To those born perhaps in the 80s or later, her name mayn’t ring a bell. Or it may call to mind strains of the detergent soap jingle "Labadami, Labango". But to older Filipinos, hers is a name that sounds a carillon of bells.
An institution in show business, the first lady of television, the original pop diva and jukebox queen, Sylvia reigned over Philippine television for some 30 years, regaling audiences with both her melodious singing voice and her side-splitting comic character-izations of the haughty and uppity spinster, a strict and preachy aunt, a dainty and shy Filipino maiden and a host of other characters.
She was a staple, together with actor/comedian Oscar Obligacion, on the popular Oras ng Ligaya, a 60s variety show that ruled for 14 years and was a forerunner of today’s lunchtime TV shows. This, according to Sylvia, was one of the first TV shows of abs-cbn. Before that, she was on The Big Show, which was the first musical variety show on TV and The Best Show also with Oscar, Chichay, Eddie San Jose and Vic Pacia.
Before the advent of television in the Philippines, Sylvia was also one of the most popular radio talents, whose vocal characterizations ranged from Española, istrikta, mahinhin, baby, matanda, probinsyanang Bisaya o Ilokano. She was also famous as Ibyang in the radio comedy show Edong Mapangarap with Eddie San Jose.
During the 50s and the 60s, Sylvia was acclaimed "Reyna ng Kundiman", renowned for her heart-rending interpretations of such immortal and timeless songs as Bituing Marikit, Nasaan Ka Irog, Madaling Araw, Mutya ng Pasig and many other classics. She was also the undisputed queen of novelty songs such as Waray-waray, Alembong, No Money, No Honey, Hahabol-Habol, Dadaldal-Daldal, many of which found their way into the movies. It was she who lent her voice to Nida Blanca in the hit movie Waray-Waray.
Sylvia was a recording star of Villar Records, founded in the 50s and pioneered in the recording of traditional Filipino music. By her own estimate, she has recorded some 400 songs of all kinds, from kundimans to balitaws to novelty songs, which she says was what today are known as pop songs.
The daughter of soprano Leonora Reyes and film director Olive La Torre, Sylvia was a true child of the stage. Her career began on the pre-war vaudeville stage, in an amateur singing contest in which, as a five-year old, she competed against adults and won hands-down. She sang Ako ay Bulaklak ng Kawangis, one of the oldest Filipino kundimans. This was at the Savoy Theater in downtown Manila where, if a contestant was deemed unworthy, a gong sounded and then a long wooden stick with a hook at the end would suddenly materialize onstage, extending from the telon or the sides of the stage, and drag the red-faced defeated offstage. The scene, oft-repeated, would send the audience into gales of laughter without fail.
"Na-teng ka na, na-kalawit ka pa! Naku, tawanan ang mga tao," Sylvia recalls. "Sabi ng nanay ko sa akin, ‘O, huwag kang ne-nerbyosin. Kailangan manalo ka. I-lakas mo ang boses mo.’ Wala pang mike noon." It was her mother who taught her how to sing the kundiman. Sylvia’s mother Leonora was also kundiman queen in her time but due to marriage, she had a short career
After her victory at the Savoy, Sylvia went on to sing in the pulpit of the old Sto. Domingo Church in Intramuros. She sang Ave Maria. "Talagang mataas ang boses ko na nuon. Humihirit na," she remembers.
At the age of nine, during the Japanese occupation, she became a regular performer in stage shows at the Life Theater. "Sa tabi ng Quiapo yang Life Theater," Sylvia reminisces. "It looked just like any theater does now. But we had a revolving stage. Nuong araw, ang gaganda ng mga stage shows kung tawagin. That was the only form of entertainment during the Japanese Occupation. We had three shows a day and played to full packed crowds with veteran performers like Pugo and Tugo, Tony Santos Sr., Rogelio dela Rosa."
It was here that Sylvia believes she honed her stagecraft. She, together with co-child actors Leroy Salvador and Chiquito, would play the children of the older actors. "We had skits, songs, dances, dialogues, lahat!"
After Liberation, she joined the USO and performed in shows for American G.I.s and made the rounds of hospitals. "Tuloy-tuloy na ang pagkanta ko after Liberation. Nag-radyo ako at movies. Sampaguita Studios was rebuilt."
