Ryan Cayabyab to perform in Cebu fundraising concert with Kate Torralba
CEBU, Philippines — National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab will return to Cebu as a performer this Saturday, August 3, for a dinner fundraising concert at the Pacific Grand Ballroom of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
Expressing his excitement, he told the Cebu press through a video call from Manila during the concert’s press conference: “I haven’t done a Cebu show for a long, long time because all I do there usually is for workshops for songwriting and acappella singers.”
The “Ryan Cayabyab Live in Cebu” musical event is for the benefit of the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS) Inc. Cebu Chapter’s Women and Children Protection Program, dedicated to combating domestic abuse.
Tickets are available at SM Tickets, starting at P4,000 for the Silver tier, P5,000 for Gold, and P7,000 for VIP. The show will start at 6 pm.
“Women and children are very close to Mr. C’s heart. So when we told him about this concert, it was a very easy yes for him,” said Palanca-winning creative and musician Kate Torralba, who is joining Cayabyab as his co-performer along with the seven-member vocalist group The Ryan Cayabyab Singers.
While this won’t be the first time that Torralba will be performing with her idol, doing so in her hometown and in a major venue makes this one special for her.
“It feels surreal that I got to share the same stage with Mr. C. I have sung with him before in small gigs, but this is the first time I get to grace a major stage with him. Waterfront has the grandest ballroom in the city and has a long history, so I am looking forward to performing with him,” said the Cebuana fashion designer-turned-singer.
‘A national treasure’
At the height of Smokey Mountain’s popularity in the ‘90s, most fans wanted to meet its members. Torralba, then still a tween, was an exception as she wanted to see Cayabyab, the man behind the group’s memorable tunes.
“I was 11 or 12 years old when my yaya accompanied me to watch Smokey Mountain’s concert at Cebu Plaza Hotel. I was this little girl who wanted to meet her idol,” she recalled. “After the concert, I waited for him and I looked at him as he passed by.”
Torralba further shared that Cayabyab is the reason why she has a “high awareness of what good songwriting is.” She would even break her curfew on weekdays to watch “Ryan Ryan Musikahan” on ABS-CBN in the ‘90s.
When she got to meet him again 20 years later at an Elements Music Camp which he spearheaded, she realized, “It was that moment that I said to myself that I don’t want to be a fashion designer anymore; I wanted to be a musician.”
“Even if I was his student, I still get a little starstruck because he’s a musical genius among us and so down-to-earth. He’s such a wonderful person and years down the road, people will say ‘Wow, I am glad I went to this concert’ because he’s such a national treasure.”
Showcasing his influences
Every decade, Cayabyab would throw an anniversary concert such as “Music Man at 50” in 2004 and “Mr. C at 60” in 2014.
When he turned 70 last May, he top billed a two-night concert called “Gen C” which had guest performers like BINI, Juan Karlos, Julie Anne San Jose, SB19’s Stell, and more, perform his classic hits.
“They didn’t take the honorarium because they wanted to be part of the concert,” said Cayabyab. “They told me it was a very important celebration for them to be a part of.”
While his Makati show aimed for him to connect with the new generation by having younger talents reinterpret his songs, his Cebu concert will showcase the music he grew up listening to.
“You will learn who my influences are with the music I grew up with. I am going to let the audience know about the very personal influences of my life. That’s why I am excited when I do shows. I come to the audience, tell them the music I grew up with and I want to find out if they know the songs I am going to perform,” he said.
When asked if he was nervous about performing for a Cebuano crowd, he said, “We try our best in Manila, but we try harder in Cebu because [of Cebuano singers] like Pilita Corrales and Dulce [who set the bar]. We know the Cebuanos’ music quality is very high.”
Cayabyab noted that his protégé, Cebuano composer Jude Gitamondoc, will also be holding his songwriting camp on the same day.
“I support Vispop and other local movements of regional pop because I believe that we should start writing music in our own language because it’s more expressive if we sing and write in our native tongue,” he said.
“That’s what I also said about other regional pop movements when I encouraged them to write songs in their language. If we are listening to Korean pop, we should also listen to the likes of Vispop.” — (FREEMAN)
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