Ang Bahaghari ang bagong album ng international singer na si Lea Salonga.
Collaboration nila ito ni Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, ang bagong hirang na National Artist for Music.
Ang Curve Entertainment, Inc. at ang GLP Music ang nag-release ng Bahaghari, na itinuturing na cultural celebration dahil sa 15 traditional folk songs na inawit ni Lea.
Intensiyon ng album na ipakilala sa mga kabataan ngayon ang mga kanta mula sa iba’t ibang rehiyon at dialect na nakakalimutan na.
Kabilang dito ang "Si Felimon," "Paruparong Bukid," "Leron Leron Sinta," "Sarung Banggi," "Pamulinawen," "Sitsiritsit Alibangbang," "Bahay Kubo," at "Atin Cu Pung Singsing."
NATIONAL ARTIST
Maraming beses nang nagbigay si Lea ng karangalan sa ating bansa kaya may mga nagsasabing may karapatan din siyang ideklara bilang National Artist, gaya ni Maestro Ryan.
May sagot siya sa opinyong hindi ito imposibleng mangyari sa mga darating na panahon.
"Please, huwag niyong i-jinx, baka hindi mangyari," pabirong initial reaction ni Lea sa mga kaharap na entertainment writers na naniniwalang karapat-dapat siyang hirangin na National Artist dahil sa mga kontribusyon niya sa Philippine entertainment industry.
Patuloy ni Lea, "I don’t think any National Artist does their work thinking, 'If I do this, baka one day I’ll be a National Artist.'
"That’s not the intent and it will never be the intent.
"You do the work for the work per se. You do the work to share whatever God-given talent you have. You do good work for artistic expression.
"I mean, there will have different reasons for why we do what we do. I love to sing because I just love to sing.
"I love to get up on stage and sing hell a lot of music that I enjoy with full orchestra behind me and sing with other people who feel that same passion as I do and work with similarly-minded individuals in this industry,
"But that’s not the intent to, maybe, when I’m 80, I’ll get the National Artist. No, that’s not it.
"For me, my intent is to work until I literally drop dead holding a microphone.
"That’s the happiest death I could have—to be onstage doing what I love to do, making music.
"And if I have to have a heart attack, center stage, in front of the spotlight, you know what, I would have lived my life."
Nagbigay rin ng opinyon si Lea tungkol sa kaso ni Nora Aunor na muling hindi pinalad mabigyan ng mataas na parangal bilang National Artist ngayong taon.
Aniya, "We can have all of these discussions who deserves to be National Artist and based on their body of work, based on their contributions to Philippine culture, based on what they have done for their particular part of the artistic industry, here and abroad.
"I am confident Nora Aunor would one day get it, if not this year, maybe the next round.
"But given just what she’s done, the films that she has made, parang no-brainer na yun, it’s just a matter of when."