Today was Philippine day at the Landmark center in St. Paul. Our Praise & Worship team played an accoustic number and I played a few songs with a rondalla group. We didn't have a lot of practice under our belts and I could only hear the instruments on either side of me so I don't know how we sounded as an ensemble. Given the accoustics of the Landmark, if we did sound bad I doubt anyone noticed.

My sister Karen and my brother in law Dale brought my dad and they managed to catch both performances. They sampled the pinoy food and watched the folk dances. It was good to have dad in the crowd. I know that mom would have enjoyed herself too if she had been there. She never missed a chance to see me play.

Next Saturday is the celebration for Mama & Papa's 50th wedding anniversary. Their daughter Josephine had her tourist visa approved this past week. With her will come an octavina for me. I am excited about getting & learning a new instrument.

I got lots of pictures which I still need to unload & resize. I'll try to get those up later.

Labels: Music, Rondalla, Tagalog

"Maligayang Bati Sa Iyong Kaarawan" (Happy Birthday) to Gonzalo ("Papa") Olojan Sr., who is 78 years young today. Actually in his Cebuano dialect it would be "Maayong pagsaulog sa adlaw nga natawhan."

Papa was born in 1928 on the Philipine island of Leyte. He was twelve years old when the Japanese invaded his country. Like so many of his generation, he witnessed firsthand the brutality that was inflicted on his fellow countrymen during the war. He witnessed some of the battles between Japanese and American forces on and around Leyte during the liberation.

As he grew into a man he became an accomplished pastor in the PI (Philipine Islands) and in his prime had a very successful radio broadcast that went out each day over the lunch hour to reach workers who hungered for spiritual food.

In 1991 he came to Minnesota along with his wife Anita ("Mama") and helped to found the Filipino-American Christian Church. To this day he serves there as pastor emetrius.

Papa & Mama have earned their affectionate titles by acting as surrogate parents for so many of the Filipino transplants in the greater Minnesota community. Indeed, it was Papa who walked my beautiful wife down the aisle when her parents were unable to make it to the U.S. to attend our american wedding. Papa and Mama both have taken it upon themselves to act as my son's maternal grandparents in the absence of my wife's parents, earning themselves the additional titles of "Lolo" and "Lola" respectively.

Papa is an accomplished musician, talented in the guitar, Bandurria, Laud, piano, trumpet and the accordian. There isn't an instrument that the man couldn't learn how to play.

Papa has touched the hearts of countless people with his gentle demeanor forged with a firm and convicted faith in the Lord, and he never tires of spreading the Gospel or doing the Lord's work.

So here is my birthday wishes to Papa Olojan, may the Lord bless you with many more years!

Labels: Family, Friends, Life, Music, Rondalla, Tagalog