I have realized one thing today. And I hope this isn’t just one of my whimsies.

For as long as I could remember, I feel empowered wearing earth colors. They make me feel that I belonged to the earth.

I love the beach; I could spend my days sitting in the shore, playing my guitar or swimming in the beach. Watching the sun rise or set, makes me feel so calm.

The mountains, when I used to climb them and stay overnight with the locals, made me want to become someone rich enough to build my own nest up in the hills, where I feel so light yet strong.

For so many years, I had been trying to find my music genre. Growing up, I listen to my father, and my uncles’ cassette tapes. Being hippies at that time, they listen to folk rock. They also had a rich collection of jazz, and some RnB. My family is very much musically-inclined. Dad sings in a band; mom was his biggest fan and perpetual roadie J For maybe 10 years it was their music that I solely immersed myself in, maybe because MTV hasn’t arrived in my hometown back in the 80s.

Then by the time I was 12, I became fascinated with western rock. And for the next 10 or so years, my collection had been a confusing mix of alternative rock, reggae, some metal, some RnB – mostly foreign materials.

I can’t tell how this came to be, me being engrossed more on foreign artists than our local ones. I mean I love Yano, Tribal Fish, and classic heroes like Asin, Joey Ayala, Freddie Aguilar, and APO Hiking Society, to name a few. But it’s just now that I realized that I need to look inside once again.

But, this isn’t about music, anyway.

It’s about my rediscovered fascination of our country. Just this morning I realized that while I’ve been wanting to visit Japan because of its rich, preserved culture, I’ve been missing a lot on what’s in front of me. Do I feel teary-eyed when I read about Japanese history? I have adored foreign musicians and painters, but do I feel my heart squeezing like the way I feel when I visit and see local paintings that depicted life here in the Philippines? Do I cry as much when I listen to “We are the World”, than to Tito Sotto’s “Magkaisa”?

It’s decided. Aside from the many things I do, I will again make an attempt to create yet another fascination. And it is to learn more about my country, the Philippines. Perhaps, I would read again about history, this time with eagerness, not the kind of forced feeling back in the days of when you need to memorize to get good grades. Perhaps, I will allot some budget for travelling around the country, and check out what had been, is, and will be, the contribution of such locality as part of the country. Perhaps, I will listen once again and this time more on underground local bands that have their own distinct ethnic flair. I will also check out local producers of anything consumer goods, and avoid buying imported. Perhaps write more in my own dialect as well on my future entries. The old Shanon is back. Hmmm does this mean this blog’s gonna be about this newfound fascination? Tan-awon nato…

Asin - Usok...

 

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