Guitarista   •    Compositor   •    Haranista
Florante Aguilar
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      • Probinsya (2022)
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      • Lalawigan – A Tagalog Song Cycle (2009)
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      • The Music of She Who Can See (2015)
      • The Music of Maség (2014)
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floranteaguilar

floranteaguilar

A Contemporary Harana Song

by floranteaguilar September 16, 2016

It’s a powerful experience when a song you wrote is sung by two of the best singers you know. Thank you Arwen Lawrence and Charmaine Clamor for such a privilege! And Jorge Liceaga for joining me on the guitar.

This song is an ode to the traditional Philippine harana but written from the perspective of those behind the window – the serenaded. Performed live at the Fandango-Pandanggo concert in SF May 2016.

NAGHIHINTAY (Waiting)
Words & Music by Florante Aguilar

Kay lambing ng harana
Ako’y naghihintay
Taginting ng kutyapi
Maluwalhati.

Sa gitna ng karimlan
Aking naramdaman
Ang tinig na kay lamig
Na sa panaginip ko’y naririnig.

Ang tala sa hilaga’y kusang nagniningning
Ang himig ng harana’y tila dumarating
Kailan? O kailan ba?

My attempt at translation below. It’s not quite the same in Tagalog.

How tender is the serenade
I am waiting
The tinkling of the lute
Glorious.

In the midst of darkness
I feel
The pleasant voice
I hear only in my dreams.

The star in the north brightly shines
Melody of harana I hear coming
When? O When?

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The Music of Bae Makiling – An Interview by Kularts

by floranteaguilar September 15, 2016

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This blog post is republished from Kularts website. Click here for the original post.

This week we sit down with the man behind the music, Florante Aguilar.

Maybe you know him from his original score for Jay Loyola’s 2014 dance theater work Maség Typhoon, or his music for Alleluia Panis’ 2015 production of She, Who Can See, or even as the partner of the amazing Fides Enriquez of New Art Media Studio….or possibly as the subject of the award-winning documentary, Harana: The Search for the Lost Art of Serenade.

Check out Florante’s Q&A below and enjoy his newest original score for the world premiere of Ba-e Makiling!

Listen to the original score:
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/256445547″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

 

1) When did your first musical experience begin and what inspires you to continue with your musical background?

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I see myself more as a composer whose instrument happens to be the guitar. I don’t need inspiration to continue doing music. It is part of my DNA so I can’t help it. I will be doing music regardless whether somebody is listening or not.

2) Having worked with Jay Loyola in his previous production, Maseg, you had an understanding of what he was looking for in terms of musical accompaniment. What became your inspiration in creating the soundtrack to Ba-e Makiling? How was the process different from creating the music for Maseg?

Well, the way I see it, Jay’s dance is the accompaniment to my music. Just don’t tell Jay I said that ha-ha 🙂

But seriously, I don’t see my compositions for Ba-e Makiling and Maség necessarily as musical accompaniment to dance.

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Alleluia and Jay are actually hands off on the direction of the music. They give me 100% freedom on the musical choices I make. That’s how much we trust each other. All I need from them is the narrative script and time stamp and I just run with that.

3) What was the most challenging part for you in composing the soundtrack for Ba-e Makiling? Did you learn any lessons in creating this piece?

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Alleluia and Jay didn’t want to just buy some pre-recorded CD to dance to as is commonly done. So, it’s really a wonderful collaborative process. Just like in food, it tastes better when all the ingredients are made from scratch.

And that is where the challenge lies. Building from scratch. I write, play, and record all the instruments and that is always labor intensive. You wouldn’t believe the time and energy necessary to compose and record a 5-minute piece. And the Ba-e production clocks in at more than 60 minutes of music.

But you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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State of the Filipino Arts in the U.S. and Diaspora

by floranteaguilar May 26, 2016

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 The following post appears as part of an article on Dialogue on Philippine Dance and Culture event in San Francisco, and published by Inquirer.net. The interview was conducted by Wilfred Galila and is presented in its complete unedited version.

WG: How do you feel about being recognized as one of the outstanding artistic leaders who have significantly contributed and influenced Philippine dance and culture in the U.S. and the diaspora?

FA: I am, of course, honored. To be honest, most of the time I was merely following some very strong artistic itch that needed to be scratched. But I am honored just the same.

