A grand tribute to National Artists

If there is a native dessert that titillates the taste buds of the Pinoy no end, it has to be the halo-halo espesyal with all the trimmings – leche flan, macapuno, boiled banana of the saba variety, sweet potato, sago, jackfruit, pinipig, nata de coco, cream, kaong, white beans, black beans, two or three scoops of ice cream of different flavors, and all these served on a bed of crushed ice.

If the Filipino is to present a show, he will go all the way to enchant his audience. And if the show is intended to honor our National Artists, he’ll spare nothing – he’ll throw in everything including the proverbial kitchen sink – to mount an extravaganza of sight and sound, of dance and song, an entertainment spectacle that should make Kuya Germs turn green with envy.

Lagi Kitang Mamahalin: A Musical Tribute to the National Artists presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines is such a theatrical halo-halo treat that cannot fail to make everyone salivate. Master chef Chris Millado has assembled the country’s favorite singers, musicians and dancers. The mise-en-scene is by Salvador F. Bernal, the sole National Artist in his field, the lighting design by Dennis Marasigan and the production style by Dennis Julio Tan.

At the foyer, the PPO Woodwind Ensemble led by Maestro Cecino Ronquillo welcomed the audience with spirited marches by Lucio San Pedro and Felipe Padilla de Leon.

A video survey of our National Artists was presented as Maestro Josefino "Chino" Toledo conducted the Philippines Philharmonic Orchestra in an account of San Pedro’s Jubilate, after which the excitement in the hall mounted with the entrance of Regine Velasquez.

Taking into account this tribute to our outstanding artists, Lagi Kitang Naaalala by Leopoldo Silos and Levi Celerio acquires a higher level of meaning than that of being a love song. And Asia’s songbird delivered it with an intensity of feeling that could not fail to touch the heart.

Two duets from the sarswela Paglipas ng Dilim were interpreted by Calvin Millado, Roselle Nava and Lorna Llames along with members of Tanghalang Pilipino who did what they could with the sentimental material.

Coming after as a comic relief, young hunks Carlo Orosa, JM Rodriguez, Noel Rayos, Arnold Reyes and Tonipet Gaba went to town with Ang Pipit, Pitong Gatang, Kung Ako’y Mag-aasawa and Kalesa with the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company. Spiced with comic irony, the songs by different composers but with lyrics all by Levi Celerio and choreographed with vivid imagination by Edna Vida were show-stoppers that brought the house down.

In contrast, Eugene Villaluz gave a soulful account of Ernani Cuenco and Joseph Estrada’s Kahit na Magtiis. The baritone gave a restrained reading of the song that was deeply touching in its simplicity and sincerity.

The Filipino love songs medley is a set of very familiar songs on a common theme with lyrics by Celerio and music by different composers. The texts vary from one with sexual innuendos to another which is shamelessly sentimental to still another which idealizes love. The numbers are interpreted by three pairs of singers with varying degrees of success – Jason Velasquez and Tex Ordoñez, Dexter and Cris Villonco, and Franco Laurel and Anna Fegi. The medley concludes with all the singers joining in a typically Pinoy hyperbolic view of romantic love, Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal, which would make the cynic want to puke.

Nothing can sweep away the mush of sentimentality better than laughter which the excerpts from Dalagang Bukid serves in abundance. The merry tunes of Leon Ignacio and the naughty lyrics of Hermogenes Ilagan have not diminished in wit and charm through the years. And they still sounded as fresh and savory when Nabasag na Banga was sung by Ayen Munji-Laurel and Awit ng Pabo at Loro was warbled by Mark Bautista and Sarah Geronimo as when Atang dela Rama popularized them decades ago.

Because of the excitement of the preceding, the Streamline’s account of Bato sa Buhangin was likely to pass with little notice.

To those who know Gary Valenciano only for aping Michael Jackson or for his gospel music his rendition of the San Pedro-Celerio classic, Sa Ugoy ng Duyan is nothing short of a revelation. From a lovely lullaby, it is elevated to an ode on the quiet joy of paternal love. The dancers of Ballet Philippines and the choreography of Denisa Reyes enhance the somnolent spirit of the song. Ernani Cuenco’s Nahan played by instrumentalist Jong Cuenco, concluded the first part of the concert.

The second half opened with a solemn choral opus by San Pedro Alamat ng Lahi, based on a poem by Amado V. Hernandez. Jose Llana gave an imposing account of the text with the combined support of the UP Vocal Ensemble, the UP Chorus Class, the Philippine Madrigal Singers and the PPO.

Galawgaw and Alembong by Juan Silos Jr. and Celerio cleared the air of solemnity when Bituin Escalante and Sheila Francisco, supported by the beats of DJ Malek and DJ Noel, waged a hilarious bouncing battle of the bulge that threatened to bring the house up to the rafters down. These two ladies might well be the kitchen sink of this halo-halo of a show referred to at the beginning of this review.

From the comic to the poetic was the shift that Verni Varga brought about with her dreamy Bituing Marikit, a timeless classic by Nicanor Abelardo and Servando de los Angeles.

Another sudden change in mood was caused by Jolina Magdangal’s vocalizing of another Silos-Celerio favorite – Waray-Waray. This satirical ditty focuses on the toughness of the probisyana from Leyte who tries to find her place in the sun in the Big City. Sweet Jolina could not shed her sweetness enough to invest the song with the devil-may-care spirit of the promdi who has the guts to challenge the toughies of Manila’s backstreets to find her dream. In the ’60s, the young Nida Blanca went to town with Waray-Waray and made it her very own. What sense of nostalgia this song must bring to the old timers in the audience…

San Pedro and lyricist Bien Lumbera’s Araw-araw sa Maynila is a vintage piece, an evocation of the life of city folk in the nation’s capital in the good-old days. Wency Cornejo and the PPO presented the song.

Throughout the show, the spirit of Atang dela Rama was a palpable presence not only because of her association with Filipino vocal music but also because she starred in all three sarswelas featured in the show. Ang Karayom ay Iduro from Walang Sugat by Fulgencio Tolentino and Severino Reyes was sung with intensity of feeling by Isay Alvarez and the ladies of Tanghalang Pilipino.

In the next number, Isay was joined by Llamas to deliver a song that might well be a second National Hymn after the glorious victory of freedom over tyranny during EDSA 1. Bayan Ko by Constancio de Guzman and Jose Corazon de Jesus has become a well-loved classic. When sung by the pair of singers with full support from the members of Tanghalang Pilipino, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, the UP Vocal Ensemble, the UP Chorus Class and the PPO, the total effect could not be anything less than overwhelming.

This beautiful apostrophe to the Motherland would have been a fitting coda to the concert, but no – the Pinoy who thinks that too much is still too little, who keeps pleading for more, more, who has not learned the Greek ideal of moderation, who will go on stuffing his gullet spoonful after spoonful of halo-halo even when his belly is bursting at the seams must still be given something special.

The CCP served Sharon Cuneta, big as life, to sing Kahit Konting Pagtingin accompanied by guitarist Paolo Santos. The Megastar’s megafans were delirious with joy. The cynic could only snicker over her ubiquitous TV adds that promote everything from junk food to vaginal wash. One can understand why her die-hard fans have remained loyal through the years. Her cute little-girl singing voice has been replaced by a deeper, more expressive sound that suits her regal Junoesque figure.

The show concluded with a reprise of Lagi Kitang Naaalala and Jubilate.

Halo-halo espesyal anyone?

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