CEBU INMATES DOING THE "THRILLER"

As a continuation to my tribute to the 80's icon MICHAEL JACKSON, Here's the original four-minute Web-smash video, performed by the Cebu prison inmates to the tune of " THRILLER ".

You may recall that this video presentation stemmed from an experimental program started by local security consultant Byron Garcia, which added synchronized dancing to the prison's exercise programs in the hopes of spurring better attendance and more involved participation. And judging by the results, it was certainly a success, as Garcia's post of the convicts' conga lines cavorting a la Jackson and his legion of undulating undead became an immediate phenomenon, drawing over 24 million hits--a million of them in the 24-hour period following the news of Jackson's death.

Still, it was sort of comforting to see Crisanto Niere, the drug dealer who impersonated Jackson in the first YouTube dance, back in the lead role in the revival, thanks most likely to the fact that he still has a few years on his seven-year sentence and didn't have any conflicting bookings--legal or illegal--to worry about.

And bless their paying-their-debts-to-society heads, the Cebu inmates have once again done their warden, the country, and, yes, the entire planet proud. As Michael Jackson, the fallen idol whose music helped these unlikely people gain international recognition, once noted, it doesn't matter if you're black or white, or living as a free person in society or inside a detention and rehab center in the Philippines. We're all people--and we are the world.