Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
"I walked the streets of San Francisco. I tried the rides in Disneyland, dated a million girls in Sydney. Somehow, I feel that I don't belong. Hinahanap-hanap kita Manila," go some of the lines of the anthemic song Manila by the Hotdog band, who had come from a one-year stint in Hawaii, USA when it was written. On hindsight, the song can now be said as one of the earliest pop hits that talk about the experience of Filipinos who migrate overseas initially for work, and often, eventually to settle down permanently.
Fast-forward 43 years, the 1976 pop tune hogged the limelight anew after a local politician questioned its use as the entrance song for the Philippine team at the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. In defense, the game organizer's spokesperson was quoted as saying, "That song was representative of Manila as the capital of the Philippines. When we welcome someone in Manila, it means you're welcoming everyone to the Philippines... I, for one, am not from Manila, I'm from Las Piñas and my family's from Bulacan."