EASTERN SAMAR, Philippines – On a stage that featured OPM powerhouses like Bayang Barrios, Lolita Carbon, and DJ Alvaro, a 35-year-old fisherman from Guiuan town stood out.

Joseph Romero was the unlikely song writer. It was also his first time to perform before a live audience, during a on March 7, concert organized by the non-governmental organization OxFam in Guiuan. 

He was a little nervous but also excited. “Hindi naman ako gaano nagsusulat kasi namimingwit pa ako sa dagat, ngayon ko lang naisipang magsulat,” Romero told Rappler. (I don’t always get to write because I need to fish. It’s just that I really took time to write.) 

It took Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) – the strongest to hit the coastal town of Guiuan – to bring out Romero’s songwriting skills. Guiuan was where Yolanda first made landfall in the Philippines last November 8, bringing with it powerful winds, relentless rain, and strong storm surges. 

It was unusual, said Romero, for a strong typhoon to hit his town. Storms always threatened to hit the town but they never did. He says it was because of locals’ faith in God. 

“Naisipan kong kumanta para maibalik [ang] tiwala nila sa Diyos,” said Romero. (I wrote the song so their faith in God would be restored.) 

A week of songwriting resulted in “Yolanda.” 

The lyrics and melody are simple, and the message clear. “Yolanda” is a song of thanksgiving – to God, to the community, and to the world that answered Guiuan’s plea. 

Music as therapy 

It was a refreshing, if not odd, sight in a town badly devastated by Yolanda. The sun was shining brightly, and the heat was relentless. Yet a crowd started to gather in the town square. 

Folk singer Bayang Barrios was on her second visit to Guiuan. The first was in January, 3 months after Yolanda and when rain clouds hung over the town. Yolanda-devastated areas were hit by two typhoons early in the year. 

The first visit, she said, was sobering – she saw sad faces under gloomier skies. On this second visit, she faced a visibly happier crowd. “Ngayon parang mas maliwanag na, dahil din siguro sa maliwanag ‘yung araw,” she said. (Their faces seem brighter now, maybe because the weather is better too.) 

Romero said it took a while before he found the time to write “Yolanda.” First, there was work to be done – getting his wife and two kids back on their feet. 

The weeks and months after Yolanda were anything but easy. The storm is long gone, but the nightmare remains. For Romero, the nightmare is seeing the fear in his children’s eyes whenever it rains. 

“‘Yung dalawang anak ko, may phobia. ‘Pag malakas ang ulan, sinasabi nila: ‘Halika na, ‘Ma, ‘Pa.’ Sa bukid kasi malakas ‘yung ulan.” he said. (My two children are afraid of the rain. When it rains hard, they beg us, ‘Mom, Dad, let’s move to higher ground. It rains so hard in the field.) 

He hopes his song would help a terrified and traumatized community move on, or at the very least, provide a moment of entertainment. 

Even before the concert, OxFam brought Manila-based artists to Guiuan to conduct song writing workshops for survivors of Yolanda. Artist Carol Bello, who conducted the workshop alongside DJ Alvaro, said survivors took to song writing easily. 

“It was like a faucet that was unleashed,” she said, recalling their 4-5-hour songwriting workshops. 

“Ang music kasi, nakaka-heal. ‘Di ba tayo, pag sad tayo, gusto pa rin nating makinig sa sad music? May times naman na kung happy naman tayo, sobra tayong sumasabay. Ang buhay natin parang music eh,” said Barrios. (Music heals. When we’re sad, we still want to listen to sad music. When we’re happy, we listen to happy songs. Our lives are like music.) 

Lessons from Yolanda

Lolita Carbon said visiting Yolanda-hit areas was a way for them as artists and humans to empathize. 

“Hindi mo na kailangan kumbinsihin ang sarili mo dahil, given the chance na pumunta ka, pupunta ka talaga. It’s the only way we can share their plight,” she said. (You don’t need to be convinced to come here. Given the chance to come, you’ll come.)

While government, NGOs, and private entities mobilized in their own way, Carbon said holding concerts in disaster areas was their contribution. “Ngayon na tumugtog kami, kahit papaano, napasaya sila,” she added. (We bring them happiness when we play.) 

It’s the same force that drove a handful of college students from the Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) to form a band. 

While their school is being used as a tent city for relief workers and typhoon victims, Edwin Billiones and the Essunian Revival Band have started writing songs – some of them about Yolanda, others about the heartbreak of young love. 

“Sana kung marinig nila ‘yung mga kanta namin, matuwa naman sila kahit papaano,” said Billiones. (I hope when our community hears our songs, these would make them happy.) 

But the inspiring songs and bright smiles could not distract Barrios and Carbon from the frustration they feel when they see calamities around the country time and time again. 

Carbon, who used to be part of Asin, joked that she wished those in power listened to the song “Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran,” a song environmental degradation that became popular in 1978.

“Kung nakinig lang sila…. Dinaan lang namin sa kanta, pero andoon ‘yung mensahe,” she added. (If only they paid attention…. The warning was there in the song.)

The program in Guiuan was well underway, and the hosts were taking turns announcing one performer after another. Romero was nervous, but brought the house down the moment he started singing. 

The Essunian Revival Band was giddy, and missed a note or two while rehearsing their cover of “Hawak Kamay.” They killed it during their live performance. 

Bayang Barrios, Lolita Carbon, and DJ Alavaro came next, and the crowd went wild. And that afternoon, the artists did what they went out to do: bring happiness, joy, and make Yolanda survivors forget about the hardships of life even just for a little while. – Rappler.com