WG: Considering that you could have practiced any musical style or form, was the practice and craft of Filipino music a particular choice, other than the fact that you are Filipino? Has it always been that way when you first started or was there a switch in your artistic path along the way?

FA: I definitely did not set out to be playing Filipino music as my artistic calling. In fact, when I was growing up in the Philippines, I viewed traditional Filipino music as lowly and not meriting the attention of any serious musician. I was training to be a classical musician, performing works by European composers on the recital platform. I came to the US to study with the best of the best in that pursuit.

But many things had to happen and converge along the way. Having studied music at the conservatory, as well as traveled the world investigating music of other cultures, gave me a new perspective on Filipino music. That it is not lowly, that it is beautiful and traditionally rich. That my chosen instrument – the classical guitar lends itself so naturally as its delivery agent. But probably the most powerful catalyst was when my father died and I had to go back home. That’s when I truly rediscovered how much the music I grew up with was now resonating in a very deep way. That I am now in a unique position to present traditional Filipino music in a different light, in my own personal way.

WG: What is your opinion about the state of Philippine dance and culture here in the U.S. and the diaspora?

FA: Generally speaking, I think that Filipino immigrants bring a very unique perspective. Whereas Fil-Ams tend to have issues of identity growing up and assimilating in the US, first time immigrants like myself came to the US with our identities fully formed, and always the outsider looking in.

We bring with us first hand knowledge of the culture. Now that we are outside of the Philippines, it actually gives us a better appreciation of its beauty and traditions in a different filter. And here in the US, you have all the resources, tools and support to perfect your vision. And yes I am implying that you would not get this level of support and resources if we’re living in the Philippines. I mean that is the reason we all left the country, the reason for the country’s ongoing brain drain, sadly. So, I am saying that Filipino artists are doing some very interesting and progressive things in the US in a way that our Philippine counterparts cannot. The Philippine arts in the US and diaspora is thriving and in good hands.

WG: As an artistic leader and champion of Filipino music, how do you envision the future of Philippine arts and culture in the diaspora? And what are the steps to realize this vision?

FA: The Philipine culture is a jar full of inspiration that can be infinitely tapped. But you can’t do it from an armchair. If one truly were to champion Philipine arts, you have to have either grown up there or significantly visited the motherland in order to bring the knowledge. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of firsthand knowledge in order to bring traditional art in a respectful light. You can’t be deriving your art based on someone else’s interpretation. It has to come from you.

WG: Any advise on aspiring Filipino artists on being and creating, for them to be able to get to where you are now with your art?

FA: I think that being true to yourself as an artist is important. Don’t make choices based on what you think will please people. If you feel different about something, embrace that difference. If you think no one’s going to care about what your vision is, do it anyway. If you think there is no market for it, do it anyway. The important thing is that it is coming from an honest place deep within you. If you end up being recognized for it, that is secondary, even tertiary. The important thing is that you followed and executed a unique vision that only you could have.

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Fandango-Pandanggo 10K Run and Cavite el Viejo

by floranteaguilar March 31, 2016

Working on  Cavite el Viejo – a suite I’m composing to premiere at Fandango-Pandanggo show on May 21, 2016 in San Francisco. Cavite el Viejo is the archaic name for my hometown of Kawit, Cavite in the Philippines. Each of the 12 movements are named after the barrios of Kawit. This piece is called Panamitan. When I was 11, I had a huge crush on this girl from that barrio who played guitar in her rondalla ensemble, same instrument I played in my rondalla. I used to bike to Panamitan hoping to run into her. But alas, I never saw her again.

When I was growing up in Cavite province in the Philippines, I was exposed to many different types of Filipino traditional music.

When I was nine years old, I had the experience of playing music with our neighbor’s gardener Ti Ikong with his band of masterful rondalla players. I played guitar and octavina with them during the town’s fiesta playing jotas and fandangos. I was also fortunate to have met Mr. Trinidad, also a rondalla teacher, who taught me fingerstyle guitar renditions of classic haranas such as Hatinggabi and kundimans like Madaling Araw.

Only later in my adult life did I realize that those moments were indeed privileges. That these elderfolk kept me in their musical circle was indeed a profound experience that influenced many of the musical career choices I made later in life.

