Susan Magno, voice of protest, passes away

Susan Fernandez Magno, a singer and actress who was called the "voice of a protest generation," died Thursday after more than a year-long battle with ovarian cancer. She was 52. "Her voice soared above all of the ugliness during the Marcos dictatorship," said theater director and close friend Chris Millado. "She led our protest songs and gave the movement vocal finesse. She was our voice, the voice of a protest generation." Magno died in Medical City hospital in Pasig City at 1:50 p.m. on Thursday afternoon with family and friends around her. Her singing partner Lester Demetillo sang one of her favorite songs, Both Sides Now, as she faded away. Along with music personalities like Freddie Aguilar and Inang Laya, she was a mainstay at anti-Marcos rallies in the 1980s and entertained activists with patriotic and social realist songs rendered in a distinctive and powerful soprano. "She was the most consistent female voice of those who have little voice," said former UP colleague and fellow performer Edru Abraham. "Ironically, despite what her songs were about, her voice had a soothing effect." She was also well known for singing feminist songs, including Babae Ka.

Audio of "Babae Ka" by Susan Magno
Magno led a varied cultural life. She acted in a children's show, Bulilit, in the 1990s with Bodgie Pascua. She also taught sociology at the UP Diliman and the Ateneo de Manila University. She is survived by sons Kalayaan, 25, and Ino, 23, and husband, Alex Magno, a well-known newspaper columnist and academic. Her ashes will be at Christ the King church in Greenmeadows from Friday afternoon July 3 to noon on Sunday July 5. -- Howie Severino GMANews.TV