Three Filipino drag queens were teased as among the singers of an upcoming tribute video in line with the 37th anniversary of the People Power Revolution.
Behind-the-scene footage of a performance by Precious Paula Nicole, Brigiding and Tita Baby was shared by award-winning screenwriter Mike Alcazaren on February 16 on Instagram.
Precious was crowned as Drag Race Superstar in season 1 of “Drag Race Philippines.” Brigiding was also a cast member of the same drag reality show.
Alcazaren, who also produced films “Puti” and “In Manila”, uploaded photos that showed him and the three drag queens at a recording studio.
He then added the hashtags #Handog2023 and #EDSA37 in the post.
“Slaying with the queens. Sorry for my lame finger heart. Para akong kumurot ng lanzones,” Alcazaren said.
“Thank you @yourtitababy @preciouspaulame @brigiding for your awesome performance!” he added.
In separate posts on Facebook and Instagram, Alcazaren announced that he will be releasing a new version of the historical song “Handog ng Pilipino Sa Mundo” in time for the People Power anniversary.
Jim Paredes, a member of the APO Hiking Society, composed this song two months after the bloodless revolution in EDSA in 1986.
“Have gone full circle. A thrill to be working with the OG and NG (Next Gen). Coming soon,” Alcazaren said on Facebook. He also added the hashtag #HandogngPilipinas2.
He also uploaded photos and a video that showed footage of a music video production. In both posts, the faces of several artists who took in this project were unveiled.
In the comments section of his Instagram post, Alcazaren stated his reason for creating a new version of the iconic song.
“It’s a new arrangement and music video of the iconic Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo song. It will feature some of the originals plus [next generation] singers. Trying to refresh the memories of EDSA,” he said.
Commemoration over the years
The original “Handog ng Pilipino Sa Mundo” featured prominent artists including the APO Hiking Society and Kris Aquino, the youngest daughter of late Senator Ninoy Aquino Jr.
Other iconic OPM artists who took part in the song are as follows:
- Celeste Legaspi
- Kuh Ledesma
- Lea Navarro
- Coritha and Eric
- Inang Laya
- Joseph Olfindo
- Lester Demetillo,
- Edru Abraham
- Ivy Violan
- Gretchen Barretto
RELATED: Jim Paredes addresses restriction on music video for song commemorating EDSA revolution
The music video was directed by veteran filmmaker Mike de Leon.
It was released on Paredes’ YouTube channel on April 8, 2007.
As of writing, it has over 1.6 million views.
In the caption, Paredes said that it was first aired on television after the revolution. However, de Leon had to pull it out due to censorship.
“We may all have our disappointments regarding EDSA. Nevertheless, here is the video which to me captures the purity and the idealism of the time, at least before the politicians started to fail us. Notice that Mike De Leon situated the EDSA1 revolution to the overall struggle of our independence which began before the American occupation,” part of the description reads.
The song was also seen as a representation of Philippine democracy after Martial Law. Its lyrics are now inscribed on the wall of Our Lady of EDSA Shrine, the center of the historic revolution.
In 2011, ABS-CBN stars revived the song for EDSA 25.
This time, it featured the voices of popular and award-winning singers on the network. These include the following:
- Christian Bautista
- Yeng Constantino
- Gary Valenciano
- Erik Santos
- Martin Nievera
- Zsa Zsa Padilla