Just do the same old song, please

Oops they did it again.

The National Historical Institute once again expressed its ire over Martin Nievera's show-off rendition of the Philippine national anthem, which is ought to be sung in a tempo of 2/2 (formerly 4/4, but still is in an identical speed), at the beginning of Manny Pacquiao's east-west match against Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand Sunday.

As usual.

Sarah, Lani, Bituin, and now, Martin. The Schtroumpfs each had their day while I almost ceased to recognize with all my idiotic piece of brain my revered anthem. I was sitting under the comfort of home yet that comfort just crept away on my horror-stricken skin, as even in the moment of solemnity and sanctity one of my fellow Filipinos would not sacrifice his Divo status for a few minutes of glorifying his own flag and paying due reverence to the brief symbolization commemorating the founding fathers of our struggling land. And when we say commemoration we imitate in our minds the same exact setting in which history conducted the ocassion, that is, without lyrical, musical or tonal modifications and translation of any kind, and absolutely without exploiting the moment for the purpose of just SHOWING OFF.

We are a people renowned for our quasi-nightingale voices, and none is more beautiful than the voice of a Filipina singing in Caesar's hall, nor more dangerous than the shrill cries of the suppressed in EDSA's walks. And with all our nation's bravery and legacy embodied in four stanzas of marching undertones the entire nation gets alienated once a representative of our nationhood veers away from something Philippine culture has embraced as a major legacy. Yes, by altering the tempo of Lupang Hinirang one is detaching his nation away from him, as if he is saying that the song is his and it's his time to grace the ring and forget that what's he's doing is representative of our collective identity.

The longer the egg stays in boiling water the harder it gets. The more the light floods their faces the more stubborn they become.#