Since my first blog about the Cuynon ( Arjen Abubakar- Cuyunon artist emerges) and young Cuynon artist Arjen I have had so much positive feedback . Arjen has been very busy at school but found time to help Grecil and Jhoanna when they were in Puerto, taking my old laptop for repair.
Arjen and Grecil- trying to get my old laptop fixed
Then the other week I received a series of messages from him which bought a tear to my eye. It was about a gift to me from his Girlfriend. He told me:
"She just want to dedicate the song for you, because she already knew that you want to know about Cuyunon culture and heritage. Thank You sir.
She just want to give thanks to you, because you have a good heart in helping and appreciating the wealth of being a Cuyunon.
Thank You again sir."
Attached was this recording of his girlfriend singing unaccompanied , this beautiful song in Cuyunon. Thanks to Chester who converted the audio to video for me explaining that Audio and voice recordings cannot be embedded into the blog (as they are no longer supported) so it has to be a video. He added the song with a beach wave stock footage to create a video, see above. Where would we be without Chester's IT support??!!
Arjen and Analiza
Analiza is also Cuyunon and just 16 and as talented as her boyfriend. She sings and also paints and can speak Cuyunon, Tagalog and English.
He later told me it was from a 2008 Movie called Ploning and my friend Pav , who I shared the song with found this piece about the movie
Ploning (2008)
Ploning (Dante Nico Garcia, 2008)
Ploning, a Cuyonon folk song, is essentially a plea from a boy to her lover for the latter to wait for him and remember him as he leaves her for a different land. The final verses of the song bare the boy's wish that the girl keep a stone wrapped with her handkerchief, as reminder that his love for her is undying. It's a lovely song, with a melody that encapsulates the emotional longing that the lack of physical intimacy emboldens. Slow, passionate, and moody, the song functions as both a narrative precursor and musical anthem of Dante Nico Garcia's film with the same title.
Ploning (Judy Ann Santos) is a Cuyonon native who is patiently waiting for the return of Tomas, her boyfriend who journeyed to Manila a few years back and hasn't returned yet. Surrounding Ploning is a variety of women who possess a similar emptiness: Celeste (Mylene Dizon), a city nurse who travels to Cuyo Island and finds there the missing aspect in her life; Alma (Meryll Soriano), a housewife whose only companion is the radio because her husband is working elsewhere; Nieves (Ces Quesada), a happily-married woman who is worried over her son's lofty ambitions for himself.
Most important in Ploning's life is Digo (Cedric Amit), a young boy who fancies Ploning as his surrogate mother since his real mother (Eugene Domingo) is permanently disabled. A few days before the town fiesta, Ploning's plan of journeying to Manila to look for Tomas becomes known to the people around her, causing everyone to examine the inherent value of love, pain, and waiting. Shielded from the normal worries and heartaches of most adults by his age, Digo is the most affected of Ploning's planned departure, forcing him to wrestle with those surging emotions using only his meager view on things.
Shot entirely in Cuyo Island, Ploning makes use of the picturesque vistas, the gorgeous beaches, and the vibrant town proper to great extent. Instead of merely showcasing the beauty of the island as a mere adjunct of the film or a come-on to possible tourists, the visual splendor actually complements the entire spectrum of emotions that the film manages to impart. Cinematographer Charlie Peralta was able to not only make gorgeous visuals, he also impregnated the beauty with melancholy, simple joys, sorrow, hope, and other feelings that the film so fluently speaks with.
The entire cast also effortlessly delivers the myriad of emotions that their characters require. Santos, who is more popular for acting in mainstream romantic comedies or weepy melodramas, was able to showcase restraint that the role requires. While Santos is tremendously effective as the titular character, a bigger amount of satisfaction is derived from the performances of those supporting her, more particularly Soriano who injected her character with a believable mix of simplicity and sincerity, Ronnie Lazaro who for less than five minutes was able to capture the extreme joy of being reunited with someone he has waited for almost hopelessly, Gina Pareño who portrays Tomas' mother Intang who in one scene literally explodes in fury and frustration for being betrayed by God, Spanky Manikan who injects pathos to the character of a Taiwanese fisherman who got attached to Digo for several years but is about to part with him, and Tessie Tomas who flawlessly captures the personality of someone who was bred in the city but has found serenity in the island.
The film basically hinges on Ploning's promise to wait, based predominantly on love. In one scene, Ploning placates Siloy (Lucas Agustin), the heartbroken son of Nieves, by lecturing to him about the intricacies of loving. She proclaims that pain accompanies real love, and the person who gets most hurt in a relationship is the one who loved the most. In a sense, the film approximates the folk song's view about love; that real love is essentially a prison that is blind to time, pain and suffering and that the feeling of love is entirely separate from desire. Ploning becomes the icon of this kind of love, a perpetually suffering and patient woman who stands by a promise of eternal love no matter how painful it becomes. The paradox of this view about love is that it partakes a semblance of womanly virtue, as expressed by Ploning's suffering friends.
Ploning is old-fashioned in its depiction of love yet despite that, it is adamantly satisfying since it not only pictures the emotion in its purest and uncompromising sense but also fathoms other aspects of rural life that rarely gets treatment this sincere and beautiful. It meditates on death with unflinching yet purposeful frankness. It lovingly touches on the reconciliation between a father and his once-disobedient daughter. It is this unwavering mix of subtlety and expressiveness that makes Ploning so endearing. It is unabashed in its sentimentality simply because it is as graceful and lyrical as a heartfelt love song.
( accessed 9.7.21)
I downloaded the movie and watched it with Erickson one night. It was in Cuyunon with Tagalog subtitles so was a little hard for me to understand but with the help of the piece above , and some translation from Erickson I managed to get the jist of it. The best part was the beautiful scenery ( it was filmed on Cuyo which TJ and I and some friends plan to visit next year).
Everyone I have shared the song with ( I now have a lot of Cuynon friends like TJ, Rhoda, Rodel, Jayvee, Drew, Arnel, Alhairon etc.) loved it and said what a beautiful voice she has.
They allowed me to share it here with you.
He also told me that:
"She can also sing the song for you, the Palawan music or a very popular Cuyunon song entitled Solteros. Solteros is one of the song that we use, specially when we are welcoming the visitors or other foreigner like you sir."
I cannot wait
Also TJ and I , and another Cuynon called Jayvee ( and his best friend) are planning a trip to Cuyo next year, where Ploning was filmed.
TJ ( and Sarah) has been teaching me Cuynon as well so I will end this blog in their language as a mark of respect to my Cuynon friends:
Ang ka postura kaw ingan- You are so beautiful
Magpakaleba kaw permi- Be good always
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Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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