MFSF 2017: Filipino`s Way of Giving Back

Levy Abad

courtesy of MFSF

It has been another successful year for the Manitoba Filipino Street Festival, where thousands of folks came to appreciate the multiculturalism  of the province. Now on its 6th year, the MFSF continues to showcase Filipino culture through dance, music, food, costume and the thousands of smiles as its way of giving back to the province, home to 80 thousand  Filipinos.

As an ordinary worker, I deeply appreciate the tireless effort of the leaders of the MFSF chairperson Aida Champagne, Ley Navarro and Jun Isla, organizers and volunteers who helped in making the event a successful one.  Just going around with my friends Henry Heller, Professor of History at the UofM and Pablo Herrera, chair of Las Americas and Chilean Human Rights Council, made me forget all the stresses of life, which an industrial society can cause. Truly, the Filipino diaspora appreciates this successful event where people gather, meet and celebrate life.

As a social activist, one should not only appreciate the federal and international dimensions of the struggle but should also comprehend the simple wish of ordinary people to have fun through dance and music and this is where basic cultural activism comes into play. I deeply appreciate leaders who immerse themselves in this event selflessly just to be with the people who are not centred on ideologies and political tendencies. As what the poem of Lao Tze said back in 360 BC, “go in search of your people, love them, learn from them, plan with them, serve them, begin with what they know and build on what they have.....”

Just like in the last MFSF 2016, UNIFOR MB, CUPE MB, and MGEU were once again present in solidarity with the Filipino community.  They marched in the parade and also had their booths along Broadway in appreciation of the community’s effort to give back and show its colour so that the people will know where the community is coming from.  The Filipino community appreciates the labour movements’ contribution for building a Manitoba with health care and other social safety nets which serves  ordinary Filipino folks too .

courtesy of Nelson "Nonie" Manalili 

I cannot help but be proud of my people knowing that as first and second generation immigrants we take on heavy burdens by having two jobs to save and still muster strength to sacrifice time by organizing events like this. The different associations in the Filipino community participated by making beautiful floats to represent their respective provinces in the Philippines.  Along Memorial Boulevard, you will smell the scent, see and taste the different recipes that the community can offer.

When I arrived at the scene, the first performer I heard was Arnold Tongol  of Traffikk Jamm who was covering Versace on the Floor by Bruno Mars, who as many of us know, is half-Filipino. Even my sound engineer friend said that Arnold ``has the pipes.``  He really did justice to the song.  Later in the afternoon, another brother Rodel Olesco performed my song “You and Me.”  I am grateful to Bobit Nepomuceno for arranging the song as well as to the MFSF sound engineer Chris Brett of Audioworks for providing a great mix. What a day when the stars all aligned and things happen favourably. Best birthday gift I ever had as a songwriter /composer.  Also included in the program were Sayan Project, Suban Band, Quarter 2, Emogen Ventura, Vina Dimayuga, Dolly Urtal-Atillo of the Ragdolls and the 12/21 Band. The music and the colours of the day were awesome and reflective of the cultural influences of the Filipino community.

From the inception of the MFSF up to the present, I have witnessed the challenges of building the organization and deeply appreciate the heavy responsibility that the leaders took on their shoulders throughout the six gruelling years of gathering people and resources to sustain the endeavor. I would like to express my gratefulness to the leadership for always allowing me to be a part of the performances as it gives me a chance to sing songs that tell about the journey and struggles of our people. I hope that the present leadership who has already proven its capacity will not relinquish their responsibility until an able set of new leaders is ready to take on the task.  Looking forward to another great year of the Manitoba Filipino Street Festival. May God bless us all!

After Touch: Winnipeg’s Top Band of the 90’s (Part 2)

Levy Abad 
The Diversity Times , August 10,2017

Some Testimonies

Most of the performances of After Touch were with visiting famous artists from the Philippines. As mentioned in the first part of my article, the band members are known to be able to read notes and so it was easy for them to session with visiting Philippine artists. When Rey Valera arrived in Winnipeg, he asked After Touch to session and gave the group two days to prepare. I have noticed this talent first hand when I performed with Jojo as a sessionist during the MYMP and Jireh Lim’s concerts here in the Peg. Jojo can easily master the pieces since he can read notes, compared to musicians who have to listen and study the song first. Jojo is also a versatile musician. He can play bass guitar, rhythm guitars and play lead. He can also do lead and back-up vocals.  Jojo’s background can be traced to folk Rock and country music, but he is also open to a wide variety of genre. He is equally able to arrange and lead as he did with earlier bands that he formed here in the Peg.

