Asia’s Nightingale Lani Misalucha Sings as Bangketa Singer

[image grab from ABS CBN media]

Clad in simple street clothes with less and no make up to complete the experiment look.  Asia’s famous Nightingale Lani Misalucha belted out three songs in the noisy, dusty pedestrian side street at the back of Manila City Hall.  The production crew commissioned two blind bangketa singers, Flor and Mel who worked by singing and asking donations from the passing crowds of busy Manila side streets. The two did not know Lani Misalucha will be their guest protégé singer who will join them as they perform and ask for donations from passers-by.

When the experiment started, passers-by just casually passed the two blind workers and proceeded to where they will be going never stopping to even listen nor drop something on the donation box for the two blind workers.  But as Lani started to sing her first song, people started to listen to an unknown face yet familiar high pitched singing voice of Lani.  People started to be mesmerized and one by one stop to listen to the melodious voice.  The two blind workers are even happier not only listening to a strange bangketa singer who offered to sing for them and drew crowd that gets bigger and bigger as she belts out every song to their listening pleasure. People started dropping donations in appreciation to the singing talent and the nice melodies they were hearing. With three familiar songs certainly Lani’s, the crowd got to finally recognize  the face behind the simple street clothes in dark sunglass shades through that distinct voice that only belongs to the one and only Asia’s Nightingale Lani Misalucha.  Excitement grew and one by one people started taking video, pictures of the bangketa singer now unmasked.  Lani took the experience as a treasured one and was overwhelmed with it.  With her experience, she certainly has high and deepest regards to the two blind bangketa workers who painstakingly worked with their talents under the basking heat of the sun, the humid and hot air, he noisy surroundings for just a few sum of donations in exchange for their talent and performance.  To Lani, it was certainly a rare and a very moving experience having performed in a very ‘unusual stage’ but very heart warming experience.