Music video to set pace for Philippine I-Day festivities

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

A four-minute music video about “Tagumpay” (“Success”) is set to be released before the June 14 Philippine Independence Day 2019 (PID 2019) celebrations in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, in time for the 121st commemoration of the Philippine independence from Spain  on June 12, 1898.

With 100 people cast and shot for two days by Dubai-based Filipino filmmaker/commercial director Patrick Fronda, the music video scales on the lyrics, rhythm, and harmony set forth by Dubai-based Exekiel Nunez Jr.

Nunez was the grand winner at the “Dubai Dubai Musikahan-Season 3” song writing composition organized by the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai (PCGDXB).

Ralph Jay Cabusay in the Central Philippines’s Cebu City is the musical arranger.

PID celebrations in recent years in Dubai and the Northern Emirates have become an avenue for the Filipinos’ creativity to shine through each and every music video conceptualized with a specific topic or theme.

Nunez explained his choice for “Tagumpay” even as the PID 2019 “official theme” as per Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs is “Tapang ng Bayan, Malasakit sa Mamamayan” (“The Courage of the People, the People’s Concern”).

He said: “It is purely a song of tagumpay because we have already attained freedom. No reason for division of differences. We can be united and just celebrate (life).”

For him, a PID musical piece should also bear how freedom should be responsibly carried out every day by every Filipino “as an individual, as a family and as a nation.”

Hence, the music video is reflective of the Filipinos in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujeirah from the household service workers to the medical and health professionals to the real estate/construction/facilities management people such as engineers to the teachers, visual artists, musicians and fashion designers.

Director/City Vibes portal founder Fronda said: “I emphasized in this music video that each of us has the freedom but wherever this freedom may lead us, should have limitations. There are powerful visuals in this video which I hope will be (comprehended and taken well so that the essence of the project is fully grasped).”

The main singers in the music video are Nunez’s “Dubai Dubai Musikahan-Season 3” interpreters Josh Labing-isa and Katrina Casia who have won in several musical competitions across the UAE; Alvin Pancito, also the champion in various singing competitions across the country; and Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes.

Under the guidance of the PCGDXB, the PID 2019 celebrations in Dubai and the Northern Emirates will be a whole day affair at the Zabeel Hall 5 of the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The music video will be discontinuously played over the venue as it will also be uploaded over the PID 2019 Facebook page.

The cultural event will feature various festivals from across the 7,107 islands of the Southeast Asian archipelago as interpreted by the Filipino residents of Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

Other segments are the “Pinoy Payaso” (“Filipino Clown”) to entertain the kids and the young-at-heart, the grand musical production of Filipino singing champions, performances by Filipino hip-hop dancers and the “Aswang de Makina” (“Evil Spirit Machine”), the grand winner of the pre-judged “Bandigmaan” (“Battle of the Bands”), and the parade of the creation of seven Dubai-based fashion designers.

Metro Manila-based Filipino showbiz personalities Kyla and Zanjo Marrudo will add to the entertainment galore.