The APO Hiking Society A Major Filipino Music Sensation

The APO Hiking Society is a group that became famous in 1973 after giving a farewell concert in Manila, Philippines. This group was talked about a lot at the Ateneo University and other college campuses that found plenty of merit to their music as well as humor. The group APO was formerly known as the Apolinario Mabini Hiking Society, and two of its members became well known only before retiring from making amateur music. The three members of the APO Hiking Society were Danny Javier, Boboy Garrovillo and Jim Paredes, while a fourth member left the band to become a corporate employee.

A Hit Record and More Fame Thereafter

The end result of their farewell concert was a hit record that had songs from two nights of rapturous music. Now, thirty years from that farewell concert, the APO Hiking Society has made over twenty CD’s and has hosted many television shows that include a Sunday afternoon show called the Sa Linngo nAPO Sila. Besides these shows and CD’s, the APO Hiking Society has had many successful concert tours and has performed many shows for corporate groups as well.

The group has visited not only the United States and Canada, but also Indonesia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Japan. Their travels have brought a taste of the Philippines to these countries in the essence of Filipino music. In fact, the APO Hiking Society was the first Filipino pop group to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in October of 1987, and they did equally well at Massey Hall in Toronto. Needless to say, these two concerts were sellout successes. They were also the first Filipino artists to play in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This popular group also has several music awards to their name.

Perhaps the crowning moment in the lives of the APO Hiking Society may have been the international acclaim given to them for the Jim Paredes anthem describing the bloodless revolution in Philippines in the year 1986. There have since been made many different versions of the song in many different languages and the lyrics of that song are found on a wall of Our Lady of Edsa Shrine where the revolution all began.

The APO Hiking Society has reached the stature of a legend, which has led to a number of other Filipino artists making an album dedicated to the group. In spite of the fact that the group had been banned by the Marcos regime, they still enjoy an enviable and richly deserved reputation in many areas today.