*388. Our Lady of the Opera: FIDES CUYUGAN ASENSIO

KAPAMPANGAN DIVINE DIVA. Fides Cuyugan Asensio, the leading voice of Philippine Opera, traces her roots to the capital city of San Fernando, from where her father, Dr. Gervacio Santos-Cuyugan hails from.

In the field of musical opera, one Kapampangan who has done most for its appreciation and advancement is the acclaimed diva from San Fernando, Fides Cuyugan-Asensio (b. 1 August 1931). Asencio is considered as an institution in Philippine Opera for the last 5 decades, ranking as one of the most versatile performers in the country.

 Asencio was born to Dr. Gervacio Santos-Cuyugan of San Juan, San Fernando and Jacinta Belza. She took her elementary education at Philippine Women’s University in 1938, where she revealed her love for singing. When it was time to go to college, she stayed on at the Philippine Women’s University which had a good curriculum in Music.

With a diploma tucked under her belt, Fides applied and was accepted at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia U.S.A. in 1947—the first Filipina to be admitted to the prestigious music school—where she earned an Artist’s Diploma in Voice.

 When she returned to the Philippines, she took time to get married to Manuel “Jimmy” Asensio Jr. in 1954 with whom she had two children, Dennis (a doctor) and Manuel III. Then, she plunged headlong into musical opera, which had long had the reputation as an entertainment form reserved for the elite. Her rich, coloratura soprano voice was fitted to great classical roles, like Adele in “Die Fledermaus”and Lucia in “Lucia di Lammermoor”.

But in addition to that, Fides took on roles in Philippine-created operas that were adapted from historical works. Critics raved when she played the crazed woman “Sisa” in the opera, “Noli Me Tangere” based on Rizal’s opus. She left an indelible impression as Dña. Luisa vda. De Bustamante in “La Loba Negra” and Juana la Loca in the ethno-opera, “Lapu-Lapu”.

 To expand the portfolio of local operatic materials, Asencio, who was also a talented librettist-lyricist, took Nick Joaquin’s popular “May Day Eve”and transformed it into the opera “Mayo-Bisperas ng Liwanag”. One other noteworthy work was “Larawan at Kababaihan, Maskara ng Mukha”.

 She took her advocacy to television, by appearing in the well-received “Sunday Sweet Sunday (aired from 1969-74) where she sang arias, musical theater pieces and opera excerpts, together with husband Jimmy, himself, a known opera perfomer. As if TV and stage were not enough, she also appeared in such acclaimed movies as “Oro, Plata, Mata” (1982), directed by Peque Gallaga, "Aparisyon”(2012) and more recently, “Mana”(2014).

 Her great efforts and achievements were not lost on leading award-giving bodies of the Philippines. These singular distinctions include: 1989 Best of the Philippine Profile of Achievement as Performing Artist; 1990 and 1993 Asia Opera Award, and 1999 Aliw Awards Foundation’s Gawad Siglo ng Aliw Honorees. In 2005, she was the National People’s Choice for “Grand Achievement in Theater Arts”. She was honored by her proud city by naming her as one of the Outstanding Fernandinos in the field of Arts. This was capped by a Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on 7 July 2005.

 Fides Cuyugan Asensio has not rested on her laurels and continues to be a leading voice in local opera. After founding The Music Theater Foundation of the Philippines in 1986, she moved on to music education and is currently a Professior Emeritus of the U.P. Voice and Music, Theater/Dance Dept. and the Fides Cuyugan Asensio Institute of Music and Arts. Her rich, crystalline voice can be heard on the seminal CD of Kapampangan songs, “Pamalsinta Keng Milabas”, singing the classic favorite “Atin Cu Pung Singsing”, a tribute to her roots that she has not forgotten even after years of performing on the world stage.

*362. MUSICUS: The Sound of Our Fiestas!

MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJORETTES. Lovely Kapampangan majorettes pose for a shot before joining the local 'musicus' in their rounds around the town, lending a festive air to Pampanga fiestas. ca. 1950s.

It’s our Mabalacat city fiesta as I write this article---and it’s a pity that I am not there to enjoy the festivities, not to mention the colorful sights, smells and sounds that accompany the yearly February 2 proceedings. You just know it’s fiesta season when blue and white buntings start lining the streets and tiangge stalls begin popping up along the church perimeter, offering all sorts of goods, from the useful to the bizarre.

 But nothing says “fiesta” more than the presence of music-making bands—“musicus”—staples of every fiesta, in every town and barrio of the Philippines. With their gleaming brass horns, cymbals, lyres, trumpets, drums and bugles, uniformed band members--preceded by a bevy of pretty, baton-twirling majorettes—are always a striking sight when they take to the streets, making stirring melodies as they march, with a bit of choreography on the side.

