Artists uniting and singing for hope

After the unfortunate deaths of our brave 44 fallen PNP soldiers in Mamasapano, the country is still in shock and outrage. We are despondent and angry about the massacre and we are all desperately in need of not only answers and justice for the tragedy, but hope that this sort of unnecessary loss of life will never happen again.

I was one with our countrymen who were frustrated and angry and felt helpless and even hopeless after the incident wondering what the future could possibly hold for the Philippines when we, ourselves, could do this to one another. How laughable the “peace talks” became when so many men were not only killed but were brutalized in such a barbaric way. I recall writing in my previous piece about the videos making their rounds on the Internet that were too horrific to watch and truly captured the heinous nature of the act shocking the country even further.

At the end of the day, the anger and frustration we all feel is not unfounded and is not without use. We need these emotions to fuel us to demand better, to demand more from our government, from the men and women we elected, we entrusted, to lead the country and to ensure justice. We need this anger to remind us not to sweep this tragedy under the rug or forget about this the moment another terrible tragedy occurs.

However, we need more than just anger. Frustration, while well founded, must also be tempered with hope or else it will just fester. Even when it seems like we’ve hit rock bottom, we’ll never be able to climb back up until we allow ourselves to have a little hope that if we work hard and we work together we might still be able to make a difference in our lives and for our future.

Which brings me to the wonderful artist-initiated event Jammin for Help: Brave last Monday night at the spectacular world-class The Theater of Solaire Resort and Casino. The concert was actually the third of the Jammin for Help series. These are artist-initiated “jam session” concerts aimed to raise funds, awareness, and hope for worthy causes. The first was for the benefit of Maring flood survivors, the second was to thank the world for their help and for the benefit of Typhoon Yolanda survivors. This third one was for the support and benefit of the families of the fallen 44 soldiers and those injured in the clash, all of whom were simply dubbed “Brave.”

Headlined by world-class superstar Lea Salonga, Martin Nievera, and Aiza Seguerra under the direction of Paolo Valenciano and with Full Haus, the Brave edition of Jammin for Help brought together over 40 artists and musicians who gamely gave their time and talent for free to help raise funds. Lea Salonga has actually spearheaded, participated in, planned, and even marketed all three versions of the Jammin for Help concerts along with her fellow Filipino artists, using her amazing talents to help spread hope and love and to encourage others to do the same in a very “pay it forward” kind of way.

And while our entire family has always been big fans of the amazing world-class star, we are even bigger Lea fans now as the Broadway diva was the superstar coach of my son-in-law Nino Alejandro when he recently joined The Voice of the Philippines. Though he made his exit on the show two weeks ago, Lea remains a mentor and coach in his life and our family couldn’t be more grateful to her as she has helped guide him and turn him into an artist that left the competition having leveled up and become in her words “ready to become one of them.”

And join them he did last Monday night with cousin Rachel Alejandro and the best of the best of the country’s OPM superstars including Martin and Aiza, Ryan Cayabyab, Gerard Salonga, Angeline Quinto, Apl.de.Ap, Arnee Hidalgo, Basti Artadi, Bo Cerrudo, Bayang Barrios, Bradley Holmes, Cara Manglapus, Carla Guevara, Christian Bautista, Dulce, Ebe Dancel, Erik Santos, Frenchie Dy, Fitri Cerado, FORTenors, Gloc-9, Janice Javier, Jett Pangan, Jon Santos, Liza Diño-Seguerra, Noel Cabangon, Nyoy Volante, Ogie Alcasid, Princess Velasco, Ryan Gallagher, The CompanY, The Dawn, and Sitti. The artists all gathered on stage sitting and singing and supporting each other through each powerhouse number as they serenaded the crowd and most especially the family members of the Fallen Brave who were front and center in the theatre, many of whom had tears in their eyes as they not only remembered their fallen loved ones but also celebrated their lives as well.

It was a night to remember. And for having been put together in just a little over a week, fueled only by the artists’ own marketing efforts, the concert raised both funds and hope for the families in need. With no middleman, and all the talents happily donating their services, and Solaire generously donating the use of their beautiful theatre for free, everything that was raised went right to the beneficiaries.

I commend all the men and women who participated in this show, from the artists, their management, to the band, those working the stage, and especially those who attended. In between amazing performances and Martin Nievera’s very funny crowd pleasing hosting jokes, he, Lea, Aiza, and Ogie shared the artists’ real message for the evening and it was a message of hope. To remind everyone that bad things may happen, but that we can’t let these things define us as a nation. We have to find it in ourselves to rise above and work together to create a better world, the kind of Philippines that we all want to live in.