maraming iba sa aking henerasyon. Henerasyon na unti-unting namulat sa pagiging isang Pinoy sa mundo ng iba’t-ibang kultura, nasyon at lahi.

Si Kiko at ang kanyang musika ay yaman ng ating bansa at ipinagmamalaki ng aming henerasyon.

Ang kanyang pagpanaw ay malaking kawalan sa industriya, sa bansa, at sa aming henerasyon.

Ibinandila n’ya ang karangalan ng Pilipino sa panahon ng globalisasyon. Binigyan n’ya tayo ng tiwala sa kakayahan nating mga Pinoy.

Kiko, mami-miss ka ng mga Pilipino.

Paalam, Kiko! Salamat sa iyong musika at sa iyong gabay sa mga kabatan ng iyong henerasyon! Ang iyong musika ay mananatili sa mga susunod pang henerasyon ng mga Pilipino. Mga henerasyon na nagpapahalaga sa ating lahi at sa bansa dahil sa iyong mensahe sa loob ng musika.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Some 25 Years After the Assassination

The news about the release of the 10 convicted killers of Ninoy Aquino got me to think long and hard about how far we have gone some 25 years after his assassination in 1983.

I was 19 in August of 1983. I had no care in the world about government and politics. All I cared about was tine with my friends and family. All I cared about was living the full life of a teenager. The assassination changed all that. It cam as a shock to the nation and it shattered my indifference and apathy forever. I started to ask questions about the Marcos Regime. How could a former senator returning from exile in the US be killed in such a brazen manner? In broad daylight?

In today's terms it would be in a sense nearly the equivalent of killing a sitting opposition Senator in broad daylight. How could they think of doing something so dastardly and believe they could get away with it? How could these people plot a murder so foul and believe that the people would take things sitting down?

Some 25 years later, the foot soldiers convicted of murdering Aquino have been granted clemency after spending nearly 2 decades in jail. Yet the masterminds, those who planned, who orchestrated the assassination have not been identified and have yet to be brought to justice.

The Marcos regime's downfall in 1986 was hastened no doubt by the assassination in 1983. In that sense, the regime did not get away with it. Yet with the masterminds still unknown and unpunished some 25 years later, a number of those behind the brutal murder have gotten away with it after all. Thus far.

I have not lost hope. The Aquino Assassination in 1983 awakened a people and brought them collectively to rise up and condemn the injustice and to call for an end to tyranny. I was one of those who woke up from the deep sleep of indifference, of apathy.

I have not lost hope. I believe that the day will come wherein the truth behind the brutal killing of Ninoy will be known. The masterminds will be unmasked and a closure will be achieved.

Truth and justice in the end will prevail.


K