A heart for OPM

Somewhere in the entertainment section of this newspaper, you must have seen this advertisement announcing the show of Mitch Valdes entitled Mitch Valdes Rocks! To be held at the Onstage Greenbelt in Makati this Thursday, Aug. 29, Mitch Valdes Rocks! promises a night of fun and music. The show will directed by Kokoy Jimenez (Mel Villena is the musical director).

The show can’t be as big in magnitude as the recently-concluded mega concert of Sharon Cuneta but I still look forward to watching it. You see, I’ve always enjoyed any show with Mitch Valdes in it – from her birthday concert in 1987 to the lavish musical Katy where she gave a sterling performance as the queen of jazz, Katy de la Cruz.

As one of the most talented entertainers in the industry, Mitch really should have done more movies, TV shows and concerts. But in spite of the fact that she has not done that many movies, she still managed to snag an Urian Best Supporting Actress award for Lunes, Martes ... and a nomination for Oro, Plata, Mata. (She also won an Aliw award for one of her live stage acts.)

In 1990, Mitch – she with the free spirit – surprised the entertainment industry when she agreed to become the president of the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) and later turned out to be a fine leader.

Below, Mitch Valdes talks about OPM and her career as an artist:

What have been the gains of OPM under your leadership?

I’m very happy with the shift of direction OPM has taken. We’re now very focused on artist’s rights. Whereas in the past we almost drowned in trying to address each member’s individual problems, we have now trained our sights on the major industry issues which includes entertainment, arts and culture. These are the same issues that surround the performer anyway.

What are the problems you encounter as OPM head?

I am a performer and an artist – sometimes a humorous one. I never expected to be an activist in showbiz. We are now transferring the major bulk of the responsibilities to the experts and professionals in this field.

What are the benefits of being OPM head? Is there a salary?

All Board members work gratis et amore. But in the last two years, I kind of woke up and asked for an annual honorarium for myself. Below minimum wage. No SSS. But then again it doesn’t matter at this point. They have no funds, Mwa ha, ha, ha!

Are you already grooming your successor? Who could it be?

I would like to remove the personality/persona I accidentally created by being noisy. And once the new systems and foundations are secure and in place, I would like to bring back the OPM Board of Directors/membership consciousness. The BOD will function as a council of elders. Both in age and or seasoning.

Do you think the music industry is worth fighting for?

Music is God’s gift. It is a potent tool of inspiration, of expression, of emotion. It should be respected and protected, both by its creator and users.

Having been in the industry for more than three decades, are you satisfied with how your career has turned out? What are the highs and lows of your career?

I am very happy to have been given the opportunity to finally be accepted as an all-around performer and humorist and to do "serious" OPM work at the same time. It took a lot of sometimes frustrating years of trying to crisscross very definite lines of public acceptability. My concert performances, having an audience, always gives me a high. We laugh together at the same things. We sing together. We reminisce together. The lowest points of my career were when I was deprived of this ability. Both by external factors and sometimes my own stupidity. Thank God that’s over.

Don’t you feel you should have done more films?

I don’t have the temperament for filmmaking or TV taping. I mentally and physically prowl around the set or the studio. I guess I like to keep the finish line in sight. It’s like sprinting at the start of the gun. I get disoriented if I stop and have to repeat again. I guess I live by the "been there, done that" motto. Move, move, move. Then I rest in solitude.

So do still throw up like you used to before a performance?

I don’t throw up before performing anymore but the sensation is still there until after the first wave of laughter. Then the feeling of connection is like coming home.

What you would you have been if you didn’t become an entertainer?

A very unhappy civilian.