Monday, January 05, 2009 Costanilla: Twin dates: Cebu Pop, Hadumanan concert By Sam Costanilla Spotlight
TWO major events in the local cultural scene are happening two weeks from now. The 29th Cebu Popular Music Festival, a.k.a. Cebu Pop, and the 5th Handumanan concert should not be missed especially by those who support the propagation of the Cebuano/Visayan music industry. The Cebu Pop on Jan. 16 at the Cebu Coliseum is a showcase of homegrown talents—songwriters, singers, arrangers, dancers and musicians—with the guest appearance of Dulce, Asia ‘s diva. The Handumanan concert the following night, Jan. 17, at the University. of Southern Philippines Theatre for the Performing Arts in Lahug will feature songs and dances covering three periods in Cebu ‘s history: pre-war, wartime and liberation era.
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IN the Handumanan concert, Dulce will once again wow all of us with her very powerful voice. Novelty singer Max Surban will also perform his brand of songs while Dante Luzon, Girlie Laspińas, Jerry Yntig, Ester Alferez, Eking Fernandez and even acting Mayor Mike Rama will also entertain the audience. All of them will be accompanied by an 11-piece band to be conducted by maestro Remy Zafra with the assistance of maestro Nilo Abella, the musical arranger. There will also be a portion where a lovely Cebuana will be crowned as Cebu ‘s Carnival Queen. The Handumanan concert is open to the public so the seats are on a first-come-first-served basis.
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SPOTLIGHTER Dina Layam of Aznar road e-mailed her thoughts regarding some high school students who quit school in favor of show business. She wrote that she has a neighbor, a 15-year-old student, who stopped going to school simply because of her passion in dancing. Dina added that the student and some of her friends, who are also dropouts, formed a cultural dance troupe. They hope to get hired by event organizers and two major television networks.
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DINA added: “Pursuing one’s dream is good but in my honest opinion, doing it at the expense of education is not only wrong but also highly immoral and irresponsible. As for Cebuano showbiz, there is really no industry existing (the Visayan rock band scene is an exception). Shows featuring cultural dancing are not abundant and the take-home pay never reaches P1,000. Even dancing on local television attracts a non-existent audience.”
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THIS writer agrees with Dina’s observation that with the poor health of Cebuano showbiz, it’s best for high school students to stay away from that “industry” and stay in school instead. She also asked them to be vigilant about dishonest talent agents and show organizers who will no doubt exploit their ignorance and weakness.
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THIS notorious semi-retired radioman was making a lot of noise and acting like he was the birthday boy during a party thrown by a government dignitary who was the actual celebrator. Legitimate media personalities kept their distance from him; they made the motion of leaving leave every time the radioman tried to approach their table. (E-mail: samcost@yahoo.com or call/text 092684438