Having been educated at a conservatory, I became more fascinated with studying musical forms and I started placing more value on traditional Filipino music. I began to acknowledge influences and musical interconnectivity between the Spain, Mexico and the Philippines. Of course, this is not to say that traditional Philippine music is unoriginal. On the contrary, exchanges of ideas that result in adaptation by natives as their own has been the defacto evolutionary mechanism. As an example, the folk music of Spain owes great deal to the highly sophisticated music of the Moors who dominated parts of Spain for VIII centuries. Spanish music in turn influenced Argentina’s tangos, Mexico’s mariachi, Cuba’s son and Philippines’ harana.

Two years ago, when Chus Alonso proposed that we collaborate for his brainchild Fandango-Pandanggo – a music, dance and multimedia performance exploring musical interactions between the Philippines, Mexico, Cuba – I wholeheartedly agreed. Chus who hails from Spain is one of the best Latin music practitioners and teacher in the Bay Area. Chus and I have collaborated on previous occasions and have a shared passion for our respective country’s traditional music. It is a natural partnership and I very much look forward to performing with other wonderful artists in the show.

I am also premiering my new composition Cavite el Viejo (archaic name for my hometown of Kawit, Cavite – sample above). Written for my ensemble Fandangueros, it is a suite in 12 movements of which 5 will be performed and titled after the barrios of Poblacion, Marulas, Aplaya, Panamitan and Tabon.

On April 17, 2016, I will be running the Napa Valley Silverado Trail 10k Marathon as a means to supplement funding for the successful fruition of Fandango-Pandanggo. I have always been an avid runner and I see the marathon as a wonderful opportunity and an extension of a passion.

I am writing to ask for your sponsorship of my 10Krun, with all the proceeds directly benefiting Fandango-Pandanggo and KulArts. Your donation can be as low as $1 per kilometer or as great as $100 per kilometer.

All sponsorship/donations will receive a tax-deductible donation letter directly from KulArts, all donors/sponsors will be listed on the KulArts website. I am looking forward to being powered by your generosity and spirit on the actual race day. If you’d like to follow my training journey, feel free to visit or follow me on Instagram (@FloranteA).

Please help me reach my final goal of $2,500 by April 16, 2016 —a mere $250 per km (or $10 for every year that KulArts has existed).

Last but not the least, I would like to thank KulArts which has supported and nurtured many of my projects and in my view is the single most influential artistic organization in the Filipino community and the Bay Area. Thank you KulArts for giving voice and recognition to the visions of talented artists.

You can find out the details of the upcoming Fandango-Pandanggo performance here: http://www.sfiaf.org/potaje_fandangueros_cascada_de_flores

Check out the impressive list of musicians, dancers and multimedia artists.

artistic director, musical co-director, composer, flutist and “”laud”” player: Chus Alonso
musical co-director, composer and guitarist: Florante Aguilar
creative director: Alelluia Panis
multimedia artist: Wilfred Galila
singers: Charmaine Clamor, Arwen Lawrence
musicians: Jorge Liceaga, Kyla Danysh, Paula Dreyer, Greg Kehret, Sage Baggott and Robert Borrell
dancers: Roberto Borrell, Melissa Cruz, Ana Liceaga, Jay Loyola, Fides Enriquez

WAYS TO SUPPORT:
1. ONLINE: SPONSOR VIA PAYPAL HERE
*IN THE MEMO INCLUDE: CHUS FP or FLORANTE FP

2. SEND CHECK TO: Kularts 474 Faxon Avenue San Francisco, CA 94112
All sponsorship/donations will receive a tax-deductible donation letter directly from KulArts, all donors/sponsors will be listed on the KulArts website.

Your humble haranista,
Florante Aguilar

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Guest Blog: Chus Alonso on Upcoming Show Fandango-Pandanggo

by floranteaguilar March 26, 2016

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By Chus Alonso

For those of you who know me, you might think it is a bit out of character for me to be planning to run the Napa Valley Silverado 10-K Marathon on April 17. If you told me a few months ago I would be running a 10-K marathon, I would have not believed it either. But I decided to do it for a very good reason: to demonstrate my commitment for a great project, Fandango Pandanggo, a music, dance and multimedia performance that highlights and honors the musical connections between the Philippines, Mexico, Cuba, and Spain.

What is Fandango-Pandanggo about? And why am I asking for some of your hard-earned money?

In abstract terms, Fandango-Pandanggo pays homage to the intertwined cultural roots that connect four continents (Asia, America, Europe and Africa). F-P encourages the exploration of our past and the acknowledgment of everyone’s contributions to the music world of today.

