Ang Huling El Bimbo

Infobox Song
Name = Ang Huling El BImbo


Artist = The Eraserheads
Album = Cutterpillow
track_no = 15
Genre = Alternative rock
Length = 4:17
Writer = Ely Buendia
Label = BMG Records (through their Musiko label)
Producer = Robin Rivera
prev = "Fill Her"
prev_no = 14
next = "Cutterpillow"
(bonus Track)
next_no = 16

"Ang Huling El Bimbo" (literally Filipino for "The Last El Bimbo") is a rock ballad by Pinoy rock group The Eraserheads from their 1995 album "Cutterpillow" as well as their international album "Aloha Milkyway". It was written by the band's vocalist-guitarist Ely Buendia. Aside from the usual band instruments the group used, the song features a synthesizer along with a piano. The song, narrated in the first person, tells the story of a man's unrequited feelings for his childhood friend, whose life came to a tragic end.

The song won the MTV Asian Viewer's Choice Award in 1997, making the Eraserheads the first and only Filipino artists to have ever won the award (Parokya ni Edgar won a similar award in 2001, but only for Southeast Asia).

There are two known versions of the song. The first one has the singer continuing to chant the chorus until the song fades. The second version replaces the monotonous chant with a guitar solo and an orchestra ensemble playing the chorus. The music video uses the second version.

ynopsis

The first and second verses tell about the narrator's youth, when he would frequently visit his childhood friend, a girl, by hanging around in her huge house after school. The girl was a good dancer, but she was at her best when dancing the el bimbo. The boy would often visit the girl after school to learn the dance, and always felt awkward doing it. It was at this point that the boy realized he was in love with the girl.

The third verse fast-forwards to the present, after the narrator and his childhood friend had not met for a long time. The girl, according to gossip, became an unwed single mother and apparently earned a living as a dishwasher in the then-seedy district of Ermita, Manila. Finally, the narrator reveals that his childhood friend had died after being run over in a dark and narrow alley.

At this point, the narrator regrets not being open with his feelings. He ultimately realizes that his feelings will remain forever unrequited and that the only time he'll be able to dance with her again will be inside his dreams.

The events of the narrator's childhood seem to be set before or around the 1960s or 1970s, as he mentions that his childhood friend looks like Paraluman, a Filipina actress popular in the 1940s.

Music video

The music video, directed by Auraeus Solito, basically retells the lyrics of the song. There are some additions, though:
*After the four boys (who become the Eraserheads) and their childhood friend make a ruckus after their dance, the friend's mother comes in and takes her away.
*The Eraserheads dance with their childhood friend, now wearing white. But she tells them that it is their last dance ("Eto na ang huling El Bimbo," "This is our last El Bimbo"). She then collapses in their arms.
*The Eraserheads bury their childhood friend in a spot filled with leaves. As they turn their backs, the woman rises like a zombie and styrosnow falls. Later, the burial spot is in flames.
*At the end of the video, the childhood friends continues to dance until the song ends.
*Other credits: Female lead role by theater artist Wena Basco
*Cinematography by Louie Quirino
*Production Design by Karissa Villa