‘ With a lump in my throat , I nervously approached Tita Midz , who prepared all the study music and I told her about the missing song in my study CD ’
IN THE FIRST PERSON
Aawitan kita , Armida
My wonderful experience with a musical icon
‘ With a lump in my throat , I nervously approached Tita Midz , who prepared all the study music and I told her about the missing song in my study CD ’
By MIGUEL CASTRO
BACK in the days when there was no cable TV and internet , small towns in the Philippines got a bit of entertainment in whatever show was made available to them by the leading network , at that time , Channel 9 .
One program , Aawitan Kita on prime time TV , mixed traditional and contemporary original Filipino music .
Hosted by Armida Siguion-Reyna , the shows started with ‘ Tita Midz ’, as she was fondly called by people around her , with a short narration of a story for the night ’ s episode told by string music .
An advocacy more than anything else , Aawitan Kita ran for a good couple of years until everything in the Philippines was eaten by Western , American mostly , influences .
Although globalisation had not fully taken away whatever ‘ Filipino ’ there was in the Philippines , the Pinoys ’ need to digest anything but the ‘ bakya ’ soon crept in the young generation ’ s minds .
The media took this on board ; after all , it ’ s business . And business means catering to what customers want .
Soon sponsors failed to support Siguion- Reyna ’ s advocacy and the show folded . In 2005 , the year I began singing seriously after many years of acting on television and stage - and being told to concentrate on acting because I could not sing - my then manager , the late Bibsy Carballo , probably the only person who believed in my desire to sing , took me to Tita Midz for trial participation in Aawitan Kita .
The show resurrected in the form of monthly live shows to entertain senior citizens , a project of the Binay Administration in the city of Makati .
Only the self-confidence as a stage performer drove me to face the nervewracking venture as I was thrown among professional and iconic singers .
The job was to sing three songs for the two-hour gig , and with an ensemble singing the theme song of the show .
Songs were scheduled in advance because the show required only one rehearsal a day before the actual show .
The script was written by Bibeth Orteza Siguion-Reyna , wife of Tita Midz ’ s son Carlitos , who also directed the show .
Now that ’ s a reason to really pay attention to whatever task is given to me because I had to deliver lines written by a respected writer in show business , directed by an award-winning movie director , and constantly observed musically by the producer and mother to us all , Tita Midz .
Rehearsal day came and I showed up at the venue prepared .
The script , by the way , did not come in
advance with the music CD to study ; it was only handed to us on the day of the one and only rehearsal .
As I read my part , I discovered that was not only to sing three but four songs .
With a lump in my throat , I nervously approached Tita Midz , who prepared all the study music and told her about the missing song in my study CD .
“ Of course not , I cannot possibly miss a song for you to study ,” Tita Midz said in a firm but not necessarily frightening tone .
In those days , you did not disagree with her , so I just smiled .
Tita Midz stood up , went to the list and checked . And yes , she missed one song to send to me .
And so she said : “ Well that will be your test . You have until tomorrow to study that song .”
All I could do was smile and say : “ Sure ,
Tita , no problem po .”
As soon as she turned around , I went to my car to listen to the study CD assigned to me and listened to it .
A familiar song , but not sung by men and popularised by a female singer . I almost did not sleep that night . As she had said me , one of the tricks in studying a song was listening to a song intensely first for at least 20 times before trying to sing it , to get comfortable with it , and to get your whole system memorising it . Muscle memory as singers would put it . And the day came and I pulled it off . I became a regular with the show , and
I knew at that time I was the youngest
Armida Siguion-Reyna gave me the opportunity and trust that no one else , aside from my manager , would give . member of the cast in terms of singing with the group .
I have heard many horror stories , for lack of a better term , about working with Armida Siguion-Reyna . And for 10 long years of working with her almost every month , I never saw any of the negative things I had heard about her .
She talked to us as our equal , ate what we ate , sat on the same table with us , joked around with us as if we were contemporaries .
Sure , she had good days and bad days , but who doesn ’ t ?
And I have seen her throw some terrible tantrums towards other singers .
There was only one common thing that fired her to fury . And that was showing up in her show unprepared , unrehearsed , and without decorum . Fair reasons .
These were the reasons why the Aawitan
Kita ’ s live shows were flawless , clean , and perfectly put together .
I was fortunate enough to have performed with music business greats .
The late Robert Natividad , the most familiar leading man in the television days of the show . Rachelle Gerodias Park , one of the most sought-after sopranos in the Philippines who started her younger years in the same TV episodes .
There was Richard Reynoso , best known for his hits in the ‘ 80 ' s ; Sheila Valderama and husband Lorenz Martinez ; Bayang Barrios , the most popular alternative music singer ; Raul Montesa , an original member of the Miss Saigon cast ; Cris Villonco , who is a much sought-after stage actress and singer ; Bo Cerrudo , a popular singer / personality of the ‘ 80 ' s as well ; and many who graced the show from time to time like husband and wife Isay Alvarez and Robert Seña ; Dulce , Ricky Davao , and many more . Best days of my career as a singer . Armida Signion-Reyna gave me the opportunity and trust that no one else , aside from my manager , would give .
She was a mother above all to all of us who remained regulars on her show .
I was shown a different side of Tita Midz not usually shown publicly because she is , after all , a kind-hearted woman .
And if she was misjudged as being “ mataray ” in the business , well , she was only a very passionate artist who wanted nothing short of the best .
These days , after our last show in 2015 , the singers of Aawitan Kita were still hopeful that one day the show would be put together again to bring the best of traditional Filipino music .
Tita Midz is still around going strong , but not strong enough to be on stage to set audiences in awe with her unfading glow as an icon .
All I can do is continue her advocacy and share the wonderful kundimans she taught me all these years .
Aawitan Kita is Armida , and Armida is Aawitan Kita . •
12 SEPTEMBER 2017 | AK NewsMagazine , Vol 7 No 12 www . kalatas . com . au