3,000 Catholic school kids, Black Eyed Peas members make new Christmas song

(OSV News) -- As many as 3,000 Catholic school children from poor families in the Philippines made their pop music debut in a new Christmas song by some members of the multi-platinum hip-hop/pop group Black Eyed Peas.

Its online music video -- which also includes footage of the children's synchronized performance -- was released Dec. 13. The audio version of the song was released Nov. 29.

Seventh through 12th grade students at one of the Sisters of Mary Schools located in Cavite, outside the capital Manila, sing "It's That Time Of Year."

The student choir sings the jazzy Christmas lullaby in three-quarter time strummed on bass and punctuated with the clear chimes of hand bells played by the children's bell choir. Black Eyed Peas' rapper and singer Apl.de.Ap, or Allan Pineda Lindo, producer and Black Eyed Peas drummer Keith Harris and songwriter David "DQ" Quiñones all authored the song.

Apl, who is half-Filipino and half African American, splits his time between Los Angeles and the Philippines. He said in a news release about "It's That Time Of Year" that he was inspired by the children after he visited their school earlier this year.

The Sisters of Mary Schools were founded in 1985 by an American priest from Washington, Father Aloysius Schwartz (1930-1992). Father Schwartz, whom Pope Francis declared "Venerable" in 2015, also founded the Sisters of Mary Congregation in 1964. Their schools are located in seven countries around the world and serve deeply impoverished children. In the Philippines, the students mostly come from subsistence farming or small fisherfolk families.

Sister Mylene Arambulo, a Sister of Mary, is the principal of the Sisters of Mary girls' school located in Cavite. Herself a graduate of the schools, Sister Mylene told OSV News the Sisters of Mary recruit children who have at least 80% average (B average) grades at their local schools before they enter the order's boarding schools. The goal, she explained, is for the children to receive a strong technical and vocational education, so they can enter practical fields such as automotive work, technical drafting and bookkeeping and start earning immediately after finishing school in order to support their families.

Sister Mylene said the president of the school's foundation, Fr. Al's Children, invited Apl to visit the school.

"It's not just (free) education," she said. "We give free food, clothing, shelter and even medical and dental services. We really give a holistic program to the students coming from the poorest of the poor. So we are very grateful if Apl.de.Ap can help us to sustain this program."

The artist, who was born in a small town in Pampanga province about 60 miles northwest of Manila, is active in charitable works for young people in need in the Philippines.

Apl, 50, told OSV News that he came to the U.S. when he was 11 to get "treatment for my vision that the Philippines was unable to provide at the time." He had a problem that caused his eyes to move involuntarily, making him legally blind.

He was raised by his mother and Filipino grandparents until he was adopted by his Los Angeles-based sponsor, Joe Ben Hudgens, when he was 14. He went on to form a band with his high school best friend William Adams, Jr., or will.i.am. The band had several iterations until it became a success as the Black Eyed Peas.

Apl said his team has shared the master recordings of the song with the school.

"It is a song that we really hope comes back every year and continues to do good," Apl wrote. "I hope that it will pay for the tuition of one year of all the students. These kids are the future and it's bright. They just need the access to the education. These are some of the most deserving kids and all we have to do to support them is stream."

Carla Barretto, volunteer project coordinator of the Fr. Al's Children Foundation told OSV News the schools are 100% donor funded, and in the Philippines most of the donors are older.

"Something like this with a name like Apl.de.Ap's and all of his resources attached to it, we're so grateful for, because this ... brings that awareness to a younger set of people who hadn't heard of Sisters of Mary Schools before," she said.

The news release said royalties from the song will be split evenly between its producers, Apl's APLFI foundation, and the Sisters of Mary Schools. The school and Apl expressed hope that the song would become a regular on playlists every Christmas season.

Sister Teresita Sumalabe, a Sister of Mary and treasurer of the Fr. Al's Children Foundation, said tuition is 60,000 Philippine pesos (approximately $1,020) per year. There are close to 9,400 students at all four Sisters of Mary Schools in the Philippines.

Sister Teresita told OSV News the children were very excited to shoot the video with David Quiñones conducting them and Keith Harris listening as they recorded.

"The way I look at it, for them as youngsters, they just want to sing to make everybody happy," she said. "And then they're happy making others happy. So, they don't think about the income or what. They are just thinking that they sing for others to smile. That's their joy."