Finally, a Sylvia La Torre tribute concert
There’s still more to watch for as the National Heritage Month draws to a close this May. Among the must-see projects by the Filipino Heritage Festival Inc. (FHFI) is the tribute concert highlighting Sylvia La Torre’s stellar career on stage, in music, on radio, film, and television
The show, titled “Ibyang, Mahal Kita,” takes place on May 29, 7 p.m., at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila. It’s by invitation only, but the general public can watch the technical run on the same day at 2 p.m. Visit FHFI’s Facebook page for details on how to get tickets for the technical run.
Dennis Marasigan leads the artistic team as writer and director. The cast is headed by Rachelle Gerodias-Park, who will perform La Torre’s signature songs, and Park Byeong-in. They will be accompanied by the University of Santo Tomas Symphony Orchestra with conductor Daniel Bartolome, and also joined by members of Tinig Kayumanggi and Danspace Ballet School.
Gerodias-Park tells Lifestyle during a production meeting that giving La Torre a tribute is her passion project. It began when she found out in 2021 from her ninong sa kasal Danny Dolor, a patron of Philippine arts and cinema, that La Torre couldn’t be named a national artist because of a technicality.
La Torre, who started as a child performer in the 1940s and became a revered star in the next decades, decided to migrate with her family to the United States in the 1980s and eventually became a citizen there. National artists have to be Filipino citizens.
“Sayang naman (it’s a pity),” Gerodias-Park recalls, reacting to her discovery. “Because if there was one performing artist who deserves to be national artist, it’s Sylvia La Torre.”
She also remembers that Dolor shared her idea of giving a tribute to La Torre. But as fate would have it, the iconic star passed away in December 2022, followed by Dolor in July 2023. Next, Gerodias-Park spoke about her passion project to theater-TV writer and director Floy Quintos after they worked on a project. Unfortunately, Quintos died in April 2024.
Finally happening
Gerodias-Park says she never gave up on the La Torre tribute until the right time finally came. It was during the musical tribute for entrepreneur-philanthropist Nedy Tantoco in July 2024, in which she performed, that she got talk to Marasigan and then to FHFI president Mita Rufino.
“They loved the idea,” she says, smiling. “That’s how it all started, and now, it’s happening.” She adds that they started the formal planning last October, and they’ve gotten in touch with La Torre’s family in the U.S.
At the production meeting, Marasigan recounts, “When Rochelle spoke to me, I was immediately excited. Primarily because, aside from having grown up watching Sylvia La Torre on television primarily, I also had the rare chance of having been old enough to be able to work with her in some of the productions. I was still a student and working as a stagwe manager.”
He adds, “I only have very fond memories of working with her. And because I knew Sylvia La Torre as a TV comedian and a film actress, it was really a surprise for me to find out that she was a brave and very experienced singer.”
Marasigan explains that La Torre was a voice scholar who excelled in opera. “She had been dubbed ‘Queen of Kundiman’ because she had done the largest number of recordings of the kundiman. But she recorded even traditional songs from the different regions of the country.”
He also points out that La Torre had been dubbed as the “Queen of Philippine Television.” Her hit shows included “The Big Show,” “Oras ng Ligaya,” and “Tang Tarang Tang.”
“So, for this particular production, we’ve divided the production into five different parts, representing the five different fields that she has excelled in,” he says.
