These recent deaths bring a lot of anxiety, but now we are trying to see both birthdays and deaths as celebrations of lives well-lived.’
BY NOEL D. FERRER
WE have been attending a lot of wakes lately. The latest was that of the wake of our dear friend Floy Quintos, and there we were with our National Artist for Music and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Mr. C, Ryan Cayabyab.
On the occasion of Ryan’s 70th birthday last weekend, Mr. C’s family reserved a vacant chair just for Floy, who Mr. C regards as “mahusay, magaan, walang bigat na katrabaho,” that’s why we always looked forward to working with each other – from the SUDI National Music Awards launch to the Pinoy Playlist Music Festival to the various productions of CCP, Triple Threats and the latest of which was the CCP Anniversary which was “Anywhere We Sing Is Home” where the simplest shows, it is said, are the most challenging to do. We always thanked Mr. C and Floy for bringing the music and magic together. And Mr. C was all praises for Floy to the point of posting in social media that Floy should be named National Artist for Theater.
These recent deaths bring a lot of anxiety, but now we are trying to see both birthdays and deaths as celebrations of lives well-lived. So after Floy’s death, here we are celebrating Mr. C’s 70th.
Maribel Garcia, the head of the Bonifacio Arts Foundation that handles the BGC Arts Center and the Mind Museum, said, “I am the science and nature friend of Mr .C , and he is one person who would really stop and say ‘I wanna hear this’ and ask questions.
“In the 6 years we have been doing Pinoy Playlist Music Festival, I was always struck by Mr C’s spread of self.
“I think that is what it means to be National Artist, that you have an extraordinary spread of self without exhibiting an ounce of arrogance or being the only genius around. He does not even have a bucket list because he says he just sees everything as a gift and as a chance to be and feel more alive. He knows who is, creating, creating, creating, knowing full well that the value of the legacy, the value of remembering is not his.”
Moy Ortiz of The Company credits Ryan for helping his group straight out from the Ateneo College Glee Club and referred them to Celeste Legaspi, who was to get them as back up vocalists in her “Komiks Concierto” in 1985 – and the rest is history.
Moy said, “Happy birthday, Ryan. To share this lifetime with you is already a gift but to share a friendship with you is privilege and pleasure sent from above. The Company wishes you good health, deep joy, lasting peace, abundance in all its forms on his happy birthday.
We love you, Mr. C.”
We are grateful for Mr C for generously sharing his life with us: a life full of food, music and travel.
All those who know Mr. C know of his love for food! To put him in a good mood, all you have to do is to feed him well. Ogie Alcasid took notice of his food posts, and said that Mr. C has popularized a term in social media referring to good food. “Hongsorrrrop!” Personally, we’d like to thank Mr C (and Mrs C too) for always sharing your family staple: sinantolan and langka loaf which Sir Bien Lumbera, (another National Artist) got to enjoy before he passed on.
For his 70th birthday, we gathered three National Artists to send unique gifts and wishes to Mr. C.
Sir BenCab (National Artist for Visual Arts) was happy to note that he and Mr. C are both born in the year of the Horse; and he is looking forward to collaborating with him for the film on his muse “Sabel,” which Ricky Lee is writing.
Sir Ricky Lee (National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts) whose last collaboration with Mr. C was “Karnal” in 1983 (directed by National Artist Marilou Diaz-Abaya) wishes to have more collaborations with the Maestro , while they still can. Aside from “Sabel,” Mr. C has, in principle, agreed to do the music for one of Ricky’s masterpieces, “Moral” (1982 film with Lorna Tolentino, Gina Alajar, Sandy Andolong and Anna Marin, also directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya).
Ricky also hopes to be spending more bonding time with Mr. C to talk about their artistic grants , their health concerns and other areas of collaboration, including doing away with their color coding system so that they may be able to freely around during functions.
National Artist for Literature Sir Gemino “Jimmy” Abad sent Mr. C his poem, “As We Grow Old,” which may be a fitting sum up to Mr. C’s 70th birthday celebration. Here it is, in full:
As We Grow Old
Why, as we grow old, devise matter
For mocking, or diminishing,
As in cartoons and lightsome banter,
Against those we love?
Was ever their youth, sacrificed to us,
Less hospitable
For the fiction of their vows?
We know only too well,
Though your hands might have worn
All its doors, you can’t simply walk
Into someone’s life.
To live long, and patiently,
Though without certainty,
And be made clean
Like a tree stripped of its vines –
For this our world had no plan,
Neither could we design one
For future need.
The wind over those woods
Bears no dry leaves for us,
We are too far out upon our hill.
It is just so.
But what is it we do not already know?
O, let the sun take root in the eye,
Take hold of the last flowering thought
And requite it for so much bloom.
Happy 70th birthday, Mr C! Good luck on your “Gen C” musical offering this weekend! Looking forward to our trip to Africa this August! We love you!
