DIFFERENT groups of musicians performed their different song compositions during the recent Tunog Kadayawan 2019 Song Writing Competition, August 23, at the Taboan, Matina Town Square (MTS), McArthur Highway, Davao City.
Tunog Mindanaw is a unique song writing competition where both western and indigenous instruments are being played together to create contemporary and organic kind of music while the lyrics are reflected on the life of the Dabawenyos.
There are more or less 30 songs submitted during the competition. Only 10 of it were selected to perform in the finals in front of thousands of people who witnessed the live performance.
The song “Yutang Mabungahon” by Tagapukaw Earth Music Collective was hailed as a champion on the said competition. The group was composed of different groups of musicians from Kuntaw Mindanaw, Sining Kamalayan, and Pag-amoma who grouped together for the love of music.
Neil Cervantes, composer of the winning song, said that the melody of their song is inspired from “Ulahing”, a traditional Matigsalog melody shared by a young lumad participant in one of their songwriting workshop.
Gian Carlo Candia, one of the members of the group, shared that they have been praparing their winning piece for almost a month and admitted to have faced various challenges all throughout their preparation.
He also added that the lyrics of their song speaks about the importance of protecting and preserving the “yutang kabilin” (land of heritage) and the celebration of Dabawenyos’ bountiful harvest.
The other winners of the competition are “Pinagpalang Lungsod” of Kent Charcos whic placed second and “Sayaw ng Agila sa Kadayawan” of Efren Maghinay for the third place.
Tunog Kadayawan is not just a competition of music but also a way to show the importance of the preservation of the culture and music of our indigenous brothers and sisters.