Halad Awit sa Birhen sa Regla - Final Night

The Grand Final Night of the Halad Awit sa Birhen Sa Regla was a success because of how the entire night was handled overall. Although the event started an hour late than scheduled but the excitement was overwhelming and it outweighed the audiences' impatience.
The interpreters of the 13 finalist did their best in delivering the message of their respective songs. Each adapting their own style of singing and performance, the audience were able to see a showcase of various performers apart from the new original compositions they were hearing which also had different genre. Accompaniment was done live by the Jules Chevalier Orchestra under the baton of Fr. Ricky Bermudez, MSC.

The venue, which is the Virgen de Regla Parish in LapuLapu was packed with spectators. The audience were hearing the songs the first time and every song was well applauded by them. One senior citizen audience confessed publicly that tears welled from her eyes while one song was being performed, because she was touched. The event was covered by a local TV network.

The air was filled with excitement and surprise when the winners were announced. "Maghiusa Kita" by Raul Godinez got the first prize, "O Maria Birhen sa Regla" by Emannuel Abellana got the second prize and "Mahal Nga Senyora" by Eugene Tan got the third prize. The best interpreter went to Danica Caballes, interpreter for the second prize.
If ever there would be another songwriting next year or perhaps in the future, I'm sure we will see some improvements based on the lessons they've learned from this years first "Awit Halad sa Birhen sa Regla". Although this is just a friendly competition, but I'm pretty sure we will be seeing professional and veteran songwriters in the future.

The Elimination (Awit Halad)

Sept. 26, 2009

The “Awit Halad” Elimination (Virgen de Regla Parish) was participated by 30 entries. My composition was of them. At the end of this night, only 13 will be left to contend for the Final Night. My interpreter was Danilene Gretchin Cabarrubias. We fondly call her “chinchin”. She has a soprano voice which I find appropriate for the song which is in prayerful essence.

The event started more than hour late due to circumstances beyond containment. The presentation and performances went smooth and fast. No computer malfunction affected the minus one. The audio system was bad considering the acoustic of the ambiance. The bouncing of sound and echo were terrible. The accompaniment of some entries could not be clearly heard because increasing the volume would result into more chaos.

The backdrop was impressive. The lights were awesome, but some said it should have been more conservative. The organizers could have done better by defining what is a “formal attire”. There were some who wore what we describe as “Sunday dress”. In the entertainment circle, a formal attire must be a gown for the female, whether conservative or seductive. The male should have worn barong or western formal suit.
The “magic 13” was announced with this writer’s composition in the list. 17 entries were eliminated tonight. We went home past 12 midnight but we were satisfied with tonight’s event because everyone did their best. Some were really serious with the song delivery. Some were complacent, and some were merely enjoying their participation.