When I asked Jon Jon Natoc for a testimony, he said that he and his brother Ricky Natoc were greatly influenced by Frank Urbano in terms of their musicality. He furthered that when they became part of After Touch, what they knew before about music was just basic, but under the influence of Frank Urbano, they took a qualitative leap. Jon Jon noted that they were challenged by Frank to excel and do research to further develop themselves as musicians. Jon pointed out that being with After Touch was one of the best parts of his life where his self-esteem was really boosted and his confidence was developed.

Jon Jon Rigor Natoc on Keys

This level of musicality that they have reached also has a bearing on their musical craft.  I have listened to some of the materials of After Touch and the tracks sound awesome. The materials or tracks were mixed by Paul Morrow. Unfortunately, they were not released. Anyway, I am still hoping that these materials will be recovered and launched one day as it is a part of the Filipino community’s spirit of the 1990’s.  I asked Jon Jon if they had originals and he mentioned a couple of songs like “Kaibigan,” which lyrics were written by Jojo Yso, music and arrangement were done by Frank Urbano. Another song was “Buti na lang,” lyrics/music by Jonjon Natoc and arranged by the whole band.  Last but not the least is their third song titled “Ilaw ng Pasko,” which is frequently played by CKJS during Christmas. This song was written and arranged by Frank Urbano.

Jon Jon Natoc explained that when After Touch was not doing sessions, they usually cover a variety of songs, mostly Top 40. In terms of genre, he added that they are mainly RnB, Pop, Jazz among others.

Places where the band performed

Jojo named some of the prestigious places where After Touch performed.  The band performed twice at the Concert Hall, four times at the Pantages and five or more at the Burton Cummings. Jojo recalls that whenever After Touch does a concert, they can easily muster an audience of 500. To be able to attract a huge crowd in the community back in the 90s, is indeed a great feat.  Unlike the earlier bands like Cobra of Butch Jularbal or Jade band that performed outside Winnipeg, After Touch was mostly involved in big performances in the City, often catering to Filipino audience.

Hoping for a Reunion

After playing as a group for several years, After Touch members parted ways in 2011. It was not until 2016 that some of After Touch members started to perform again in QPAM’s event under the band name HEXXA. The drummer in this particular event was Joseph David and the vocalist was Arlene Samaniego.   This gig was followed by a planned performance at the Octoberfest that was organized by Winnipeg’s Filipino Beer Fest and Vocal Arts  Centre of Jose “Bobbit” Nepomuceno. Unfortunately, the plan did not materialize. A lot of people who know the quality of the band’s performances were a bit frustrated, but they are still hopeful that one of these days, the group will have a reunion and give the community their best show.

Outsiders’ view

Hanging out in the different malls and restaurants frequented by compatriots, I learned that even the seniors in the community have something good to say about After Touch.  Mar Cadiz, a friend and a regular of La Merage Restaurant told me that After Touch was really excellent and was really admired back in the 90s in Winnipeg’s growing Filipino community. Arnold Tongol, a friend crooner of the Band Traffikk Jamm and a senior marketing director of WFG has this to say, “Watching After Touch Band is like watching a complete sound/music and the vocal harmonies are top notch. If you close your eyes, it is like listening to a pre-recorded music.” To this description the only thing that I can say is, Wow!

I’ve been writing articles and chronicling the Filipino bands of Winnipeg from the early 70’s.  It will be a great disservice to miss out on After Touch as a premiere band of the Filipino community. I cannot claim that this article is exhaustive as this is just an overview of the band’s story, but somebody has to start the process of gathering information and putting it on record to be remembered. It is my hope that other writers will share in raising the musicians’ stories to a literary level. To paraphrase a famous statement of an Asian revolutionary and poet, “A people without culture is a dull witted people.”

(Levy Abad is a freelance writer and also a singer songwriter/recording artist and a member of Migrante Canada-Mb chapter and also a founding member/ program coordinator of Winnipeg Multicultural Human Rights Forum, Levy has released four albums , Canadian Experience Vol. 1 (iTunes ), Never Give Up and Rhythms of Compassion CanEx 3. and  "Tara ng Maglakbay"( June2017). You can reach Levy Abad through , lev67.abad@yahoo.ca or on Facebook.).