| Vaudeville in the Philippines | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Bodabil |
| Stylistic origins | Filipino folk music, Westernvaudeville |
| Cultural origins | Late 19th century,Filipino |
| Typical instruments | Vocals |
Vaudeville in the Philippines, more commonly referred in the Filipino vernacular asbodabil, was a popular genre of entertainment in thePhilippines, emerging in the 1880s during the late Spanish period, but achieving more popularity after its promotion by the American administration from the 1910s to the mid-1960s. For decades, it competed with film, radio and television as the dominant form of Filipino mass entertainment. It peaked in popularity during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines from 1941 to 1945. Many of the leading figures ofPhilippine film in the 20th century, such asDolphy,Nora Aunor,Leopoldo Salcedo andRogelio de la Rosa, began their showbusiness careers inbodabil.
Bodabil is an indigenized form ofvaudeville, introduced in the Philippines around the turn of the 20th century.[1] It featured a hodgepodge of musical numbers, short-form comedy and dramatic skits, and even magic acts, often staged inside thetheaters of Manila.[1]Bodabil proved the vehicle for the popularization of musical trends and musicians, performance genres and performers.[1]
At the beginning of theAmerican occupation of the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century, stage entertainment in the Philippines was dominated by the Spanish-influencedcomedia ("komedya" in the Filipino vernacular) and the newly emergentzarzuela ("sarswela" in the Filipino vernacular). In order to entertain American troops stationed in the Philippines, vaudeville acts from outside the Philippines were brought in to provide entertainment.[2] As early as 1901, a leading Manila theater, theTeatro Zorilla, would promote some of these visiting vaudeville troupes as "Novelties in Manila".[2]
During these early years of vaudeville in the Philippines, most of the featured entertainers were non-Filipinos. By the middle of the 1910s, a few Filipino performers would begin to appear in vaudeville acts as well. The zarzuela starAtang de la Rama was among the first of such performers, as well as the singerKaty de la Cruz, who first appeared on Manila stages aged 7. The routines they would perform were featured asintermission numbers in between sarswelas.[1] These intermission numbers were sometimes called "jamborees".[3]
In 1920, a Filipino entertainer namedLuis Borromeo returned from North America, who performed under the stage name "Borromeo Lou", and organized what became the first Filipinobodabil company.[3] The main showcase of Borromeo's company was an orchestral band, which played what he called "Classical-Jazz Music", and variety acts in between.[3] Borromeo's band is credited as having popularized jazz in the Philippines.[3] It was also Borromeo who dubbed the emerging form as "vod-a-vil", which soon became popularly known by its Filipinized name,bodabil.[3]
In 1923, there were three theaters in Manila that were exclusively devoted tobodabil.[3] By 1941, there were 40 theaters in Manila featuringbodabil shows.[3] The popularity ofbodabil was not confined to Manila stages.Bodabil routines were also staged in townfiestas and carnivals.[1] The typicalbodabil shows would feature a mixture of performances of Americanballads,torch songs andblues numbers; dance numbers featuringtap dancers andchorus girls andjitterbug showcases; and even the occasionalkundiman.
Within that period, established performers such as Katy de la Cruz and Borromeo continued to thrive. New stars also emerged, such as the singersDiana Toy andMiami Salvador; the dancerBayani Casimiro, and the magician andChaplin-imitatorCanuplin.[1] Many leading lights of Philippine cinema began their entertainment careers inbodabil during this period, such asRogelio de la Rosa,Leopoldo Salcedo,Dely Atay-Atayan andChichay.Bodabil thrived despite the emergence of Filipino film productions. Many movie theaters featuredbodabil performances in between screenings, and many film andbodabil stars frequently crossed over from one genre to the other.
The Japanese invasion of the Philippines in late 1941 led to a halt in film production in the country, at the insistence of the Japanese who were not keen to allow Western influences to persist within the country.[4]Bodabil however was permitted, and it became the predominant form of entertainment in the country. Many film actors whose careers had been stalled became regular performers inbodabil shows.[4]
Among the performers whose careers were jumpstarted during this period werePanchito Alba,Anita Linda,Rosa Mia, the tandem ofPugo and Togo, andDolphy, who started under the stage name "Golay" as a comic dance partner of Bayani Casimiro.
Manybodabil shows during the war incorporated subtle anti-Japanese and pro-American messages.[4] Pugo and Togo had a popular routine where they portrayed Japanese soldiers wearing multiple wristwatches on both of their arms, and they were soon briefly incarcerated for that spoof.[4] There were comedic and dramatic skits that referred to the impending return of "Mang Arturo", an allusion toGeneral MacArthur's promise, "I shall return."[4] Even guerilla members attendedbodabil shows, and when word reached the performers that theKempetai were due to arrive, they'd break out into a special song that served as code to the guerillas to leave the premises.[4]
Following the end of World War II, film production in the Philippines resumed, and many ofbodabil's stars either returned or shifted to cinema.Bodabil however remained popular for the next two decades. A large credit tobodabil's continued popularity can be attributed toLou Salvador, Sr., a performer with the stage name "Chipopoy" who shifted to production after the war. Salvador would become the most successful stage show impresario in the '40s and '50s.[5] He organized severalbodabil troupes and discovered a new generation ofbodabil performers, such as the comediansChiquito,Cachupoy andGerman Moreno, the singersPepe Pimentel,Diomedes Maturan, andEddie Peregrina.[5]
Bodabil continued to capitalize on the latest trends in Western entertainment. It featured popular Latin dances such as the mambo and cha-cha, or theboogie, which was popularized by Chiquito.[4] Whenrock and roll emerged in the 1950s,bodabil showcasedEddie Mesa, who became known as the "Elvis Presley of the Philippines". In the late 1950s, singers such asNora Aunor,Elizabeth Ramsey,Pilita Corrales andSylvia La Torre also plied thebodabil circuit.[4]Bodabil had also started to incorporateburlesque numbers into its routines.[4]
By the 1960s,bodabil had to compete with the rise of commercial television broadcasts in the Philippines. It underwent a swift decline, and by the late 1960s, the form drew on the limited market for its burlesque routines.[4] The emergence ofbomba films around 1969–1970, which killed off burlesque, also marked the end ofbodabil.[4]
After martial law was declared in 1972,PresidentFerdinand Marcos attempted to revive a sanitized form ofbodabil. Theaters such as theManila Grand Opera House featuredbodabil routines, with slogans praising martial law rule piped into the theaters in between numbers.[4] These efforts proved unpopular. In the 1980s, activist groups within theUniversity of the Philippines also tried to utilize thebodabil format, using the medium to promote socially-conscious themes.[4]
Whilebodabil was undoubtedly popular and somewhat indigenized from vaudeville, it was hardly indigenous to the Philippines and seen as indicative of the pervasiveness of American culture in the country.[1] Many of the cultural trends it popularized were Western or American in origin, though the interpreters largely Filipino. At the same time, many older, and equally colonial forms of stage entertainment such as thekomedya and thesarswela declined due to the rise ofbodabil.
The influence ofbodabil in Filipino culture arguably persists to this day.[4] Its hodgepodge of song and dance numbers are still recognizable in television variety shows and even in intermission numbers in political rallies.[4]
"Lupang Hinirang" (Philippine national anthem) | ||
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