Nonoy in tune with the times

Performers are made, not born. This much, Nonoy Zuñiga knows. That’s why, when he looks at the products of today’s talent searches, the balladeer can’t help but wonder aloud. Are they getting the right training as performers? Is their singing talent getting the much-needed push beyond the instant albums, mall shows and dizzying TV appearances?

“These talent search winners must have regular gigs in puwestos,” says Nonoy, himself a product of a band who did the rounds of the metro’s lounges and bars night after night. “Di pwedeng sabak agad once you win. You can’t teach a person how to perform. It can only come with experience.”

In other words, there are no instant solutions. You have to pay your dues first. Nonoy’s training ground was big and far-reaching. He spoke the language of the masses when he performed in provinces. He learned their culture, their likes and dislikes and their quirks.

He even had a scriptwriter way back when he was starting in the early ‘80s. Bibeth Orteza was with him, patiently writing scripts for his shows, fitting the spiels to the demands of moment.

“You must know your audience, what songs fit them and how you will reach out to them through your spiels and songs. Sense of humor is also important. You may sing well, but it’s useless if you’re boring,” adds Nonoy, 35 years of experience backing him up.

That’s just step one and two, though. Today’s aspiring singers should also develop the right attitude. And for this seasoned performer, it means professionalism, humility, flexibility with the times.

“People these days want a clean-cut look. The Hajji Alejandro kind of moustache is passé, so I did away with mine,” Nonoy relates his way of keeping with the times.

To keep up with the times one must also stay in the pink of health. How else can you go up on stage and sing for hours on end while sexy back-up dancers gyrate to your left and your right?

Nonoy does this through low-impact exercises and a new health supplement he is endorsing: Power Joints. If you still don’t know, a bomb blast cost Nonoy his right leg at the height of the martial law years in the ‘70s. So Nonoy goes around with an artificial right leg and its left counterpart which must bear all his weight when its non-functioning other half is not in use.

“That’s why I hop around like a rabbit at home,” jests Nonoy. This must also be why he once felt pain on his left knee. He tried a glutathione brand but it didn’t work. Later, Nonoy found out why: The product was not registered with BFAD (Bureau of Food and Drugs).

So he tried Power Joints and took the capsules twice a day at first. Nonoy attests that the pain vanished after three to four days. And when he stopped taking it, the pain returned, full force. As fate would have it, he met the owners of Power Joints through a common friend. And when they asked him to endorse their product, Nonoy said yes right away.

Himself a doctor. Nonoy studied the product’s ingredients and found them to be safe. The BFAD’s stamp of approval cemented Nonoy’s belief in the product.

Now, the fortysomething Nonoy is looking forward to 30 more years of performing. Watching Frank Sinatra perform in the Philippines has inspired Nonoy to push thoughts of retiring at the backmost part of his mind.

He will come up with his long-delayed album by the first quarter of next year. Nonoy himself is producing the album and choosing the line-up of songs. He is even plotting the promo campaign for this comeback bid in the recording scene.

Yes, Nonoy’s songs will go on and on. And it matters not that this time, he has younger talents to face; fresher voices to contend with. Rock-solid experience will see him through.