‘To Sarge, writing songs comes naturally as writing stories.’
Amado Angelo “Sarge” R. Lacuesta wears many hats — fictionist, novelist, essayist, Esquire Philippines editor-at-large, book publisher, advertising professional.
In the Philippine entertainment industry, he is known as a screenwriter. His most recent works are the Cinemalaya 2024 mystery drama “An Errand” and the musical film about the Loboc Children’s Choir, “Song of the Fireflies” produced by MQuest Ventures and Culturtain Musicat Productions.
Perhaps it was fate that Sarge would create a musical film about the Loboc Children’s Choir (LCC) — music and Bohol have long held a special place in his life.
As a pre-med student at UP Diliman, he was a member of a band. “I played in a nerd rock band,” Sarge revealed in an interview with the US-based Throga – Vocal Gym podcast.
Several years ago, Sarge and his then girlfriend now wife, writer Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta, visited Bohol and saw for themselves the treasures of the famous destination in Central Visayas. “When we went there, we watched the Loboc Children’s Choir sing. (Also) I literally saw the fireflies on the beautiful Loboc River Cruise,” Sarge told Throga – Vocal Gym hosts Richard Fink IV and Johnny Cummings. “Little did I know that in 2018, producers Celeste Legaspi, Girlie Rodis and Rachel Alejandro would approach me and tell me they wanted to do a movie on the choir.”
Sarge returned to Loboc to research before writing the screenplay. He “immersed” himself at the Loboc Central Elementary School where the LCC is based. He interviewed LCC founder Alma Taldo, choir members and residents of the town of Loboc.
To visit the choir’s practice, Sarge asked for directions to the school. He shared, “I followed music playing in a classroom. I asked if that was the room where the LCC was going to practice. The students replied, ‘No, this is the practice of the Loboc Brass Band.’ I asked, ‘How many music groups are there?’”
Sarge soon found out that there were more than a few and that the LCC is just one of the talented musical groups in the charming town. “The beautiful thing about the Loboc Children’s Choir is that there are no auditions and no eliminations. You can sing out of tune and you won’t be kicked out. To create a world-class choir… founder Alma Taldo is such a pure-hearted person. She literally said ‘no eliminations, no auditions.’”
The innocence and the pure love for music are captured in Sarge’s script, which details how Alma Taldo (played by Morisette Amon, in her movie debut), the choir and the town of Loboc endeavored to develop LCC into a world-class singing troupe. Sarge explained, “We (the filmmakers) decided to dramatize the story of the choir. The real story is that it took them many, many years. But in the movie, we had to squeeze their journey in a span of two to three years.”
Prior to “Song of the Fireflies”, Sarge had written teleplays and a few other screenplays. But this project was where he wore many hats. Not only was he the screenwriter, he also served as the creative producer and songwriter. “We (producers) soon realized that the music had to be written, not just the songs of the choir but the songs of the characters as well,” said Sarge. For this, Sarge collaborated with the most notable names in Filipino music: “Song of the Fireflies” musical director Krina Cayabyab, National Artist Ryan Cayabyab, Louie Ocampo, Raimund Marasigan and Jazz Nicolas. Sarge and his wife Mookie wrote the lyrics that were set to music by the composers.
To Sarge, writing songs comes naturally as writing stories. His dad, the late Amado “Mads” Lacuesta (screenwriter of “Working Girls,” “Balweg: The Rebel Priest,” “Mumbaki,” “Hinugot sa Langit,” among other wonderful films) also penned the lyrics of the theme song of the Judy Ann Santos-Gladys Reyes soap opera “Mara Clara.”
“He is such a workaholic,” Mookie said of Sarge who could spend an entire day until the late evening simply writing.
Sarge’s many, many talents is a testament to his remarkable creativity and homage to his father’s legacy.
