Nostalgia moments.
It was past mid-80s and the fervent nationalist spirit was still very much alive after the momentous recapture of democracy from the dark dictatorship.
I was editing the entertainment pages of "Ang Tinig ng Masa" Filipino broadsheet when now King of Talk Boy Abunda was still handling the PR work for Martin Nievera, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Kuh Ledesma et al and their gigs--concerts or TV shows.
At that time I was also an entertainment news stringer for the comebacking ABS-CBN and its primetime news program, "Balita Ngayon" with the late Robert Arevalo and the relocated from PTV-4's Mel Tiangco and Angelique Lazo.
Not contented with one network, I was also doing Production Assistance (PA) for Boy C. de Guia (yes, the still missing talent manager, movie columnist, producer and TV host) and the irrepressible Lolit Solis' "Scoop" at the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) Channel 13 with Lhar Santiago, Pilar Mateo, Ronald Mendoza, Danny Vibas, Josie Manago and the late Rino Fernan Silverio, collectively called Special People.
Abunda would always invite me to press confabs of his clients which were mostly held in Sunvar Plaza, the geometrical building at the corner of Antonio Arnaiz Avenue formerly Pasay Road and Amorsolo Street just across St. John Bosco Parish Church.
When ABS-CBN was relaunched as Star Network in 1987, Abunda would still invite me to his press gatherings at Sunvar for my stories in "Star News" of "TV Patrol."
This time I would also squeeze an interview with now National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab where his first music school was housed.
Oh! Sunvar Plaza.
According to singer/actor/director/producer Roeder Camanag (who used to sport only his first name when he was launched as a recording artist of the hit song "Sana Naman" in 1990), it was in Sunvar where he enrolled at the Cayabyab music school.
Because of his passion for music, Roeder would travel all the way from Cavite City where he hailed from to Makati City when there were no flyovers yet but there was already horrendous traffic.
Yes!
It was also in Sunvar where Roeder was always in huddle with Ray Junia, the publisher of this OpinYon Metro/National paper you're reading.
"Kami ni Mang Ray ang laging magkausap noon (We were the ones who were always talking after each break in the music school)," recalled Camanag.
It's because Ray was keeping company with his eldest daughter Michelle Nikki Junia who was only in her early teens.
Michelle Nikki was enrolled at Ryan's music school as well.
She was a classmate of Roeder.
It was also in Sunvar where Roeder 's first record album was hatched when he was hanging out in co-producer Jay Gonzaga's office.
Their other classmates included Jeffrey Hidalgo, Tony Lambino, Tenten Munoz, Radha and some others in the soon-to-created 14K.
Other press stories had mentioned Jolina Magdangal whom Ray didn't vividly recall. "Parang hindi, eh (It seemed unlikely)," the older Junia said.
"Sa amin pa ngang mga parents nanggaling ang title na 14K. Tinanong kami ni Ryan kung ano ang itatawag sa grupo. Nagkataon, uso ang value ng (The name 14K came from us parents. He asked us what we could call the group. At the time, the vogue was the value of) gold karat," recounted Ray.
Actually, I covered 14K for "TV Patrol"'s "Star News" but their individual names were not spelled out because the interview centered on Ryan alone.
There was a seconder upmusic of the kids who were only visual support while they were being trained by Cayabyab.
As a standard procedure, it wasn't a walk in the park in auditioning and passing to be part of the group.
There were two elimination rounds.
Each of the aspirants was asked to sing before a panel of judges that included Celeste Legaspi.
After the first leg of performances, the school would say, "Don't call us, we'll call you."
The father-daughter team of Ray and Nikki waited for a call which they thought would never come.
The landline in Ray's PR office was the only communication channel.
It finally rang with good news.
The second leg was a repeat in the process.
Ray said he noticed a foreign jury was seated in the panel.
"I thought there was international funding," he surmised.
In a separate interview with Ryan, he said there was a grant to run the training.