I began playing music with Florante Aguilar six years ago when he hired me for one of his productions. Florante is a guitarist with a solid classical training and a technique that is precise, sensitive and consistent. He is also a composer with a contemporary open mind and profound love and dedication to for the traditional music of his country. Our shared interest to creating new contemporary music that remains in contact to our cultural roots has kept us collaborating since that time. As I became familiar with his music and the music of the Philippines my interest to learn more grew.

I was astonished to realize that the music I associated with my childhood and my home town, like the jota and fandango, was also the music Florante associated with his childhood in Philippines. When I was ten I was playing laud in a rondalla ensemble. At that age, Florante was playing octavina, also in a rondalla ensemble. Octavina is a string instrument similar to the Spanish laud. The octavina is not the laud and the jota I know is not the same as the jota Florante plays, but the link is clear.

As I became more acquainted with Filipinos and Filipino culture (food, celebrations, humor, etc.), I felt a familiarity that further stimulated my curiosity. Since I have dedicated my professional life to playing, studying and teaching Latin music, learning Filipino music felt very much as a continuation of that work. Of course, Filipino music is a world unto itself with many sub-worlds. Certain genres have clear connections with Latin music, others don’t. Florante introduced me to harana, kind of a cousin of the habanera; to the pandanggo, with ties to the old fandango; to the wide range of Filipino jotas, to the rondalla music, etc. I also learn about the wide range of music of the many ethnic cultures that inhabit the archipelago.

Two years ago Florante and I received a grant from Friends of Chamber Music to do research on the topic of Latin-Filipino musical connections and to compose new music informed by our reflections. This was the seed that will germinate on May 21, 2016, with the performance of Fandango-Pandanggo at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco.

Ticket sales will not be enough to cover all production costs because Fandango-Pandanggo is not just another performance. It is the result of two years of work, research and planning. The program is an original; it debuts new arrangements of traditional music and new compositions, dance choreographies and film. It involves 16 unique artists of the highest caliber.

I am writing to ask you to sponsor my 10-K run, with all the proceeds directly benefiting Fandango-Pandango. Your donation can be as low as $0.10 per kilometer ($1) or as great as $100 per kilometer. Any amount will be greatly appreciated. All sponsorship/donations will receive a tax-deductible donation letter directly from KulArts, all donors/sponsors will be listed on the KulArts, Potaje and Fandangueros websides.

My colleague, Florante Aguilar, is also running for Fandango-Pandanggo. We have the goal of raising $5,000 ($2,500 each) by April 17. Please help me reach my final goal of $2,500 by April 17—every dollar per kilometer helps!. You can send your donation/sponsorship directly to KulArts’ Paypal account HERE or via check to Kularts 474 Faxon Ave SF, CA 94112. Please be sure to include, in the memo/message section the word FANDANGO.

Last but not least, I want to thank KulArts for their support of this project. KulArts is an organization that has served the South of Market Area, San Francisco/Bay Area, California and the larger Filipino diaspora for the past three decades.

You can find out the details of the upcoming performance here: http://www.sfiaf.org/potaje_fandangueros_cascada_de_flores

Check out the impressive list of musicians, dancers and multimedia artists.

artistic director: Chus Alonso
music director: Florante Aguilar
creative director: Alelluia Panis
multimedia artist: Wilfred Galila
singers: Charmaine Clamor, Arwen Lawrence
musicians: Jorge Liceaga, Kyla Danysh, Paula Dreyer, Greg Kehret, Sage Baggott and Robert Borrell
dancers: Roberto Borrell, Melissa Cruz, Ana Liceaga, Jay Loyola, Fides Enriquez

WAYS TO SUPPORT:
1. ONLINE: SPONSOR VIA PAYPAL HERE
*IN THE MEMO INCLUDE: CHUS FP or FLORANTE FP

2. SEND CHECK TO: Kularts 474 Faxon Avenue San Francisco, CA 94112
All sponsorship/donations will receive a tax-deductible donation letter directly from KulArts, all donors/sponsors will be listed on the KulArts website.

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Florante Gives a Talk at the Apple Store in SF

by floranteaguilar April 30, 2015

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CAAM has partnered with the Apple Store San Francisco to present CAAM: Creating Award-Winning Documentaries on Thursday, May 14, 2015. Join filmmakers Florante Aguilar and Fides Enriquez, and cinematographer Peggy Peralta as they discuss the process and passion behind Harana. The award-winning documentary tells the story of the last performers of harana—the lost art of serenade in the Philippines. Presented in partnership with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), Harana will air on PBS as part of the “Filipino American Lives” series in celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May.

