Timely tribute to a master musician

LEVI Celerio

Thanks to “ASAP” for its musically resplendent tribute on July 17 to National Artist for Music Levi Celerio, whose well-loved compositions were interpreted by Pilita Corrales, Ariel Rivera, Isay Alvarez, Robert Seña and a host of other fine singers spanning three generations.

It was a treat and a thrill to once again be able to savor Mang Levi’s memorable songs, like “Ang Pipit,” “Gaano Kita Kamahal,” “Waray-Waray,” “Dahil sa Isang Bulaklak” and “Ikaw ang Mahal Ko.”

Aside from the scrumptious musical feast, the fulsome tribute also included recollections that added to our appreciation of the musical master’s many contributions.

Pilita shared “proof positive” of Celerio’s amazing creativity—and the speed with which he came up with his exceptional output:

One time, she recalled, they were commissioned to work on an album of Julio Iglesias’ songs in Spanish—translated in Filipino. Pilita was the singer, while Levi was tasked with coming up with the translated lyrics.

The expectation was that it would take days to translate the 12 songs in the album—but Celerio “shocked” everyone by completing the assignment—in only six hours!

That’s how fast he worked, but his output was also “top quality,” hence producers’ assurance that he would be giving them something really good.

We can vouch for that observation on Pilita’s part, because we were able to work with Mang Levi on several projects, along with his “musical partner,” the similarly exceptional Restie Umali.

The other “sharing” on the “ASAP” tribute to Celerio that had a strong impact on us was the recollected story about how he made good use of his “signature” talent for—using leaves as musical “instruments”!

His unique “talent” served him in very good stead, the story goes, especially during World War II, when he was caught with other Filipinos by some Japanese soldiers who threatened to kill all of them.

To “disarm” them psychologically, Levi started “playing” on a leaf, producing notes that amazed and charmed his captors—who ended up letting them all go!

On the “darker” side, we recall that Mang Levi sometimes had a hard time making both ends meet, despite his prodigious talent and productivity.

This problem became more pronounced in his last few years, when we would occasionally see him performing in cheap dives for a relative pittance.

But Mang Levi was able to surmount those trying times and was in fact conferred the nation’s premier National Artist award, effectively crowning and “immortalizing” his iconic compositions.

Still, people do forget even the past’s most luminous and seminal achievements.

So, “ASAP” deserves our gratitude for its ongoing “musical tribute to the masters” series, capped by last July 17’s toast to the late and truly great Levi Celerio.