The Rise & Rise of Rhiza Pascua

She wanted to be in the US Secret Service, so she trained for the job, including being fluent in three languages, as required. Then, Rhiza Pascua says, “Life happened.” She married her first and only love Angelo, bore three beautiful children and was content to be a stay-at-home mom.

She took up law while raising her children and life intervened again. Without missing a beat as a dutiful only daughter, loving wife and mother, Rhiza also became one of Asia’s leading live concert producers.

The Secret Service’s loss may well be the gain of millions of whose lives are energized by live concerts produced by Rhiza, a devout Catholic who makes time to go on contemplative retreats despite her transcontinental day job.

She is managing director of Live Nation Philippines. Live Nation, which acquired Rhiza’s Music Management International (MMI), is reportedly the world’s leading live entertainment company.

Since its inception three decades ago, MMI, spearheaded by Rhiza, has been the leading promoter in the Philippines. When the world’s prominent artists skipped going to Manila, Rhiza worked diligently to convince artists, managers, and agents and put the country firmly on the global touring map of Asia.

In recent years, MMI has promoted the most number of sold-out concerts in the territory, including Madonna, Coldplay, U2, Harry Styles, Bruno Mars, Niall Horan, Maroon 5, The Chainsmokers, Dua Lipa, LANY, and many more.

In 2024 — on the same day, March 13 — she’s mounting two concerts: Rod Stewart at the MOA Arena and Janet Jackson at Smart Araneta.

I spoke to the multi-faceted Rhiza lately and discovered a woman, who, despite her work, is serene and relaxed. Excerpts:

JRR: How did you start in the live concert production business?

RHIZA PASCUA (RP): When I went back to law school with three kids already, a friend of mine called from Silicon Valley saying the dot coms needed someone to do events for them. I was 23, 24. Then I started doing events, which I enjoyed. And then after that, the dot coms were getting popular. They didn’t need PR or events  managers to help them out. So, the agents and the managers of the artists like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera turned to me. Naging suki ako eh. There was a time that every weekend, we’d have something. So, they said, ‘When is our next gig?’ I had none.  So they said, ‘Why don’t you discover your own territory?’ So I said, ‘You know what? I should bring us to Manila.’ And that’s when I started coming to Manila.

JRR: Who was the first artist you brought here?

RP: James Ingram.

JRR: And then after that?

RP: David Pomeranz, then Steven Bishop.

JRR: Having lived in the States since you were 14, how did you feel the pulse of the Filipino concert goer?

RP: Instinct.  But it’s not like that anymore now. It’s data analytics now.

JRR: So what’s the secret  to staying engaged and being engaging and bringing the big names?

RP: I became a partner of Live Nation. In 2013, they wanted to get their feet wet here in the Philippines. They called me, they said, we want you to be our partner. They said, ‘We heard from the agents that you are the best in the Philippines.’ LiveNation has Beyonce, Rod Stewart, BTS, the big K-Pop acts.

I do a lot of research. I do a lot of reading, I stay on the ball. By finding out who’s number one, number two, number three, who’s upcoming. Another weapon that I have are my kids. They know who’s relevant.

JRR: You’re more and more in the Philippines nowadays. Are the millennials the biggest markets now?

RP: Millennials and Gen Zs.

JRR: Really? Are they also empowered?

RP: Oh yeah. Millennials and Gen Zs like anything that’s Instagrammable. So that’s travel, food and concerts. Top three. They love to travel, they love to eat. They love to go to concerts. It’s about the experience.

JRR: Has being a woman been an asset, a liability, or it didn’t factor in?

RP: As long as you have a man’s stomach – because when I started, I felt that this is really a man’s job.  As long as you have the stomach of a man, you’re okay. That’s what I learned. Kasi dati madrama ako eh. Sensitive.

JRR: What’s your life like off-stage?

RP: If I’m not working, I’m just lying down, reading. I pray a lot. Recently, I learned or tried to learn how to pray contemplatively, how the monks do it. So I stayed in the RVM convent in Quezon City for five days.

I have a spiritual advisor and I asked him how to truly pray. I don’t want to just read my prayers. I want to graduate from that. He said, ‘Do contemplative praying.’ They say nuns have a different technique to pray contemplatively. They teach you to meditate. It starts with the breathing, and then meditation. You’ll be mindful of everything that you do.

JRR: How did you become close to the RVM sisters?

RP: During the pandemic, they were in the news. COVID spread in their compound. The road to their convent was blocked. I called a friend in Quezon City and requested that our delivery truck be allowed to bring food to the convent— 150 nuns and staff, plus the helpers. We sent food for four days straight. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

And then in July  2022. I was invited in Italy to speak to Catholic  Filipino teenagers. There was a retreat. I was with my husband and my parents. We also went on retreat. Each table had five seats, and we were only four. So every day, someone new would join our table.

And there was this one time  when a Filipino nun joined our table and she said she’s from RVM. I mentioned to her that I tried to help their convent during the pandemic. She looked at me and said, ‘Ikaw pala si Anonymous.’ I cried and cried. What a blessing to be able to know people that you have helped or have been a blessing to you in some way.  *