Remembering Cebu's Music Man

 CEBU, Philippines - Last August 12 marked the 100th birth centennial of one of the most, if not the most, prolific composer of Cebuano songs, Domingo “Minggoy” Lopez.

To commemorate the occasion, Jose “Dodong” Gullas’ HALAD Museum will run an exhibit on the musical icon beginning today, September 29 until October 25.

The JRG Halad Museum has acquired the original manuscripts of his compositions, photos, trophies, awards, as well as original cassette recordings, released and unreleased songs, and his reel recording tapes, (donated items from the Lopez family) which the public can listen to during the exhibit.

It’s a great shame today’s generation, this writer included, still need a crash course on who this Cebuano musician nonpareil tagged as “Cebu’s Music Man” is, and what his contributions to our rich musical archive are. His remaining daughter, Rebecca Lopez-Montaño, and her better half Alfredo Montaño thus expressed their appreciation to the HALAD Museum for the tribute and for creating a venue where Cebuano musical artists are given their deserved place in history.

“We are very grateful. For him (Jose “Dodong” Gullas) to conceive something like this…There are many composers who have yet to be recognized; and they have very good compositions,” said Mr. Montaño, a retired high school professor who has diligently collected newspaper clippings on his dear father-in-law, and has kept original hand-written copies of some of Minggoy’s works.

Beginnings

Minggoy, as he was better known and fondly called, was born to a humble family on August 12, 1912 in Sitio Kalubihan, San Nicolas, Cebu City. This was near the historic Colon and Leon Kilat streets. Some would opine then that having grown up smack in the heart of the city gave the man ample material to create songs that are “deeply rooted in and so expressive of the Cebuano soul. He, more than any other composer, had captured in his songs the simple hopes and humble aspirations of the typical Cebuano,” as goes a collective description of Minggoy’s music.

He would be one of eleven children of Juan Lopez and Basilia Abagon, both members of a local church choir. Of the eleven, only five would survive due to one pregnancy complication or another.

His folks’ passion for music Minggoy would inherit, and this he would display early on. “He really had this love for music and the stage. In fact, he sang and acted in his first zarzuela at eight years old. He also became a member of a dance troupe,” Mr. Montaño would recount.

The young Minggoy must have felt that school was just getting in the way of his musical and artistic pursuits, that he quit right after first year high school! Naturally, the parents wouldn’t approve but there was nothing that could change the mind of the determined Minggoy.

“Malipay na lang sad sila, kay usahay muuli, nakadaog diay sa contest. Sometimes, the prize he would bring home was a complete suit-and-tie set,” said Mr. Montaño. Later, the young boy would be part of a group of artists called Zarzuela Cebuana.

Minggoy devoted his waking time to singing and teaching himself how to play the guitar. “He became so good with the guitar, and he and his group would be invited to play on board ships that sailed to Manila. They even reached Sandacan, Borneo just to play,” Mr. Montaño added.

Triple treat

It was at 18 when Minggoy tried his hand at songwriting. And what got him into it? He was in love with one lady, and the Cupid-struck gentleman wanted to impress her with a song or two!

Two of his early compositions, Pagkatam-is and Daw sa Magisi, were composed especially for this first love of his life. While he would not end up with that woman, Minggoy did not look back since in coming up with one Cebuano tune and another.

Most famous of his pieces are the hits Rosas Pandan, Kamingaw sa Payag, Kagahapon ug Karon, Krutsay Sakayanon, Bukidnon, Pag-utlan sa Gugma, and Salimuang sa Hubog.

Without any real formal training in music, he could not read musical notes. That wasn’t a disability, for Minggoy composed more than two hundred original songs using his guitar, some of which were released commercially.

Mr. Montaño fondly recalled, “He would always be up very early, usually at four a.m. He would be tinkering with his guitar. By seven o’clock in the morning, he already had one or two compositions. That includes both the music and the lyrics. He does not have one song wherein the lyrics are originally in English, and then just translated to Visayan, or someone else made the tune and he just puts in the words, like other composers do. So all his songs are original compositions.”

