Filipino Musicians in the Redpath Chautauqua Traveling Show
#175: Chautauqua, Ne Pomocena Quartet, Louis Biason and Manila Music, Philippine Quartet; Isamu Noguchi, Lac Bug, Leaf Ink, Myona-Hawaiian Waltz, History of Steel Guitar, Ibarra Lacson, & Franz Rhythm
THEN & NOW
In “A Mystery Unsolved” I mentioned that my father had been a member of a Filipino band, The Royal Hawaiians, which performed in New Orleans in the 1930s. And I noted in another issue that my grandfather and granduncle were musicians in the Philippine Constabulary Band (formed by the US military), and performed in early 20th century international expositions. Considering that "Manilla Men"1 first began arriving and settling in the Louisiana territory during the mid-18th century, it's possible that Filipino musicians have been making music in the Americas since then, if not earlier.
Members of the Philippine Constabulary Band were exposed to a lot of interesting musical influences while touring the US and performing at expositions. The band was present at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 where Hawaiian steel and slack key guitar were introduced to the United States. This sparked a craze for the music that lasted through the 1920s and 1930s, and has had a pervading influence on American guitar music.
Non-military Filipino bands also performed in the Midwest and South during the early 20th century. One of the venues for these musicians was the Redpath Chautauqua, a traveling tent show that featured entertainment and lectures for the edification and moral uplifting of American rural and small-town populations. The Chautauqua was modeled after the popular lyceum movement developed in Massachusetts during the early 19th century.
According to Russell L. Johnson, "the chautauqua movement...traces its origins to 1874, when Protestant ministers John Heyl Vincent and Lewis Miller started a summer training program for Sunday-school teachers at Lake Chautauqua in the state of New York....During the peak years, from 1920 to 1924, chautauquas brought their unique blend of education, inspiration, and entertainment to as many as ten thousand cities each year." President Roosevelt called them "the most American thing in America" ("'Dancing Mothers': The Chautauqua Movement in Twentieth-Century American Popular Culture").2 Learn more about Chautauquas here.
Three Filipino bands that performed in the Chautauqua:
"Enchanting Melodies on Native Instruments" was the phrase used to introduce the Ne Pomocena Quartet to Midwestern audiences in 1917. Nowadays, those words are ironic, considering that, outside of the international expositions, Filipinos playing in clubs and chautauquas rarely played native instruments. However, they did play Philippine adaptations of European string instruments.
From their press copy (the spelling of the band seems to be a typo in the promo):
Ne Pomoceno's Filipino Quartet is a most unique, a most picturesque and at the same time a most artistic organization of native musicians. Mr. Pomoceno has chosen a group of artists -- masters of the "bandurias," the "laud," the "octavina," the "guitarra," the "bajo," and the piano. They present a concert program that meets a popular appeal and they feature not only their own beautiful melodies, but also the classical airs, operatic gems and the light, popular numbers of the day.
Members of the Ne Pomocena Quartet included Manager Pomocena, B. Del Rosario, S. Damalario and Mrs. Damalario.
Louis Biason, director of the Filipino Collegians led another group called Manila Music, whose members consisted of C. Olivar3 (vocalist, mandolin, steel guitar, ukelele), M. Bambalon (banjo and violin), J. Sayas (guitar and mandolin), and B. Bandalon (bass guitar). They played "just about everything from the classics to the popular melodies. Of course, Filipino folk songs, enchanting melodies of the South Seas, popular music of the day with a Spanish background, especially..."4 But Mr. Biason was not only a musician; according to the press release, he also lectured on topics about the Philippines.
Note the resonator guitar on the floor in the foreground of the photo above. I've noticed that there was a steel guitar player in nearly every Filipino band, sometimes two or more. Certainly, they were taking advantage of the craze for Hawaiian music at the time; Joseph Kekuku and other Hawaiian musicians had by then introduced Hawaiian style steel guitar to the United States. All the promos I've read so far seem to describe band members as if they were all Filipino. However, based on the photo above, obviously at least one member was not Filipino.
The Philippine Quartet featured Señora Olivar, a "dramatic soprano of rare quality and a violinist of attainments," and Catalino Olivar, "master of the steel guitar, mandolin and a ukulele soloist." Other members included Alfredo Fernandez on piano, and Marcelino Domingo on flute and guitar. As with the Ne Pomocena Quartet, the press for the Philippine Quartet highlighted the ethnic novelty of the group, noting that they played "musical instruments peculiar to their native islands and appear in . . . modest yet attractive gala costume worn by the Filipinos." The group's attire seems, in fact, very urbane and western. In an apparent attempt to appeal to all interests, they billed the group's music as ranging "from the primitive to grand opera." By 1921, the group had already been touring the US professionally for five years, and had been in "great demand."
I still have my father’s ukulele and Gibson guitar, and learning to play the instruments led me down my own rabbit hole of research into these old-time Filipino bands; I even went on a road trip by car to view the University of Iowa’s Redpath Chautauqua collection. I hope that other people will continue the research!
RABBIT HOLE
The links below reflect the fact that I’ve been thinking a lot about the materials we use to make art.
I’m currently reading Listening to Stone: The Art and Life of Isamu Noguchi, by Hayden Herrera. Here is a short video about Noguchi and his relationship to his materials and tools:
The humble lac bug (Kerria lacca) is part of our everyday lives and art. It’s in artists’ India ink. Thus, “An Ode to the Humble Lac Bug.”
How to make leaf ink, by Cory Morrison:
SOUNDINGS
While I haven't been able to track down an audio file for any of the old Filipino bands mentioned here, I did find an Edison 1921 diamond disk recording of the "Myona-Hawaiian Waltz," music by Morgan-Friedland, played by the Waikiki Hawaiian Orchestra, and several other songs. You can clearly hear the steel guitar being played, and this should give you some sense of how Hawaiian music was being interpreted for American popular music tastes at the time.
Birth of the Hawaiian steel guitar, Joseph Kekuku, and its influence in the United States. With Bob Brozman (R.I.P.), video by Fiftees Rebel:
A lovely cover of “Don’t Dream It’s Over” (by Mateus Asato), performed by Ibarra Lacson, aka Ibarra II.
Just a dad jamming with the kids playing “What’s Up” by 4 Non-Blondes, and having a damn good time":
Sincere appreciation to all of you who read Eulipion Outpost regularly, and to those who have subscribed here or donated on my Ko-fi page to support my efforts.
My ongoing appreciation goes to the Mysterious M. for his editing.
Website and blog: Jeanvengua1.wordpress.com
A Crooked Mile (blog).
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Filipinos were often called “Manilla Men” by Americans in the 19th century.
By Russell L. Johnson, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41279808
I suspect this was Catalino Olivar, also listed as a member of The Philippine Quartet.
From their promotional materials.
Jean - thanks for researching and sharing this information. My grandfather Perfecto Biason came to the US with his younger brother Louis who you wrote about. I have very limited info on Louis after he arrived so i was delighted to find your info.
This is interesting. Have you read Instruments of Empire by Mary Talusan? I haven’t yet, but wonder if it covers the same topic.