Abba’s Chiquitita, Filipino Style

rredick June 8, 2023

No Abba superfandom required! But be prepared to be transported by the beauty of these voices and the pure joy of this doorstep performance from the Philippines.

For most of us, any Abba tune—even a gentle one—summons visions of towering Scandinavians, white bell bottoms, mirror balls, and a hundred thousand screaming fans. But “Chiquitita” is perhaps the gentlest of the gentle: a sweet song of affirmation and encouragement, the song a mother might sing to her trouble daughter.

The song is as direct and simple as it gets; that’s precisely the appeal. If there is such a thing as a universally accessible song, “Chiquitita” is it.

Enter Franz Rhythm, a father-and-children music group in the tiny township of Cambagui-Sevilla, on the island of Bohol in the Phillipines. As if to prove that beneath all the glitz, Abba has given us a sincere heartwarmer, Franz Rythym’s takes the production down to two guitars and three beautiful voices—and makes “Chiquitita” their own. Enjoy!

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