"Magkaisa" ( Tagalog for "unite") is a 1986 Filipino pop song by Virna Lisa (real name: Virna Lisa Loberiza) and composed by

Tito Sotto Vicente Castelo Sotto, III (; born August 24, 1948), is a Filipino politician and television personality who is a Senate of the Philippines, senator-elect of the Philippines. He is the longest-serving senator in the history of the upper chamb ...

. It is notable for being one of three iconic songs of the 1986

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

, alongside ''Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo'' and the patriotic ''kundiman'' and protest anthem, ''Bayan Ko''.

Writing and recording

Sotto wrote the song over the course of three days, together with

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

Homer Flores and record producer Ernie dela Peña. The backup singers were Babsie Molina, Bambi Bonus, and

Vic Sotto Marvic Valentin "Vic" Castelo Sotto (born April 28, 1954), popularly known as Bossing, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and television personality. Prolific in film and television in the Philippines since the 1970s, he is known for playing comed ...

. Virna Lisa recorded the song at Tasha Recording Studio in Libis,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

, on the evening of March 1, 1986, less than a week after the revolution.

Reception

The song was greatly popular with the masses following its release, mere days after the revolution ousted

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

and drove his family to exile in Hawaiʻi on 25 February 1986. It was a big hit when played on radio stations, and its accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

aired on major

television stations A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...

nationwide a month after the revolution.

Significant covers

Sarah Geronimo Sarah Asher Tua Geronimo-Guidicelli ( ; born July 25, 1988) is a Filipino singer and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Sarah Geronimo, Her accolades include a Billboard Women in Music, ''Billboard'' Women in Music Award, an ...

sang the song on August 5, 2009 at the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

, who came to power after the toppling of the Marcos regime. Geronimo’s version is on the album ''Paalam, Maraming Salamat Pres. Aquino: A Memorial Tribute Soundtrack'' by

Star Music Star Music (also known as Star Records and corporately as Star Recording, Inc.) is a Philippine record label owned and operated by ABS-CBN Corporation. It was formerly a separate company operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corpora ...

Regine Velasquez Regina Encarnacion "Regine" Ansong Velasquez-Alcasid ( ; born April 22, 1970) is a Filipino singer and actress. She is considered one of the most influential figures in Philippine popular culture and is known for her vocal range and beltin ...

sang her version in 2011 during the ''Tatak EDSA 25'' concert along White Plains Avenue, Quezon City, as part of

silver jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

celebrations for the revolution.

References

{{Martial EDSA 1986 songs 1986 in the Philippines Filipino patriotic songs People Power Revolution Songs in Tagalog

Writing and recording

Reception

Significant covers

See also

References