The Philippine art song genre, kundiman (which in Tagalog means “if it were not so”), was written in the late 1800’s through the mid 1900’s as a reaction to the Spanish occupation of 333 years. It was later used as propaganda during the American and Japanese occupations and during the time of the People Power Revolution when Ferdinand Marcos was president. 

In the past couple of years, I have felt this intense longing to explore my roots and to define what home means to me. Though I am an American citizen, how is it that I’m also Filipino? How do I make sense of the baggage of instability, the effects of war, corruption, colonization, politics, and religion from the country where I was born? Like many immigrants, it was and it is so much easier to assimilate. 

For people like me who are part of the diaspora, the question of identity or home is challenging to define. Along the way you find little pieces like these songs, you encounter people and places that comfort and inspire and you create this unique collage which makes a home that you never imagined you could have. 

To see the lyrics and my translations, go here.