Juvenile songs are the fun, innocent songs of childhood. “Katlu” is a ritual dance done to the rhythm of pounding pestles and mortars. Not just songs but dances were performed during harvest season. “Tatanam e Bibiru” (local version of “Magtanim ay di Biro”), “Ortelanung Alang Pansin” (A Farmer Ignored) are examples. Most were about farming, the primary livelihood of Kapampangans. Occupational songs were sung to ease the drudgery of hard work. Of late, basultus are being popularized by Kapampangan folk minstrels led by the late Ruth Lobo, Pusoy Dos and Totoy Bato. Basultus often engage the listener by directly addressing him with his name. Early examples include “O Caca, O Caca” and the quintessential Kapampangan song, “Atin Ku Pung Singsing”. Our ancestors knew how to work hard and play hard-and this is reflected in the first folk songs they composed-the ‘basultu’-often with a comic or allegorical theme. Indeed, Kapampangan music is rich with songs that cover almost all life themes and human emotions-from paeans to a beloved, odes to heroes, laments of hopes lost to the exuberant tunes celebrating the joys and follies of youth. I wouldn’t be surprised if these premiere artists learned their first songs on the knees of their parents, who in turn, learned them from tradition. The love of music is inherent in Filipinos and leading the way are Kapampangan singers who have won national singing tilts and earned international plaudits for their talents through the years: Tawag ng Tanghalan champion Cenon Lagman, Flor de Jesus “Joni James of the Philippines”, classical pianist Cecile Licad and Broadway and West End Star Lea Salonga, just to name a few. Kapampangan matinee idol Jaime de la Rosa serenades the object of his affection, Rosa del Rosario (herself, part Kapampangan) in this publicity shot from a postwar movie.
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