Freddie Aguilar

Early life

Freddie Aguilar's musical beginnings started when he was young. At the age of 14, he wrote songs. When he was 17-years-old, Aguilar played his first guitar. By the time he was 20-years-old, Freddie Aguilar performed on stage for the first time.

Freddie Aguilar studied Electrical Engineering at De Guzman Institute of Technology but did not finish the degree program. Instead he pursued music, became a street musician, and then a folk club and bar musician.

At the age of 18, Aguilar parted ways with his family and quit college. After realizing and regretting his mistakes five years later, he composed the song "Anak".

Influences

Freddie Aguilar's influences include British and American folk-rock stars like Cat Stevens and James Taylor. He is also heavily influenced by his Filipino heritage, nationalist feelings, and tries to constitute a musical expolration of the Filipino ethos.

International acclaim

Freddie Aguilar's "Anak" not only broke the Philippine record charts in 1979, but it also hit the no. 1 spot in Japan and achieved considerable popularity in other countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and parts of Western Europe. The song has become so famous that, by some counts, it has been recorded in as many as a hundred versions in 23 languages throughout the world. Billboard reported that the song was the number two world hit of the 1980s. As of 2006, it was unsurpassed as the highest-selling record of Philippine music history.

Political activism

Even before Aguilar's rendition of "Bayan Ko," Aguilar created and performed songs targeted at social injustices. His album, Magdalena included songs about a girl forced into prostitution as a result of poverty and the Christian-Muslim clashes in his song Mindanao. After the album, Freddie Aguilar also sang about the injustices suffered by the powerless, poverty, and the arrogance of superpowers in a song about the U.S. and Russia.

Five years after the composition of "Anak", Freddie Aguilar joined protests against the Marcos regime and began writing and performing songs that criticized the excesses of the government. Some of the songs that caused him to be banned from mainstream media include: "Kata-rungan" or "Justice" (speaking for the unjustly accused), "Pangako" ("Promise") (a leader's unfulfilled pledges to an abandoned people), and "Luzvi-minda" (an acronym for Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, calling on Filipinos to wake up to the reality of oppression). One of the songs he was most remembered for during that time was his interpretation of "Bayan Ko" ("My Country"), in which he added a verse to the original piece.

"Bayan Ko" (My Country)

In 1978, Aguilar first recorded "Bayan Ko" in a patriotic effort to, in his words, "jolt back those who were starting to forget who we really are." He also provided a rendition of the song as it is inspiring and gave him excitement and a surge of power. The song was originally composed in 1928 by Constancio de Guzman, with lyrics by poet Jose Corazon de Jesus, during a time of struggle for Philippine independence from US occupation. It emerged once again during the Marcos regime as the unofficial anthem of the emergent "people" of "People Power", the new democratic nation opposed to authoritarianism that is widely credited with the deposing of Ferdinand Marcos. In 1983, the assassination of Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino triggered massive demonstrations against the Marcos dictatorship, and Aguilar's rendition of "Bayan Ko" was blared on the radio and speakers mounted on jeepneys throughout the streets of Manila and the provinces of the Philippines. At the funeral of Senator Aquino, Freddie Aguilar sang "Bayan Ko" and felt that Aquino was a man of action who even gave his life for the freedom of the Philippines. During the performance, Freddie Aguilar did not feel scared anymore and felt strong and confident. He then decided to join the cause as well. Aguilar, along with APO Hiking Society and other Pinoy pop musicians who took a stand against dictatorship, joined other protest singers in music and street performances as part of the anti-Marcos rallies.

A few years later, Aguilar campaigned for the presidential candidacy of Corazon Aquino in the national election that would lead to the 1986 revolt.

Aguilar mentioned in an interview with ABS-CBN News that the lyrics of the song combines the love the Filipinos have for their country, commemorate the Aquino family, and commitment to the country. Even in this modern time, Filipinos will identify "Bayan Ko" as the nation's protest anthem.

Present day

On January 18, 2008, Aguilar received the Asia Star Award from the Asia Model Award Festival in Korea.

Aguilar still lives in the Philippines, and continues to perform. He currently has moved to his own place dubbed "Ka Freddie's". He still has a strong following in the Philippines and among many Filipinos living overseas.

On July 14, 2016, Aguilar has been appointed as one of the 15 commissioners of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Aguilar has been advocating for the creation of a new department called "Department of Culture and Arts". During the campaign and the Inauguration of president Rodrigo Duterte, Aguilar performed “Para sa Tunay na Pagbabago”, which is one of Duterte's campaign jingles to the tune of Ipaglalaban Ko. Aguilar is President Duterte's favorite singer.

Personal life

In 1978, he married Josephine Queipo and with her had 4 children: Maegan, Jonan, Isabella, and Jeriko.

On October 17, 2013, Aguilar openly admitted, in spite of the controversy that followed, that he is in a relationship with a 16-year-old girl, with plans to marry and even have children, as his partner insisted that she is willing to have a baby.

On November 22, 2013, Aguilar, under Islamic rites, married his partner in Buluan, Maguindanao. Aguilar had converted to Islam six months prior to these reports, so that he could marry his 16-year-old girlfriend. His Muslim name is Abdul Farid.

Popular songs

In chronological order [date or year of release]: