The Eastern Samar Community Blog

Lot of things happened to me when I spent two weeks in Samar. The main reason for me to be there was a sad one. But nonetheless it really felt good to be back home. After mom’s nine days of wake, I was stuck at our sala spending an evening of quality time as we were planning with my family on who was to go back to Manila first.

Then, an uncle of mine from Tarusan came in, looking for his brother my father. He handed him a compact disk (CD) and said that he was part of it. The fact that my uncle mentioned that he was part it brought about gazillion of questions in me, one of it if he was singing considering that it was an audio CD.

Out of curiosity I opened up the CD and it was labeled as “Banat Reprezent”. The label jerked a bone in me because of how it was presented – unique I would say.

Anyways, continuing on with my bewilderment as to the CD’s content, I played it. The feeling was like this. I was one time in my pad in Intramuros, Manila spending a boring Sunday when suddenly out of nowhere a familiar tune hit my ears.

Guess what, it was the “Kuratsa Mayor” being played nearby.I rushed to locate the source of the music and then eventually met my neighbor who was from Samar too. What was the feeling then? It is basically like being in a far away place – missing everything about home then I heard the beat.  The song melted away my longing of Borongan and resurrected in me the pride in being a Waray.

Listening to my uncle’s group was like that. I know that there is a group called “La Familia” but they are from Tacloban, not from Borongan. I like the fact that they are just from the neighborhood and that they are rapping it with a true Boronganon accent.

It is a known fact for everyone in Eastern Samar that, the whole province is in a situation that I call “cold chaos” brought about by a lot people dissatisfied. We actually need not to go to Samar to experience it.

Nowadays, all you have to do is sit and check iborongan.com, and in there you would see and experience for yourself how the I define discontentment, turmoil and disunity.

Basically, everyone is disgusted as to how the province is run today. For my part I have seen a lot of people with many reasons to loose their pride in being a waray or for that matter a Boronganon.

To add to that, a lot of us would not even want to go home and suffer the rugged roads – undermining the beauty of our town. We all hope for a knight in shining armor to rescue all of us. However, that is not the solution!

This is situation that we have right now a”social volcano” (quoting the words of the Chief Justice)  waiting to erupt if I may add.

But in spite of this here is a young group shouting to the top of lungs a phrase like “kaupay hit Borongan”. Their CD contains phrases that would remind us how  beautiful is it to be a Boronganon. Their rap let me reminisce my afternoons in “pantalan” with my friends. The unforgettable love affairs that I had in there that would still draw a smirk from me remembering how funny it was.

These guys are the boys from the neighborhood that is continually shouting in waray that they love Borongan and she is beautiful. The funny thing is, they lit in me the dying flame of pride (of being a Boronganon) for that fact, that I came from where they are.

A task that the politicians failed to do. Their songs touched me so much and I can really say that they can compete with others. They are simple dudes who had a simple plan and that is “to let us know that we should love our hometown”.

Basically their chant solved a mystery in me, it answered the biggest question that I had. In their CD I realized that if you aim for the betterment of your place, one has to love it first and from that point on you would know what to do!

Well, to finish this one let me put it this way. Buy their album now because it is affordable before they become famous and you cannot.  Kudos to all of you!