Kapantay ay langit (As vast as the heavens)

If everything goes according to plan, the Spanish language may be declared co-official in the Philippines come January 2008. As of the moment, the official languages of this Southeast Asian nation is Filipino (based on Tagalog) and English, a legacy of its American colonial past, the regime that came after the fall of the Spanish Empire in 1898.

As gifted polyglots, Filipinos over the years have been able to combine their rich linguistic and cultural patrimony, a proof of which is the following music video of the song Kapantay ay langit (As vast as the heavens). Originally written as a contemporary form of kundiman, it was recently revived as a duet with hints of R&B by singer Janno Gibbs and Asia's Queen of Songs, Pilita Corrales, a speaker of Spanish herself. Listen now to this wonderful and brilliant blend of Filipino, English and Spanish!


My love for you is as vast as the heavens
And I pray always that you be forever happy.
Even though you are in love with someone else,
I shall never ever take offense.

But, love, when the time comes that you are made to cry
Come back to me
For I am waiting for you with all my heart and soul.
My love for you is as vast as the heavens.
It will forever remain the same.

(Pilita: My sweet love,
Even since you left,
My life has been very sad.
I ask you to come back to me.
Please come back here by my side.)

My love for you is as vast as the heavens.
It will forever remain the same.