 Evolved from the roving “musikung bumbung” (bamboo bands), today’s bands drew early inspirations from the acclaim gained by the Philippine Scouts Band at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. The band was the largest at the fair, and it had a large repertoire of 80 pieces, against Fredric Sousa’s 65. “They were good and had temperament which the other bands lacked”, wrote one visitor.

 Needless to say, they took the world’s fair by storm, often performing in drills with “Little Macs”—young Macabebe veterans who enlisted for service to fight for the Americans in the Philippine-American War. Certainly, the incredible feat of that Philippine band helped fuel interest back in the islands for organized bands.

Just 4 years after that U.S. triumph, the Philippines had its own national fair—the Manila Carnival—and in 1909, the band from Angeles outplayed its rivals to clinch first place in the musical band competition. It was during town fiestas, however, that local bands gave rein to their musical creativity.

In the Betis fiesta of 1959, a local band—Banda 46—was tasked to march around the town starting on the fiesta eve, from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.— to rouse people from their sleep—for a period of nine days! The day was capped with musical duel between bands---Serenata ning Musicus—in which Banda Sexmoan 12 played against Banda Sexmoan 31 at the church patio in a test of musical endurance and bravado.

 On 29 December, an exhibition was staged by a bevy of band majorettes, displaying their dancing and baton-twirling skills while band members in their gala uniforms played their best. On the fiesta day itself, 12 bands paraded along the streets, with some, invited from different provinces: Banda Baliwag, Banda Cabiao 96, Banda San Leonardo, Banda Bocaue, Banda Sexmoan 31, Banda Sexmoan 12, Banda Pulilan, Banda Candaba, Banda Duat Bacolor, Banda San Antonio Bacolor, Banda 48 Betis, Banda 26 Betis and the 600 Clark Field Air Force Band thru the courtesy of Mr. Salvador Pangilinan.

The bands then converged to escort the carrozas of the town patrons for the grand procession. The 1939 Lubao town fiesta from 4-5 May, was also made exciting with the presence of 3 “musicus”: Banda Lubao, Banda Sinfonica (Malabon) and Banda Buenaventura (Baliwag). The 3 bands were gathered at the municipio before they set out for the Poblacion, treating Lubeños to a musical extravaganza never before seen in the town.

 A 1946 fiesta souvenir program from Sta. Rita detailed also the arrival of 3 bands that played on the eve of the fiesta, the first one held after the Liberation: Banda Sta. Rita, Banda 31 from Sexmoan and Banda San Basilio. The next day, May 22, they gave it their all at the Serenata ding Banda de Musica. Even a small barrio could very well afford to pay a local “musicus” to lend gaiety to its fiesta.

In 1957, Valdes, a barrio of mostly agricultural families in Floridablanca, had two bands performing for their May 19 fiesta: the popular Banda 31 of Sexmoan which delighted residents in Gasac and Talang, and Banda Juan dela Cruz which came all the way from Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, to play at Looban and Mabical. On May 18, Saturday, a free concert was mounted featuring the two bands, highlighted by a military drill.

 I just can’t imagine a fiesta without a “musicus”. Bands just don’t set the stage and the mood for a celebration. But long after the food, the drinks, the rides, the sideshows and the baratilyos are gone, it is the voice of the band that will live on—inspiring, rousing, uplifting airs, that may as well be the theme music of our joyous lives!

*347. KAPAMPANGAN VOICES IN TAWAG NG TANGHALAN

TAWAG'S HOSTS WITH THE MOST.  The iconic tandem of Lubao-born Patsy and Lopito will forever be inextricably associated with the most successful talent show ever to air on radio and TV. Tawag ng Tanghalan produced a bumper crop of singing superstars like Nora Aunor, Novo Bono Jr., Diomedes Maturan, Edgar Mortiz--including Kapampangans Cenon Lagman and June Pena.

Before the Filipinization of ”American Idol”, “America’s Got Talent”, “The Voice” , “X-Factor” and all those stateside talent searches, there was the one and only “Tawag ng Tanghalan”, the first true national talent search conducted by the local manufacturing and marketing giant, Philippine Marketing Company or PMC. PMC had been producing staple products for Filipino families for years, such as Luto, Perla Soap, Dari Crème, Star Margarine and its banner brand, Purico.

When it was bought by the global company, Procter and Gamble, its new product offerings expanded even more to include icon brands such as Tide, Vicks, Camay, Safeguard and Mr. Clean Camay (Crest, Zest, Oil of Olay and Ariel would follow many years later).

