Filipina Singers and Jazz in Post-Colonial Manila

Abstract

Women performing jazz in mid-twentieth century Manila could only be two types of musicians in public – as a singer or a pianist who sings. Bringing together anecdotes from interviews, mainstream media coverage, and analyses from Philippine studies, this paper presents a history of the jazz scene in Manila through the lives of female singers associated with the genre after the Second World War (1946 to 1970). How did a post-colonial region, particularly an American ex-colony, signify and engage with jazz? By illuminating how Filipina singers navigated key encounters, and observing how jazz and singers were identified in Manila’s press and in personal interviews, this paper explores the sociocultural meanings shaping the practice and history of jazz in the Philippines. This case study follows the lived experiences of Priscilla Aristoreñas, Katy de la Cruz, Thelma Quesada, Nora Linda, Dulce Din, Josie Quizon, Annie Brazil, Megan Herrera, Rita Posadas, and Nelda Navarro. As they navigated their gendered pathways and neo-colonial conditions as itinerant musicians in Manila and Asia and the Pacific’s U.S. military bases and entertainment circuit, their jazz identities became radiant. Interlacing their stories will depict how Manila’s scene was shaped by translocal networks along with gendered, racial, and class dynamics, offering a critical understanding of the history of jazz in the Philippines.