Driven by passion for music, seven people came together and formed the band Junior Kilat. Named as such for the Visayan hero Leon Kilat of Pantalleon Villegas, the band composes music of social and cultural relevance. And like thunder, they struck Filipinos with their music so familiar and yet so new: the Visayan reggae.

Novelty comedy singers Yoyoy Villame and Max Urban first introduced Visayan reggae to the Philippine airwaves during the 1970s. But the beat was not recognized as reggae until the stardom of Bob Marley. Although it became famous again on the year 2000, the band members of Junior Kilat thought that there was something missing. "Reggae is supposed to be local," says Errol 'Budoy' Mirabiles, the band singer and composer. From here, they thought of using local dialects such as Cebuano and Waray as the medium of the music.

The band solicited mixed reactions from the Cebuano audience that were composed mostly of high school and college students and the lower class. Conversely, Junior Kilat was well accepted in the Manila scene by the yuppies. Although Bisaya is stereotyped as 'second rate' because Tagalog is the national language, Mirabiles and the other band members think of it as an advantage. "There are many Bisaya who could understand us, and at the same time, we are exotic for non-Bisaya speaking people, they try to find something that's ours but something that's unique."

As a proof to this, their song 'Ako si M16,' famous of its onomatopoeic lyrical verses such as 'ratatatatat,' won the NU 107 Rock Awards because of its originality. Junior Kilat also takes pride on being one of the few if not the first Visayan band to be invited to play in The Fort.

Mirabiles notes that media centralization and of the stereotype culture as crude and quaint makes it hard for Visayan bands to have a career in Manila, leaving them with no choice but to stay in Cebu. Since the city is small enough for the bands to get well acquainted with bands of different influences, they tend to create a mixture of each other's music, resulting into a new blend. Unlike big cities that have music trends, Cebu has a variety to listen from. "We don't force to make our music hit. We just do what we love," professes Mirabiles.

Budoy's stint in the reality television contest show Pinoy Big Brother also helped open opportunities for Visayan music to infiltrate the national scene. Foreigners who listened to their music acclaimed of its quality. Just recently, Junior Kilat released its latest album called Enrique de Mallaca, as a tribute to the believed to be Filipino slave of Magellan who first circumnavigated the world. For Junior Kilat, Enrique is a great source of pride for Filipinos. Formed in almost a year, the album contains completely evolved music compared to their previous albums. The songs 'Granadub' and 'Enrique de Mallaca' are dedicated to Yoyoy Villame who greatly inspired the band?s music.

Open to the thought of spanning the world through their music, Junior Kilat members promise to stick to their love for culture by using Bisaya wherever they may go.

Watch Budoy's Buwad, Suka, Sili music video: