“We’re having a tough time at home, but we’re here to celebrate mankind,” a costumed Rico Blanco tells the sizable crowd at the Marina Promenade’s F1 Pit area, and his declaration is met with cheers from Filipinos and foreigners alike. Performing with a heavy heart might not be easy, but this man’s clearly on a mission—to show the rest of the world what the indomitable Filipino spirit is all about at the Sundown Festival 2013 in Singapore.
For his “Galactik Fiestamatik” miniset, Rico takes on a completely different persona: the fierce, feather-and-chrome-clad musical warrior named “Fiesto Bandido,” who alternately croons and growls while doing tribal dance moves with his similarly costumed percussionists from Buganda Drumbeaters.
Dedicating his entire performance (and talent fee) to his beleaguered countrymen, the musical bandit proceeds to dish out hits from his solo repertoire as well as well-loved Rivermaya hits. He starts off his high-energy set with the sonically aggressive track “Burado,” followed by the Rivermaya radio staple “Antukin” and “What It Is” from Rico’s latest solo album.
“Mga Pilipino, tulungan niyo ako rito (Filipinos, help me out here),” he calls out, launching into his requisite medley of pop-rock anthems. The Pinoys whoop and sing along in response as he sings “Posible,” “Liwanag sa Dilim (Kaya Mo ’To),” “Hinahanap-hanap Kita” and “Awit ng Kabataan”—songs that serve to rekindle, not dampen, the spirit of the festival as well as the Filipino community. He even improvises a bit on the lyrics to incorporate timely messages: “Sa isip at panaginip, sa hagupit ni ‘Yolanda,’ hinahanap-hanap kita, Pilipinas,” he sings, turning the harana-like number into a love song for his calamity-stricken country.
Turning somber, he starts his encore with an impromptu piano-based snippet of “Bangon,” then caps off his set with the sweet serenade “Your Universe” from the 2008 album of the same name.
It’s heartwarming to see not just Pinoys but also foreigners dancing and pumping their fists into the air, despite the fact that most of Rico’s songs were sung in Tagalog.
“I saw this as an opportunity to maybe raise more awareness on what’s going on back home without dampening the spirit of the festival. And hopefully to give a little comfort to the Filipinos here, who I’m sure are as worried as everyone else,” he had said during his interview with Super.
“I hope they can draw some sense or feeling of warmth, whatever they can get, from my music. If that helps in any way, then I would’ve done my work.” Angela V. Ignacio, contributor