Patriotism Through Art

In a country like the Philippines, it is oftentimes impossible to love your own motherland. With corruption, abuse of power, and crimes against its people, our country is that of drenched in blood and a graveyard of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of innocent lives lost. Who could blame you if you wish to have been born and raised in a different country than your own? But if there's one person that can inspire our countrymen to love our motherland, that would be PABLO. His words and his whole being is more than enough to ignite the love we once had for our country.

But before anything else, what is patriotism?

It is not just a word we should throw around for the sake of good exposure. It must not be taken lightly or it will lose its meaning. Patriotism is the devotion, loyalty, and love that a person has for his country shown through words and actions. Not because someone wore Barong or sang Lupang Hinirang means he's patriotic. One must show true support, dedication, and strong pride for one's country's culture, history, and achievements. It is the sense of belongingness and desire to see his country grow and thrive.

Now, why do I attribute this to PABLO?

In multiple occasions, he has shown his stance in our country's politics, not by supporting any one politician, but by supporting our people. Last year, he performed at the UP Fair with his younger brother, JOSUE. During his performance, he said something that left a mark to many of the viewers. As a PPOP idol, he and the rest of SB19 had always distanced themselves from politics and social issues. To hear him, in front of many of his fans say that we should continue to fight for free and quality education, is just too powerful of a statement.

Despite the hate and insults he and his brothers receive from fans of other groups or artists, he had always been vocal about his dream for the Philippines to succeed economically through music. We have so many great talents, and his dream is not that far from reality, if they receive the right support. PABLO had said in multiple interviews that he wants the Philippines to experience what South Korea had during the rise of KPOP. For him, it was inspiring to witness a country draw on its people's talent to thrive economically and conquer the world through music. He believes that we can do it, too.

PABLO is, first and foremost, an artist but he never craved for recognition. In fact, he's happy to be in the sideline and let his co-members shine. Everyone knows that when they did a collaboration with JVKE for Golden Hour, he didn't have his own lines. All he did was to harmonize and provide more flavor to their short part in the music. More often than not, he would push his co-members to talk in interviews, unless the questions required to be answered by him as the leader and chief songwriter of the group. A man so generous takes so little for himself, that's PABLO. His selflessness allowed the group to thrive with the five members working harmoniously despite the fact that he wanted to be a solo artist in the beginning.

Their group's song WHAT? is not just their anthem and declaration of their relentless pursuit for their dreams. It's a call-to-action and an inspiration to anyone who would listen to it. The lyrics: "‘Di na bala para iangat ang bandera. Bara na sa puso niyo na ang tatama. Ama salamat at ikaw ang agimat. Bawat banat iwagayway mo ang watawat." talks about loving the country peacefully. That we don't need violence and war to raise our flag. I just realized that this song fits perfectly with what has been happening in the world. Non-sense wars that don't really solve anything and take the lives of many innocent people, and for what? Ancient rivalries and to prove who has the bigger balls?

I remember when they performed in one of JVKE's concert in the U.S. When they introduced themselves, PABLO proudly said they are from the beautiful land of the Philippines. Most of the songs he had released as a soloist and even the ones he wrote for their group were in Tagalog or Taglish. Despite being an English Major in college and his English vocabulary, it is apparent that he wants to promote his mother tongue as much as he can. One of the underrated and most beautifully written Tagalog ballads in OPM history was his very own creation, Anino, that he gave to Stell to be added in his Room EP. The song was poetry at its finest with melody. The deep, soul-wrenching lyrics of the song  makes you think of what love really means.

It's the power of PABLO's pen game that he uses to inspire people and teach naysayers some lessons without stepping down to their level. His words of wisdom are a blessing to anyone who hears him talk, because he doesn't just wows the mind, the touches hearts, too. He wants to succeed, but even if he doesn't get the recognition he deserves, he never really cared. All he wants is to share his music to the world, touch people's hearts, and inspire new artists because he strongly believes that just like in South Korea, Philippines can thrive through music.