89. The Life & Times of Violin Prodigy, ERNESTO F. VALLEJO: The Country’s Youngest Pensionado in History

When the former concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, Michel Piastro, heard the 13 year old Filipino violinist Ernesto Vallejo play in Manila in 1922, he gushed:  "It is a crime that this child should continue here longer. Of the 11 million Filipinos, I am sure there is only one Vallejo. What is more, I doubt that in the entire Malay race he has his equal." The famed Jewish violinist, Mischa Elman, who had also heard the boy, had an even more urgent plea:  "No time should be lost in sending young Vallejo to the United States. To fail to do so would be to lose a genius who will bring honor to the Philippines.”

And so, at age 14, the violin virtuoso was granted a scholarship and became the country’s youngest pensionado in history. With Don Ariston Bautista providing additional funding assistance, Vallejo was sent off to America in October 1923.

ERNESTO VALLEJO, BOY VIRTUOSO. Just 13 in this photo, Vallejo impressed New York Philharmonic orchestra conductor Michel Piastro with his masterful performance. His talent would take him to America as the country’s youngest pensioando, where his star would shine even more. Alex R. Castro Collection

There have been ominous signs that Ernesto Fausto Vallejo was destined for greatness at a young age. Born on 19 December 1909, Vallejo  grew up in a home filled with music. Jose Vallejo, his  Ilocano father, played the violin and led the Army and Navy Club Orchestra, while Feliza Arriola, a Visayan-Tagalog was a talented harpist. Many of his 11 siblings (he was the sixth child)  could play the piano and sing—sister Fely not only became a singer, but also an actress, who later became the wife of director Gerry de Leon.

Family lore had it that he very young Ernesto was fascinated early with the violin.  His father used to hang his violin away from his children’s reach, but Ernesto always managed to find it. Once, in an effort to reach the instrument, Ernesto used a high chair but lost his balance, and fell on the floor. His father gave him a sound trashing, and then to avoid another incident, he bought his son a toy violin made of tin. The older Vallejo began teaching him the rudiments of violin playing, and the boy learned very fast, sometimes learning musical pieces alone.

The young Vallejo was already adept with the violin while still in grade school at the Santa Cruz Primary School. He was sometimes featured at the Zorilla Theater, the Columbia Club and the Army Navy Club where he never failed to wow the patrons with his violin skills. His playing brought him to the attention of music maestros Marcelo Adonay and Bonifacio Abdon, who took him under his wing, under the sponsorship of  the Asociacion Musical de Filipinas.  There, the 7-year old, fondly called “Vallejito”--owing to his diminutive size—was given a violin perfect for his size.

 Coming to America

 His journey abroad, however, started on a negative note. While on a stopover at Japan en route to America, Vallejo’s name was mistakenly linked to the snatching of a 5-year old boy. Yokohama police boarded the ship to try to arrest the young violinist. His passport was confiscated, and was brought to the police station. The shocked boy was finally cleared when and American consul vouched for Vallejo’s character, and the Japanese soon realized that it was a case of mistaken identity.

TAKE A BOW.  Ernesto (X) with his violin, as a member of the Riverdale Country School Glee Club. Image: Graphic Magazine, 1929

Upon arriving in America, Vallejo enrolled as a high schooler  at the Riverdale Country School in New York where he would stay for four years.  

Likewise, he started studying violin techniques under the private tutorship of Herr Franz Kneisel, a German violinist who ranked among the world’s best. Often made to practice 7 hours a day, the young Vallejo became a favorite student of the temperamental master. His progress was quick and he was soon giving concerts for the benefit of the Riverdale community. In recognition of his musical ability, Vallejo was made a director of the Riverdale Country School Glee Club, a group reserved for the best students.

Incidentally, Vallejo not only excelled in music but also in sports. He was an ace tennis player and for 3 successive years, and won the Riverdale Junior Championship title, boosting his popularity as a campus figure.

