Reliving the golden years of music

It was again a stroke of genius that Viva’s Vic del Rosario, Boss Vic to all, would think of gathering together the divas of the ’60s in one grand undertaking. It just goes to show that he hasn’t lost his touch at all, despite the conglomeration of young Turks aiming to displace him.

For who hasn’t heard of Pilita Corrales, Carmen Pateña, and Carmen Soriano whether they be in their teens, 30s, or 60s? Of the three, Pilita is the most visible since she has always been based in the country, leaving only to give concerts abroad, and has hundreds of recordings compared to the two Carmens. Pateña had been based abroad for 20 years where she was actively performing. It is Soriano who has been inactive for at least 10 years, but her reputation as a performer and her beauty have stayed with her.

Few thought it could happen. Unbelievably, the trio had never performed together in their heydays, so much so that they were constantly pitted against one another. Pateña was so confident Soriano would not come out of hiding she bet Boss Vic a thousand. Of course she lost that bet.

The Golden Divas showed at the Music Museum for two nights but weeks before, sale of tickets was already brisk. Boss Vic revealed he didn’t expect that big a success. We remember the Greatest Hits group of Rico Puno, Hajji Alejandro, Nonoy Zuñiga, Rey Valera, Marco Sison which was similarly launched some years back to great success, and went on and on, going on twice yearly tours to destinations here and abroad.

Just like Greatest Hits, the germ of the Golden Divas started when Boss Vic called Pilita broaching the idea. Pilita and Carmen P. had already been doing provincial shows together; Carmen S. would be the difficult one, all surmised. She had lived abroad for years, had returned home but not to the glare of showbiz lights as would have been expected. Would she agree to go back to the crazy world of show business? It was said that she had put on weight, one reason she shunned being seen in public.

Catching the trio at rehearsals, we asked Carmen S. what the story was. She admitted to having put on weight. “I couldn’t come out in public looking like that. I went on a diet. If I would be coming back I had to look good,” she told us. And indeed she looked ravishing, even more svelte than her two other colleagues.

As to why it had taken her so long to come back, Carmen S. said, “I had been singing since I was 18, giving the audience what they wanted. It was time I gave myself a break. This time it would be for me. “ She also talked about how she worked on changing her inner self so that she would be confident with her outer self. Being a Cancerean she found herself too sensitive, and that, too, had to change.

During the jam-packed concerts at the Music Museum (hordes were turned away each night for lack of tickets), director Al Quinn fulfilled the riot of a concert he had promised. Working on Soriano’s lady-like demure bearing, Al put her in the middle of Corrales and Pateña who were so comfortable with comedy. As Soriano kept her composure, shocked at the goings on, Corrales gave out her one-liners, her jokes about age and beauty and sex that never failed to get the audience. Pateña, on the other hand, was more physical with her antics — kicking off her shoes and going barefeet in a number; showing off her cleavage in another.

Pateña who came back early last year was amazed that “my friends are still all here.” For the show, she recommended a Filipino designer she had befriended in New York, Albert Figueres. He designed all the gowns of the Golden Divas. They had four outfits each, and several wrap-ons that made it look like they were changing attires for every song.

We liked Soriano’s Sway and the Bituin-Eres Tu medley; Pateña’s New York New York and Never Never; and Corrales’ Platter’s medley and You’re My Everything. Of course the crowd went wild at the Imelda Papin-Eva Eugenio-Claire de la Fuentes hits; the Canseco medley, and the Supreme’s medley at the end of the show which the trio belted out.

It also helped that the musical director and keyboardist was their contemporary Gerry Matias who was familiar with their quirks and caprices. Nothing would faze or surprise him, and indeed nothing did.

Just like the Greatest Hits group where the unspoken head honcho is Rico J., we can see Pilita holding the fort for the Divas. Everyone is treated equitably with no leaders, so to speak, but everyone also knows there has to be a leader of the pack.

After the show, the entire production and Boss Vic descended on Pilita’s Greenhills restaurant which is fast becoming a watering hole for those seeking nostalgia. Everyone was beaming broadly. Repeats certainly have to be on the agenda. Perhaps an Araneta concert. Already a tour of the US Westcoast had been booked. Shades of Greatest Hits indeed.

(E-mail me at [email protected].)