Sofronio Vasquez and Rey Valera. Image: Instagram/@sofroniovasquez; screengrab from YouTube/ABS-CBN Entertainment
After making history as the first Asian winner of “The Voice” United States, Sofronio Vasquez recounted the encouraging words he received from former “Tawag ng Tanghalan” head judge Rey Valera.
Vasquez looked back by sharing a video edit from Instagram user @juan.cellable, which shows the singer’s journey from being a contestant of the local singing competition to being announced as “The Voice” US Season 26 winner.
The more than three-minute clip, re-shared through Vasquez’s Instagram Stories on Thursday, Dec. 12, begins with an excerpt of Valera’s advice to then-“Tawag ng Tanghalan” contestant Vasquez.
“You are your best friend. Ikaw ang mentor mo, sarili mo. Ikaw na rin ‘yung cheering squad mo,” Valera said. (You are your own mentor and cheering squad as well.)
“At kung hindi ka man ngitian ng Lady Luck ngayon, I’m sure dahil ‘yon sa alam niya na ikaw ang gagawa ng sarili mong swerte at hindi mo siya kailangan,” the veteran singer-songwriter continued. “Because ‘yung ganyang klaseng tao, you will always find your way.”
(If Lady Luck won’t smile upon you today, I’m sure it’s because she knows that you’ll make your own luck and that you don’t need her. Because being the kind of person that you are, you will always find your way.)
The video edit also used the song “A Million Dreams,” which was one of the tracks Vasquez performed during the final round.
“Thank you, Lord,” Vasquez captioned the post.
Image: Instagram/@sofroniovasquez
Vasquez first joined “Tawag ng Tanghalan” in 2016 but he fell short of qualifying to be a finalist. He competed for the second time in 2017 and reached the semifinals.
Vasquez returned to the competition in 2019 to join the “TNT All-Star Grand Resbak” where he finished as a grand finalist.
Dream come true
In separate Instagram posts, Vasquez celebrated his feat by showing the moments he shared with his coach Michael Bublé after the winner announcement.
“Dreams really do come true,” Vasquez said.
“Believe that you can, and manifest it with your whole heart,” he added.