“Mabuhay ang Noypi!” exclaimed Marcos Adoro, as he and his fellow bandmates received the Gawad Oblation Award. Legendary Filipino rock band Eraserheads was recently honored by the University of the Philippines with the Gawad Oblation Award to recognize the group’s legacy in Philippine music.
The Gawad Oblation Medal, designed by the late artist and UP College of Fine Arts professor Leo Abaya, is an award given to UP alumni and organizations who have been making a mark in the country and have shown extraordinary service with or in the name of the University of the Philippines. The Eraserheads famously met and formed the band as students of the university, holding some of their earliest performances at the Diliman campus before eventually becoming one of the most prominent bands in the country.
Held in the UP Executive House, the ceremony saw all original Eraserheads members including Ely Buendia, Raymund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala, and Marcus Adoro awarded with the honor by university president Angelo Jimenes, and notable alumni Francise Lumen and Robin Rivera.
Jimenez extended his praise to the band by saying, “The Eraserheads are a pivotal force in the history of Original Pilipino Music…They remain a cultural icon for the ages.” The Symphony Orchestra String Quartet of UP also paid tribute to the Eraserheads by playing a medley of their hit songs like “Ligaya,” “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” and “Alapaap.”
The members of the legendary band also expressed their appreciation for the university and shared some of their fond memories from their college days, with Marcus Adoro saying how the institution gave them the freedom to be themselves, Raymund Marasigan thanking the band’s families and friends, Buddy Zabala recognizing the kindred spirits that they met in the university, and Ely Buendia acknowledging that “the Eraserheads would not exist without UP.”
Indeed, the Eraserheads is one of the Filipino acts that have come a long way from being a college band to legendary musicians, and it’s high time that they’re recognized.
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