Pinay singer in UAE gets big break recording song on cultural diversity

A Dubai-based Filipina singer has been chosen as one of the 22  artists from all over the world who will record a song celebrating the diversity of cultures thriving in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Virginia Sanchez, known as La Ghie to the Filipino community in the Middle East, will be recording “We are the Emirates” at the Opera studio in Dubai next month. Eleven foreign artists—including India’s Asha Bhosle,  Morocco’s Houda Saad and French-Spanish singer Batista—will join her in the studio to sing the original composition in their respective native languages.

UAE advertising giant Heat Creative Media Group, which commissioned the song, said in a statement that they tapped foreign artists to sing “We are the Emirates” to reflect the cultural diversity thriving in the region.

“[The] song is a tribute to the vision of the UAE [as a] beacon of the peace, solidarity, unity, love of culture, diversity and modernity, which are shared by [its] residents,” it said.

Born in Pangasinan, Sanchez joined several local and national singing competitions before deciding to fly to Japan in 2003 to try her luck as a professional singer. After a short stint as a backup singer for several bands, Sanchez moved to Qatar to perform for Filipino expatriates.

Soon, Sanchez—who was already making waves in the Middle East music scene as La Ghie—became an in-demand singer at events and concerts. Her singing prowess allowed her to travel to several countries in Eastern Europe, including Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo.

Her rendition of the famous Albanian song “Moj E Bukura,” which means “Beautiful Remix” in English, has received positive reviews from critics. In particular, the Albanian news magazine Panorama hailed Sanchez’s version of the song as “beautiful and even better than the version [sung] by Albanian singers.”

Despite receiving various invitations to travel overseas for singing engagements, Sanchez still takes the time to perform for events and concerts organized by the Filipino community in Dubai as a way of showing her pride in being a Filipino. In 2012, she was featured as a guest in the UAE concerts of Filipino comedian Pooh and actor Aljur Abrenica.

At the prodding of her friends and fans, Sanchez held  her first concert earlier this year at the Comedy Junction in Dubai. The 34-year-old has hinted on her Facebook page that she will hold another concert soon “due to popular demand.”

Sanchez’s solo rendition of “We are the Emirates” will be included in a special CD to be formally launched on January 30, 2014 at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. An international launch will be held in February at the Palais des Festival in Cannes, France. — KBK, GMA News