Friday, March 07, 2008 Serna: Awesome Tangub By Roger Serna sounds & images
IT’S graduation time once again.
Let me share with you a text message, which has been circulated for sometime now and, for sure, you’re quite familiar with. The timeliness and significance of the message is hard to ignore, though.
The first version I received had Cebu as setting, but due to space limitation, I deleted it. Recently, I received its Tagalog counterpart (with the “text message” style intact). Here it is:
“Dear Anak, Naipdala kna 50thou png tuition m, pnagbili nlng kalabaw natn. Ang mhal pla ng counterStrike n kurso! Wla n rn pla tyong baboy, naipagbli n rn nmin pra sa snsabi mng project na nokia N95.
“Ang mhal ank ng project mo! Ksama dn dun 7thou pra sa fieldtrip m sa Mall of Asia. Mlayo b yn, bkt ang mhal dn? Isasanla p namn palayan pra mbli m yng instrumentong i-pod.
“Napailaw nyo nb yng pnagpupuyatan nyong sanmig lyts? Sna ank grumaduate kna... Nanay.”
Ouch! Did I hear laughter with a tinge of embarrassment and guilt feelings? Sounds familiar? How many unsuspecting parents have similar experience?
Any way, I hope the message got through. And I hope, the many anaks out there will finally(!) get the diploma their parents have been anticipating for a long time.
***
After a few years of wondering what the word “sinanduloy” actually means, I got the answer right from the mouth of the person who commissioned somebody called Yellow Butterfly to search for a unique, non-generic term which eventually became the name of the cultural troupe she founded several years ago. The troupe would soon become Tribu Sinanduloy, the multi-awarded contingent in the Sinulog festival for several years now.
Tangub City Mayor Jennifer Wee-Tan, yes, the former Ms. Cebu-Australia Tourism, divulged two weeks ago that the word means “potpourri of music, songs and dances.”
This happened during dinner she hosted with hubby lawyer Philip, the city’s former mayor, in their residence right after the concert of Cebuana diva Dulce, which served as the opening salvo of the city’s recent 40th charter day celebration.
Dulce was booked for that concert right after the Sinulog 2008 show she top-billed with Pilita Corrales and Malu Barry. It was a well-attended event with loud applause following every song.
Too bad, many were not as fortunate as the others to stay long enough for the last number. Some, especially those from the city’s far-flung barangays and neighboring areas, had to forego the remaining numbers in the repertoire since it was already nearing midnight.
The “culprit”? A comic group, also from Cebu, which was supposed to be the front-act but which mistook its role as a back-to-back act with the of the much anticipated, respected and multi-awarded diva.
The result? The supposed front-act stretched to almost two hours, eating up much of the time allotted for the main attraction! Dulce’s road manager, Silvia Malupeng, had to give the group’s manager a crash course on ethics the following day.
Some of the numbers that were missed included Dulce’s “claim to the jukebox queen title,” the song Paano. The song, which was used as theme song of the long-running TV show Maala-ala Mo Kaya for 12 years now, had many in the audience turn dreamy- and teary-eyed with nostalgia and other emotions including the beauteous mayor herself (aminin!).
The songs Ako Ang Nasawi, Ako Ang Nagwagi and Memory—which Dulce interpreted in international songfests abroad and which gave her and the country top honor as grand prize winner—-elicited the loudest applause. The audience shared the pride that the chanteuse felt as she delivered her adlibs.
The encore number, which was a medley of Broadway songs from such hits as Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, and Chess, found many unable to resist the urge to stand and sway to the beat.
The success of the show, plus the desire to give those who left early for their homes located far away from the venue, made Mayor Jen decide on contracting Dulce for a repeat in December, in time for the revelry at Christmastime when the city will be alive and glittering with decors that earned for it the title of being the country’s Christmas symbols capital.
***
As a first timer in Tangub City, I was awed at its tranquility, cleanliness and innate beauty. Mayor Jen hastened to add, though, that it’s the warmth of the people that made her more of a Tangubanon than a Cebuano now.
Oh, the city also has its own bid as the summer capital of the south title. It has pine trees aplenty, reminiscent of Baguio City. Aptly called Hoyohoy, located at the foot of Mt. Malindang, cold breeze and fog greeted us as we enjoyed the breathtaking landscape and the breakfast of seafood and native delicacies. Mayor Jen and Vice Mayor Edemar Alota hosted the breakfast.
These and the still many things to be discovered in Tangub City made us wish we’d still be a part of Dulce’s entourage (along with Banat News’ Kriss Relatado) in December. O-ha! Nagpaparinig. Ha-ha!
