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Music and our political life, a thread. From traditional marches, to Tangoes, the Mambo, and borrowing a tune and repurposing it for a cause, music marked our politics for generations. Listen to samples from the 1896 to 1986. 
Alerta, Katipunan!, sung here by the late Karina Constantino David, was originally a Spanish march, which was taken up by the Katipuneros who gave the march their own lyrics. chirb.it/dmq21N
According to Stanley Karnow, American soldiers fighting in the Philippines loved "There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" so much, that when military bands performed it, Filipinos took off their hats, thinking it was the American national anthem. chirb.it/KEqhHm
As for ourselves, we've had two national anthems. The first was composed by Julio Nakpil, commissioned by Andres Bonifacio: "Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan" (here excerpted from a later Nakpil piece, "Salve Filipinas") chirb.it/4cdCHq
In 1898 Julian Felipe, commissioned to compose a new national anthem, derived inspiration from three famous compositions. Discover them here: chirb.it/w19L0q
The generation of 1898 would know our national anthem through its original Spanish lyrics; the generation of independence in 1946 would know it by its English lyrics. Listen: "Marcha Nacional Filipina" (in Spanish and English) chirb.it/txJLr9
Marches would mark political activity during the campaign to restore independence. In 1922, Col. Walter Loving composed the "Marcha Collectivista," which became Manuel L. Quezon's political anthem up to the Commonwealth, remaining popular up to the 1970s. chirb.it/wE11gg
You can gauge a tune's impact by the way it's borrowed for other purposes. Quezon's "Marcha Collectivista" from 1922 was given new lyrics and turned into "Sulong Gerilyero!" by the Huks in 1942. Here it is performed by the late Karina Constantino David. chirb.it/8E7P0w
Marches continued to matter and mark all occasions. The entry of the Japanese into Manila (declared an Open City), in January 1942, was marked by the "Open City March." chirb.it/8PI8xI
Even the Americans would turn famous marches like "Zamboanga" into ditties with objectionable lyrics: "The Monkeys Have No Tails in Zamboanga" sung in a WW2 movie, "They Were Expendable" chirb.it/cr0s0c
Postwar had its bouts of nostalgia, in this case, a Tango (popular during the Commonwealth) was released for Carlos P. Romulo's aborted 1953 presidential bid. But times had already changed. Listen to the "Romulo Tango" chirb.it/ch9rxC
President Quirino declared the Mambo craze "a national calamity." Political foes of his, eager to prove they were modern, swiftly capitalized on Mambo music, for example, Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson had a "Lacson Mambo." chirb.it/FtPemK
The candidate he defeated for the Manila Mayoralty in 1951, incumbent Manuel de la Fuente, had his own Mambo, too. chirb.it/3d3yAM
In 1953, Ramon Magsaysay needed campaign music. Raul Manglapus would produce three compositions. The first, performed here by Aurelio Estanislao, was a march in the tradition mode: "We Want Magsaysay." chirb.it/t2Jenk
But a march for Magsaysay was old-fashioned. So Manglapus tried his hand at composing a Mambo for the Magsaysay campaign. It didn't quite work: it was musically too sophisticated. chirb.it/NvLAvs
Finally, Manglapus hit the musical jackpot, with the "Mambo Magsaysay," with its cheeky use of Taglish, it caught the popular imagination and defined an era. chirb.it/2A0kJN
By the early 1970s, folk-type tunes mocked authority, such as "May Pulis Sa Ilalim ng Tulay," with its infinite lyrics.
The Marcos dictatorship would hark back to the Japanese Occupation, even in its choice of composer for a march to serve as the anthem of the New Society: "Bagong Pagsilang" chirb.it/cPJeqx
As Marcos would prove time and again (In 1985 a "We are the World" style remake!), not even the National Anthem was safe. Here's Philippine National Anthem in a 1972 PC Band version at hyperspeed, to demonstrate the "dynamism" of the regime: chirb.it/sF0Nmf
"Bayan Ko" of course became famous as a counterpoint to Marcos; but pop songs, too, became imbued with meaning. Former Sen. Eva Estrada Kalaw proposed "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" as a suitable song to mark Ninoy Aquino's return --and it made its mark. chirb.it/1hACAp
During EDSA, "Onward Christian Soldiers," a Protestant hymn, was repeatedly broadcast by the Catholic radio station, Radyo Veritas; few mention it now but it was one of the defining pieces of music of People Power. chirb.it/m10a13
Truly in keeping with the Filipino political tradition in music was the revival of the "Mambo Magsaysay," this time, including its 1953 Ilocano version, broadcasted to mock Ferdinand Marcos as his regime crumbled, and fell. The lyrics of old a hit again. chirb.it/wDHkvh
