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      <title>Harana the Movie Blog</title>
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      <description>This blog updates our followers in the production of Harana the Movie - from beginning to completion, trails and tribulations, ups and downs and whatever musings we the producers decide is blogworthy!</description>
      <language>en</language>
      <copyright>Copyright 2009</copyright>
      <lastBuildDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:35:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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         <title>The Search for Harana</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>Hello Everybody! Welcome to the maiden voyage of the Harana the movie blog. We are embarking on a journey to the motherland - the Philippine Islands.</p><p>Our movie is about the search for practitioners of a once popular courtship tradition called the <em>harana</em>. There once was a time in old Philippines whereby men serenaded women under the window at night. This was a custom widely practiced in the rural areas. While the custom itself has died out, the beautiful haunting songs remain.</p><p>While anybody who can sing these songs may label themselves <em>haranistas</em>, the movie's search focuses on the old masters who were employed or recruited back in the days in the service of love. </p><p>Men who wished to serenade but lacking the musical talent reached out to the best musicians in town. A master harana singer is of course a must - talented enough to woo a woman through his crooning, albeit to woo for someone else. In that respect, a master haranista is sort of variation on the theme of Cyrano de Bergerac.</p><p>It is precisely this kind of <em>haranista</em>, perhaps now in their seventies or eighties, that the movie, through the eyes of yours truly, searches for.</p><p>Why him?</p><p>Because part of my interest as a musician is discovering previously unknown harana songs. I mean if you're Filipino, you are familiar with popular songs such as <em>O Ilaw</em> and <em>Dungawin Mo Hirang</em>. But I know there is a treasure trove of other equally haunting harana songs. I am particularly interested in the &quot;real&quot; harana songs - songs that were written specific to the endeavor. With the proper slow habanera rhythm mostly played on guitar, with lyrics that beautifully portays the ambience such as <em>Natutulog Ka Na Ba, Sinta?</em> (Are you Sleeping, My Love?) and <em>Kay Lungkot Nitong Hatinggabi</em> (How Lonely Midnight Is).</p><p>&nbsp;The master haranista holds the key! I wish to discover the vast repertoire that were written for this specific endeavor and not for the radio. Does he exist?</p><p>&nbsp;Our search in the remote provinces of the Philippines must yield such a jewel! And it is this very search which we will document in film.<br /></p><p>We embark on this exciting musicological search!<br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><br /></p>]]></description>
         <link>http://haranathemovie.com/blog1/2008/11/harana_crew_on_its_way.html</link>
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         <pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:35:28 +0000</pubDate>
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