 To promote its products to the mass market, PMC sponsored a nationwide singing talent search in 1955, with the intent of discovering a young amateur champion from the contests conducted through 7 radio stations and open auditions using 13 roving advertising trucks. Regional finalists, judged by a panel, were then transported to Manila for the national finals held at the capacious Manila Jockey Club to perform before a huge crowd.

In the end, a Spanish mestizo, Jose Gonzalez was adjudged as the first-ever Tawag ng Tanghalan champion with his song “Angelitos Negros”, followed by Angelita Espinosa, and the Montecillo sisters. Jose Gonzalez – who would later be known as Pepe Pimentel—received a cash prize, PMC products and a surrealistic trophy designed by artist Cesar Legaspi.

This marketing ploy proved to be effective for PMC that, when television became the next big thing in media, the company bought air time on Channel 3 and produced TV version of the same contest, which proved to be a long-running success, broadcasted from the radio and TV media from 1955 to 1972. There were to be 3 years (1966-69), that “Tawag” ceased airing, but the contest resumed in 1970, spawning artists like Novo Bono, Edgar Mortiz, Jonathan Potenciano and Nora Aunor.

Closely associated with its success where the hosts, Patsy and Lopito. Patsy Mateo of Lubao, spent her growing up years in Hawaii, but came back to pursue a career in stage (‘bodabil’) and film, during the Commonwealth years and after the war. “Tawag ng Tanghalan” would giver the opportunity to flaunt her Kapampangan-ness by breaking into the language at every opportunity—to tickle the audience, calm down contestants’ nerves, or even console losing singers who were dispatched home at the sound of a gong.

Patsy was not the only Kapampangan personality in “Tawag ng Tanghalan” as conetestants from Pampang regularly joined the weekly auditions. In 17 years of “Tawag”, at least two Kapampangans have brought home the Grand Championship trophy.

 Cenon Punla Lagman of Masantol, Pampanga was a fisherman-turned singer who wowed judges with his inimitable renditions of kundiman songs. At the age of 24, he won the “1960 Tawag ng Tanghalan Grand Finals” with his performance of “Ikaw Lamang ang Iibigin”, succeeding the very popular Diomedes Maturan.

The two ”Tawag” stars went on to co-star in the movie “Maturan and Lagman”, under VIN productions. Lagman, known as the “Prinsipe ng Kundiman” went to on to record under Mayon Records, popularizing songs like, “Pandora”, “Bakas ng Lumipas”, ”Bakit Di Kita Malimot” and “Salamat sa Ala-ala”. Later, he joined Alpha Records while raising his family in Las Piñas. He died on 25 May 2013.

 June Peña, the 1965 Grand Champion, is listed in the “Tawag” record books as having represented Dagupan, Pangasinan at the national finals. In truth, Peña comes from Barangay Batang 2nd, in Sasmuan, Pampanga. It so happened that while he was paying a visit to his girlfriend Helen in Dagupan, the “Tawag” auditions were also being held there. He signed up, won the Dagupan regionals and was whisked off to Manila where he bagged the major prize with the song "Autumn Leaves", succeeding Eva Adona. Peña still resides in Pangasinan today.

 Attempts at reviving “Tawag ng Tanghalan” began in the mid 1980s with a special “Reunion of Champions” telecast that gathered past “Tawag” champions. Abroad, especially in the U.S., the spirit of “Tawag” lives on in several singing competitions that have adapted the same contest title. It is almost certain that a Kapampangan Come audtion time, it is almost certain that a Kapampangan will join, make the cut and give the performance of his life. With music in his blood, he will find it hard not to respond to the roar of the crowd and answer the call of the stage—ang “Tawag ng Tanghalan”!.

*181. PIANO LESSONS

SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE. A Kapampangan girl takes a break from her piano lessons to pose before her imported piano, a status symbol for many Pampanga homes. Ca. mid 1920s.

For many affluent Kapampangan homes at the turn of the 20th century, the piano was a must-have musical instrument cum furniture piece, and owning one became a status symbol—and more. A child’s mastery of the ivory keys reflected the level of culture a family has attained, his skills a statement of his refined upbringing.

Families went looking for the piano of their dreams at the Philippine Music Store along Carriedo, operated by the Kapampangan Quisons. There were German-made brands like “F. Weber” and “Hermann” as well as the English “Robinson” or American "Steinway” and "Baldwin" pianos, all available in convenient monthly installments.

