A Yuletide gathering

…Though it comes around each year

The meaning of the season seems to disappear

Oh it’s good to be reminded…Christmas is for girls and boys, trimmed trees and Santa’s toys

It’s Mom and Dad and Grandma, Grandpa too…

We gather close to family, embrace all that’s been and all that’s yet to be

Oh it’s good to be reminded…Christmas is the candlelight, jingle bells and silent night

Friends from long ago and friends we made anew

Christmas is a sacred birth, a chance for hope and peace on earth

It’s everything that we hold dear and true

But most of all Christmas is the love that lives inside of me and you…

MANILA, Philippines - Regine Velasquez joined violinist John Lesaca on his fifth and latest CD Yuletide with a song penned by hubby Ogie Alcasid, Christmas Is. Its timely release reveals a dozen well-loved Christmas favorites with featured artists who breathe new life into timeless classics as well as original contemporary compositions. For Lesaca’s rendition, he synthesized his signature pearlized violin to produce the sound of English horns.

John Lesaca teases stepdaughter Nadine Jacinto Alberto (left) whose children Angelica and Nicolette performed background chorus on a track of his Yuletide CD

He played similarly — imagine listening to the penetrating high sound of a double-reed woodwind instrument like an oboe — on the first track Christmas Song and I’ll Be Home for Christmas but for Christmas Is, the melody picks up with a soft, percussive beat. On another track, Jed Madela of Kundirana fame helped out with his smooth vocals in A Christmas Medley. Lani Misalucha’s pitch-perfect silk combined with some powerful belting comes through in Christmas Won’t Be the Same Without You.

The CD ends with Lesaca’s familiar violin timbre on Pasko Na Sinta Ko but the tracks wouldn’t be complete without his trademark Beatles tribute — in this case, it was Happy Christmas (War is Over) — with himself on Lennon vocals and his grandchildren on background.

The CD’s seasonal aptness came as a special treat for local and international members the Jacob-Lesaca clan which gathered for the Christmas holiday and listened to the violin virtuoso. For almost a decade, any chance for the family to wholly reunite had evaded their multifaceted kin. Since patriarch Reynaldo Lesaca passed away, family members had been spread across Toronto, Ontario, McAllen, Texas, and Manila. 2010 proved to be their lucky year.

That’s me with Florinda, still going strong, who continues to be a consultant on the development of kindergarten textbooks utilized by UP Diliman students

Matriarch Florinda “Mama Up” Lesaca, retired from UP FLCD was ecstatic that her family could all be together as Christine “Tintin,” John’s only daughter, enjoined the family in sing-along, fun-filled games, and carousing. Eldest son Albert “Kuya Abay,” retired from environmental consulting work at TRC and MHS, together with wife Betty Abes, had endless first-hand stories to share but all came neatly organized in a CD, which they handed out to family members.

He and youngest sibling, Texas-based Bertrand “Randy” recently kicked off plans to start a data management service offering a burgeoning concept in the telecommunications industry — quality server management and network infrastructure development offered at a lower cost. Achieving reduced expenditures is said to be an upshot of the company’s optimal and balanced utilization of network bandwidth. This concept known as cloud-based computing, where all data are stored and managed in a space marked as a cloud, is being utilized by industry giants Amazon, Google, IBM, and Microsoft. Proponents claim that clouds allow companies to modernize their data centers and contribute vastly to improving internal efficiencies. Abay and Randy hope to offer such services, albeit on a smaller scale.

Evelyn “Evie,” the first sibling to migrate to Toronto in the early ’70s, brought along her children, Jenn-Marie, an LA-based lawyer married to Dr. Matt Long, and Jody, connected with Universal Music Canada. Evie, retired from the Bank of Montreal, heads the Filipino community’s Kalayaan Community Center in Missisauga, Ontario. Meanwhile, Manila-based Dr. Reynaldo “Roonie” Jr. coordinates organ transplants at the National Kidney Institute; his wife, Nina, teaches at The Beacon School following a lengthy stint teaching Science at International School Manila.

John with his inimitable crowd-pleaser at the Jacob-Lesaca family reunion

Following Roonie is Bob, who is based in Brampton, Ontario, and works with a technical team at car manufacturing giant, Chrysler. Youngest sis Florinda “Polly” Jr. and husband Chito are both Canada-based. Polly is connected with Toronto’s City Hall.

As John played the unhurried, melancholy melody of Pasko Na Sinta Ko, with former Rep. Marilou Arroyo, youngest siblings Karl and Randy and a throng of nephews and nieces cheered at the top of their voices. Everyone raised and linked their hands, swaying and singing to their Christmas heart’s content.