Be Proud of your Waray-waray Music

I could say that our music has evolved and the new generation artists are somehow adopting the modern expression and we must be proud that our culture is still integrated with the modernity of their music. They are becoming popular or should I say they are indeed popular now, and what is beautiful is that they have gained the support of our fellow Waray-waray. The credit of course, should be given to the local radio station which plays compositions of these bands/groups that are purely Waray-waray. Basically, it is the reason why their compositions are familiar to us. Waray-waray artists have turned out to be talented and creative in expressing their passion for music.

In a concert organized by NGOs in celebration of the World Earth Day at the Balyuan Tower in Magsaysay Boulevard popularly known as “Mags Bar” by the younger generation, the crowd from all walks of life was really enjoying the show. Featuring the local artists of Leyte, the performers did not fail to give the audience their best performances. Different genres of music from reggae, rap, love songs, rock and alternative were performed creating a jam packed event. My conclusion is that, at times we don’t need high paying entertainers from Manila to make the natives enjoy. And being in the event, I endorse that our local talents were more than enough to give a total entertainment, and in some ways it also promotes our very own.
“Waray Rap is not the old school rap”. I quote this from an interview with Gerbie Santo, the Station Manager of Ifm Tacloban. He said that the La Familia’s style of rapping is something that has evolved from the old school style. La Familia is one of the pioneering groups of Waray rappers in Tacloban. Members of this group are college students who started with rap music in their high school days. Even grade schoolers know their songs which are making to the top ten countdowns, in some of our local radio stations. Their hit song “Salisi” among many other compositions has stayed no. 1 for a couple of weeks in the daily top ten countdowns in MOR 94.3. Rap in our own dialect seemed to be awkward for some, but La Familia has proven to make their own trademark. As the La Familia performed in the Earth Day Concert, people can’t help but sing along.

On stage was Bolingling, who is an lawyer slash musician. What made him popular were his hits “Ambo’t Ha Im” and “Single Nanay”(single mom) which are both good compositions. One thing that is excellent about his compositions is the way he expresses reality in his songs. “Single Nanay” for example talks about the unfortunate single mom who never listened to the advises of her parents, that instead of concentrating on her studies the poor girl prioritized her boyfriend, got pregnant and ended up to be a teenage mama. People could relate exactly what he points out in his songs because what he usually talks about is reality. Then comes Lazy Susan which delighted the crowd. The group won the grand prize in the SOUND SKOOL National Inter-School Band Competition sponsored by Nescafé. They defeated 13 other bands representing different college institutions all over the Philippines. They play love songs in an alternative rock genre and their music fits the taste of the young individuals. Their winning piece entitled “superdupermegaamazinghero” was a hit. Then the most humorous group who had a really amusing performance was Green Peas. Their music is not just a trying hard reggae, but is indeed certified reggae music with a twist of Waray-waray lyrics. They are cool and their music could relate with the mass. They have been unique for their extraordinary compositions, perceived by some people to have explicit lyrics but for some, they are nothing but hilarious ones, for those who are malicious, the lyrics may be understood with double meaning. In what ever way you comprehend their songs the bottom line is, it’s just an expression.

They are just some of the waray artists who stood out and the others are still on the process to follow their footsteps. They are so admirable. Not everybody have this confidence to come out and take risk of showcasing their compositions written in our own dialect to the public. But because of their audacity, more and more local talents are inspired and that is why we have all the reasons to be proud of our home grown talents. They have made their own phenomenon through their music that they have contributed to the Waray culture. Be a proud Waray-waray. Support our artists. Promote our culture!