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Filipino version of 'Les Miserables' song fires up Pinoy protest spirit

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ABS-CBN News

<div><script src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v2.5" async="" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/narwin.espiritu/videos/vb.840674508/10155680522979509" data-width="auto"> </div>A video of the Filipino translation of a popular song from the musical &quot;Les Miserables&quot; is making the rounds online, with people praising it for its timely message.The two-minute video features Eunikkoh Castillo singing &quot;Di Mo Ba Naririnig?&quot; translated to Filipino by composer Vincent de Jesus.The song is a translation of &quot;Do You Hear The People Sing?&quot; from &quot;Les Miserables,&quot; which is often used in protests in different parts of the world.According to de Jesus, translating the song was not planned.&quot;The other day, mga fellow theater artists like Audie Gemora, Bibeth Orteza, we started a thread, ano &#x27;yung participation namin for today&#x27;s protest action. And so, Bibeth said, why don&#x27;t we sing some things very familiar to everyone, ganun. And &#x27;yun na nga suggestion is &#x27;Do You Hear The People Sing,&#x27;&quot; De Jesus told ABS-CBN News.The idea to translate the song into Filipino came after De Jesus volunteered to make an arrangement for the song.&quot;So usap na sila, wala tayong makitang minus one, so sabi ko sige, I&#x27;ll arrange a minus one. Sabi ko, i-translate ko kaya &#x27;yung chorus in Filipino? Sabi nila, why not, why not? And then one thing led to another,&quot; he said.Other writers like Joel Saracho and Rody Vera also had their translations of the song, so De Jesus decided to combine everything for the piece.&quot;Nasa thread din kasi &#x27;yung ibang writers, fellow writers like Rody Vera, may version siya, then may version din si Joel Saracho. We&#x27;re all friends eh. O ganito ah, ita-try ko i-accomodate &#x27;yung pinakapwede. So &#x27;yung chorus, combined effort &#x27;yun between me, Rody Vera and Joel Saracho. &#x27;Yung verses, ginawa ko na lang on my own,&quot; De Jesus said.After finishing the translation, De Jesus was asked to post it online, so his fellow theater actors can study it to prepare for the protest.It was then that Castillo, through a colleague, came across the lyrics.&quot;A colleague came across the translation online then he showed it to me, since we are both musical fans. Then, the rest is history,&quot; Castillo said.Castillo does not personally know De Jesus. He said he agreed to lend his voice because the lyrics appealed to him.&quot;When I saw the translation, I thought it would be a good medium to channel my personal take on freedom and dignity, so I agreed to sing,&quot; he explained.He added that he recorded the song and video out of love for singing and for the &quot;wonderful translation.&quot;&quot;Nakaka-touch kasi &#x27;yung patriotic message and I love &#x27;Les Mis,&#x27; so I went for it,&quot; Castillo said.The video of Castillo, which was posted late Tuesday night, has been shared more than 8,000 times.

A video of the Filipino translation of a popular song from the musical "Les Miserables" is making the rounds online, with people praising it for its timely message.

A video of the Filipino translation of a popular song from the musical "Les Miserables" is making the rounds online, with people praising it for its timely message.