The joys and pains of love were a recurring theme in Minggoy’s songs, but he also touched on varied subjects such as the “environment, nature, social justice, roles women play to bring about change in society, or advice to women,” said his daughter Rebecca. He also composed the songs in the zarzuela Tirana and Rosas Pandan and penned theme songs for radio dramas and stage plays.

But Minggoy was not only a genius of a composer. He was also an accomplished radio, stage, and movie personality. Acting was his third love, after all, right after singing and composing. A triple treat, as they would say these days, he appeared in many radio dramas, soap operas, stage plays and in Visayan movies like Timbu-mata, Dimakaling and Aliyana.

Good man

There was even more to write about once Minggoy settled down and built his own family. He was known to write songs for his loved ones, including his children and grandchildren.

He married an aspiring actress and singer in the name of Maria Caridad Falcon, who bore him nine children, but only three survived: Adela, Domingo, Jr. and Rebecca.

Rebecca, the youngest, would proudly share that even when artists like his father aren’t known to earn much, they never felt that life was difficult. “It was not hard for us. We were aware that money was very limited, but I don’t remember having to worry whether we had something to eat or if he could send us to school. He was not a difficult father to live with. He had his rules, which we had to follow. He was a good man, a good father.”

One childhood anecdote she shared was how her father behaved when he would at times come home drunk. He would wake up the children, Rebecca laughingly recalled, and while waving around a stick thick enough to scare them, he would order them to sing and dance. So Rebecca would often pretend to be in deep sleep, to avoid an obliged impromptu performance in the middle of the night.

‘Panamilit’

It was the death of his wife in 1973 that triggered in Minggoy thoughts of how his songs would be lost and forever forgotten along with his passing.

“He was very dependent on his wife. She had hypertension. She died in January 3. So we were worried about him because he was so attached to her and he thought he would soon follow,” Mr. Montaño said.

He added, “It got him thinking, if I die, my compositions will be either forgotten or left unheard. This idea also occurred to him when one time Rebecca asked him who wrote this particular song that they were performing for school at the St. Theresa’s College. The man replied, ‘Imo ra man gud amahan nagsuwat ana day.’”

“We kept practicing this song for school, without me knowing that it was composed by my father,” Rebecca chimed in.

So what he did in 1974, he recorded all of his songs on cassette tapes. He called it Panamilit: Kasaysayan sa Kinabuhi ni Minggoy Lopez. In his panamilit song which he wanted to be played during his funeral titled Ang Sista, Honi ug Ako, he wrote these lines for Rebecca “…ang mga huning buhat ko, ampingi gayud, kay mao ray kabilin mo.”

But it would still be a good seven years after writing his farewell that Minggoy would join his Creator. He used those years to come up with even more compositions. At the age of 69, he died in his sleep in 1981.

Mr. Montaño would write in a brief biography on his father-in-law that “like other Cebuano composers who were victims of injustice by some recording companies, Minggoy died a poor man.”

Asked if she knew the exact total of Minggoy’s compositions, Rebecca answered they could not determine it because he was known to give away songs to those who asked. “He was generous in that way. I would scold him why he would just give away his compositions, but he would reply that he could always write another one.”

Minggoy’s family would collect several posthumous awards and recognitions. One of these was in 1994, when he was bestowed the Perlas Award for the Valuable Filipino in the field of music given by the Philippines Foundation, Inc.

More recently, a day before his 100th birth centennial, Minggoy was given a Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award in ceremonies led by Cebu governor Gwen Garcia at the Cebu International Convention Center. He was one among four awardees in that category. Part of his plaque read that Minggoy was chosen “for his legacy of classic Cebuano music and his outstanding contribution to the Cebuano music industry.” (FREEMAN)