Activism in the Philippines: Memorializing and Retelling Political Struggles Through Music

Abstract

After all these years, is there a Filipino who is not moved by the stirring melody and lyrics of Bayan Ko? Indeed, the soundtrack of Philippine political and social activism tells of a centuries-old cultural heritage that has been and is still used collectively and individually to recall, memorialize, contemporize, mobilize, and remind the nation of its fighting spirit and its resolve never to forget the ultimate sacrifice of its heroes. From colonial times to the People Power Revolution, Filipinos have demonstrated the
ability to combat oppressor propaganda music with equally compelling protest songs. Using ethnographic and content analysis, this research is an attempt to illuminate on the role of music in the political awakening of Filipinos through the years and explore the intersection of memory and music as a medium of political activism and mobilization. As sites of resistance, these politicized lyrical relics are appropriately part of many of the country’s national public holiday commemorations to this day and scored lastingly in the musical memory of activists including the authors who clamored for change during the turbulent Martial Law regime.