Paraiso

One of the best songs I've heard in my life is Paraiso. The song never fails to bring tears to my eyes whenever I hear it, and I'm sure I'm not alone. This is the same song we interpreted in Grade 6 where we were the only elementary finalists in our school's interpretative dance contest. Turned out, it was no-contest at all. We won by a mile, and made the judges and the audience cry.

The beautiful song was composed by the Maestro himself, Ryan Cayabyab. It's the very first song he composed for the group he formed a long time ago, Smokey Mountain. According to Mr. C, "This is the very theme song of that group – named after what used to be a garbage dump in Tondo, the lyrics speak of a dark and dreary environment where scavengers are free to make what they get from the garbage pile. But that does not make them any less free to imagine, any less free to hope, and any less free to dream. It is an inspirational song that I had dedicated not only to marginalized folks but especially to young people who have hopes and dreams of a better future."

A lot of artists have their versions of Paraiso including a heartwarming version by Lea Salonga. Although all the other versions are okay, the Smokey Mountain's version is still the best for me, most especially their 1992 performance in the Tokyo Pop Music Festival where they won the Grand Prize.

Thank you Mr. C for this most beautiful song.