Asian Geographic - April 2018

A typical courtship in modern Metro Manila

might feature texting as much as any other

smartphone-loving Asian city, but its older

predecessor plays out much more like the

romantic music videos today’s youth peruse

eagerly on YouTube.

Still in practice a few generations ago, the

Filipino ritual of harana takes its rhythm from

Spanish habanera dance music, and its roots

from the traditionally restrained response of a

coy Filipina towards her beau.

In an undeniably passionate scene, a man

will ready himself and his guitar at night under

With sophisticated social proceedings typical of

subdued Filipino society, gallant gentlemen once

wooed their women with sweet songs

Music to Her Ears

TENDER MELODIES

below The haranistas

of the film Harana

(2012) recording on set

right A photographic

print captioned:

Where softly sighs of

love the light guitar

• a Visayan-Filipino
  serenade

“We’re going to record

them and immortalise

them. So that the next

generation will realise

that there was once a time

when romance flourished

through harana”

Benito Bautista, director, Harana

PHOTO © LOURDES FIGUEROA, FOR HARANA THE MOVIE

MeMories