How music helped Rey Valera get through health scare, ‘intimations of mortality’

Rey Valera (right) and Joey Generoso

At 65, Rey Valera has reached the point where one begins to lose loved ones his or her age. And as morbid as it sounds, seeing his friend count slowly dwindle, it does make him ponder about his own mortality.

“I couldn’t help but wonder, sometimes, “Could I be next?” he told reporters in a recent pocket interview for his concert “The Acoustic Playlist,” which he will headline with former Side A vocalist Joey Generoso at Palacio de Maynila on Feb. 7. “It’s not a matter of if, but when.”

The death of his friend and fellow music icon Rico J. Puno in 2018 was particularly unnerving for Rey. “I saw how he deteriorated. In our last concerts together, he would be in a wheelchair backstage, breathing heavily. Onstage, we would stand next to him and make it appear like Rico could hold himself up,” he recalled.

“The last time we performed, he sat through most of his numbers. During our last song, Imelda Papin and Claire dela Fuente were virtually propping him up,” he added. “Seeing something like that happen to someone close to you, someone you have worked with for years … it does make you feel like you could be next.”

And for a moment last year, he thought his time had finally come.

Rey was supposed to go on a tour in the United States in the middle of 2019. He didn’t make it to that trip. A few days prior to his flight, he went to the hospital to have his belly checked, because it had been looking uncharacteristically swollen. Before he knew it, additional tests were being ordered, and a surgeon was called.

Doctors were worried that he may have a tumor in his intestines, which will have to be surgically removed if it turned out to be malignant. Thankfully, it wasn’t.

“What I had was called an abdominal adhesion—my intestines were stuck together. It can happen, I was told, and people who have had surgery in the past is more susceptible to it. In my case, it was an appendectomy some years ago,” he related.

Still, he had to undergo a medical procedure. The road to recovery was long and arduous. And the veteran singer-songwriter spent the next couple of weeks “with a catheter and all sorts of tubes attached to me.”

“I was stuck in bed, lonely and depressed. Sometimes, I couldn’t help but cry because I felt helpless,” he admitted. “Curiously, it was music that helped me get through it … the song ‘You Are My Sunshine.’ I would sing to myself: ‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine/You make me happy…’”By September, Rey has made a full recovery, and was able to return to his judging duties in the singing contest “Tawag ng Tanghalan”—a segment of the noontime variety program, “It’s Showtime.”

“While some of my friends are disappearing before me, here I am, still trying to sing. This is a bonus,” he stressed. “It’s an honor—a gift.”

Mounted by StarMedia Entertainment, “The Acoustic Playlist” will have Rey and Joey singing their respective hits in a relaxed jamming session, including “Maging Sino Ka Man,” “Kumusta Ka,” “Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko,” “Forevermore” and “Set You Free” (call 8524-7606).

“I have performed with him in the past. Joey has a reputation for being a good musician. His shows abroad are always sold-out. And this is an opportunity to introduce myself to his fan base,” Rey said, adding that the style of music they perform aren’t so different. “We enjoy singing love songs. And he’s also passionate and dedicated to his craft.”

After the Manila show, Rey and Joey will go on a four-night concert tour in the United States: May 1 in Seattle, Washington; May 3, Los Angeles, California; May 8, Las Vegas, Nevada; and May 17, San Diego, California.

While he’s strong enough to take on his usual work load, Rey said he won’t take chances and make sure not to overexert himself.

“I no longer get nervous or too fussy when I miss out on possible shows. Health is my priority now,” he said.