Ang Huling El Bimbo

**Ang Huling El Bimbo** (lit. "The Last *El Bimbo*") is a song by the Eraserheads from their third album Cutterpillow. It was released as a single in 1995 and quickly became one of the band's signature hits. The accompanying video also garnered praise and recognitions, especially after it won during the 1997 VMAs. The song was also included in the band's international debut album "Aloha Milkyway", as the only Filipino track.

The song was later used as the title of the jukebox musical staged in 2018-2023, which featured Eraserheads songs.

## Composition

Though *El Bimbo* is the longest of all Eraserheads songs, composer Ely Buendia has mentioned that he composed it under 5 minutes, the fastest song he had written. The song has also been noted for referencing Sampaguita Pictures' "golden age" actress Paraluman, who was 72 years old at the time the song was released. Buendia says that the inspiration for the song was his own childhood, and that he used to watch Sampaguita films as a child.

Due to *El Bimbo*'s popularity and sentimental influence, it was chosen by local radio station NU 107 as its final song when the station went off the air on November 8, 2010.

## Music video

An accompanying video was released for the song directed by Auraeus Solito and choreographer Luis Quirino. It was filmed in two days using a 16 mm film at Solito's ancestral house in Sampaloc, Manila and features childhood friends (played by the Eraserheads as grown-ups) who admire a girl (played as a grown-up by Rowena Basco of UP TROPA) who ultimately meets a tragic fate. The "el bimbo" dance is featured predominantly through out the video. According to a 2011 interview with Rogue Magazine, Solito's mother taught the cast on set the popular dance and lent some of the vintage clothes worn by the characters. Most of the crew, including Solito and Basco were members of TROPA and UP Mountaineers, who are also friends and long-time collaborators of the Eraserheads.

In 2016, a Facebook search was launched by Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho to find the identity of the little girl (who was discovered by Basco while training young actors in the impoverished Smokey Mountain) in the video, but to no avail.

According to Buendia, this was the first major production music video of the band since it involved big budget due to casting, costing BMG Records approximately P230,000.00. In a behind-the-scenes interview taken in February 1996, Buddy Zabala jokingly refers to *Ang Huling El Bimbo* as their “first full-length feature short film video.”  It was also the first time the Eraserheads produced a music video for their song.

Due to the length of the song (7 minutes, 29 seconds), the instrumental part at the end was omitted in subsequent broadcasts. The unreleased ending of the song features the adult Paraluman character buried under a pile of dried leaves and mourning bouquets.

it was also aired in GMA Supershow in Feb 25,1996

## Recognition

Locally, the NU Rock Awards recognized El Bimbo as Song of the Year and the music video Best Music Video in 1996. The next year, the music video won the International Viewer's Choice Awards for Asia at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, making the Eraserheads the first Filipino artist to receive an MTV Award. Filipino bands The Dawn and Pu3Ska were nominated in previous years but did not win. Artists Parokya Ni Edgar and Kyla would eventually also win, when the award was reduced with a much smaller pool of member countries, and became the International Viewer's Choice Award for MTV Southeast Asia.

*El Bimbo*'s success catapulted to international fame the band's music as well as the local Filipino rock scene, eventually leading to the release of Aloha Milkyway, Eraserheads' first international album.

## Cover versions

Rico J. Puno, who was a huge influence on Ely Buendia, covered the song for the 2005 tribute album Ultraelectromagneticjam!: The Music of the Eraserheads. South Border's Jay Durias also covered the song for The Reunion: An Eraserheads Tribute Album. Other artists who recorded covers of the song include The Company, Razorback, Lea Salonga, Ryan Cayabyab, Jason Fernandez, and Kamikazee. Korean acoustic fingerstyle guitarist Sungha Jung performed the song during his "2013.6 Philippine Tour" concert.

In 2008, thirteen years after El Bimbo's original release and six years after the band's break-up, Buendia recorded an orchestra version of the song for the FilharmoniKA album *Kumpas: An Orchestral Celebration of Pinoy Music* conducted by Gerard Salonga.

## In other media

In 2009, Ang Huling El Bimbo was featured in a commercial for McDonald’s (titled “First Love”) produced by advertising agency DDB Philippines.

## Lyrics

Kamukha mo si Paraluman

Nung tayo ay bata pa

At ang galing galing mong sumayaw

Mapa-boogie man o cha-cha

Ngunit ang paborito

Ay ang pagsayaw mo ng El Bimbo

Nakakaindak, nakakaaliw

Nakakatindig balahibo

Pagkaggaling sa eskwela

Ay dideretso na sa inyo

At buong maghapon ay tinuturuan mo ako

Magkahawak ang ating kamay

At walang kamalay-malay

Na tinuruan mo ang puso ko

Na umibig ng tunay

Naninigas ang aking katawan

Kapag umikot na ang plaka

Patay sa kembot ng beywang mo

At pungay ng yong mga mata

Lumiliwanag ang buhay

Habang tayo'y magkaakbay

At dahang dahang dumudulas

Ang kamay ko sa makinis mong braso

Sana noon pa man ay sinabi na sa iyo

At kahit hindi na uso ay ito lang ang alam ko

Magkahawak ang ating kamay

At walang kamalay-malay

Na tinuruan mo ang puso ko

Na umibig ng tunay

La la la la la

At lumipas ang maraming taon

Hindi na tayo nagkita

Balita ko'y may anak ka na

Ngunit walang asawa

Tagahugas ka raw ng pinggan sa may Ermita

At isang gabi'y nasagasaan sa isang madilim na eskenita

Lahat ng pangarap ko'y bigla lang natunaw

Sa panaginip na lang pala kita maisasayaw

Magkahawak ang ating kamay

At walang kamalay-malay

Na tinuruan mo ang puso ko

Na umibig ng tunay

Magkahawak ang ating kamay

At walang kamalay-malay

Na tinuruan mo ang puso ko

Na umibig ng tunay

## Media

FILharmoniKA - Ang Huling El Bimbo (ft. Ely Buendia)Lupang Hinirang
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Adobo Geeks. Top 10 Ang Huling El Bimbo Facts You Probably Didn't Know. YouTube Video
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rogue "The Last Dance Lives On"