Home 
Kahit na walang tanglaw, sinta
Ang palad ko sa gitna ng dilim
Manungaw ka
Ang buhay ko’y
Kusang magniningning.
Standing outside her window in the thick of the night, the young suitor declaims his intentions to the young maiden. A musical ensemble of 10 men, the haranistas let their love songs waft through the open windows of the barrio.
The singing guitarists continue to play the sweet melodies for 30 minutes while the young gentleman eagerly waits for her response. Everyone in the barrio knows who the musical troubadours are and why they are there. They are the master haranistas, singing and playing distinct traditional Filipino love music on his behalf.
There was a time in the provinces when men courted women with harana, a three in one sentimental ritual: part serenade, part music style, and part poetic Tagalog. Harana’s origins reportedly go back to the 1800’s but today it is a fading memory. A new documentary film, “Harana,” resurrects this lost art. It follows the footsteps and guitar strings of classically trained guitarist Florante Aguilar on a two-month trek to the provinces—traveling, researching, and playing with the few remaining master haranistas.
“The songs were memorized and passed down through generations. It’s already a vanishing tradition,” said “Harana” director Benito Bautista of the award-winning 2006 adventure documentary film, “The Gift of Barong.” “There’s a sense of urgency in the story because there are haranistas who are every old and are dying.” The film’s estimated completion is Spring 2010.
Growing up in Cavite, Aguilar heard some of the harana songs but didn’t value them. “To me it was just crap. I liked American music,” he says unapologetically. After graduating from the University of the Philippines College of Music, he left the Philippines to study and perform in the US, Asia, and Europe.
An accomplished musician, he had no intention of returning to the Philippines, until his father passed away in 1999. During his father’s wake, his hometown reunion transformed him. After a 13-year absence, he reconnected with his country.
“I realized for the first time how beautiful the music is and yet for the longest time I ignored them. Why am I playing music of European men who are dead when I have this fantastic music in front of me? I made it a mission in my life to champion this,” said Aguilar.
Harana is influenced by the style and flavor of Spanish music. Yet its evolution incorporated pre-colonial courtship rituals. “We made harana our very own and nobody else does this the way we do—the music, the protocol, the setting, the language, and how it shaped the social system of old Philippines,” he added.
Aguilar met “Harana” producer, Fides Enriquez, by accident. She saw one of his harana performances and was hooked. “This guy is not from here. He is not stateside. At the time I was doing research about vanishing Philippine traditions,” said Fides.
Searching for the film’s director was a no-brainer. Impressed with Bautista’s “The Gift of Barong,” Enriquez knew he was their man. Bautista fell in love with the concept on their first meeting. “Oh my god! This project is worth telling not only to Filipinos but to the world,” he said.
They sealed their partnership on May 2008. Six months later, they departed San Francisco in search of the masters. From Quezon Province and Vigan, Illocos Sur to Marangondon, Cavite they found three out of 12 haranistas who qualified as true masters.
“A true haranista would know all the old songs. They have a very high level of musicianship. Many are self taught or taught by their parents. The locals also identify them as a master haranista—another sign of this rare artist,” said Aguilar.
Although popular in their own right, most haranistas never left their home towns and had not sung in decades. “They used to sing seven to ten haranas a night at different places. Then it started to become infrequent. One haranista said his last true serenade was about 15 years ago and then he stopped playing. Now they just sing while they farm,” said Enriquez.
Their singing is genuine and passionate. “They’re not showy. They sing from the heart,” said Aguilar.
Besides research, the film tested the power of harana. “There was a man who wanted to serenade a woman for several years and she didn’t know he was her admirer. He’s painfully shy. You’ll see in the film what happens. It was the most beautiful music of these lonely love songs,” said Enriquez.
Harana also transformed many hardened hearts. Bautista passionately describes a scene where the haranistas performed in a crime-ridden community “of gang bangers, drug dealers, and prostitutes—a very volatile and dangerous place. But for one night, they were able to inhale a beautiful experience through music and found humanity.”
Nagsusumamo ang puso ko,
paraluman
nakikiusap say iyong pagmamahal
Hindi mo man pinapansin ang
panambitan
Pagibig koy ikaw pa rin
Kailan pa man.
Note: Lyrics from “Kay Lungkot Nitong Hatinggabi” (“How Lonely is The Midnight”) by Santiago Suarez. A reception and private screening of the “Harana” movie trailer was featured on July 29 at Togonon Gallery (www.togonongallery.com), 77 Geary Street, San Francisco, California. The fundraising event promotes awareness of Filipino arts and film. “Harana” is a project of New Art Media in collaboration with Pacific Ethnographic (http://www.pacificethnographic.org/). For more information, visit www.haranathemovie.com or contact fides@haranathemovie.com.
