Mabuhay Singers still alive

RAYE Lucero of the Mabuhay Singers is actively helping preserve the kundiman as a treasured musical genre.

As one of six remaining members of the country’s longest existing singing group, Ms Lucero, now 74, is strongly against the attempts of some composers to tinker with the kundiman’s vintage sound. She always says, “How can anyone play around with something sacred?”

D.M. Reyes wrote in the May 2009 issue of Balikbayan magazine: “One thing sure is that they’re (Mabuhay Singers) bequeathing to our recording history an impressive bulk of Philippine folk songs. Mike Coroza (one of the group’s supporters) tallies its discography to number at least 1,000 in the folk idiom…”

The Mabuhay Singers emerged from two groups in 1958—the Tres Rosas and the Lovers Trio, put together by Don Manoling Villar, owner of the country’s first major record label, Mareco.

The group’s members included iconic figures in Philippine music and culture, such as Ruben Tagalog, Rita Rivera, Carmen Camacho and its conductor and arranger Leopoldo Silos.

Cely Bautista, Jose “Peping” de Leon, Eddie Suarez and Jimmy Salonga comprise its current lineup, along with Lucero and Camacho.

For those who want to catch a rare glimpse of the living legends singing traditional and contemporary Filipino songs, the Mabuhay Singers will perform in the concert “Minanang Awitin, Muling Pagyamanin” on May 13, 7 p.m. at the Crossroad 77 Convenarium on Scout Reyes corner Mother Ignacia, Quezon City.

The show also features the new group E-4, and includes a lecture for a deeper understanding of the history, meaning and relevance of traditional Philippine music by Coroza, a multi-awarded poet, essayist and teacher.

Call or text 0917-8102600; 0917-7943105; or 0917-8223846. Dody Lacuna