She 'Didith' her way

I like to remember Didith Reyes when she was at her prime, meaning in the mid-’70s when she was The Voice That Matters, and not, I shudder to visualize, the way she might have looked when she was found dead yesterday morning by a friend in a Laguna town in whose house Didith had sought shelter with bruises all over caused, according to Didith, by a jeepney that sideswiped her.

The Grim Reaper has been quite active these days, keeping a date with Didith barely a week after an unexpected call on Marky Cielo who, like Didith, was also found lifeless in his sleep (or so intial reports said, pending further investigation).

That’s why I’m printing two photos of Didith taken in the ’70s, one of which shows her on the cover of the Expressweek magazine, her dark, soulful and seductive eyes flashing that “Come-and-get-it look!” and her luscious cleavage in generous display.

In the past few years leading to her death, when she surfaced as if from out of the blue after she disappeared from the showbiz scene in the ’80s, overtaken by the new breed of singers, Didith shocked people with her pitiful (nakakaawa) appearance and heart-rending accounts of what she was up to during her absence — yes, she was into drugs, she became an alcoholic and she was rowdy when she was drunk (which was all and not just some of the time), she was surviving on the generosity of neighbors somewhere in Laguna. In short, she was rudderless, as if like a kite cut off from its string, being tossed here and there, a pathetic shadow of her old self.

When she appeared on TV in what turned out to be a failed bid for a comeback, thanks to well-meaning friends egging her to change her ways and resume her rudely-interrupted career (it’s never too late, you know), she could still sing, all right, but she was having difficulty reaching many of the high notes that made her such a “legend” in her own time.

Mention the name Didith Reyes and the first song that replays in your mind is, that’s right, Bakit Ako Mahihiya?, her signature song described as “a battlecry of women newly liberated from inhibitions and certain social taboos,” the same which she sang at the 1977 FAMAS Awards night where she exposed her boobs while reaching a high note, an “accident” that preceded Janet Jackson’s also “accidental” breast exposure during a concert in New York.

A movie was made of that song, starring Didith herself, followed by a few more also inspired by her songs: Hindi Kami Damong Ligaw and Nananabik. She was the voice behind the theme song of the ’70s Regal tearjerker Araw-Araw, Gabi-Gabi which was the local nod to the Hollywood weeper All Mine To Give; but she raised eyebrows when she turned down a role in the controversial bold flick Mga Uhaw na Bulaklak because, ahem, she didn’t want to go bold. 

Maria Helen Bella Avenila Santamaria in real life, Didith was the older of two children; she ran away from home at age 15 while in high school at Santa Isabel College, skipped classes to join singing contests, played hooky while taking up Fine Arts at St. Scholastica College and landed in soundsville by initially being a member of the Circus Band.

The rest was a bitter-sweet story of overnight success and... sob and sigh...instant flickering out of the limelight. Then, nothing.

Ask her closest friends (Norma J among them) and they will tell you what a colorful love life Didith led during her prime.

“She had all the men she ever wanted and who ever wanted her,” one of her friends put it succinctly.

Didith Reyes, 60.

Somewhere out there where there’s no pain and no hardship, where there’s no darkness and only eternal flame, somewhere out there Didith must be singing with the angels: Bakit ako mahihiya kung ang puso’y liligaya...

Take a rest, Didith. You deserve it.

Marky is home now

Thousands of fans welcomed Marky Cielo, as if in a sweet slumber in a white casket, very handsome in turtle-necked sweeter topped by the same black suit he was wearing when he won as StarStruck’s Sole Survivor in 2005, when he arrived at past 7 o’clock yesterday morning at the Church of the Resurrection Cathedral in Baguio City.

“The Cordillera is weeping for its first ever son to make it big in show business,” reported STAR correspondent Artemio Dumlao. “His fellow Igorots gave him a hero’s welcome.”

Dumlao noted that one of the proudest Igorots to have Marky as provincemate is Josephine Dominguez, Presidential Assistant on Indigenous and Women Affairs.

Dumlao added that Marky’s body was supposed to stay only for a while at the Anglican Cathedral but the wake has been extended until midnight to give Marky’s fans and provincemates a chance to pay their last respects. Then, his remains were brought to his hometown, Sinto, Bauko, Mountain Province, where it will be buried according to Igorot custom tentatively on Tuesday, Dec. 16. (Note: Bauko is not in Benguet as Funfare wrongly reported yesterday.)

Peter Cetera coming for show

Grammy-winner singer/songwriter Peter Cetera has had two distinct musical careers. 

From 1968 through1 986 Peter was the singer, songwriter and bass player for the legendary rock group Chicago. In his time with the group, they recorded 18 of the most memorable albums of a generation, including such hits as If You Leave Me Now, Hard to Say I’m Sorry, Baby What a Big Surprise, You’re the Inspiration, Stay the Night, Love Me Tomorrow, Happy Man, Feeling Stronger Every Day and Along Comes a Woman.

A solo artist since 1986, Peter has recorded 10 time-honored CD’s including his No. 1 hits, the Academy-nominated song The Glory of Love from the hit movie The Karate Kid II, The Next Time I Fall with Amy Grant, Feels Like Heaven with Chaka Kahn, After All with Cher from the movie Chances Are, No Explanation from the megahit film Pretty Woman and the unforgettable Restless Heart.

Today, Peter appears to audiences around the world either with his four-piece unplugged group or his acclaimed Symphony Tour featuring a 42-piece symphony orchestra.  

Peter has opted to do the Symphony Tour when he performs in Manila on Valentines Day at the Araneta Coliseum. The Feb. 14, 2009 concert to be produced by Music Management International and Ovation Productions promises to be a musical spectacle and an experience that will be hard to match both in terms of its grandiose production and collection of Peter’s memorable soft rock hits spanning over 40 years as a member of Chicago and as a solo performer.

Other hits of Peter Cetera are: Just You and Me, I’ve Been Searching For So Long, Call on Me, Wishing You were Here, Old Days, No Tell Lover, and many more including Hold Me Till the Morning Comes, a duet with Paul Anka.

(Note: Tickets will soon be released through Ticketnet, telephone no. 911-5555, and available at all SM stores. For any other inquiries, call Ovation Productions 532-8883.)

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