Schools like the Assumption Academy in San Fernando took advantage of the growing demand for piano lessons by offering Musical Sciences, major in piano. But for those who wish to study at their own leisure, one could hire private tutors. In the 1930s, Angeles kids went to the home of Isabel Mesina, who advertised her services in local papers."Tuturung tigtig piano”, she described herself. “Matula nang paquilala ing pegaralan na quenumang bisang agad mabiasang tigtig piano. Abac at gatpanapun ing pamanuru” .

Through the years, a number of Kapampangan pianists have attained national and global fame with their musical wizardry. One artist who gained wide exposure on Philippine TV is Amado Pascual of Arayat, who, at the age of 9, was tutored by his father. By 16, Pascual was a professional pianist for a band which got assignments at Clark Field.

Moving to Manila in 1947 to expand his musical horizons, Pascual became an arranger and a musical director. Pascual became a freelance performer both here and abroad but he is best known as a resident pianist for ABS-CBN from 1957-1972.

Internationally-acclaimed classical pianist Cecile B. Licad (b. 11 May 1961) , whose family roots are in Lubao, started as a child prodigy, tutored at age 3 by her mother, Rosario Picazo. She made her debut as a soloist with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at age 7 and was taken in eventually as a student of Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of Music.

In 1981, Licad received the prestigious Leventritt Gold Medal, one of the youngest artists in the contest’s history to be recognized. She has performed with the most renowned orchestras of the world, from the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, London Symphony, Tokyo’s NHK Symphony and regularly records for Sony.

An accomplished chamber musician, Licad has also graced the major concert halls of the world—from Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall and the Kennedy Center. She has a son, Otavio Licad Meneses, who is also a musical artist. Cecile Licad is set to treat her kabalen in a special homecoming concert scheduled for 2011 at the Holy Angel University Auditorium in Angeles.

Making waves for many years now in Europe is Conrado del Rosario (b. 21 Aug. 1958), based in Germany. Angeles-born “Titus” spent much of his young student life in the city schools where he first gained attention by winning regional musical competitions in the 70s. As a University of the Philippines scholar, he moonlit as a professional pianist-arranger in the commercial music industry.

Eventually, he won a Young Artists of the Philippines Foundation Scholarship that took him to Berlin, where he studied composition and orchestral conducting while mastering the flute, alto saxophone and exotic Asian instruments like the kulintang and gamelan. Known in Europe as Titus Chen, he made his mark by winning international competitions (1st Prize at the Hambacher Competition in Germany for his piece “Darangan”, besting 300 contestants from 32 countries, 2nd Prize at the Hitzacker Composition Contest for his chamber ensemble work “Yugto”).

In 1991, he was picked by the Berlin Senate for Cultural Affairs as one of 5 young composers to write a piece for the Scharoun Ensemble, performed in Salzburg and Berlin. His music has been heard not only in Germany but also in Zurich, Paris, Katowice, Melbourne, Budapest, Amsterdam, Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, and Tel Aviv.

As a teacher, he has taught piano and piano improvisation. And, as founder-pianist of the Berlin Improvising Composers’ Ensemble, he has gone on international tours and done recordings on CD. Titus has also dabbled in films, appearing as an actor-pianist in a few movies like “Company Business” (1991) starring Gene Hackman. This Kapampangan virtuoso is into jazz music these days (as a jazz saxophonist, he is known as Titus Chen), playing regular gigs with his band, but he hopes to go back to composing.

The piano has lost much of its appeal to Kapampangan youths of today who are more into band music that calls for electric guitars, drums and synthesizers. But one need only to look at the stellar achievements of Pascual, Licad and del Rosario, to be convinced of the priceless rewards that the gruelling years of piano training have brought to their lives as creative artists. In an extraordinary way, the ivory keys that they passionately touched and played, became the very same keys that unlocked a world of untold opportunities, paving the way for their conquest and triumph of the global music stage.

*146. BEAUTY SECRETS IN A KAPAMPANGAN SONG

GANDA BABAE. A portrait of a Pampanga beauty, identified only as Soleng, sent to her friend on 28 September 1915.

Whitening products have been touting the beauty of a fair complexion as an aspiration of every kayumangging Filipina. But cosmetics companies recognize that being white is not enough, for there are undesirable kinds of whiteness with connotations of frailty and weakness. Pale white, uneven white, chalky white—these are beauty no-no’s. Instead, one should strive to have a rosy kind of complexion, exuding the pink glow of health and the vitality of youth.

Kapampangans too, have been obsessed with this notion that only white is beautiful. Their exposure to our fair skinned-colonial masters must have heightened their desire to transform their “kulay kastanyas” complexion—as islanders were described in Spanish colonial times-- to one of peaches ‘n cream. A Pampangueña spent hours pampering her face so she could have that “kabalat kapaya” loveliness, as one song described it—smooth, at “malare puti”—fair and glowing.

