‘Sana ay proud kayo, Pilipinas’: Ylona Garcia sings ‘Lupang Hinirang’ in LA Dodgers game
Ylona Garcia expressed her happiness about being given the chance to sing the Philippine national anthem in the United States.
The Pinoy Big Brother alum shared her experience in an Instagram post, admitting that she felt nervous to do it at first. “Medyo kabado ako nung un ana kantahin ito dahil hindi ito ang sarili kong kanta,” the Filipino-Australian opened up, “pero kahit na ganumpaman, ito ang kanta na nagrerepresenta sa aking sarili at sa aking bansa.”
“Sinigurado ko na nasa tamang tono, tamang oras, at higit sa lahat, galing sa aking puso ang pagkanta ko nito,” she said.
“Sana’y napasaya at napahanga ko kayo, mga kababayan. Sana ay proud kayo, Pilipinas!” she added.
The local star sang Lupang Hinirang at a Los Angeles Dodgers game last week during its Filipino Heritage Night.
Ylona is best known for her stint on the reality television series Pinoy Big Brother: 737 in 2015, where she emerged as first runner-up. After appearing in some local TV shows like On the Wings of Love and Sana Dalawa Ang Puso, she returned to Australia in 2020 and became part of the American music collective 88rising in 2021. She has since been making waves as a singer and songwriter.