The cultural air is rife again with suggestions and proposals to make this and that personality to be the next National Artist. I believe the folk group Asin deserves to be honored with a National Artist distinction.
At the height of their musical powers and mass popularity, Asin was originally composed of Lolita Carbon, Cesar “Saro” Bañares, Jr., and Mike Pillora, Jr. with Pendong Aban Jr. joining in a later incarnation. Signed to two major local labels (Vicor and later, Ivory), that ensemble recorded at least four albums that made an impact on OPM in terms of mirroring the pressing concerns of the greater population even as they played original music that hardly fits in with contemporary standards.
Let’s then tick off the criteria to qualify as a National Artist and how Asin slots easily into these best-of-the-best standards:
- Living artists who are Filipino citizens at the time of nomination and at the awarding.
Lolit, Mike, Pendong and Saro were born in this country. The first three are alive and well and making great strides in their comfort zone, with Ms. Carbon and Pendong having carved their own respective musical identities as individual performers and as central figures in a band set-up but still operating within Asin’s enduring craftsmanship embedded in their forward-looking direction.
- Artists who through the content and form of their works have contributed in building a Filipino sense of nationhood.
Lolit, Saro et, al’s enduring legacy to OPM lies in their contributions to the original Asin band they helped organize and propel to wider popularity to a mass audience. Beloved by students, the working class, the common tao and the innumerable poor people in the countryside, they sang about love of country encapsulated in songs about protecting the environment (“Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran”), safeguarding the next generation (“Itanong Mo Sa Mga Bata”) and the unchanging face of politics (“Balita”), themes that resonate with Filipinos across cycles of authoritarian rule and democracy and now at the cusp of climate change impacts.
- Artists who have pioneered in a mode of creative expression or style
Asin was established at the height of martial law era in the ‘70s and in the folk style and progressive content of their music, the band was aligned with the nascent Pinoy rock movement which essentially was an alternative to mainstream radio-friendly music dubbed as Middle of the Road, this despite being signed to a local label. Aside from their unconventional themes, the use of traditional instruments like kulintang in studio recordings and in live performances saw Asin drawing arguably from native tools and resources to tell distinctive stories of the struggles of the brown man during a troubled period in the country’s history.
- Artists who have created a substantial and significant body of works and/or consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form thus, enriching artistic expression or style.
In at least three commercially successful albums, Asin’s ‘new’ music and ‘alternative” mindset served as an outlet to reflect on the pressing concerns of students, young professionals, and rural folks who felt sidelined by society in general. There’s no better proof of Asin’s excellence in their craft than the fact that their pioneering spirit would eventually be a forerunner to the likes of future musical creatives like Joey Ayala, Cynthia Alexander, Gary Granada, and Noel Cabangon, who, if it must be said, enriched Asin’s influence by assimilating pop, rock, world music, even street-smart lyrics, into their new-fangled cocktail now called alternative music.
Three cheers for the best candidates to be the next National Artists for Music.
Image credits: Lolit Carbon/Facebook