August 1, 2009 was a sad day for the Philippines. Early that day, former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino–Cory Aquino to the masses–finally succumbed to a lingering illness. She had been battling colon cancer for the last 16 months.

Time Magazine Cover - Corazon Aquino Time Woman of the Year 1986

She was the 11th President of the Republic of the Philippines, but she was better known around the world for much more than that. She was the face of democracy everywhere, especially in the 80s and 90s. On August 21, 1983, her husband Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr was shot dead at the Manila International Airport while disembarking from a plane. Ninoy Aquino, erstwhile in exile in the United States, was a former senator and had been a vocal leader of the political opposition to the Marcos administration, which at that point had already been in power for 18 years. It is widely believed that the Marcoses were involved in the shooting. Asked why he would choose to return even though he knew there were threats on his life, he famously replied, “The Filipino is worth dying for.”

The assassination triggered an avalanche of social uprising which forced Ferdinand Marcos to declare snap presidential elections in 1986. Opposition forces joined together and collected one million signatures in one week to convince Aquino to run against Marcos. Despite widespread reports of electoral fraud, Marcos was declared the winner by the government’s Commission on Elections. At the same time, an independent electoral watchdog, the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), declared Aquino the winner.

The days that followed were punctuated by both sides claiming power, but on February 22, 1986, two of Marcos’s closest aides, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos (who would later on succeed Aquino as Philippine President) resigned from their posts and declared their support for Cory Aquino. The then archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin, went on radio to ask Filipinos to come and support Enrile and Ramos and to help prevent the government forces from reaching their location.

What happened in the next few days will come to be known as the world-famous “People Power Revolution.” About two million people converged on the streets. The mood was festive and people were singing nationalistic songs. On February 25, 1986, after most of the Armed Forces had defected and with millions of people in the streets, Corazon Aquino was sworn in as the new President of the Philippines. Marcos held his own inauguration, but with people slowly converging on Malacañang Palace (the presidential residence), the Marcoses were feeling more pressure, until finally at about 9 PM that evening, they were flown to Hawaii by American aircraft.

Thus ended the non-violent revolution that installed the Philippines’ first female president, and inspired similar non-violent revolutions in Asia and around the world, culminating in the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Filipinos are legendary lovers of music. Why or how it happened, I have no idea. But if you grew up in the Philippines, it would be impossible not to be exposed to music on a daily basis. Singing, specifically, is such an integral part of the Filipino culture that it is readily accessible even in malls (see picture).

Being musical, to be sure, has nothing to do with singing well or sounding pleasant. You may love music, and have an innate appreciation and “feel” for rhythms and melodies, although God may not have gifted you with a pleasant singing voice. So when I say Filipinos are musical, it doesn’t necessarily mean all Filipinos you meet can sing (although they may think they can!), but that Filipinos–at least the ones who grew up in the Philippines–love and appreciate music.

Even the type of music doesn’t seem to matter. Here in Upstate New York, it seems tv and radio stations mainly carry the popular music: country, pop, rock, and mostly homegrown. In the Philippines, in addition to the homegrown talents, we were (and still are) constantly exposed to music from around the world, notably Europe. Being a teenager during the 80s, I always enjoy listening to radio stations when they play 80s songs. But I notice that they would only play the 80s songs that were popular here in the U.S.; I rarely hear my favorites from the European bands. Just seemed weird to me that when I went to America, I became exposed to less music. Hmm.

A testament to the Filipinos love of music is the success and popularity of the Magic Mic karaoke system. It seems a Filipino household is not complete without one of these or at least a variant of some sort. At the minimum, you will find a microphone as sure as you will find a rice cooker or a tv. Parties are never complete without bringing out the karaoke and everybody belting out their own favorites… the louder the better! (the neighbors are probably singing along anyway )