In 1948, she also performed at the Manila Grand Opera House with Katy de la Cruz, Bayani Casimiro and other big names of the stage. "Marami akong natutunan kay Mommy Katy. Sabi niya pag sa stage, kailangan ibigay mo lahat. Hindi ka puwede maging pipi. Kailangan pag tungtung mo sa entablado, you must capture the audience!" she emphasizes, waving a dainty hand in the air as if to catch a fistful of air. "Kasi ayan lang sila. Kaya ang sarap ang kumanta sa audience. Ang rapport iba. Talagang andiyan lang sila. The best is the audience in a live show in a theater kasi makikita mo kaagad kung paano ka nila nagugustuhan. Talagang they will show their appreciation with applause."
It was about this same time that Sylvia entered the UST Conser-vatory of Music as a scholar of voice and music. "Naririnig ako ng mga pari doon palagi dahil kanta din ako ng kanta noong high school doon. Pag may program ang UST doon ginagawa sa quonset hut. The priests told me that they would give me a scholarship after high school kaya tinanggap ko. Gusto ko talaga makatapos ang pag-aaral kaya kahit nag-aya na si Duktor (her husband, dentist Celso Perez de Tagle) na magkapakasal nung third year college pa lang ko, ipinagpatuloy ko ang pag-aaral. That was in 1954. He already finished and I had one year to go. We got married but I continued schooling until I graduated."
Sylvia is one of the pioneers of Philippine television, one of the crop of popular radio talents that moved over to television when it was introduced here. "Noong dumating ang TV dito sa Pilipinas noong1957, kinuha ako agan dun."
But it was in radio that her talent for vocal characterizations was discovered. "Doon lumabas ang mga iba-ibang boses ko–boses lola, boses bata, boses tiyang mataray. Iba-iba talaga ang mga boses ko! Nang dumating ang TV, lahat ng tiga-radyong sikat ay kunuha. Kaya medyo humina ang radyo noon, natabunan ng TV."
In the early 1980s, Sylvia and her husband Dr. Celso Perez de Tagle relocated to California to join their three children and grandchildren. But, Sylvia says, they never really left the Philippines, nor did she ever really retire from show business. "We always come back, and everytime I do, I have guestings or shows here and there."
In 1993, she managed to squeeze in a film appearance during one of her visits here. Of late, she has been "vacationing" in the country for the past one year and eight months, her longest stay since they immigrated. When she was offered the role of a spinster aunt in Biglang Sibol, a comedy and drama series that ran for a little over a year on GMA 7, Sylvia couldn’t resist. It was a role that seemed to mirror her real life persona, she said. "Conservative, old maid, may moral values, pinangangaralan ang mga bata kung anong dapat, kumakanta pag masaya, at kumakanta pa rin kapag malungkot. Sabi ng manager ko, Tita, ikaw yan. Huwag mong tanggihan."
At present, Sylvia can be seen on the Sunday soap opera Kahit Kailan where she is Dona Sonya, the snooty and haughty rich farm-owner who turns out to have a good heart.
Sylvia’s TV appearances are mainly acting roles; she doesn’t get the opportunity to sing as much as she used to during her heydey as show host. "Here, I rarely get to sing my kundimans and other old songs. But abroad when I have shows, they always ask for my old songs. Kundimans, balitaws and novelty songs. I hardly ever get to sing them here. Malungkot daw, sabi nila dito. Now that I have matured, I like to sing the kundiman even more."
Kundimans are sentimental songs of love, often expressions of sadness over a failed romance, or of hopefulness despite rejection, Sylvia elaborates. Balitaws are fast songs in three-fourths beat, she adds, punctuating her little lecture with a few bars of her famous Sa Kabukiran, with foot tapping in time. "Ang balitaw ay masaya. Ligawan ng dalaga at binata."
Sylvia still has all her old records which can be played on a turntable. Her recordings have since been digitized and some are available on CDs. This is something that never ceases to amaze her. "Nililipat na nila ang mga kanta ko sa CD. At napakaganda ng sound. We did that on mono then!"
Sylvia takes good care of her voice. She doesn’t drink or smoke. She never drinks anything cold. Even ice cream is a no-no. She vocalizes everyday; practice, she says, is a must to keep her voice in shape. "I also don’t talk too much! A voice is a gift given by God. It can’t be created. You have to take care of it."
The secret of her beauty, she reveals, is that "I am not a worrier! I am a positive thinker. Akala nila bata pa ako–hindi! Matanda na ako. Tinatanong nila bakit makinis pa ang skin ko. I am a happy person. Madasalin ako. My patience is over my head," she says with a laugh, one hand hovering over her head. "I don’t ever get angry."
With music and laughter in such abundance in her life, that is no wonder.