IN THE Giant Lantern Festival, where there is light, there is music. It is music that gives life to the lanterns. Without the musical accompaniment, the festival would be bereft of merriment and the festive spirit that it brings.
In the olden days before canned music became the trend, each of the lanterns in the Ligligan Parul were accompanied by Kapampangan brass bands, such as the Banda 31 of Sasmuan, Pampanga.
The Giant Lantern Festival competition, as it is organized in contemporary times is divided into three rounds where in each barangay lantern is given the chance to showcase its prowess in the interplay of lights and music.
For the first round, each lantern is given seven minutes, with the music of choice of that particular barangay or lantern maker. For the second round, the participants are assigned to groups in which the lantern showdown begins.
At this part, the rotor operators will have to adapt to the musical pieces which they will be hearing for the first time. This is like a flash mob kind of dancing for the giant lanterns. In the final round, the lanterns will be dancing to the music coming from the Betis Band 48 under the baton of Professor Edwin Lumanug, as a homage to the musical heritage of the festival.
There have been many observations on the choice of music of the lantern makers and barangays in the past, not all of them pleasant. There have been well-meaning suggestions to change the music to only classical pieces worthy of the beauty of the giant lanterns.
But locals of San Fernando know otherwise. There is something for everyone in the music used in the Giant Lantern competition. From Del Pilar’s trademark use of Voltes V which dates back to the early 80s when Mario Datu and Juaning Canlas were still around, and the US Marine Corps march that they still use these days.
Santa Lucia might still play its trademark Hawaii Five-O or Telabastagan’s Mambo No. 5. Whoever said that our lantern makers don’t use classical music must not have heard when the lanterns danced to the William Tell Overture and other traditional marches.
Aside from Kapampangan Christmas music, OPM hits, Christmas carols, mambo and ballroom dancing tunes, pop songs will remain to be part of the musical tradition in the festival, from Gangnam style to the latest K-pop craze or the current most popular telenovela theme song.
The music of each giant lantern reflects how humble our lantern makers are in their upbringing, and how tuned and attuned they are to the fabric of the community they thrive in.
At the end of the day, the giant lanterns in all their glory, when they dance, reflect the musical influences of artists who come from all walks of life. And as the Latin saying goes, De gustibus non est disputandum, there is no disputing the taste of people.