Alfred Vargas
For Quezon City councilor Alfred Vargas, time is gold and must be spent wisely. He is currently pursuing his doctorate degree in urban planning at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
Alfred said he loves being a student again because of the insights and wisdom he gets from professors and classmates that he can then apply to his job as a public servant. “Learning is an everyday process,” he was quoted as saying. “It should never end. I’ll continue to study, study and study until I’m a senior citizen!”
A husband and the father of three children—two school-aged daughters and a son—he is also an actor who appears on the GMA series “AraBella” that airs on weekday afternoons.
Alfred’s schedule is pretty much packed right now, but during the pandemic lockdowns, he had to find something to battle the doldrums. Music saved him.
“It’s sweet like candy to the soul. Listening to the deep, high-quality and magical sound of the turntable relaxes me. I can say it also saved me from depression during the first part of the pandemic. Different albums for different moods, listening to this kind of music made me feel whole and inspired me in many ways.”
The turntable he has now is not the one he discovered in the bodega when he was a kid.
“I tried playing it, but it was broken—it only played for a few seconds, but what I noticed in that brief period of listening was that it sounded so much better than cassette tape players. It sounded more real, more spiritual,” he said.
That introduction to vinyl records played on a turntable piqued Alfred’s interest and led him to start and grow his own collection three decades later. First, he bought a turntable and speakers before adding to his record collection. He’s particularly proud of two records he bought from a like-minded soul he met on Instagram.
“I was able to acquire two of the oldest records of Maria Carpena, a Filipino stage actress and soprano who performed in the early 20th century. She was the first recording artist in the Philippine music industry and was known as the country’s ‘Nightingale of Zarzuela.’”
A different experience
Tristan Trajano of Trax Manila Records sold both records to Alfred and helped set up the latter’s first sound system during the pandemic.
“I get a lot of my records from him. But imagine, I have two records from the first Pinoy recording artist,” Alfred said.
His favorite artists to listen to include Sting, Dua Lipa, Elton John, Dave Matthews Band, Ric Segreto, Ebe Dancel and Ennio Morricone. Since he started, he has become even more serious when it comes to his music.
“Listening to vinyl records is quite a different experience compared to when you listen on Spotify, CDs or radio. [With vinyl] the audio quality is so high and precise that you will be compelled to always look for the ‘sweet spot’ of the room. This is the place in the audio room—in my case, our guest room—where you can hear the sound in its most optimal form. The acoustics, environment, speakers… everything works together to produce the perfect sound. That’s the sweet spot,” he said. His record collection is his favorite thing, which he said occupies “a special place in my heart.”
Alfred stars in “AraBella,” which airs weekdays at 3:25 p.m. on GMA Afternoon Prime and Pinoy Hits. Viewers abroad can also catch the program via GMA Pinoy TV. INQ