Cruz, who performed with Retrospect, sang her hits “Paraiso,” “Anak ng Pasig,” and other tunes, including a new album single titled “To Manila” which will be out in the market soon.
Spectators from all walks of life came out of the concert satisfied and happy.
Photographer Rey Belgado said the performances entertained the audience.
“It was okay, the performers were good,” Belgado said.
Nathan Tan, a doctor who attended the show with his wife, said it was a good show.
“It was a great way of celebrating Philippine independence,” Tan said.
Ana Olaes, marketing and sales of McDonald’s Saipan, said the show provided a relaxing entertainment for the community.
“We enjoyed the event, and hopefully in the future, we will have more performers come to the island such as Sarah Geronimo and comedians, too,” Olaes said.
Marissa Obtinalla, an accountant, said Cruz and Retrospect “brought us back home.”
Cruz began her career in the late 1980s as one of the singers of the now defunct popular music group Smokey Mountain. Retrospect became popular for playing retro and funky dance music and is composed of J. Martin Castro, Goldie Castro, and Ogie Ramos.
The event was coordinated by sales and marketing manager Bojo Molina of Tango Theaters on Guam.
The concert was sponsored by theTan Siu Lin Foundation, Docomo Pacific, Fly Guam, TakeCare, Aon Insurance, Chong’s Corporation, Horizon Lines, Salon de Manila, National Office Supply, Bridge Capital, Magic 100 FM, and Taro Sue Corp.
Geneva meets the press
During the media conference at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan last Friday, Geneva Cruz met with local reporters.
Cruz belongs to the Cruz clan of Manila that produced actors and singers.
“I was born and raised in Tondo, Manila. I am truly a Tondo girl at heart,” said Cruz who has been singing since she was 2 years old.
She recalled how her mother would encourage her to perform even as a young girl.
She remembered how as a 2-year-old girl she would sing songs from Lea Salonga’s album “Small Voice” and how she wanted to be like her.
When she was 4 years old, she said, she performed for the first time with an orchestra with one of her grandfathers at the Manila Hotel.
She said she sang “Tomorrow” from the musical “Annie” as popularized in the Philippines by Lea Salonga.
Soon, she would become a household name when she was picked to join the four-member singing group “Smokey Mountain” organized by Filipino musical director, composer, and conductor Ryan Cayabyab in 1988.
She said she was surprised to have been chosen from among 400 hopefuls who auditioned.
From 400, eight were trained for two months and then finally the last four that included herself, Jeffrey Hidalgo, Tony Lambino, Cruz, and James Coronel.
“I was 13 years old when the group was formed by Ryan Cayabyab,” she said.
The group members would wear tattered clothes when they perform to show the impoverished state of the people in the said landfill. The group’s first single “Kailan” (When) became a huge hit in the Philippines.
“We traveled the world,” said Cruz recalling their performance at the UNICEF World Summit for Children.
Years later, they disbanded and pursued solo singing careers. She recorded her own album called “I Like You” that became a hit.
Years later, she said, she had her son Heaven.
Her son, now 15 years old and living with his father Filipino musician Paco Arespacochaga in Seattle, Washington, was raised by Cruz’s husband K.C. Montero.
“The story of my life is very colorful,” Cruz said.
While living in Seattle, Cruz said she felt a longing for Manila despite its “traffic and pollution” and that inspired her to write the song “To Manila.”
Cruz said she produced the song and co-wrote it with two other composers.
Asked by reporters to sing a few lines of her new song, Cruz obliged, “If you think it is always rainy in Seattle. Then you have never been to where I am from. Cause the downpour is not a downpour until streets all become swimming pools — the kids are having fun. I can catch a jeepney from Q.C. to Timbuktu…I miss the traffic, the smog…you’re always who I’m coming back to…Cause when the karaoke starts to play, it calls me home, to Manila.”
“I’m really, really, very excited as I know that our fellow Filipinos will like the song,” she said.
She said a lot of the Filipinos will relate to it as it talks about home, seeing people on the street playing basketball barefoot or in flip-flops, Pacquiao, among other things that remind one of Manila.
She also told the media that she has been a supporter of PETA for animal rights and has been a vegetarian.
Asked about her impressions of Saipan, as it was her first visit to the island, she said, “From the airport to here (hotel) I could tell that it is pretty clean. The people are friendly.”
She also acknowledged the assistance they received from the immigration personnel at the airport who “didn’t give me a hard time.”
