"Para Sa Tao" (''English'': "For The People") is a

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

world music song by HUMANFOLK from their eponymous first album; composed by guitarist

Johnny Alegre Juan Bautista H. Alegre III (born June 4, 1955), known professionally as Johnny Alegre, is a jazz guitarist and composer from Manila, Philippines. He leads the jazz group Johnny Alegre Affinity and the world music group Humanfolk. Biography Ca ...

in 2009, and which became the group's carrier hit single. The song was arranged by keyboardist-vocalist Abby Clutario. A music video directed by Daphne Oliveros was produced for the song (with an alternate, expanded version), and for which a

radio edit In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may als ...

was created. Both the full and radio edit versions of the song were included in the eponymous "''Humanfolk''" album, released in May 2011 by MCA Music (

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

). On November 27, 2012, the

Philippine Association of the Record Industry The Philippine Association of the Record Industry (Filipino: ''Kapisanan ng Industriya ng Plaka ng Pilipinas'', abbreviated as PARI) is a non-profit and private trade organization, that represents the recording industry distributors in the Phili ...

(PARI) conferred the

Awit Award The Awit Awards are music awards in the Philippines given annually by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) to recognize the outstanding achievements in the music industry. The word "Awit" means "song" literally in Filipino. Th ...

to HUMANFOLK for "''Para Sa Tao''" as Best World Music Recording. .

Composition

The

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

is delivered in quintuple time, utilizing the natural phrasing and

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

of the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

. The words unfold as a

children's song A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied ...

introducing the

Abakada The Abakada alphabet was an "indigenized" Latin alphabet adopted for the Tagalog-based Filipino national language in 1940. The alphabet, which contains 20 letters, was introduced in the grammar book developed by Lope K. Santos for the newly-d ...

, the indigenized Tagalog letters of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The verses consist of the native

alphabet An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syll ...

sung repeatedly, and gradually developed as a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

, a

contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

musical technique that employs overlapped imitations of a musical phrase. In the contrasting

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, the lyrics hint at a

folktale A folktale or folk tale is a folklore genre that typically consists of a story passed down from generation to generation orally. Folktale may also refer to: Categories of stories * Folkloric tale from oral tradition * Fable (written form of the a ...

of seafarers in the north (i.e. ''"layag sa hilaga"'') setting sail for the mysterious south (i.e. ''"timog, mahiwaga"''). The title, ''"Para Sa Tao"'', is a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophonic ...

on the final cadence of the

Baybayin (, ''pre-kudlít'': , ''virama-krus-kudlít'': , ''virama-pamudpod'': ; also formerly commonly incorrectly known as alibata) is a Philippine script. The script is an abugida belonging to the family of the Brahmic scripts. Geographically, it ...

(''O/U-Pa-Ra-Sa-Ta-O/U-Wa-Ya''), the

Pre-Hispanic In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

Tagalog

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

from which the Abakada is derived. The present-day Modern Filipino Alphabet (''Filipino'': "Makabagong alpabetong Filipino"), in turn, is the contemporary adaptation of the classical Abakada.

Musicians

Abby Clutario, vocals, keyboards & Chapman Stick
Johnny Alegre, acoustic guitar & backing vocals
Cynthia Alexander, bass & backing vocals
Malek Lopez, electronics
Abe Lagrimas, Jr., drums ''(session)''
Uly Avante, woodblocks, shaker & pandeiro ''(session)''

Production

Words and Music by Johnny Alegre
Arranged by Abby Clutario
Produced by Johnny Alegre
Recorded by Hazel Pascua at Sound Creation Studio
Post-production, mixing and mastering by Boyet Aquino
Limited License issued by PH Affinity Productions to MCA Music for Distribution
OSR Released on Compact Disk by MCA Music. Executive Producer: Ricky Ilacad Incidental music for "The Complete ''Para Sa Tao'' Video" ("Ethnic-HF1")
performed by

Susie Ibarra Susie Ibarra (born Anaheim, November 15, 1970) is a contemporary composer and percussionist who has worked and recorded with jazz, classical, world, and indigenous musicians. One of SPIN's "100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music," she is kno ...

, ''drums & kulintang'' ♦ Roberto Rodriguez, ''cajon'' ♦

Cynthia Alexander Cynthia Alexander (b. ''Cynthia Veronica Ayala'', 1971) is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist originally from the Philippines. She has performed on local and international stages including the Rainforest World Music Festival in Malaysia ...

, ''agung'' ♦ Johnny Alegre, ''tambourine'' ♦ Malek Lopez, ''electronics''

References

{{Reflist

External links

HUMANFOLK: "Para Sa Tao" (Music Video)HUMANFOLK: The Complete "Para Sa Tao" Video("Para Sa Tao", as theme) Books for Babuyan("Para Sa Tao", as theme) Filip + Inna
Philippine folk songs