The History of Barkada’s Valentine’s Grams

By A&E Co-Editor, Nathan Maulino

Designed by Patricia Anne Babia

Candy, flowers, gifts–what’s there not to like about Valentine’s day? Spreading love on this special day is celebrated in various parts of the globe, across the United States, and also among Barkada members.

Aside from the couples in Barkada who celebrated together, there were members who wanted to spread the Valentine’s Day spirit with everyone in the club. These members were a part of the Barkada subgroup, Pilipino Notes, or P-Notes. Inspired by their tradition of singing Christmas Carols in nearby neighborhoods, Adrian Manila, Bonnie Yoon, and John Francisco thought of the idea of incorporating singing for others during the February holiday while also fundraising for P. Notes. This idea came to fruition during the 2017-2018 school year, or Bayan-E Year, and was called “P. Notes Valentine’s Day SING-A-GRAMS.”

SING-A-GRAMS was available for anyone in Barkada who wanted to send that special someone or close friend a present on Valentine’s Day. Pilipino Notes shared Valentine’s spirit all over campus, from the API to the residential village. For $5, the singing group would sing a song of the buyer’s choice to anyone they requested to sing to and also include a Valentine’s greeting from Bayan-E Board. The choices of songs included “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars, “Red Roses,” by AJ Rafael, “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” by Elvis Presley, and many more. For an additional $3, they offered a rose, a bag of chocolates, and 3 balloons along with the gram for the recipient to enjoy.

Bayan-E Year was the only time P. Notes hosted Sing-A-Grams, but the desire to celebrate appreciation for others did not go away among Barkada members. During Luck-E year, members from P. Notes and Tinapa-I board, who heard about Sing-A-Grams, did not want the tradition to be forgotten. At the time, I-Board hosted a Valentine’s grams fundraiser which featured E-Board and I-Board trading cards. On Valentine’s Day, Robert Aceret, Albert Andres, Nathan Maulino, and Michael Nguyen came dressed up to the API with a guitar and their voices to sing love songs before giving the grams to recipients. Today, Anong Balita Committee continues the tradition in ways that were thought to be impossible. ABC offered the opportunity for people to shoot your shot or simply send words of appreciation to that special someone in the midst of quarantine. The following page is dedicated to Valentine’s shoutouts to and from our very own Barkada members!

Valentine’s Day Sing-a-Grams Graphic from Bayan-E Year