DISSECTING AURAL CULTURE

AURAL CULTURE     
WILHELMINA S. OROZCO 

I turn on the radio to classical station -- every day but this Christmas day, I tuned into Radio hy and listened to wonderful Christmas songs -- traditional, jazz, choir, solo, etc, 

Our aural culture is largely crowded with western pieces that are well-composed -- with lyrics that have different themes, and well-recorded with different combinations of musical instruments and tempos. 

I try very hard to listen to Pilipino songs on the radio but I feel a grating on my nerves. I prefer choosing live performances like that one of Noel Cabangon, the jazz artists like Richard Merk and his mom as well as  Ms. Jackie Magno. But listening to the Pilipino songs on radio you cannot really force me to do that. 

Then when I ride the jeepney, I hear the stereo blaring Pilipino rap (kinopya ang style sa blacks), or the ad misericordiam type of lyrics that could make you wallow in tears because the guy or the girl singing is pining endlessly for a lost love. 

Then when I listen to DZBR, I hear only western standard songs. Sometimes Pilipino music is aired but very rarely. 

Over DZFE, the only time we hear Philippine musicians, sometimes music is between 12 to 1 lunchtime, which runs smack into the news time of other AM radio stations that I feel compelled to listen to everyday. 

You know Folks, our print culture is so much more full of variety and lots of things can be read, too, from personal to high-falluting articles on philosophies about nature, about culture, etcetera. Now I wonder why our aural culture cannot go above the level that I have talked about. 

One time, I asked a composer, bakit hindi natutugtog lahat ng mga compositions ng Filipino Society of Composers? Dahil sa payola, I was told. What is payola? It is the pay given to the station or the announcer to play a piece over and over again. 

So this is how one reaches the top of the Billboards, by paying for your song to be aired. 

No it does not have to be this way at all. 

Maybe the non-government organizations dealing with aural culture -- lyricists, composers, and publishers -- can make the government reserve and budget one station that will air only 
original music compositions. In this way, we will be able to broaden the opportunities of our aural artists and let them have their space in our society. 

Now why is nurturing our aural culture important? Is it not that the Filipino people are attuned more to the radio than to TV or the movies? That it has the biggest audience compared to other media? Actually our ears are very sensitive. You talk down to a Filipino and he/she would clam up, give you the smirk, or get teary-eyed. They do not talk back, but rather keep it to themselves. 

As an aside, you know Folks as I am writing my blog, a passerby came in here in the kiosk and started making noise trying to distract me from writing. That is how disgusting harassment is in our country. A simple blog merits this kind of treatment. 

Maybe if we straighten out our aural culture, we will have a more respectful government, respectful of the rights of people to express themselves. Aural connections are more lasting and stay in the memory longer than writings. 

Have a happy new year!

ON STUDYING MANDELA 'S LIFE

What movement is easier to work on, human rights or anti-racism? Looking back to our work over here in the Philippines restoring democratic rights seemed so easy to do. In fact I would measure it done in 4 years, starting from 1982 to 86. Anti-racism is much more difficult to do because racial discrimination is like a "congenital disease" that is very hard to eradicate. A person feeling eeky over another because of color has a convoluted mind that could raise all kinds of irrational ideas and fears about dealing with everyone regardless of race. 

I once sat in a London bus way back in the 80's and one girl child looked at one passenger and asked her mom, "Mom why is her color like that?" I looked around and saw some black people seated. I cringed in my seat feeling half-referred to by that comment. 

In other words, some children are not oriented to thinking of the world as composed of people of different skin colors. 

Thus, I really think that Nelson Mandela's work in South Africa was truly so much more difficult than ours. He endured imprisonment for 27 years but eventually was alive to conduct the anti-apartheid, unlike Cory who did not suffer the same experience yet was able to rally the Filipino people to restore human rights in our country. 

Actually, Mandela's life and all other black heroes' should be studied by our elementary schoolchildren. By reading their contributions to humanity they would grow up enlightened about the need to respect other people's rights regardless of color. Unfortunately now, our children are being oriented to thinking to be white, to use whitening lotions and taking glutathione is the norm to being called a "normal adult." Even the actors and actresses are predominantly mestiza, and some are even imported from western countries because they will surely  be adored by the audience. 

So now, I would like to ask the Dep Ed, how far have we gone into inculcating the need for a humane, nonracist society?  Is our education enough to make us venture into the world? 

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world, " Mandela said. It means education raises people from low to high social class. Sad to say,  our people, our OFWs who are highly educated yet have become the caregivers in rich countries. Their education has not been enough for them to rise in the ladder of success in our country. 

Hence, we should ponder the life of Mandela and rethink our values again and again, on whether we are on the right path.