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Friday, October 08, 2004
Her time to shine
By Troy Ciar
Her name might not ring a bell to many despite the accomplishments and contributions she has made to arts and culture, but if there’s one artist today whose music could last for the next hundred years or even beyond, it’s that of Bayang Barrios.
Born of a true-blooded Manobo family in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, Bayang’s fairy tale is a typical “rags to riches” story. She had to burn candles at night just to help fund her schooling.
”I was already in college in Davao when Joey Ayala discovered me while singing in a choir for the stage play he was directing, Ang Misyonaryo, said Bayang, whose name was inspired by the national anthem, Lupang Hinirang.
She was born on June 12, Independence Day. It’s an ongoing Manobo tradition to name the newly-born child after the first sound heard or first thing seen. Hence, Bayang.
Bayang, Joey and the rest of the group, Ang Bagong Lumad, performed successfully here and abroad.
During that stint, she also learned to mix her songs with some Manobo dances, mixing the steps with Bagobo, T’boli, B’laan and even Pangalay, a Tausug dance.
“It was not hard for me to learn the steps. Even the chanting came naturally because when I was young I’d seen Manobos in a circle under the full moon, during good harvest rituals,” she said.
Bayang creates her own mark and eventually developed a following in the non-mainstream market.
Last year, she made one of the sweetest memories of her career for 13 years after she won the grand prize in the Metropop Song Festival, via her composition, Malayo Man, Malapit Din, which she also performed. Her husband, Mike Villegas, a musician like her, also bagged the second prize award. Together they took home a total cash prize of P800,000.
Bayang pointed out it was a vindication for their loss in 1996 for their previous entry, May Bagong Umaga. Although it was not a loss after all because Fernando Poe Jr. bought the song from them for P500,000. May Bagong Umaga was FPJ’s official campaign jingle in the recent election.
“It’s Mike who usually writes the songs, but Malayo Man I did all by myself.
Actually, the melody had been with me for five years already. I wrote the lyrics just a week before the deadline of the competition,” said the 36-year-old Bayang, who got married to Mike in 2002 after an on-and-off relationship for 11 years.
Come Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Louis School of Mandaue, Bayang will hold her first ever concert performance dubbed “Ritmo Akustika.” She will be joined by another popular acoustic performer, Noel Cabangon, who popularized the hit song, Kanlungan.
“I’m so excited about this concert because everytime I do shows here in Cebu, I’m always under the shadow of Joey. Now it’s my time to shine,” giggles Bayang, who will be bringing along her own band led by her husband.
Mike is a former member of Rizal Underground, the group behind the hit song, Sabado Nights for SMB’s TV commercial.
Tickets are popularly priced at P75, P150, P300 and P500. For ticket reservations, one may call 345-1228 or 0918-7164138.
(October 8, 2004 issue)
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