Back to the Future – the Beat Goes On

Back to the Future – the Beat Goes On

My 2006 Philippine concert tour

By Lilac Caña

I’m getting deja-vu. Was it this time last year that I had returned home to Toronto from my other, original home – the Philippines – back from what felt like a rollercoaster ride of a concert tour? In 2005, seven concerts brought me to our Islands; in January 2006, on the cusp of the Chinese Year of the Fire Dog, I again answered the Muse. Through the generous sponsorship of the honourable Philippine Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Francisco Benedicto (whom many Fil-Canadians still fondly remember as our former Ambassador), I had the pleasure of taking up the concert trail once more, enjoying the ride and deeper revelations this trip presented.

Arriving in Cebu one week prior to Sinulog festivities (held every third week in January), I was met at Mactan international airport by Mr. Joseph Go, Sinulog Foundation organizer and overall producer of what seems now to have become an annual event – Handumanan (Memories). He was just as delighted as I that, based on the success of 2005’s premiere concert, this showcase of authentic Cebuano music and culture had come to be anticipated, not just by Visayans, but by a steadily growing international audience which now flocks annually to enjoy Cebu’s month-long celebration that is Sinulog.

Rehearsals with the Mutya Orchestra began a few days after I recovered from jet lag, at the home studio of the indomitable Mr. Cesar Las Piñas Sr. (a one-of-a-kind impresario now in his 70’s). There is nothing quite like singing with a full-piece big band orchestra, complete with trumpets, trombones, saxophones, flutes, clarinets, drums and percussion, bass and electric guitars, keyboards, and lots of congas! The experience is like riding on a tidal wave of sound that resonates through you and sweeps you up into realms of pure joy. “Daddy” Las Piñas had mailed me some songs to learn as early as November 2005, but only when I stood in that rehearsal studio with such dedicated, talented musicians did I feel the full emotional impact of these gorgeous melodies.

Songs like Balud Sa Kalimot, Ikaw Lang Ang Gihigugma Ko, Sayri Ako, and Bisan Sa Damgo Lang – too difficult to translate into English, the language of commerce – but whose richly profound meanings comment on the mystery and beauty of human experience. Why, despite my virtually Canadian upbringing (I came here at the tender age of eight), did these haunting tunes with poetic Cebuano lyrics strike such an emotional cord within me? The matter-of-fact Torontonian that I usually am always seems to morph into a hyper-sensitive Inday when I spend a few weeks in the land of my birth! Is it our naturally romantic nature as Filipinos that produces such passionate sentiments and causes us to burst into song at any given moment?

Whatever the case may be, I certainly savored every second, leading up to and including our actual concert on Friday, January 13th (ooohhh!) at the standing-room only SM Cinema One Theatre. I particularly delighted in the duets I shared with the handsome and charismatic Vice-Mayor Mike Rama (who, despite his hectic schedule as overall Sinulog Foundation Chairman, found a few hours to rehearse and perform at this year’s concert)! And to lighten things up, the savvy and charming comedian Max Surban also gave his own take on popular songs, both in English and Bisaya, giving the crowds plenty to laugh about. A veteran entertainer whose career has taken him all over the world, he taught me a lot about “keeping the ball rolling” and to free myself from any fixed “script” – even as I fumbled through our Bisaya dialect stage dialogue. With the stunning dance numbers by the University of Southern Philippines dance troupe, and lively performances from the choir and other local singers, the entire evening was a delight from start to finish.

A few short days afterwards, I found myself in Manila, and tuned in to subsequent concerts there. My friend and promoter Martin Lopez, founder of Sinagtala Arts Management, had more musical experiences in store for me. A passionate advocate of Filipino culture and artists worldwide, Martin and I had met through the introduction of Evelyn Mandac – then my teacher in New York, a few years ago. He now continues to produce concerts and shows, featuring both local talents as well as Filipino-born musicians who now make their homes in North America, Europe, Australia, and other parts of Asia. When I first got confirmation that my airfare was to be generously taken care of by Mr. Benedicto (an apt name, for such a beneficent and truly world-class gentleman), Martin and I then planned on other concerts for me to participate in, since I was “in town.”

It just so happened that the first ever Philippine International Jazz Festival was being staged in the newly developed Harbour Square in Manila, the weekend after Sinulog in Cebu. So on Sunday, January 22nd, 2006 I found myself performing a couple of ballads (accompanying myself on keyboard) alongside a dazzling array of jazz bands, singers and dance troupes, onstage at the newly opened development – much like our Harbourfront / Queens’ Quay area, only this one faced Manila Bay. (Note the huge Starbucks coffee place, alongside local Pinoy restos like “Dencio’s” and Korean/Japanese food vendors.) Apparently, Jazz has been alive and well since the 40’s in our heavily American-influenced country; there is even a particular style of jazz that is distinctly Filipino in flavour (as revealed in a fascinating documentary shown at this festival). However, January 20th to 22nd, 2006 marked the first official year that Manila hosted an international weekend-long celebration of our local jazz singers, instrumentalists and bands, as well as visiting musicians from New York, Japan, and Europe.