The same song variant offered creative solutions to paleness, which is a sure sign of sickness. To regain that dewy, rosy white complexion, one just as to follow a series of recipes using exotic ingredients—if you can find them!

O cacang maputla, bisang lare ditac?

Matul cung panulu, queca macacayap

Sagu ning cabayu, quiling ning damulag

Saca me aruban qng ebun ning tarat

Ilutu mu naman, qng curan a dutung

Layun mu lang tamban, qng marimlang danum

Panga dalise na, agad mung ipainum

Camandag ning saquit, antimong melasun

Nung a sacaling eca pa cumayap

Manintun naca man balbas na ning tugac

Atdung e mapait, larang e maparas

Qng asung apagquit, carin mu padaldac.


(O pale friend, do you want to look rosy?
I will prescribe a medication that would make you well
Horn of a horse, mane of a carabao
Mix with an egg of a wren
Cook these in a wooden pot
Simmer in cold water
And when fresh, drink it quickly
The venom of your illness will be poisoned
If, by chance, you don’t get well
Find a frog’s beard
Gall that’s not bitter and pepper that’s not spicy
In a sticky mortar, have these powdered..)

The above recipe reads like a witches’ concoction rather than an effective medication. Now if all else fails, you could always run to the nearest neighborhood drugstore and get a bottle of whitener with all sorts of glutathione-methathione-and-mela-white magic!

*129. SONGS OUR FATHERS TAUGHT US

STRUMMING MY PAIN WITH HIS FINGERS. Kapampangan matinee idol Jaime de la Rosa serenades the object of his affection, Rosa del Rosario (herself, part Kapampangan) in this publicity shot from a postwar movie.

The love of music is inherent in Filipinos and leading the way are Kapampangan singers who have won national singing tilts and earned international plaudits for their talents through the years: Tawag ng Tanghalan champion Cenon Lagman, Flor de Jesus “Joni James of the Philippines”, classical pianist Cecile Licad and Broadway and West End Star Lea Salonga, just to name a few. I wouldn’t be surprised if these premiere artists learned their first songs on the knees of their parents, who in turn, learned them from tradition.

Indeed, Kapampangan music is rich with songs that cover almost all life themes and human emotions—from paeans to a beloved, odes to heroes, laments of hopes lost to the exuberant tunes celebrating the joys and follies of youth. Our ancestors knew how to work hard and play hard—and this is reflected in the first folk songs they composed—the ‘basultu’—often with a comic or allegorical theme. Early examples include “O Caca, O Caca” and the quintessential Kapampangan song, “Atin Ku Pung Singsing”. Basultus often engage the listener by directly addressing him with his name. Of late, basultus are being popularized by Kapampangan folk minstrels led by the late Ruth Lobo, Pusoy Dos and Totoy Bato.

Occupational songs were sung to ease the drudgery of hard work. Most were about farming, the primary livelihood of Kapampangans. “Tatanam e Bibiru” (local version of “Magtanim ay di Biro”), “Ortelanung Alang Pansin” (A Farmer Ignored) are examples. Not just songs but dances were performed during harvest season. “Katlu” is a ritual dance done to the rhythm of pounding pestles and mortars.

Juvenile songs are the fun, innocent songs of childhood. Sung or chanted, they were made to accompany a game (“Sisingle, sisingle, dakal lang anak single..”), or to just while away the hours (“One-two, batu, three-four, bapor..”). Cumulative songs and nonsense rhymes fall into this category.

When evening falls, Mothers lull their babes to sleep by singing ‘tumayla’ or a ‘bingkayu’—a lullaby. It is also at this time of the day that enamored swains take out their guitars to serenade their loved ones—‘arana’—lyrical songs of romance. The gentle kundiman is a favorite arana song, what with its flowing rhythm and poetic lyrics that extoll the virtues of a beloved or that describe the intensity of one’s passion.

Another song type has more recent origins. Revolutionary and patriotic songs came to fore during the rise of the Huk Movement in the 1950s. These protest songs addressed various social and political issues—from inequality, poverty to the presence of military bases in the country. Stirring, bold and controversial, they were often penned by anonymous composers. In contrast, ‘lawiwing pambalen’ or town anthems were designed to instill a sense of local pride and identity. San Fernando, Mabalacat and Minalin are but a few towns with their own ‘imnu’ (hymn).

Today, our forebears’ musical legacy lives on in these ditties that we still sing today. These songs will always strike a chord in our Kapampangan hearts—every time we sing them in school, on stage or even in a karaoke bar.