Set to Change Lives of Filipino Kids: MUSIKWELA

Learned that a new show is being launched, it's called MUSIKWELA. This is an early childhood education and entertainment show where they utilize music, performance, puppetry, animation, and do lots of research so it could be easily understood by its target audience, the Filipino kid.

This all stemmed from experiencing it first hand. Ms. Ellen Estrada was fetching her daughter from school and noticed how her classmates weren't that optimistic in using "Po and Opo" in their conversations. This was something alarming because even if she taught her daughter GMRC, her classmates didn't have access to that too. Having a theater and music background, she was inspired to create the "Po and Opo" and "Ang Bagong Alpabetong Filipino" songs. Unknowingly, it was watched millions of times (3.4 and 4.7 Million) mostly by Filipinos. It became a norm for parents and teachers to use it as a medium for education. They realized how music made the experience of learning more enjoyable and uber fun!

They also joined a government initiated child documentary competition in 2023 (via the DokyuBata Festival of the National Council for Children's Television, an attached agency of the Department of Education). They did a documentary called "Ang Bayani at ang Kanyang Sandok" which teaches nationalism and love for one's country. This started the ball rolling for MUSIKWELA.

Image from their website musikwela.com

 

She harnessed the talent of her daughter Yumi Sansano to lead the show including a throng of folks called MUSIKSCOUTS (Ate Yumi, Potpot, Biboy, and Lala who were a pretty bunch!). She's no ordinary kid because she won awards in WCOPA as champ for Opera in the Juniors Division. She also did Artsy Craftsy in PTV4 a couple years back and have gotten audiences left and right, including the President of the Philippines.

We watched them perform during this event and I could liken them to Sesame Street, Sineskwela, Batibot among others. Knowing there's a huge educational crisis in the Philippines, I felt so happy that kids would have a place to learn how to respect the elderly, how to protect nature, hone their talents, what to do in case of emergencies, and care for Mother Nature in their first few episodes. Ms. Ellen also shared how they are planning to do more in the coming months, plus delve into other subjects (like reading, writing or math). I personally know some kids finish school without learning how to, and I'm hopeful this could address that (even if it doesn't entirely solve it!). Check out the event on video here:

You cannot discount the fact that it has done remarkably well for the 90's kids on why we're street and a little smart, we learned from shows like these albeit unconsciously. This is something that I'd like to happen in this generation too, and perhaps the next ones included. I wept for the shows that went off the air in the past because it has disenfranchised a lot of kids who could have learned from it. They need our help and hopefully, they get the resources to continue this. Currently, thanks to the people who are helping them and sponsors (Victoria Sports Cinema, Ceelin Gummies, Ceelin Immunped, Appebon, Allerkid, White Rabbit Philippines, Wildfire Inc., Shop N Play, Kontrata.PH) that they get to do this with passion. Imagine how many kids would learn from what they do, if millions more would consume their content on FB, their website and YouTube (so go and sub!). We'd have educated kids going out of our homes and schools, wouldn't that be a sight to behold?! 

The first episode will come out on November 11 6PM GMT and will talk about GRANDPARENT's DAY. They will release future episodes on a bi monthly period, so sub to make sure your kids could watch it! I'd like to take this bit and congratulate Ms. Ellen on her efforts, and hope you won't get tired of your passions. Here's hoping a lot of people could help you even more with your future projects!

Saving Dying Dialects: Lessons from HULAGWAY

I took the lovely trip to Cinema 76 at Anonas in Quezon City to see Director Alvin Yapan's latest work called HULAGWAY: Dokyumentaryo ng mga Wika at Kulturang Filipino (A documentary of Filipino Language and Culture) a few days ago. Dr. Yapan was tapped by the National Commitee on Language amd Translation under the offices of NCCA (The National Comission for the Culture and the Arts) to direct this film. 

Hulagway means "a portrait" and this film lengthily has taken a look at the person, how one lives, how they communicate with their peers or the community. There are also a lot of metaphorical representation of their struggles, even if they're literally not working with a script, the conversations was molded off how language was used as a tool to enrich lives with stories, songs and poems deeply rooted in culture. 

 

Needless to say, he's a genius when it comes to really complex artsy topics like these and interpreting it for cinema must have been a tall task. His treatment in telling this one is like a documentary. He anchors it with two characters Consuelo (played by Sue Prado) and Robert (which is played by Kalil Almonte). They took the long hard trek to far flung communities in the eastern side of Isabela (up north) and islands off Palawan. 

Imagine, they started this in 2018 and had to work together with only 15 other crew carrying with them loads of equipment to capture unadulterated views, communities and the few men and women who still have a grasp of the dying languages Dupaninan Agta and Tandulanen Tagbanua. This is officially the most difficult film Alvin Yapan has ever made, he made mention of this during the talk we had after the screening. Initially, they had planned to include 6/7 of them (dialects/languages) but the material was too precious to cut off the block. It was also a little too tedious as it involved time consuming research, with little information from various universities (mostly from outside the country) who have conducted studies about them in previous years, they roughed the process of filming and took on talking to the few descendants left who still have a grasp of the language. My favorite scene was the boat traversing a line of mangroves in Palawan, they talked about that on the video.

 

Here's the press conference in two parts where they explained the film and the cause of saving the dialects from these two regions.

During the latter part of the press conference I asked about what concrete plans they have about saving the dying dialect, and they replied that this is just the first step, to become aware, educated, and acknowledge that there is something precious to save. 

The plan is to also have this film be viewed by educational institutions to not just prove its existence, but to formulate a way to find ways to have people teach these dialects and pass on to the next generation. To not lose their identity as IP, and celebrate their uniqueness, their differences, which makes them cool. If this sparks efforts to do so not just from the government, but the citizens of this country, then this film made its mark. Make sure to coordinate with NCCA if you want your school to be part of the film's tour in the coming months. There's more languages/dialects to save in the country, and telling their story is essential.

Make sure to watch it. It'll be life changing!

The Search for the Sound of Seven Thousand Christmas Songs

LA, Gretchen and Iman. Photo from Gretchen Ho's FB page.

It was an awesome night of music as the people from up and coming music label 7K showcased their talents and introduced a new show called “The Search for the Sound of Seven Thousand Christmas Songs.” They're no stranger to making music but doing this so they would be able to discover more talent and good Christmas music in the country is such a noble act.

For those who don't know, “The Search for the Sound of Seven Thousand Christmas Songs" is an online reality show in the search for talent and music that embodies how hopeful we are as Filipinos in this time of pandemic. Last October 16, we have had the chance to listen to legendary Jett Pangan (whom I listen to when I was a kid) and Gretchen Ho who gave much inspiration to us, the artists who plan to join and the other talents of 7K who were there that evening.

7K Sounds founder and artist LA Santos will be hosting the show together with Gretchen Ho and vlogger Iman Franchesca. They will also be joined by singer-songwriter and former frontwoman of General Luna Nicole Asensio. They will be also sharing their experiences so viewers, not just contestants, would be able to learn a thing or two about the music industry. The show ill be aired every Friday at 7PM on the official 7K Sounds Facebook Page. So if you are looking for a avenue to get into the music scene, “The Search for the Sound of Seven Thousand Christmas Songs" might be a good place to start.

The music label 7K Sounds wishes to get talent from across the country, they also do music production and distribution. They also ventured into creating online content and events, if you're interested in joining the competition, they listed the requirements here.

Good luck, and don't f it up!