That funny Pacquiao punch, the singers that made us stand, and the singing that let us down

Here's the double punch that Pacquiao learned from FPJ and Lito Lapid. Also here's the version of the national anthem that made us stand erect in full attention. The flag certainly was not in half mast. And we also have Arnel Pineda singing the Philippine national anthem wrongly.

Pacquiao - Clottey The Un-Event

The Pacquiao-Clottey fight was dubbed 'The Event' but it was uneventful. The only highlight of the bout was the illegal pompyang punch thrown by the frustrated pound-for-pound king in the fourth round. He must have seen a lot of FPJ and Lito Lapid movies in his youth.

The cinema where I watched was packed full. When I bought my ticket about 3 weeks ago, there was just a handful of seats taken. Unlike the previous Pacquiao fights in the same mall where they had three cinemas for the fight, this time they used just one. But in in the fight venue at Arlington, Texas, they sold out all tickets, and more.

And unlike the previous fights staged in Las Vegas, there were few Hollywood celebrities present. Though they showed a lot of presumably Texas sports celebrities who are obscure to Pinoy fans.

The highlights were not from the fight. The Texas Cowboy cheerleaders really look good. They evoke memories of the Debbie Does Dallas movie and its copycats/sequels of my youth. Their rendition of the US national anthem is surprisingly simple but good. Their skimpy outfit and singing of the anthem should make Americans stand erect.

Which cannot be said of Arnel Pineda's version of the Lupang Hinirang. After the controversy about Martin Nievera in the Pacquiao-Hatton fight, the non-controversial version of La Diva, and the general perception that Kyla's version (in Pacquiao-Barrera 2) is the best, I thought Arnel will follow tradition. After all, he said so himself. But it seems the tradition now is to not follow tradition. So after following the standard arrangement in the first few verses of the anthem, Arnel Pineda decided to show the world the a la Steve Perry version. For that expect him to get the flak in the coming days.

Freddie Aguilar vs. The World = The Worst in the Filipino

I wanted to post here the speech of Alex Lacson, author of the book “12 Little Things Filipinos Can Do To Help Our Country”, at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government during the GK Global Summit in Boston on June 12-14, 2009. It is about what he believes to be the core values that could serve as the foundations of the culture of greatness we wish to build for the Filipino. But I will post that tomorrow. Instead, let's take a look at the current word war between Freddie Aguilar and some Filipino singers, and its aftermath. The situation is a good example of what Alex Lacson is talking about.

Background: In an interview Freddie Aguilar made unfortunate remarks against Arnel Pineda and Charice Pempengco, the current toasts of the local music industry for their recent success in the American music scene. Ka Freddie lashed at Arnel and Charice. He boldly said that the two proved what Mariah Carey once said about Filipinos being like monkeys for aping others' styles. That was uncalled for since the Mariah Carey remark was just an Internet hoax, in the first place. Then Ka Freddie also dragged Gary Valenciano into the word war by saying Gary would be more popular if he does not imitate Michael Jackson and Al Jarreau. Needless to say, the singers responded (1, 2). Other columnists joined the fray, and a full word war erupted.

Freddie's beef was primarily the choice of songs by Charice, Arnel, and Gary. Somehow he equates nationalism with singing Tagalog (not Filipino). Just for that, he may yet enter into another word war with Cebuanos and those who speak other dialects. I believe his is a narrow-minded mindset in view of the globalization trend. Arnel and Charice catered to specific markets, just as Freddie captured the folk market before. Their styles, however American oriented, don't undo their being Filipinos. In fact they are billed as coming from the Philippines. In the light of the many influences in our culture, what is a real Filipino anyway?

I will not venture an answer to that this time.

Let us reflect on what Ka Freddie's thoughtless thoughts led to. For all those remarks, many now call Freddie Aguilar names like unggoy, crab, talangka. He is accused of having crab mentality. Those who got angry with Freddie jeer him as the proverbial Filipino talangka that tries to pull down anyone who attains success. The Wikipedia article about him was altered . The defaced article described him as crabby and the worst song writer in the region. His contribution to the anti-Marcos movement was changed from "Bayan Ko" to "Talangka Ako". A screenshot appears below.

Initially, I found it amusing. Since the interview came out last July 6, the Wikipedia page was repeatedly edited to disgrace him. All attempts to correct it was countered by another defacement. This is a link to the revision history of the article. But on second thought, those who defame Ka Freddie this way is not only doing the Filipino legend a great disservice. By their vandalism, they abuse the wiki concept, and they who maliciously edit the page are being mga talangka themselves.

This is not productive at all. I hope they get to read Alex Lacson's speech. I will post that tomorrow.

Arnel Pineda with Journey sings at SuperBowl XLIII

I am pleasantly surprised to learn that Journey featuring Arnel Pineda performed at the pre-game concert of the SuperBowl 43. The SuperBowl is one of the most highly anticipated sports events in the US. With this exposure, the comebacking band is once again at the limelight and back in the consciousness of the American fans. Never mind if the pre-game show is not as talked about as the half-time show. The half-time concert featured the Boss, Bruce Springsteen. Arnel can now claim that he 'opened' for the Boss. From the dingy bars in Manila to being watched by millions in a mega event, what a Journey!