Carmela Show Review (GMA7)

We only watched the first two episodes of "Carmela" so the review will be about the main character's origin.

Carmela (played by Marian Rivera) will follow the path of her mom Amanda (Agot Isidro) for being a 'bad omen.' Amanda (played by Agot Isidro) was born with unlucky birth marks, the reason why she was dubbed as 'bad luck' in her town. Luckily, she will be able to meet Ricky Davao, deaf and mute, but will be her husband. Unluckily, the guy who attempted to rape her named Fernando (played by Roi Vinzon), is part of the family circle of her husband. I don't want to spoil, but from here, we will see how the creative behind this series will play the whole story. On how they will put the 'magical realism' by marginalizing the fiction to make the story more realistic than fantasy.

Probably what you watch in primetime night is "The Legal Wife" of Angel Locsin but me I watch "Carmela" of Marian Rivera because it offers more lessons and inspiration than the other one.

The character of Carmela came from a family that maltreated by time, event, and the people around them. Grow up alone and later adopted by a poor old lady, she never loses hope that someday she eventually get revenge to the people that cause her family to breakdown.

But before this she emphasize that she need to enrich herself by good education before making a retaliation. And even-though she struggles to pay her tuition she sells anything to pay for her schooling.

Although revenge is not good I still like the idea that she needs to succeed first in education and career before her ultimate revenge.

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Interesting Filipino Music Trivia in History

Did you know the inspiration behind the Christmas song “Payapang Daigdig”?

Inspired by the ending of World War II, this song is acclaimed as the local counterpart of the traditional Western carol “Silent Night, Holy Night.” It was composed by National Artist for Music Felipe Padilla de Leon. (From the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, v. 6, p. 264-265)


Did you know that the lyrics of the Philippine National Anthem had versions in three languages?

The national anthem composed in 1898 remained without words until Jose Palma wrote the poem Filipinas, which was used as the anthem’s lyrics in 1899. In the 1920s, the American colonial government commissioned the translation of the original Spanish lyrics into English and the product of which was officially adopted by the Philippine Commonwealth in 1934. In 1956, the Filipino translation by Ildefonso Santos and Julian Cruz Balmaceda was officially proclaimed. Some revisions were still made in 1962, the product of which is the version which is now sung publicly.


Did you know that Arsenio H. Lacson was the first to use a campaign jingle?

“…it would only be after the war that Filipino politicians would have real use for campaign jingles. The first to use one was Manila city mayor Arsenio H. Lacson. Riding an emerging American musical trend of sensual African drumbeats and Cuban rhythms, the “Lacson Mambo” contributed to the mayor’s victories in 1951, 1955, and 1959.” (From PCIJ.org, 2004)


Did you know that Borromeo Lou was the Philippine “King of Jazz?”

In 1921, a Cebuano named Luis Borromeo returned from America and Canada as Borromeo Lou. It was he who brought “American-style stage entertainment” to the country. He redefined the traditional vod-a-vil (or bodabil) by integrating “Classic-Jazz Music” in shows. “Borromeo himself became a jazz bandleader, and became known as the Philippine “King of Jazz,” the title then given to the famous Paul Whiteman in America (From Pinoy Jazz Traditions. Pasig City: Anvil, 2004).”


Did you know that Maria Carpena was the first Filipino recording artist?

Maria Carpena, known as the first Filipino recording artist and sarswela star, recorded Ang Maya for Victor Records in 1913. She did the recording with the Molina Orchestra, at a makeshift studio in the Manila Hotel.
(From CCP encyclopedia of Philippine art, vol. 6)


Did you know that Atang de la Rama was the first Filipino actress to appear in the movies?

Atang de la Rama also became the lead star in around 50 zarzuelas in various languages and performed not only in locally-renowned venues but also in “open plazas” and “cockpits.” (From www.nhi.gov.ph)


Did you know that Atang de la Rama was once a singing telegram?

While rehearsing for a zarzuela, Honorata “Atang” de la Rama was brought all the way to Baler, Quezon to be part of Manuel Quezon’s courtship to Aurora (who later became Quezon’s wife) by singing for her. (From Looking Back. Pasig City : Anvil, 2010)
Did you know that Rowena Arrieta had written her first piano composition at age five?

Rowena “Winnie” Arrieta, a first rate pianist, learned to play piano at the age of two and read musical notes even before learning her ABCs at the age of four. She was officially proclaimed the first Filipino Tchaikovsky laureate, after winning fifth place in the Seventh Tchaikovsky Music competition, piano division in Moscow in 1982. (From FOCUS Philippines, Aug. 21, 1982)
Did you know that the song Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal was finished in one week?

Multi-awarded composer Ernani Cuenco wrote one of his favorite songs, Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal with his wife as his inspiration. He wrote it because he wanted to write something about love, not only love of husband for his wife, but rather a kind of universal love… love for fellowmen, love for one another. Due to some revisions, it took Cuenco one week to finish the song. (From FOCUS Philippines, Aug. 14, 1982)
Did you know that Epifanio de los Santos (whom EDSA was named after), was also a musicologist and considered one of the three best guitarists in the country during the American period?

A man of many talents, de los Santos was a lawyer, writer, historian, bibliophile, and antique collector. In 1918, while serving as fiscal for Bulacan and Bataan, he was designated technical director of the Philippine Census by Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison. He succeeded Trinidad Pardo de Tavera as director of the Philippine Library and Museum in 1925. He was also a gifted musician—a great pianist and guitarist. During his time, he was considered one of the three outstanding guitarists of the Philippines. The other two were General Fernando Canon, a revolutionary hero, and Guillermo Tolentino, a renowned sculptor.


Did you know that Sangdugong Panaguinip was the first Filipino opera?

Sangdugong Panaguinip is the first Philippine opera in the Tagalog language. It was composed by Ladislao Bonus who is dubbed as the “Father of Philippine Opera.” Bonus is the maternal grandfather of Felipe M. De Leon Jr., a music scholar and humanities professor at the University of the Philippines, and son of National Artist for Music, Felipe Padilla de Leon.

The one-act opera with five scenes was based on the Spanish libretto La Alianza Soñada by Pedro Paterno which was translated into Tagalog by novelist and dramatist, Roman G. Reyes. First performed at the famed Teatro Zorilla on August 2, 1902.
Did you know that the APO Hiking Society was formerly known as Apolinario Mabini Hiking Society?

The singing group composed of singers, humorists, and songwriters was organized in 1969. Before the group was trimmed down to three members: Jim Paredes, Danny Javier, and Boboy Garrovillo, it originally included Butch Dans, Lito de Joya, Gus Cosio, Renato Garcia, Chito Kintanar, Sonny Santiago, and Kenny Barton. The group is known for the distinctive urban sound and sense of humor in their music. (From CCP encyclopedia of Philippine art, vol. 6)


Did you know that Hotdog, a Pinoy rock and roll band initiated what is now known as the Manila Sound?

Manila Sound is a very light kind of pop music that uses colloquial language (or Taglish) and is expressive of juvenile sentiments. (From CCP encyclopedia of Philippine art, vol. 6)


Did you know that Levi Celerio wrote the lyrics of the song Sa Ugoy ng Duyan in just 15 minutes?

In 1948, he and other Filipino artists boarded the SS Gordon in Honolulu. Levi Celerio wrote it while the ship was still docked in Honolulu. (From Music in history, history in music. Manila : UST Publishing, 2004)
Did you know that the popular Christmas song Ang Pasko ay Sumapit was originally in Visayan?

The song’s original Cebuano text Kasadya Ning Taknaa (How Happy is this Time) is by Mariano Vestil and its music is by Vicente Rubi. It was translated into Tagalog by Levi Celerio. Its beginnings may be traced to the celebration of the Cebuano feast of the Pili-Kanipaan held in December. It was first performed in Old Opon (now Lapu-Lapu City) and was recorded under the Mareco label seventeen years later. (From CCP encyclopedia of Philippine art, vol. 6)
Did you know that Cecil Lloyd was the “Mystery Singer” of the 1930s?

Cecil Lloyd (1910-1988) started singing on radio in 1930. He was featured as the Mystery Singer on KZRM in 1934. He first recorded Tagalog compositions “Ikaw” and “Buhat” in 1939. In 1948, he established the first Filipino-owned record company, Philippine Recording System, which featured his renditions of Filipino folk songs. He is considered the Father of the Philippine Recording Industry. He was also a professional lawyer. He finished law at the UP in 1936. (From CCP encyclopedia of Philippine art, vol. 6)
Did you know that the term “Jeproks” from the song Laki sa Layaw (Jeproks) is a reversed version of “Project”?

The term “Jeproks” or “Project,” which was widely used in the late 1960s and 1970s, refers to the youth who come from the middle-to-low middle-income housing projects of the government (e.g., Project 2 and 3). (From CCP encyclopedia of Philippine art, vol. 6)

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Good to Know Interesting Art Trivia

1. Leonardo da Vinci expended 12 years painting the Mona Lisa's lips.

2. Gothic was initially a period of condemnation among the Italian Renaissance creative persons who coined it. The period implied that, contrasted to better academic buildings, the Gothic medieval cathedrals were so crude that only a Goth could produce them.

3. On 3rd December 1961 Henri Matisse's painting Le Bateau was put the right way up after suspending upside-down for 46 days without anyone discovering at the repository of up to date Art in New York, America.

4. Roman statues were made with detachable heads, so that one head could be removed and replaced by another.

5. Paul Gaugin, the French decorator, was a labourer on the Panama Canal. About 25,000 employees died during its building.

6. In very old times, it was accepted that certain colours could battle the evil spirits that lingered over nurseries. Because azure was affiliated with the fantastic spirits, boys were clothed in that hue, young men then being considered the most valuable asset to parents. whereas baby young women did not have a colour affiliated with them, they were mostly dressed in black. It was only in the Middle Ages when pink became affiliated with baby young women.

7. When Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was thieved from the Louvre in 1912, 6 replicas were traded as the initial, each at a huge cost, in the 3 years before the original was recovered.

8. On 3rd Dec 1961 Grandma Moses, the renowned American primitive decorator, died at the age of 101

9. English creative person Andy dark, created a portrait of ruler Elizabeth II of Britain by stitching together 1,000 utilised tea bags.

10. Carbon paper was patented on October 7th 1806 by Ralph Wedgewood of London, England

11. During his entire life, artist Vincent Van Gogh traded just one decorating; Red Vineyard at Arles

12. In 1658 the first illustrated publication for children was published in Germany.

13. Mental sickness may be profoundly to blame for the creation and enduring attractiveness of Expressionism. Van Gogh's well-documented mental instability, and Edvard Munch's traumatic childhood and enduring neuroses helped to churn out some of the Expressionists' most significant works. Munch acknowledged that his mental illness was part of his genius, "I would not cast off my illness, for there is much in my art that I owe to it."

14. On 20th November 1929 Spanish surrealist creative person Salvador Dali held his first one-man show in Paris, France

15.The large canvases Jackson Pollock utilised for his Abstract Expressionist activity paintings were usually prepared flat on the floor while he painted. Pollock was a string of links smoker and would frequently decorate with a tobacco hanging from his lips. This commanded to the intriguing incorporation of tobacco ashes into the exterior of some of his greatest works.

16. Picasso could draw before he could walk, and his first word was the Spanish phrase for pencil.

17. The phrase 'cartoon' originally comes from decorating periodinology? The period 'cartoon' connects to a preliminary, but completely worked, sketch from which the outlines could be moved to be the cornerstone of a conceive for a fresco or decorating.


18. When Auguste Rodin displayed his first significant work, The Bronze time span, in 1878 it was so very sensible that people considered he had forfeited a reside model interior the cast.

19. The world famous Louvre Museum and Art Gallery in Paris, France was built in 1190 and was utilised as a fortress.

20. Rodin died of frostbite in 1917 when the French government denied him economic help for a flat, yet they kept his figurines affectionately housed in museums.

21. That in 1495 Leonardo da Vinci conceived a pyramid-shaped parachute, and began decorating The Last Supper.

22. Left-handed painter, Michelangelo, painted his well known David and Goliath with David holding his sling in his left hand.

23. Another famous left-hander, Leonardo da Vinci, composed all of his individual remarks from right to left, forcing those who read them to use a mirror.

24. Pablo Picasso loved animals. Through his mature person life he belongs to a favourite monkey, an owl, a goat, a turtle and loads of canines and cats. He was known to depart his studio windows open and to paint the pigeons that took flight through.

25. The first pencil was created in England in 1565

26. The period Art Nouveau was taken from the title of a shop that opened in Paris in 1895. In France, Art Nouveau is referred to as 'Modern Style'.

27. Vincent Van Gogh pledged suicide while decorating Wheat Field with Crows.

28. In 1961 Georges Braque was the first living artist to have his work displayed in the Louvre. In supplement to painting, Braque furthermore designed stage groups, costumes and showed publications.

29. Impressionism was granted its name from one of Monet's images, Impression: Sunrise.

30. persons have been decorating things for the past 20,000 years, but it wasn't until 1880 that you could buy prepared blended paints.

31. Genghis Khan forever impacted Eastern porcelain by inserting the Chinese to cobalt blue, which he carried from Iran.

32. In all of Dali's paintings you can find a self-portrait. That is, if you look hard you will glimpse at-least a silhouette of Dali himself.

33. Leonardo Da Vinci invented high heels

34. In the late nineteenth century the Impressionist action was primarily not obtained very well by the establishment. reconsiders were at times abusive: La Figaro, 1876, "Five or six lunatics, one of them a woman, have contacted here to exhibit their works. somebody should tell Mr. Pissarro forcibly that trees are not ever violet, the sky is not ever the hue of fresh dairy spread, that nowhere on soil are things to be glimpsed as he paints them." perhaps not, but the attractiveness of this action cannot be argued

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