Gary at 20: Hataw pa!

Tomorrow morning when you wake up and the sun does not appear, I will be here...

No, Gary Valenciano didn’t sing that song (much to my disappointment, sob!) for encore during his Gary V Hits Music Museum show last Saturday, Aug. 9, even if it was listed among the three songs (along with a ’70s Dance Medley and Kailangan Kita which he did) as reserve in case the SRO audience asked for more (of course, we did!).

But that was okay because by the time the three-hour show (from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.) ended, with Gary soaked in sweat but still smiling wildly – and raring to do more, more, more! – he had done all the other songs my friends and I went to the Music Museum for: Di Na Natuto (which I first heard on the radio back in l984 while stuck in waist-high flood along E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City), Sana Maulit Muli (which Gary always sings with so much heart and soul because it means so much to him and wife Angeli... ask them about the poignant story behind that song), Take Me Out of the Dark My Lord (a spirit-lifting number with a reassuring message that He will always be there for you, no matter what) and The Warrior is a Child (a Christian song he sang at the wake of Rico Yan who fell in love with it when he heard Gary sing it at the EDSA Dos two months before he died in his sleep at Dos Palmas in Palawan).

The series of shows marks Gary’s 20th year in showbiz and, as he promised, he gave his all, he performed to the hilt, singing hit Gary V songs and those of other singers (Stevie Wonder, etc.), electrifying the Music Museum stage with–you guessed it – "pure energy" for three hours non-stop, making you wonder how a Type 1 diabetic could be so charged with seemingly inhaustible energy. I’m sure Gary, with the help of Angeli (who monitors not only Gary’s career but also the rise and fall of his blood sugar), downed large amounts of glucose which he burned by not only singing but also jumping and going up and down the prop staircase, and running to and fro onstage, sometimes descending from it to "touch base" with the audience. We were all panting from it all towards the end but Gary, surprisingly, was not. Did he have to take more glucose (Coke, please!) after the show to stabilize his blood sugar? (Leave it to Angeli!).

As far as I was concerned, the most touching part of the show was when Gary introduced his mother, Gremilda Santiago Ortiz-Valenciano, to the audience, going down the stage to offer her a bouquet of roses, and giving her a loving hug that left a lump in my throat. As Gary sang Historia de un Amor for his mom ("She’s pure Puerto Rican who grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico; she and my dad met and fell in love in New York"), I remembered my own late mom and from that moment on, I was misty-eyed throughout the show, with my attention divided between what Gary was doing onstage and how his mom was wiping quiet tears as she hugged the bouquet of roses.

On the screen onstage was flashed photographs of Gary’s mom in sepia and black and white, taken years and years ago by Gary’s father when love was new and times were better and emotions were intact, and we all gushed at how lovely and beautiful the Valenciano matriarch was in her youth.

Gary later sang a duet with Kyla (she’ll go places with her versatility, I "warn" you, and if the likes of Lani Misalucha don’t watch out, they might find themselves playing second fiddle to her, just wait and see!) and then with Regine Velasquez (who looks a bit plump these days). But those portions were, again as far as I was concerned, no match to Gary’s jamming number with son Gabriel who also danced with him and sang Hataw Na. So touching was their act that – with Gabriel evoking memories of the young Gary doing his Michael Jackson interpretation – you wanted to rush to the stage and give father and son a tight double hug, never mind if Gary, even after three costume changes, was drenched in (sugar-rich) perspiration. If Gary opted to retire now, you know who would take over.

The show is also a celebration of Gary’s 39th birthday (last Aug. 6). From the way he lorded over the Music Museum stage that night, it was clear that Gary could generate more of that "pure energy" for 20 more years – or even longer than that... his blood sugar permitting.

Gary sang Kailangan Kita (theme song of the Aga-Claudine Star Cinema movie of the same title) as encore and not I Will Be Here, but it was all right.

Tomorrow morning when you wake up, and many, many more mornings to come – Gary for sure will be here, making more beautiful music.

Okay, Gary, hataw pa!

(Note: Gary will have more shows, same venue, tonight starting at 9, and on Aug. l6, 22, 23, 29 and 30, and Sept. 5 and 6. For tickets, call Genesis at 721-4405.)

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