Florante Aguilar and Lori Abucayan first began their musical collaboration in 2003 where they met at a fundraiser at UC Davis. Florante provided the main source of entertainment with his impressive guitar skills, while Lori hosted the event and sang one Tagalog song midway through the program. It seemed this musical duo was destined to cross paths since Florante has been searching for a singer to record an album full of rearranged classic Filipino songs featuring voice and guitar. Upon hearing Lori sing a heartfelt rendition of the classic Dahil Sa Iyo, Florante immediately thought “That’s the singer I’m looking for!” Lori was thrilled to be given the opportunity to not only sing and perform but also learn about her culture and its history through music. Throughout their collaboration, Florante and Lori performed at numerous events and venues throughout Northern California including Fiesta Filipina in San Francisco and Pistahan in Yerba Buena where they were awarded a Pistahan Centennial Award in 2006 and featured in the annual parade. After years of preparation, Florante and Lori have finally launched their long-awaited debut album entitled PARAISO featuring classic Filipino songs (including the fateful Dahil Sa Iyo), folks songs, pop songs, and an original composition by Florante. It is their hope that music lovers all over the world will open their ears to the sounds reminiscent of a place that many call home and others call “paradise.”