Flores, Michael Sandino C.

HUM 3 Section B

2013-50306/ E14
November 4, 2016
Distorting the Triangle

The Great Pyramids of Egypt truly exemplifies the ingenuity of the ancient world. From
the design and into the size of these megastructures, one would really be amazed of how the
Egyptians managed to build such wonder during those times. Theories came that these triangular
structures with square base were made to be the final resting place of Egyptian royalties like the
Pharaohs, Prince, and Queens. The tombs were emblazoned with gold and filled with treasures
(i.e. gold and precious gemstones) because they believed that the successful passing to the afterlife
would only be possible if they were able to pay their way using gold and precious gemstones.
However, for whatever purpose that they may serve, it was believed that thousands of slaves were
commissioned to build these structures. The slaves would have worked round the clock but were
not given enough wages. Many of them died during the work and were incorporated in the
structures as well as to serve as slaves of the Egyptian royalties in the afterlife. Slavery was already
present thousands of years ago even before the Africans and Native Americans were enslaved.
After thousands of years, these pyramids still stood physically but for many of us, these
pyramids have become a part of our society. The new pyramid which we are referring right now
are the presence of social classes. Many of the singers like Gloc-9 and Bamboo echoed the current
situation of our society specifically us Filipinos. They always tend to express various realities our
lives as Filipinos in their various songs. Gloc-9 songs such as Sirena, Magda, and Walang Natira
and Bamboo songs such as Noypi, Hallelujah, and Tatsulok are well-known for their expression
of everyday Filipino life. And because of these, Gloc-9 and Bamboo became icons who were
known to convey indirect messages of the changes that we have to undertake to correct the very
society we are living right now.
Tatsulok by Bamboo generally showed how much our society is inverted in many ways.
Totoy as he called the main character in his song refers much like to the less privileged Filipinos.
Analysis of the lines of the song would direct us to many injustices that are being experienced by
less privileged portion of the Filipino Society. The tatsulok or triangle that Bamboo was referring
in this song is the different classes in our society. The few rich and powerful people belongs to the
top or apex while majority of the people who belong to the least privileged belonged to the large
base of the triangle.

There are various social injustices brought about by discriminatory views based on the
gender, culture, ethnicity, and social status. In the first stanza:
Totoy bilisan mo, bilisan mo ang takbo
Ilagan ang mga bombang nakatutok sa ulo mo
Totoy tumalon ka, dumapa kung kailangan
At baka tamaan pa ng mga balang ligaw
Totoy makinig ka, wag kang magpa-gabi
Baka mapagkamalan ka't humandusay dyan sa tabi
Totoy alam mo ba kung ano ang puno't dulo
Ng di matapos-tapos na kaguluhang ito
It was clearly shown here that there are various problems that less privileged Filipinos encounter
in their everyday life. These problems include poverty which is characterized by the lack of stable
source of income, absence of proper dwelling place, lack of formal education, widespread hunger,
and absence of sufficient and efficient social services. If Totoy, as he called them, wants to
survive, he must work hard and find ways on how to address these problems which is suggested
by the line Totoy bilisan mo, bilisan mo ang takbo. Moreover, he also suggested that if people
like Totoy wants to survive, they must jump or dock as which clearly implied that one must be
resourceful and must exhaust all possible solutions to problems of everyday life. He also wants to
tell us that if dont want to end up being caught dead in the dark streets or should we say, end up
dying just because of social injustices, we must follow his advices.
In the second stanza:
Hindi pula't dilaw tunay na magkalaban
Ang kulay at tatak ay di syang dahilan
Hangga't marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan
At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman
The first line refers to the presence of Pro-Marcos and Pro-Aquino which were symbolized by the
red and yellow colors respectively. We all know that most of the less privileged Filipino people
were part of these factions and movements but this was not the source of the social injustices that
he was pointing out. Clearly, he wants to inform us as long as many of the Filipinos belong to the
less privileged (poverty), justice will always be denied to them. On the other hand, for the few rich

and powerful people of our society, the justice system will always be in favor of them for their
selfish benefits even if it means to deny the true justice to those who deserved it.
In the succeeding line:
Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok
Di matatapos itong gulo
Bamboo finally pointed out that the source of all the social injustices that we are experiencing (by
saying the word we, I mean to say that I also belong to those less privileged) are our fellow
Filipinos who belonged to the few rich and powerful individuals. As long as they are present on
the top of the triangle (society), the less privileged Filipinos will stay in that way. As a result, they
are divided into different groups who fight each other in order to survive. As long as they stay on
their powers, the authority they possess will always be used to benefit and use the less privileged.
Finally, in the last stanza:
Iligtas ang hininga ng kay raming mga tao
At ang dating munting bukid, ngayo'y sementeryo
Totoy kumilos ka, baliktarin ang tatsulok
Tulad ng dukha, nailagay mo sa tuktok
He said that the old peaceful society that we are living, which sustained harmony and coexistence,
became the very grave where people died. The very land where they used to be peaceful inhabitants
became the place of injustices brought about by the people on top. Most importantly, he is
persuading us to invert the triangle so that one day the less privileged will be on top and they will
no longer suffer the consequences of social injustices. We can accomplish such great feat, even
though we are already on the way, by continuously building ourselves us individuals. We can build
ourselves by obtaining proper education and by all means not just intelligence but the wisdom and
knowledge to become a catalyst of change. As long as we, the less privileged, do not take action,
we will always stay below the triangle and social injustices will stay as a part of social classes. A
leithmotif being shown in the lyrics of the song is that death will always be there to be the only
choice of way out. And the song wants to instill to us that it is more honorable to die doing
everything to uplift our lives than just sitting and waiting all day for social injustices to leave us.
For we all know, the existence of social classes are inevitable truth and part our of present.
It doesnt mean that if we become part of the apex of the triangle, we must act that we are always
on top of everything. Instead, we must use the chance given to us to help other people who are part

of the lower portion of the society. By all means, we should try not to invert (I tend to disagree
with Bamboo) the pyramid but to distort the pyramid such that it becomes a circle. A circle where
people live without boundaries set by the social classes and where equality among individuals
abounds. A society where people live in harmony, guided with a common goal to continuously
develop and build a stronger society where the word civilization could truly describe it.