This program is free and open to the public. Reserve your spot online today at the Apple Store San Francisco events calendar: www.apple.com/retail/sanfrancisco. Walk-ins are welcome!

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She, Who Can See – A Multimedia Dance Theater

by floranteaguilar April 24, 2015

Music, Film and Theater! What more can you ask for?

I’m very excited to compose the music for a multimedia dance theater piece She, Who Can See with my fellow collaborators Alleluia Panis (creator) and Wilfred Gallila (video artist). Premieres this May 15, 16 and 17, 2015 in San Francisco. Details below. Enjoy!

She, Who Can See tells the story of a 4th generation Filipina American, and her struggles with her shamanic inheritance. Her world is turned upside down, disrupting her life and sanity when ancestral entities appear in her dreams and just about everywhere else.

Just a couple more pieces to write and record to complete the work and we’re off to the races! The track used in the preview is titled Fire and uses guitar, cajon, bass, kubing and Balinese gamelan.

Details at: http://www.maartesfestival.com/eventsdb/2015/5/15/maartes-festival-she-who-can-see
Co-presented by API Cultural Center
Free Admission

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The Dadap Aguilar Duo

by floranteaguilar February 8, 2015

Fun with my mentor maestro Michael Dadap. We’re preparing for a series of performances and a recording this year. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/tkwIPu8LOrs
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Still a Classical Geek at Heart

by floranteaguilar August 4, 2014

Sylvius Leopold Weiss was a rock star lutenist in the 1700s, equal to JS Bach on playing fantasies and fugues. He remains one of my fave composers, albeit a little unheralded.

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Florante’s Interview At the NYC Harana Premiere

by floranteaguilar August 5, 2013


Florante Aguilar’s interview at the Asian American International Film Festival’s New York premiere of HARANA. The original publication can be found here.

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Harana is a long-abandoned Filipino courtship serenade, which originated in the Spanish colonial period. In this award-winning documentary, guitarist Florante AGUILAR returns to the Philippines from the US for the first time in twelve years to discover three of the last remaining harana masters: a farmer, a fisherman, and a tricycle driver. HARANA emotively weaves their performances to exemplify the past and present, the here and there, and the rural and urban.

CineVue: The film is first and foremost a roots-seeking story, or can be read as a confrontation/reconciliation with one’s roots. What is the importance of yearning and nostalgia of a so-called homeland in films like yours? What function does this serve in your story?

Florante Aguilar: I think this question is particularly astute because HARANA in its deepest level, is a love affair with the homeland. It is the innermost driving force of the movie. Being a musician, the only way I knew how to express that love is through music.

One of the things that we did not cover in the film is the fact that I left the Philippines in 1987 because I hated everything about my country – the politics, the rampant corruption, the over-reliance on religion, the hopelessness, etc. I felt that I could not live and belong in a culture like that. Inwardly, I renounced being a Filipino and left for the US ready to embrace the western culture.

But the death of my father forced me to return after 12 years of absence. And that’s when the reconnection happened. This time around, I saw the Phlippines in a different prism and I was suddenly in love with the Philippines. Suddenly, I felt like I belong.

So, it’s not nostalgia per se but rather the power of that transformation – from hate to love – that moved me to do it. Maybe it’s also an apology and an attempt to make amends for renouncing the homeland.

CV: Because of the power of music, the beautiful melody and the tenderness and sorrow in the voices of the singers, many would agree with the proverbial saying that “There 
are no languages required in a musical world.” How have you utilized music in your film? Could you describe how music has affected your creative processes (from preproduction to production to post-production)?

FA: During pre-production, all I had was this notion that these authentic harana practitioners or haranistas must still be around, very old, and living in far-flung provinces.

Musically, all I had were the remnants of harana music or songs I happened to know that survived through the ages. I heard them when I was growing up in the province and also through the pieces my mother played on the piano.

During my so-called transformation, I started playing harana which I arranged for classical guitar, resulting in three solo albums. But I also felt that this was just the surface, that there must be many more unheralded songs. I fantasized about unearthing a treasure trove of beautiful courtship music and forming an ensemble of authentic haranstas. Well, I wanted that fantasy to come true. And I determined to look for them in the provinces where harana was prevalent.

