The 1980s
The group poses in front of the Oblation in the 1980s, a tradition for official groups of U.P. Diliman. We had to ask for special permission from the U.P. administration to take pictures of this kind, which are no longer encouraged today.
1980s Performances
In 1984, we joined the Asian Cantat at Nagano, Japan, together with many other choirs from all over the world. Here we are in elaborate headdresses and costumes that echo the dress of the Manobo people of Mindanao.
In 1988, we travelled to four cities in Southeast Asia. This photo was taken during a performance at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Because of a strict rule regarding public performance that required state permission before we could even open our mouths to sing (a German youth orchestra had been arrested and deported to Thailand for lack of such a permit just a year earlier), the Philippine Embassy there had to arrange for sponsorship by the city council so we could perform. So the Mayor himself became our host, put us in a snazzy new hotel where they sent us egg salad sandwiches and hot chocolate every night at 9:30 pm via room service, and arranged all kinds of concerts and tours to visit sacred caves and other beautiful sites.
1982 - Performing a dance from the Cordillera region
1983 - The UP Cherubim and Seraphim in full "Manobo" costume, including elaborate headdresses made of bamboo and feathers
1984 - In our Manobo costumes, performing Barry Manilow's "Daybreak" during the First Asian Cantat in Nagano, Japan
1984 - Dancing the "Kuratsa," a Visayan folk dance as taught by our first folk dance trainor, Tita Lydia Evangelista Buendia.
1984 - The "tinikling" was one of the UP Cherubim and Seraphim's favorite folk dances, which we usually performed as our penultimate number before singing "Bayan Ko." The children were trained to perform special intricate patterns which had double pairs weaving in and out of the clicking bamboo poles.
1984 - The UP Cherubim and Seraphim also trained in rondalla under the tutelage of Prof. Angelita Pasamba.
1985 - Carolling at the ground floor lobby of U.P. Palma Hall at Christmas time
1987 - Singing one of our favorite pop songs, "One by One, People Come, Sing Together" by Chris Dedrick at Abelardo Hall.
1987 February - Singing with Peter, Paul and Mary as part of the first anniversary of the EDSA Revolution
1987 February - Singing with Peter, Paul and Mary as part of the first anniversary of the EDSA Revolution
1988 December - Christmas Caroling at the Masonic Charities Ward for Crippled Children, Mary Johnston Hospital, Tondo, Manila
1989 August 24 - We were invited to sing for the launch of the first Boeing 737 of Philippine Airlines (PAL). The children boarded the plane before the show and we taxied down the runway. The doors of the plane opened and we came down the stairs holding lighted candles while singing.
1980s Tours
1982 - The U.P. Cherubim and Seraphim was designated Ambassador of Goodwill to China by the Republic of the Philippines in 1982. We travelled all over China and were hosted officially by the state. Here, the group poses on the imposing staircase of an old palace in Nanjing.
1988 - Second Southeast Asian Tour (Wings VIII). In the 1980s, the U.P. Cherubim and Seraphim trained in Philippine folk dance under Prof. Lydia Buendia and Dr. Leilani Gonzalo and rondalla under Prof. Angelita Pasamba. This is a photo from Singapore of “Wings VIII” our second Southeast Asian Tour in 1988. Our hosts in Singapore subsequently formed a rondalla group based on our model, while our hosts in Bangkok, including the Filipino Community of Bangkok bought all our instruments before we left for Manila.
1982 - Posing in front of the Great Wall of China during the Hong Kong-China Tour
1982 - In Beijing during the Hong Kong-China Tour
1982 - The U.P. Cherubim and Seraphim tour the United States for a second time
1982 - Performing during the second US Tour
1984 - At the opening parade of the First Asian Cantat in Nagano, Japan
1984 - At the closing concert of the Asia Cantat in Nagano, Japan
1984 - Singing during a street parade in Nagano
1985 - Baguio Summer Camp at Teacher's Camp
1985 - Dancing the "tinikling" at the Third ISCCPA Annual Conference Opening Concert in Hong Kong
1985 - Hongkong-Guangzhou Tour
1988 - Playing the rondalla at the University of Singapore during the group's second tour of Southeast Asia
1988 - With our hosts in Jakarta during our second Southeast Asian Tour