Raul Manglapus - Playwright, Musician

Playwright, Musician

He first came to prominence from his association with Ramon Magsaysay, the one-time mechanic turned populist politician who remains perhaps the most popular Filipino president in history. In 1953, Manglapus composed for the presidential candidate Magsaysay the catchy campaign jingle Mambo Magsaysay, which became widely popular and is credited in some quarters as aiding immensely in the election of Magsaysay.

Manglapus remained, until the end of his life, a prolific composer and musical performer. His compositions, distinctive for their martial lilt, included, besides, a college rallying march, Blue Eagle the King, whose music were later borrowed and adapted by a Jesuit school in the United States.

Manglapus also wrote a musical comedy, Manifest Destiny: Yankee Panky, a parody of America's belated venture into colonialism. He was also the leader of the Executive Combo Band, a jazz band composed mainly of his peers. They performed for the Pope at the Vatican in 1995. He jammed with jazz giant Duke Ellington, and prominent jazz-inclined politicians such as U.S. President Bill Clinton, Amelita Ramos--wife of President Fidel V. Ramos, and King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. Later in life, Manglapus would serve as chairman of the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (FILSCAP).