Gail Banawis to sing PHL anthem at May 2 Pacquiao-Mayweather match: ‘Great blessing!’
Singer, fashion model, vocal coach, and theater actress
The multi-talented, well-liked teen from the Bronx, Gail Banawis, has been handpicked to sing the Philippine National Anthem at the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight in Las Vegas on May 2nd.
“With God, all things are possible, right?” writes Gail, as she announced the news on Facebook.
Gail, 19, will perform the Philippine anthem, “Lupang Hinirang,” with The Word Chorale (TWC) singing pastors from the Soccsksargen Region in Mindanao. The all-male TWC has performed at Pacquiao’s bout against Chris Algieri in Macau in November. Pacquiao’s hometown of General Santos City is part of the region.
Little John, a friend of the Banawis family, broke the news to media organizations via a group message: He said, “Hello guys, We’re in LA now and we have good news for all of you. Our very own Gail Banawis will be singing the Philippine National Anthem with The Word Chorale at MGM for the fight of the century between Pacquiao and Mayweather.”
Gail’s Linkedin profile says she is a speech-language pathology student at the City University of New York-Brooklyn College. She works as an assistant vocal coach at an organization called MB2NY/Art Earthique, Inc. At the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, she studied vocal music from 2011 to 2014. LaGuardia is a specialized school that prepares high school students for a career in dance, drama and the performing arts.
She is the daughter of Gilray Banawis, a physical therapist, and Janette Bongon.
Gail is a favorite performer at musical and stage events in the community. She was one of the featured singers at The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall, and was recently cast to do a reading for “Women of the Bible,” which was presented at the Philippine Center during the Holy Week. She was one of the models for West Coast designer David Tupaz’s Fashion Week show in New York.
Gail said she is rooting for Manny Pacquiao to win over Floyd Mayweather. Being invited to sing at what is touted to be the Fight of the Century is a “great blessing.”
Gail with her idol, Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquiao, in L.A.
Celebrating her 18th birthday with family. Also in photo are her parents Gilray (far left) and Janette (far right). Photo by Amie Dizon Banawis
Hello too every one, the articles in this website
are really amazing. keep up the nice work fellows.