Lolita Carbon: Ang Pagbabalik 

Levy Abad

What a great performance rendered by the Filipino Folk Rock legend Lolita Carbon of the group Asin (Salt of the Earth) at the Pampanga Restaurant Banquet Hall on October 14, 2016. Hundreds of members of the Filipino community came to enjoy and have fun listening and singing their favourite songs with Lolita and her group of great sessionists like Raffy Ramiro on lead guitar and saxophone, Bernie Carlos (2^nd lead), Jhayzon Paredes (bass) and one of the organizers, and Rod Dizon (drums). John Baptiste (violinist), who is a buddy of my friend, Manny Araullo, another folksinger, also sessioned in the song Himig ng Pag ibig. Not to be outdone, the front acts composed of Jerylyn Bulaong, Shery-lyn Padua, Paul Kevin Ong, Fuzzmado and Fhamathou, also did a good job in their performances.

As of this writing, there will be another gig on October 16th at the Canton Buffet Restaurant (1111 Logan Avenue) where hundreds of people are expected to attend and watch Lolita Carbon rock the place with her great songs. So guys see you there!

Courtesy of Anthony Lapuz Photography

Coming home tired from work, I rushed to  watch some live streaming (Jhayzon Paredes and Rodge Lopez) last night to watch Lolita sing some of the classic hits of Asin like Himig ng Pag Ibig  (Song of Love), Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran (Look at the Environment), Usok (Smoke), Pagbabalik /Bayan Ko (Coming Home), Biyaheng Langit (Journey to Heaven), Ang Buhay Ko (My Life ), Cebuanong Dako  and Gising na Kaibigan Ko (Wake up my Friend), to name a few.  When I met Lolita at La Merage, I asked her how many times she performed here in Winnipeg and what were the songs that she wrote? She said three times, 2005 (organized by Roland Bertumen ), 2009 and 2016 and then she enumerated the following songs: Pagbabalik, Himig ng Pag Ibig, Usok and Ganyan Lang, Kahapon at Pag ibig.  These are some of the songs that take me back to the early 80s when I was trying to learn how to strum the guitar and play their greatest hit Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran, a song that calls for the protection of the environment in the midst of neo-colonial, semi-feudal plunder during the time of the dictatorship. Fortunately, the Rodrigo Duterte presidency ushered in some changes. I recall songs like Magnanakaw (Robber), which was considered subversive back in the days as it implies bureaucratic corruption of the puppets of the dictatorship or the song Tuldok (People are mere dots and so should always be humble ), which evokes myriad of meaning against the arrogance of the powers that be. 

Going back to my surprise meeting with Lolita at La Merage Restaurant on the chilly morning of October 11^th, where I hang- out with members of the Breakfast Club, Lolita was with Kuya Bernie (“The Chief” as Lolita fondly refers to him) and Alma Carlos (promoter of the concert), Raffy Ramiro (sessionist par excellance from BC and owner of R’s Bar), and Ardie Gervacio, a friend and concert organizer and Kuya Frank Rano (producer).  I met Ate Lolit and some friends again at La Merage on October 13^th.  Out of curiosity, I asked Lolita why she calls Bernie, the Chief. She explained that they were contemporaries and that Bernie was a pioneer Rock Star of the Filipino-Canadian diaspora from the late 70s up to the mid 80s. He was a member of the heavy metal group called Sye Band that produced a couple of great albums back in the days.

I had the chance of driving Raffy Ramiro and Kuya Bernie Carlos to Long and McQuade to buy guitar strings. Kuya Bernie even gave me me a set of Martin Strings as a treat. Our next stop was Virgin Mobile booth at Polo Park for Raffy’s phone upgrade. While driving, we talked about how people meet in mysterious ways and other stuff that only artists dig. Traversing  Wall St. I recall my Mississauga days when I performed as a front act in a couple of events with Lolita and The Boys, Kaye Viray, Ananias "Boy" Militar, and Boboy Doromal ( sessionists). I can’t help but feel amazed for having that chance of performing with Lolita Carbon, Mike Hanopol and Banyuhay ni Heber in Ontario. They represent the historical groups that stirred the people’s soul to resist the dictatorship. Back in the 80s whenever they sing, people would always find a chance to raise their clenched fist as a show of defiance.  Sure, Lolita sings a variety of songs, but thru the years, back in my student activist days until now, her involvement with cultural activism has not wavered. When I mentioned to Lolita during our meeting that our group is having a Just Peace event on the 22nd of October (49 Euclid), she immediately replied, ”That’s good, the struggle for peace is good and must go on.”

When Saro Banares, a lead member and main songwriter of Asin was shot in the 1993, I

Me with Lolita Carbon , Willy Fernandez and Alma Canto 

wrote a song titled, Awit Sa Bayani. I was overwhelmed by the news of his tragic death that I finished writing the song in a matter of minutes. In the chorus of that song, I wrote,”Marami pang dapat imulat kasama, Lipuna’y puno ng problema, Sa paghinto ng tibok ng puso mo, Kami ang magpapatuloy.”  Eventually, Awit sa Bayani (available on YouTube) was used as a tribute for Ka Crispin Beltran, one of the great leaders produced by the Philippine working class movement better known as Kilusang Mo Uno (May First Movement). I also remember Leo Valdez, a leader of Bayan Laguna, a patriotic organization, who is also a friend telling me that Pendong Aban, one of the members of Asin, was his childhood buddy.  These coincidences or call it happenstance leave me wondering all the time. I never thought that one day I will meet them and be friends with them, people who influenced me to play the guitar and write songs about society and revolution. 

Their inspiration ignited something in my young soul, 35 years ago, to follow their path and be a part of a cultural movement, singing people’s  music and songs, both when I was still in the old country and in the diaspora. The seeds that they sowed in my heart led me to producing four albums of socially critical pieces. These albums do not include the songs that I wrote in the Philippines as part of Tambisan sa Sining (Interaction in Arts), a workers’ cultural group and later Musikang Bayan (People’s Music), like Awit ng Pag-asa (Song of Hope) and Sana (My Wish) and many more. Here in Canada, I opted to produce an album with songs that touch the heart of migrants like Na-shock Ako (I was Shocked), Para kay Ellen, Jocelyn, Sol and Juana (Story of abused Live-in Caregivers) Canadian Experience and Dito sa Winnipeg (Here in Winnipeg).

At the August 14, 2009 Mississauga concert, dubbed as Papuring Awit at Musikahan, held at the World Vision Centre, where Lolita performed, you can feel the excitement of the crowd when she sang all the hit songs of Asin. Almost everybody was singing along with her, especially when she performed Himig ng Pag-ibig and Bayan Ko with lines like “Bayan ko nahan ka? Ako ngayo’y nag-iisa. Nais kong magbalik sa iyo Bayan Ko. Patawarin mo ako, kung ako’y nagkamali sa landas na aking tinahak.” What a heartwarming performance!

Allan Cabato Photo 

Recently, I learned that there this new organization launched in the Philippines called LAPIS or League of Authors of Public Interest Songs. Lapis is an “organization of composers and musicians who seek to articulate through music issues that Filipinos face in their everyday lives.” Lolita Carbon is a Member of the Board of this organization and is much involved with its production of socially relevant albums. Ate Lolit is also a part of InterAksyon #Martial LawMemory Project, MGA AWIT NG PAGKAMULAT, where she sang Balita, a famous Asin song where a line that goes, “Dinggin niyo ang mga sigaw ng mga puso ng taong una niyong dadamhing kabilang sa inyo” or a more expressive one like “Mula ng makita ko ang lupang ito, nakita ko rin ang munting apoy sa puso ng tao, ginatungan ng mga kabulukan hanggang sa lumago, ngayon ang puso’y may takot sa lupang ipinangako.” Aside from this, Lolita is also a part of a group called Tres Marias, together with Bayang Barrios and Cooky Chua.

Having known Lolita Carbon, I can say that she is a humble and down to earth artist worth emulating. She easily blends in with any crowd and shows them warmth, as if she already knows them for a long time, But the most important thing about her is commitment and consistency of singing socially relevant songs through the years.

Ate (older sister) Lolit, thanks for serving our people through the years by sowing the seeds of hope, love and the struggle for a just peace through songs, whether in the motherland or in our diaspora. Mabuhay Ka! (Long Live!)