Panganay ng Umaga

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Three editions released - 1981, 1987 and 1991.

The songs here were written in the mid- to late-70s. Many of them were written for a show called Lansangan, “Davao’s first multi-media concert”. Lansangan was basically a concert accompanied by photos taken by our campus photographers’ guild. Color transparencies were projected onto a huge screen by six slide projectors. The band played, the pictures spoke, the people cheered. Davao saw itself – fresh-faced mountains and sunrises, trees, fruits and vegetables, animals, people, market stalls, the slaughterhouse, the streets, more people, the campus scene, more flora and fauna, tourist spots, and more people.

Jessie and I were newly-wed and living at their family home in Ma-a. Firstborn Jaku was making his acquaintance with the world. I had finally settled into a new community of friends and in-laws and no longer felt as alien as I did when our family migrated to Davao in the summer of ‘73. Davao was now my home. When I looked out at the mountains and clouds, it was “I am home” – and no longer “I wish I were home…”

It was a time of settling down, opening up and expanding.

The first edition of Panganay was produced by Development Education Media Services Foundation, Inc. (DEMS), 1981. My activist kuya and ate had set up this small recording studio to do documentary voice-over and musical scoring work and I was doing odd jobs for them – writing and reading scripts, sequencing slides and the like. The idea to produce an album came out of doing test-recordings with the 2-mic studio set-up.

The first cut of the first edition featured a kubing and this sound captured the ears of many – there weren’t any recordings then that gave as much space to this instrument as this song did. Sister Monica gave me this, my first, kubing, a vibrating sliver of bamboo etched with elegant okir-okir in the Maranao style.

Panganay was published by Roadmap Series (No. 8), the hardy homegrown arts journal edited and curated by Tita Lacambra-Ayala, my mother. As of this writing Roadmap is in its 60s as far as number of issues is concerned.

Panganay was re-recorded in 1985 with assistance from Kinaiyahan Foundation, Inc., and Canada Fund. I got my first taste of multi-track recording at Sonata, studio of musicians Toto Gentica and Lou Bonnevie. For several reasons, one of them being money-related, I opted to not to include three songs, Puso ng Gabi, Ang Aking Sadya and Paalis na ang Barko sa Sta. Ana. Cassettes of this second edition, as with the first, were marketed in the manner that was then referred to as “independent” – which meant that one carried around a bagful of albums and sold ‘em to as many people as possible.
This second edition was further revised for release by Warner Elektra Atlantic (WEA) Records in 1991. This is the version you might chance upon in regular record bars.

Panganay brought me to perform at the 1986 Vancouver Folk Music Festival where I met dozens of musicians who apparently were not holding down a day job the way I was – and this led me to decide to be a “full-time” artist and not worry about the absence of regular employment. The decision was a no-brainer then – the choice was between being poor-and-frustrated and being poor-and-happy.

Version 1
Produced by Development Education Media Services Foundation, Inc.(DEMS), 1981, Davao City. Published by Roadmap Series (No. 8), edited by Tita Lacambra-Ayala.

*Not in Versions 2 & 3

Version 2
Re-recorded at Sonata 1985 with assistance from Kinaiyahan Foundation, Inc., Davao City and Canada Fund. This production was my first experience with using the magic power of a “proposal” – a rational, logical way of asking for support for something one wants to do.

Version 3
Revised for release by Warner Elektra Atlantic (WEA) Records, 1991, Manila.

Version 2 & 3 tracks: