Paraiso" is an award-winning song composed by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab and premiered by Smokey Mountain, a singing group he formed. The song depicts "Paraiso" or paradise as the Smokey Mountain garbage dumpsite in Manila, contrasting the literal meaning with the degrading environment filled with pollution. It describes the dumpsite as a place where no birds fly and no trees can survive, reflecting the reality of the heavily polluted area. The song also reflects the optimism and values of dignity, honesty, and respect that helped the communities living in the dumpsite survive despite difficult conditions, giving them hope.
Paraiso" is an award-winning song composed by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab and premiered by Smokey Mountain, a singing group he formed. The song depicts "Paraiso" or paradise as the Smokey Mountain garbage dumpsite in Manila, contrasting the literal meaning with the degrading environment filled with pollution. It describes the dumpsite as a place where no birds fly and no trees can survive, reflecting the reality of the heavily polluted area. The song also reflects the optimism and values of dignity, honesty, and respect that helped the communities living in the dumpsite survive despite difficult conditions, giving them hope.
Paraiso" is an award-winning song composed by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab and premiered by Smokey Mountain, a singing group he formed. The song depicts "Paraiso" or paradise as the Smokey Mountain garbage dumpsite in Manila, contrasting the literal meaning with the degrading environment filled with pollution. It describes the dumpsite as a place where no birds fly and no trees can survive, reflecting the reality of the heavily polluted area. The song also reflects the optimism and values of dignity, honesty, and respect that helped the communities living in the dumpsite survive despite difficult conditions, giving them hope.
Paraiso" is an award-winning song composed by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab and premiered by Smokey Mountain, a singing group he formed. The song depicts "Paraiso" or paradise as the Smokey Mountain garbage dumpsite in Manila, contrasting the literal meaning with the degrading environment filled with pollution. It describes the dumpsite as a place where no birds fly and no trees can survive, reflecting the reality of the heavily polluted area. The song also reflects the optimism and values of dignity, honesty, and respect that helped the communities living in the dumpsite survive despite difficult conditions, giving them hope.
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Paraiso is also an award-winning composition of a
prominent Filipino composer, Maestro Ryan Cayabyab
when it was first premiered by Smokey Mountain, a singing group also formed under the guidance of Cayabyab. The group was named after a garbage dumpsite in Manila, Philippines and as such were often dressed in ragged clothes to depict the then dire situation of the scavengers who resided there. More importantly in 1989, they released their first album that consisted of songs revolving around social, environmental, and patriotic themes. Below are the lyrics to the song:
PARAISO by Smokey Mountain
Return to a land called paraiso, A place where a dying river ends. No birds there fly over paraiso, No space allows them to endure. The smoke that screens the air, The grass thats never there. And if i could see a single bird, what a joy. I try to write some words and create A simple song to be heard By the rest of the world. I live in this land called paraiso, In a house made of cardboard floors and walls. I learned to be free in paraiso, Free to claim anything i see. Matching rags for my clothes, Plastic bags for the cold. And if empty cans were all i have, what a joy. I never fight to take someone Elses coins and live with fear Like the rest of the boys. Paraiso, help me make a stand. Paraiso, take me by the hand Paraiso, make the world understand That if i could see a single bird, what a joy. This tired and hungry land could expect Some truth and hope and respect From the rest of the world.
What made Paraiso stand out at that time was its
relevance to the pressing environmental and societal issues of how the Smokey Mountain dumpsite was turning into a biohazard for everyone within the Metro Manila community. The song ironically juxtaposed the literal meaning of paradise with a degrading environment filled with garbage and pollution in Philippine context. It begins by depicting Paraiso as a land where a dying river ends, where no birds dare fly over, where smoke screens the air and where grass is never there. According to Maestro Cayabyab, Paraiso is a commentary on the ecological state of many parts of the planet. He alluded the song to the reality of how no trees are able to survive in the dumpsite and how the highly polluted Pasig river surrounds this mountain of garbage. Cayabyab then moves on by describing what Smokey Mountain is about the singing groups raison detre and philosophy. Where poor children in that Smokey Mountain community (yes, despite being a dumpsite is a residential area) optimistically see their cups half-filled rather than halfempty, they also find joy in their freedom to take anything they see and freedom to own anything they find (Cayabyab, 2012). According to Maestro Cayabyab (2012), the mounts of garbage were their riches. These were what empowered them amidst the surrounding stench of all sorts of pollution; that beyond a metaphorically garbage society, these communities survived, lived and thrived with simple joys and dignified values (honesty, respect, family, etc.) and most important,hope in deliverance as seeing a single bird or merely having empty cans to own. Paraiso, more than just a song is a reminder of each Earth citizens moral responsibility as stewards of this planet because beyond territories and specific ownership, this Paraiso is not only mine, nor yours, but ours. As such, this campaign challenges every Earth citizen to creatively engage in their own redefinition of PARAISO. It teaches us a thing or two about recreating a better world through understanding, respect, simplicity, etc. Paraiso tells us that it is never too late as we should never lose hope.