As we were traveling from province to province during the production shoot, there were points when I realized that I must be just fantasizing – that this search is just some romantic notion. And that if we did not find anyone, I was ready to conclude that harana was truly dead.

Then we met Celestino Aniel, a farmer from the province of Cavite. I can’t describe the first time he sang for us as I accompanied him on the guitar. I think the whole crew was in tears – he sang in such a heartfelt and humble way that could only come from being a true haranista. We all realized we were in the presence of great master. Then we were truly blessed to find two more amazing haranistas – one a fisherman, the other a tricycle driver.

CV:”When you do harana, you rarely get turned down.” When the harana masters are singing, there always a few shots of women as audience members, who appear to be quite touched and moved by the music. How does gender figure into the musical scene?

FA: It’s interesting because I was just reading an article about the science of music and why humans play music. It concludes that men who are able to play musical instruments advertise to potential mates that they are in top physical, emotional and spiritual shape. That’s pretty Darwinian. It is the same as the peacock displaying his plummage to advertise to females what an amazing specimen he is!

So there! Music was “invented” for courtship purposes. And that is what harana is.

CV: When you were making the documentary, what was the reaction of the local audiences? In many scenes when you perform for the audience, there are genuine interactions between you and the locals. Do the general public still feel attached to the old-school melodies and performances?

FA: There is a scene in the film when I was playing at Plaza Morga in Tondo, an area in Manila known for gangs, prostituion and poverty. It’s like the favelas in Brazil. When we set up there, we just did not know what we were going to get. Our director Benito Bautista was fantastic in connecting with the locals, making them feel comfortable in the film crew’s presence and allowing us to shoot incident-free.

Placing a classical guitarist in the middle of traffic in Manila is pretty crazy but I wanted to do it because I’ve always believed it’s a more powerful experience when you bring music to the people’s elements, as opposed to a concert hall. Most people in Tondo probably never heard of a classical musician, much less see one playing in their streets.

And their reactions was deeply humbling. Gang members were asking me to play some of the old songs that they still knew. When the crowd surrounded me and started singing along, I knew we caught a very special moment. I like to think that for those few moments, they were transported to a space where they forget about their dailty grind and hardships, and were momentarily inspired and hopeful.

CV: Could you describe you interactions with the three masters during production? What was it like? What were some eye-opening things you endured, experienced and will remember forever?

FA: We were at a beach house in Ilocos Norte. We weren’t shooting that day. I was recording the haranistas on my laptop, just basically documenting their songs. I was so moved by their singing that at one point I started to well up. I guess I was too embarassed to cry in front of these men so I had to excuse myself and headed for the restroom. I cried like a baby in that dingy bathroom.

CV:Is this film raising any awareness of the legacy? What’s at stake now to preserve it?

FA: I was at a film festival screening of HARANA a few months ago. During the closing night, it was announced that HARANA had won the Audience Award. The festival organizers said a few words about HARANA. What struck me was that they talked about the harana custom like they have known it all their lives. I mean the harana tradition, prior to the movie, was just an obscure custom nobody paid attention to, and now they are talking about the harana custom in the international stage. I thought that was an important moment – that harana has arrived.

I actually didn’t set out to create the film in order to preach preservation. And I made sure that the film does not come off preachy. It was driven by my desire to discover, learn and record these beautiful yet unheralded music. And I was expressing a reconnection to the homeland the only way I knew how – through music.

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Florante Aguilar
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    • ALBUMS
      • Probinsya (2022)
      • Dadap-Aguilar Duo (2019)
      • The Music of Bae Makiling (2016)
      • The Music of Maség (2014)
      • Introducing the Harana Kings (2012)
      • Manila Galleon Guitar Music (2010)
      • Paraiso (2007)
      • Tipanan (2006)
      • The Barbary Coast Guitar Duo (2005)
      • The Art of Harana (2003)
      • Buffalo Guitar Quartet (1990)
    • Harana the Movie (2012)
    • THEATER
      • Aswang Song Cycle (2013/2018)
      • Lalawigan – A Tagalog Song Cycle (2009)
    • COMMISSIONED WORKS
      • Utom (2019)
      • The Music of Bae Makiling (2016)
      • The Music of She Who Can See (2015)
      • The Music of Maség (2014)
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