Ang Mamatay ng Dahil Sa 'Yo

Yesterday, we celebrated our Independence Day, but because it was also the start of class, our school showed a video during the Opening Salvo in the school gymnasium. The video showed during the singing of the National Anthem "Lupang Hinirang" (Land Dear and Holy) was the music video made by GMA 7, one of the TV stations in the Philippines. Suddenly, while I saw the flag being waved by the boy scout and the video playing on the large screen in the gym, my eyes brimmed with tears. I felt like crying.

That was the first time in my life that I ever cried (though I quickly blinked the tears away) while singing the National Anthem. The first thought that came to me, then, was one thing a teacher in college once asked, "Do you cry when you sing the National Anthem?" The teacher back then was taking about showing true patriotism and at that time I doubted anyone cried or will ever cry while singing the National Anthem (excluding the ones who saw Emilio Aguinaldo wave the flag for the Filipino people to see when he declared our official Independence). I thought that the history of our country and the singing of the anthem had become cliche and so routine that no one would ever shed a tear for it. Boy was I wrong.

I don't really know and I don't think I can ever properly explain why I squeezed my tear ducts yesterday, but I just knew that I felt a powerful and special sensation when I saw the flag being waved, when I saw the video, and when I heard the song. I think that all three elements had conspired beautifully to create such an atmosphere. I don't know if anybody else in that gymnasium felt the way I did, but I know that that moment yesterday is something I will take with me forever.

I can finally say that I now have a small idea of how the rebolusyonarios and katipuneros felt when they finally saw the fruit of their fears, dreams, hopes, and sacrifices. They have seen many comrades and family members fall because of oppression and because of fighting for freedom. They themselves have felt the whip of discrimination and the sting of injustice until finally, they fought and became free.

P.S. The title is the last phrase of our national anthem. It means something along "To die for you."

P.P.S. It seems that this ciomputer I'm working on has a problem with youtube so I'll just post a url where you can watch the video I'm talking about:

http://kapusocentral.blogspot.com/2010/08/gma-7-philippine-national-anthem-music.html

or

http://www.pinoytumblr.com/post/991749410/gma-7s-philippine-national-anthem-video-via

OR you can go to youtube.com and watch it :) Look for GMA 7 Lupang Hinirang or GMA National Anthem. The video was made by GMA to honor the Independence Day last year. It stars the station's actors and actresses and features the different events in the history of the Philippines.