A few short days after this jaunt into alternative musical territory, Martin had planned another concert – this time with a remarkable young pianist / tenor, Charles (Chuckie) Ibay. Blind since birth, this Virginia, U.S.A.-based musician is an incredible concert pianist who also sings and can deliver the punchline to a joke onstage like the best of them. Dubbed “Love Comes Home: a pre-Valentine’s night duo concert”, the idea was that two musicians – Filipino but now living abroad – had “come home” and decided to perform an all love-themed musical night at the CCP’s Little Theatre. Accompanying me on some songs was the effervescent and much sought-after pianist and UP music professor, Lourdes de Leon Gregorio. Chuckie and I had only met each other two days before our Thursday, January 26th concert, but we both seemed to click instantly – we’re both gregarious musicians with quirky senses of humour… perfect! One piece we both enjoyed performing: “I Hear Singing” by Irving Berlin, for which I actually sat beside him as we played one piano with four hands while singing counterpoint melodies. Fun!

Other highlights during this recent concert tour include seemingly coincidental brushes with two Filipina Divas. I was glad to have heard Lea Salonga, very pregnant and now based in Manila for a while, in concert along with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and noted local noted classical singers, at the CCP on Wednesday, January 25th. Some excellent singing from all performers that night! As well, what an honour it was to meet the enigmatic and truly original singer / recording artist Grace Nono, who had attended our concert on Jan. 26th. This multi-talented musician, written up in both Filipino and Pop music books as an innovator and ground-breaker, has studied authentic native musical traditions with Elders, and fuses these ancient sounds with her own contemporary stylings. I spoke at length with her after the concert, and am excited at her openness for future collaboration and exchange of ideas.

The last of my concerts during this year’s much more relaxed working holiday (as compared to 2005’s frenetic 7-concert tour) brought me to historic Cavite, and the lusciously green environs of De la Salle University, Dasmariñas campus. Picture a man-made lagoon at the centre of hectares of natural space, where stately sequoias, narra and mahogany trees line the pathways of cream-coloured buildings, and a chapel with excellent acoustics stands mere feet away from a very unique museum of Filipino artifacts and furniture. Joseph (“Joey”) Panlilio is the overall director here; a very cultured man, whose family is one among several notable Caviteños to have donated historical pieces to the museum. His friend and mentor, the beloved Brother Andrew, a respected and brilliant statesman during the Marcos years, had been the visionary who encouraged Joey to gradually transform this part of Cavite into the fully functioning university community it is today. Brother Andrew was dying, and our “Concerto Sa Museo: An Evening of Classical Music” on Friday, January 27th, 2006 was planned in his honour. I had the good fortune to have been able to visit this great man at the campus hospital, to sing for him a couple of songs, the day before he passed away.

Accompanied again by the musically sensitive and deeply intuitive “Tita” Lourdes on piano, I gave a concert of our finest Filipino kundimans, balitaws, and anthems, interspersed with some arias in Spanish, Italian, French, and German. Spurred on by the knowledge that events which took place in this province of Cavite had led to the forming of our native country, I seemed strengthened by the power of these Filipino songs, and the resonance they still have today. Joined by the DLSU-D Chorale, we brought the evening to a rousing pitch with “Pilipinas Kong Mahal” – written by one of our national composers, Francisco Santiago.

Indeed, so simple an anthem expresses what millions of Filipinos worldwide must still continue to feel, for their soul’s homeland. If music is a pulse within us which propels the way we live out our highest aspirations and dreams, then I thank our Supreme Creator for the gift of music which I have enjoyed honing and sharing with others on my travels. It is a beat which keeps me going back to the future—to the land of my birth. And rebirth.

Lilac’s January 2006 Philippine Concerts

• Handumanan: a Sinulog Foundation showcase of classic Cebuano Songs
Friday, January 13th, 2006 @ 8PM
at SM Cinema One Theatre, Cebu City
with: the Mutya Orchestra & singers, comedian Max Surban,
Vice-Mayor Michael Rama, the USP Folk Dance Troupe, & other singers

• 1st Philippine International Jazz Festival
Fri. January 20th to Sun. Jan. 22nd, 2006
at Harbour Square, Manila
with: various jazz bands, singers, dance groups

• Love Comes Home: a pre-Valentines duo concert
Thursday, January 26th, 2006 @ 7:30PM
at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (Little Theater), Manila
with: Virginia, USA-based, blind pianist / tenor Charles Ibay, and pianist Lourdes de Leon Gregorio

• Concerto sa Museo: An Evening of Classical Filipino Music
Friday, January 27th @ 6:30PM
at De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, Cavite
with: pianist Lourdes de Leon Gregorio, Clarinetist Crisanto Pariño,
and the DLSU-D Chorale