In 1924, several multimillionaires from Florida, headed by Henry Seligman, requested Herr Kneisel to send his best violinist to headline an annual concert for the aristocrats of Palm Beach. Vallejo was the master’s choice, and his impressive performance won the hearts of the discriminating audience.

Of the 16 year-old virtuoso’s performance, the Palm Beach Journal gushed, “Vallejo’s first two numbers were capable of showing all the beauty of tone, the restraint so rare, the marvelous technique and warmth of feeling  surprising from one so young…In Wieniawski’s “Russian Airs”, he was particularly delightful, and the spirited “Slavonic Dance” by Dvorak, (a severe test, using Kneisel’s arrangement) he stood nobly, playing with verve and distinction.”

 AMERICA’S GOT TALENT…and it’s a Filipino! Teen-ager Ernesto Valljo was a prized student of Franz Kneisel who was often sent to perform in music events around America, with very important people in attendance. Image: Graphic Magazine, 1929

Seligman was highly impressed; not only did he invite him for the next year’s concert but he also gifted Vallejo with an antique Landolfi’s  violin worth $20,000, and even offered to adopt him!

The year’s highlight was a performance before Pres. Calvin Coolidge at the White House, where he would win fans and admirers like California millionaires Mrs. Lionel Atwill, who gave him another violin valued at two thousand dollars.

The Artist is Recalled to the Philippines

In the 6 years he stayed in America, Vallejo gave a total of 14 concerts all over America—Boston, Philadelphia (where the press made much of him), Washington D.C. (private concerts before Governor Davis and Secretary of War, James Good), Chicago and San Francisco.

He toured both East and West Coast, meeting Hollywood stars like Janet Gaynor, Marion Davies, Ramon Navarro in the process. He hobnobbed with musical luminaries as Heifetz, Zymbalist, Eddie Brown, Ruth Breton, Sasha Jacobsen (his tutor after Kneisel’s death in 1926) and Samuel Gardner. He would also perform for Gen. Douglas MacArthur at his Stotsenberg Estate in Philadelphia.

IN BAD SYMPHONY. Ernest Vallejo, in an outing with his American and Filipino friends. His alleged questionable conduct put him in hot water with Pensionado Committee in 1929, who gave him marching orders to come home. Image: Graphic Magazine, 1929

Due in part to his time on the road--performing, travelling and socializing—unfavorable news about his conduct soon reached Manila. It was rumored that the 20- year-old was leading a Bohemian life among kindred artists in New York.

As a result, in early 1929, Vallejo was ordered recalled to Manila by Gov. Gen. Dwight F. Davis to face the Pensionado Committee. The controversy was a result of a misunderstanding between Vallejo and his pensionado agent Mrs. Georgia Williams and the incident was soon settled.

His final graduation concert was held in 14 March 1929 at the New York Town Hall—the first Filipino to do so-- where he brilliantly performed Edouard Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole and Brahms' Sonata in A major. Noel Strauss of the Evening World of NY observed that “although many violinists have tried their hands at the overworked Brahm’s sonata, it remained for a 19-year old Filipino boy from Manila to give an adequate interpretation of the work.” The Columbia Recording Co. dangled a lucrative contract for him to record original Philippine compositions, but by then Ernesto Vallejo, now a young adult, was ready to come home. On his way to the Philippines, he gave concerts in Shanghai and Hong Kong that drew large, appreciative crowds.

Home is the Hero

THE WORLD AT HIS FEET.  20 year old Ernesto Vallejo returned to Manila to show off the fruits of his musical education in America. His homecoming concerts were huge successes, all me with standing ovations. Image: Philippine Free Press

Vallejo returned to Manila to a rapturous welcome on September 1929. He immediately gave a series of homecoming concerts beginning n September 18, at the Manila Grand Opera House.  As expected, he brought the house down. The founder of the Manila Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Lippay, enthused:  "He plays everything with soul…..There is no question about his talent. Although only 20 years old, he plays with the maturity of a man of forty. It is phenomenal!"

Vallejo was expecting he would be sent to Italy after resolving his difficulties with the Pensionado Committee. This, apparently, did not materialize.  Undeterred, he focused on performing and mentoring student violinists for the next decade or so.  The violinist and later, conductor Redentor Romero was a student.

