ON Nov. 4, Saturday, Garapan Central Park will be the site of the “Concert for a Cause — Music for the Heart” benefit event for Amber Lynn Mendiola-Romolor, the hit singer of “Isa Lei” and “My Baby Boy.”
Mendiola-Romolor has had Tetralogy of Fallot from birth, which has led to multiple heart surgeries throughout her life.
Tetralogy of Fallot affects the normal flow of blood through the heart. It is characterized by four conditions: a hole in the wall between the two lower chambers of the heart; a narrowing of the pulmonary valve; an enlarged aortic valve; and a thickened muscular wall of the lower right chamber of the heart.
Mendiola-Romolor’s last open-heart operation took place nearly 20 years ago, in 2004.
“All the cardiologists that I’ve seen since then have said that my heart’s been really strong,” she said. Usually, a Tetralogy of Fallot patient will need a new surgery after 10 years, she added.
But in July, when she began having more heart palpitations than normal, she knew something was different.
Based on the advice of her doctor on island, Mendiola-Romolor needs to see surgeons at the Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center at UC San Diego Health in California for an operation.
Mendiola-Romolor said her heart is “stressing.” She has a leak in one of her valves, and this causes her heart to pump abnormally.
Her doctor said, “I’m just going to tell you now so you can prepare yourself mentally, emotionally, financially — tell your family, too — it’s inevitable. You’re going to have another surgery.”
This surgery will be her sixth, and it must take place before February of next year.
Mendiola-Romolor said she and her family are going to do what they do best — let music heal them.
“In a circle with my aunties and my mom and my husband, we said, ‘You know what? Our niche is music, let’s do a concert,’ ” Mendiola-Romolor told the Variety. “Music has always been a part of me. It’s been in my family for generations.”
Mendiola-Romolor’s grandfather is one of the original members of Tropic Sette; her father is a musician; her mother is a singer; and her siblings play musical instruments or are vocalists.
Mendiola-Romolor is well-known for her 2004 album, “Amber.”
She herself will be performing at the benefit concert, which will also feature the Sugar King Band, Los Lobos, Kings and Dreamers, Ace Elameto, Big Jay, TatzSelepeo, and much more.
Mendiola-Romolor said her children and mother will sing on stage, and her siblings will perform in concert for the first time as well.
The concert opens its doors at 5:30 p.m. The performances start at 6 p.m. and end at 11 p.m., “or whenever they decide to kick us out,” Mendiola-Romolor said in jest.
In the build-up to this event, she has released promo cover videos with her siblings.
“I told them, this is the reality: there’s an 85-90% chance that I’ll be OK, but on the off chance that I’m not, one of the things on my bucket list is to create these videos with [my siblings] because if anything happens to me you’ll have the videos,” she said.
She is thankful to the broadcast team at KKMP radio station for sharing the news of the upcoming concert, and to TurnKey Solutions for providing technical support in creating the website that supports her medical fundraising efforts. It can be found at https://www.ambermendiolaromolor.com/.
Tickets cost $25 each and come with a free drink.
To purchase tickets, contact Mendiola-Romolor through Facebook or email [email protected]/.
Amber Mendiola-Romolor with her children, Connie, left, and Daydin, who will perform on stage at a benefit concert on Nov. 4.
A photo that appeared on Amber Mendiola-Romolor’s 2004 album, “Amber.”
Amber Mendiola-Romolor comes from a long line of musicians, some of whom will join her in concert on Nov. 4
