Ryan Cayabyab & Raul Mitra: What powers their passion in music

MANILA, Philippines - What does it take for a man to build a career out of pursuing his passion? Maestro Ryan Cayabyab and musician-arranger Raul Mitra are two men who have done just that — distinguished themselves professionally in the field of music.

Talent, of course, is a key element, which they both have in generous measure. These two men have also been gifted with great opportunities — first to learn from, then collaborate with and later even mentor some of music’s best and brightest acts. The peerless Mr. C in particular, among other musical endeavors, now devotes most of his time to his very own music school.

They also cite the support of their families as one of their most important assets. Mr. C’s wife Emmy manages the Music School of Ryan Cayabyab, while their children also contribute to some projects. Raul, on the other hand, is married to fellow music-lover and singer Cacai Velasquez, and has collaborated frequently with sister-in-law Regine Velasquez-Alcasid.

A life in the arts can quickly become unpredictable. As Raul shares, “I really don’t have a typical working day. It varies so greatly that it makes it really difficult to describe one particular week compared to the next.”

One minute, he can be scoring a film, putting together an album or preparing for a Sunday musical show. They rely heavily on the Internet, to send big music files back and forth at any time of day and from any time zone, and to keep in touch with peers and colleagues through e-mail and social media.

Mr. C, for his part, tells us, “My usual day begins and ends with communicating with people I work with, so communication technology is very important to me, via mobile, e-mail and other electronic social networks. I have a specific time for all my Internet communications — they begin and end my day.”

Both Mr. C and Raul have turned to PLDT Fibr for this — the best, most powerful and fastest broadband connection the country has ever seen. Fibr uses fiber-optic cables to give each subscriber a dedicated line, without the need to share with other subscribers in the same area. The family can thus enjoy speeds of up to 10Mbps without worrying that using multiple devices will slow them down.

Raul and his family have been making the most of the service in the area of leisure as well — for research, social networking, keeping up with the news. The Mitra family certainly likes to take time away for vacations every chance they get — but, given the volatile nature of their schedules, these become very few. Instead, they’ve been able to make the most of Fibr to enjoy time at home together.

“Although we still enjoy going out to movie theaters along with the mall shopping, after the kids come home tired from school, they prefer to just relax. Being able to stream HD movies and shows to our TVs at home and avoiding traffic is a big deal to us,” shares Raul.

Both men agree that having a reliable Internet connection has been an indispensable tool, both for work and play.

“Fibr is definitely the fastest connection I have ever had,” says Mr. C. “No waste of time, I can accomplish a lot more work.”

Raul adds, “Fibr has consistently delivered fast speed coupled with extreme reliability. When my clients are expecting files from me at any time of the day or night, and some of these are big files, I cannot be hoping that there aren’t a whole lot of people online so that they receive my transfers quickly. Fibr just delivers, which has allowed me to do so as well.”

Fibr offers movies-on-demand through Clickplay, where subscribers have access to over 200 blockbuster movies (the latest titles being offered are The Great Gatsby, Hangover 3, Pacific Rim, Elysium and Man of Steel), guaranteed to have something for every member of the family. You can also stream high-definition TV through Cignal Digital TV.