According to Ray, whenever Nikki would render her song, you could see from the glances of the judges their interest.
"Walang tawag. Sabi ko kay Nikki, wala na (No calls. I told Nikki there's nothing to wait for)."
Nikki, Ray said, was resigned to whatever outcome.
But good news was always on their side.
And the arduous training began.
Nikki said it was in 14K that her musical skills were also honed like vocalization, voice projection, showmanship etc.
She was mentored by Annie Quintos and Moy Ortiz of The CompanY.
On the sideline during the training, Ray said he joked that there was a social divide between talents from poor and rich families.
"Sina Tony Lambino at Jeffrey Hidalgo, mga sosyal, kami, mahihirap (They were the privileged, we were poor)," he teased.
Tony and Jeffrey went on to become members of the famous Smokey Mountain with Geneva Cruz.
Tenten became quite a sensation when she starred in the musical "Katy" but unfortunately, she was struck with brain tumor and after a few years, died of cancer.
Radha is still the reluctant star.
A granddaughter of awarded actress Lolita Rodriguez, Radha has been the point singer of Kulay Band and still has to find her wider place in the local Tin Pan Alley sun.
Roeder pursued his singing and acting goals.
Meanwhile, Michelle Nikki opted for higher music education as she graduated cum laude major in Voice from the Conservatory of Music of the University of Santo Tomas.
She also went to study "speech level singing" from world renowned teacher Seth Riggs (with former students Michael Jackson, Natalie Cole, Barbra Streisand, among others) in the US and embarked in a solo recording career with LP album titled "Back in Time."
With an enormous music epistemology under her belt and inside her brains, Nikki established her own music academy, Musik Garten Manila, a school for kids and adults alike who are nurtured with compassion and discipline.
One of the successful and popular alumni of Musik Garten is Gerphil Flores, Asia's Got Talent 2nd runner-up in 2015.
In 2016, Michelle Nikki was already a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
As a board member who formulates policies for national arts and culture, Nikki was the chairman of the the Committee on Artistic Matters where she introduced and flourished the concept of "Kanto Kultura," the enhancement of the artistic traits of Filipino artists from the street corners and neighborhood, in the city and the countryside.
On August 16, 2023 Michelle Nikki, the youngest among the Trustees was voted in by the Board sa Chief of CCP.
Shorts: Young actress Mara Lopez, Mara Isabelle Lopez Yokohama in real life, daughter of veteran actress and beauty queen Maria Isabel Lopez is set to marry American fiance Chandler Booth in El Nido, Palawan in November. Mara is excited about her tying the knot with Chandler whom she is romantically exploring life and the world. The younger Lopez was in the country last Christmas with Booth but went back to US before Maria Isabel had participated in a collective art show by showbiz creatives, actors and actresses billed as "Screenscapes" at the White Room Gallery of the International House of SEMEO INNOTECH along Commonwealth Avenue in Diliman, Quezon. Along with Maribel, colleagues Cris Villanueva, Lotlot de Leon, Evangeline Pascual, Ernie Garcia, Elizabeth Oropesa, Louie Ignacio, Jet Alcantara eho's now sporting screen name Jet Rai, Jao Mapa, Shamaine Centenera Buencamino, Leandro Baldemor, Nina Ricci Alagao-Flores, Jeanette Kamphuis, Dranreb Belleza and Sandino Martin interactively presented their art works to guests while John Llloyd Cruz, John Paul Duray, Epy Quizon and Baron Geisler were not around to introduce their masterpieces...Best Friends Forever (BFF) Bela Padilla, Kim Chiu and Angelica Panganiban painted the town red in the US by their threesome right after the wedding of Angelica to Gregg Homan in California. Bela, Kim and Panganiban were like lost command in an army of Filipino movie stars in the city.
#Imagery #BoyVillasanta #CCP #CulturalCenterOfThePhilippines #Entertainment #NikkiJunia #14K #RyanCayabyab #OpinYonColumn #OpinYon #WeTakeAStand