LA BELLA FILIPINA

"La Bella Filipina" painting by Felix Resureccion Hidalgo

La Bella Filipina
Music by I. Masaguer
Tagalog lyrics by Levi Celerio

Kung ang buhay ko man ay may hapis
Ang lunas niyan ay pag-ibig
At dapat sa isang pagmamahal
Ay tulad mo aking hirang.

Bella Filipina ka mutyang sinta
Habang minamasdan lalong gumaganda
Tulad mo'y bituin sa langit ng madlang pag-asa
Na nagpapaligaya sa puso kong nagdurusa.

"We gather four times a week and we sing the kundiman, we eat sotanghon, adobo etc. On Wednesdays in the house of Dona Tula, on Thursdays in the house of Hidalgo, on Fridays in the house of Madam C Boustead, on Saturdays in the house of Luna, on Sundays in the house of Dona Juliana" - -Dr. Jose Rizal (Letter to his Family dated 29th June, 1889, Paris)

La Bella Filipina.mp3 2847K Play Download

The Mabuhay Singers is a group of singers from the Philippines that was formed in 1958 and some the members became soloist like Cely Bautista, Raye Lucero and many others.

They were formed by the Villar Recording Company as a merged group from two vocal trios namely the Tres Rosas, composed of Carmen Camacho, Nora Hermosa, and Raye Lucero; and the Lovers Trio, composed of Chi Lucerio, Floro San Juan, and Ador Torres.

Filipino singers like Ruben Tagalog, Cely Bautista, Ric Manrique Jr., Rita Rivera, Don David, Flor Ocampo, Noel Samonte, Betty Rivera, Robert Malaga, and Everlita Rivera joined the group for a time.

The Mabuhay Singers recorded more than 100 albums, which some released in the international scene. Those album contains traditional and modern Filipino music in major languages of the Philippines and some songs in English and Spanish.

In 1973, the Philippine Records Association awarded a citation for the group for their best-selling albums

From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabuhay_Singers


Editor's Note: Thanks through the kind courtesy of Ian R. Andres.