Athena Ever Engracia lends voice in “Hiyas”

While others en dowed with the gift of music have pursued the stars—fleeting fame and fortune in a dog-eat-dog system, 21-year-old Athena Ever Engracia prefers to bring her soothing voice before a pod of children with special needs, and incorporate music at every opportunity.  

“Labi na sa action songs; you win the attention of these special children if mentoring is done through songs,” Athens, a graduating student in Special Education of the University of San Carlos, shared.

Born to parents who share a love for music and the performing arts, Athens (who was believed to have been conceived in Athens, Greece while her parents were on a trip there) narrated how thrilled and challenged she is growing up in a household lulled and hushed and rocked by music.

“Expected na na nga mokanta pod ko because my parents are very much into music. Expected sad nga I would be able to play musical instruments,” she said.

“My mother, Elaine Pedrosa, told me how she kept singing to me the song Somewhere Out There even when I was still in her womb,” she said. “In strong faith that I would grow up to be musically inclined.”

When she was around two months old as an infant, a power outage occurred at the apartment where her parents had started building a home.

“My mom said I couldn’t be stopped from crying obviously because the room got so warm as a preheated oven, that I was in so much discomfort. But when mom started singing to me Somewhere Out There, I was cooing along with the tune to her surprise, not crying anymore,” Athens narrated.

“Right then and there, she knew that I could sing.”

As Athens was growing up, Elaine exposed her to church and classical songs. By three years old, she was already coaching her father—singing sonologist, Dr. Warfe Engracia – for songs she said he couldn’t keep up anymore. “Mora gyod ko’g correct,” Athens said.

At the age of four, she said she was already ripe to sing for offertory hymns in their church. And by seven, she started joining singing contests in Bethany Christian School where she attended grade school.

“And I finished first,” she shared.

She excelled in declamation contests as well, dabbling from singing to declaiming in competitions in the campus. When she reached high school, she joined school plays. “When I transferred to the Cebu Bradford School on my third year in high school, I also joined a monologue competition and a contest in newscasting, copping first places for both. That’s how I discovered my versatility in things,” she said.

It was in December of 2003 when Athens auditioned for the second season of “Star in a Million”—a TV reality search for new breed of songbirds. She was 16 back then. She made it to the Magic 10 for finalists here in Cebu, but failed to make it to Manila.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reach Manila. But being in the Magic 10 gave me hope and somehow I was able to prove to myself that I could really sing,” she said. And for that she would want to thank Mr. Jet Butalid who was her voice trainor for two years.

“I really did learn a lot from him. I think he is already in Bohol but he used to handle home studies for piano. Pero wa gyod ko nakat-on og piano. I think mas maayo ko sa flute. Bamboo flute pa akong ma-play karon,” Athens shared.

She finished high school with a special award for Best in Theatre Arts. Moving on to college, her parents exposed her to singing in concerts and family affairs. “Especially on my father’s birthday where my dad, my mom, and I did a presentation,” she said.

Her mom sat on the piano, while she and her dad had a duet. “I got so conscious, a lot of things flashed on my mind while I was singing. Scared to make mistakes, like forgetting the lyrics. And not hitting the right notes. But somehow I was able to pull through,” she said.

After that, Athens became a guest for “Handurawan” at the Grand Convention Center where the lead performers were his dad, Doc Warfe and Ms. Dulce Amor.

“That’s how I started performing before a big crowd,” she said. The latest was the “Handumanan” concert staged by the Cebu Malay Society of Composers, Authors, and Producers, Inc. last January 18 at the SM City Cinema 1 as part of the activities for the Sinulog festivity.

As for her performance with Chicago-based Bisdak saxophonist Giga Mangubat Yanong next Saturday for the “Hiyas Bisaya” (Pagmahal sa Kulturang Bisaya diha sa mga Awit, Huni, Sayaw, Balak ug mga Dula), again produced by CEMSCAP, she said she could already feel the pressure.

“May gani buotan ug masinabtanon gyod si Giga. We have a duet—the ‘Usahay’ which is his favorite piece. We were able to blend in so well sa rehearsals. Hope we would be able to sustain the performance on the big night on August 9,” she said.

“The thing with singing is that you have to be your own critic. You have to listen carefully, pay attention to the very notes you’re singing,” she added.

Athens is also set to give her rendition of Girlie Lapinid’s “Langit ug Yuta.” Unlike other youngsters, Athens said she prefers “classical and operatic songs.”

“I’ve been exposed to these types of music all of my life. Although I listen to the type of music my friends listen to, I would always return to the classics.”