In 1934, Ernesto Vallejo married Nona Guebert of Manila, and started a family (they had 3 children) and also a new job as a member of the U.P. Conservatory of Music  faculty. He would resign this post to teach at the Academy of Music, and to join the Manila Symphony as concert master.

VIOLINS IN THE MOVIES. Ernesto Vallejo had his musical moment in the Parlatone-produced “Bahay Kubo”, which premiered at the Fox Theater in 1938. The musical romance starred his sister, Fely Vallejo. Image: Philippine Graphic, 1938

He even found time to dabble in movies, appearing in the 1938 film “Bahay Kubo”, directed by brother-in-law Gerry de Leon and starred in by his sister Fely Vallejo. It was a story about a poor girl who was discovered for the opera, and Vallejo has a scene showing skillfully playing his violin with passion and aplomb.

But Vallejo loved most his concert tours with pianist Prof. Esteban Anguita, that allowed him to bring his violin music all over the country. His last public appearance was at the Times Theater, where he performed musical interludes, often with sister fely joining him.

A cruel end to a charmed life

The coming of the War would bring untold miseries to many Filipinos. Even the Vallejos were unscathed from enemy threats, so they fled to Tanauan, Batangas upon the invitation of an affluent friend and godfather Manuel Gonzales. Ernesto encouraged the rest of his siblings to join them there, but they refused. The move proved to be a tragic one for Ernesto.

The initial years of Japanese occupation seemed uneventful enough, as Vallejo—who bought along his musical pieces and 4 violins to Tanauan—would hold impromptu concerts,some of which were even attended by Japanese officers and soldiers, many of whom he befriended.

But, when the Japanese got wind of the coming of the American liberation forces to Laguna and Batangas, they went into a murderous frenzy on 10 February 1945. The day before, guerrillas had issued a warning for civilians to flee Tanuaun, as reports of massacres in Laguna had reached them. Fifteen members of the Gonzales family immediately packed up and left the town, but Martin Gonzales chose to remain. Also opting to stay put was Ernesto Vallejo an d his family.

That fateful day, Japanese soldiers rounded up a number of civilians in Tanauan, a group that included Ernesto Vallejo and his family. Hoping that the violinist would be recognized by the commanding Japanese officer who had once been part of his concert audience, he raised his hands. A hail of bullets was fired by the Japanese as they massacred the group, ending Vallejo’s life, his wife and 3 children. He was just 35.

Their bodies were said to have been thrown into a well, but  no traces of them could be found.

ONE BRIEF SHINING MOMENT. The war put an end to the brief, shining career of violin prodigy Ernesto. He and his wife and 3 children were massacred by Japanese in Tanauan, their bodies never to be found. His memory lives on in his music, a few recordings of which survived.

Today, saved for a few in the music circle, the name Ernesto Fausto Vallejo remains unknown and unremembered. For years, rumors abound that someone managed to find Vallejo’s valuable violins and musical pieces,  amidst the rubble and decay. Even the Vallejo home in Malate was bombed and razed to the ground, and whatever was left of Vallejo’s personal items—photographs, souvenirs, mementos—were lost forever. 

But Ernesto Vallejo left behind a legacy of records that will be hard to surpass and will be long remembered—first, for the music that he created as a phenomenal violin savant with no equal, and second, for being the youngest government pensionado in Philippine history.

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR TOWNANDCOUNTRY.PH AND POSTED UNDER THE TITLE: "THE FILIPINO VIOLIN PRODIGY WHO WOWED THE PRESIDENT AND HOLLYWOOD STARS", 3 January 2018. 

 SOURCES:

Graphic Magazine, 1929

All other photos, Alex R. Castro Collection

68. A Mountain He Could Not Climb: JOSE W. HERNANDEZ and his Facebook Painting

ZAMBALES LANDSCAPE, 24" x 30", oil on canvas, signed Jose Hernandez, 1983.

When Facebook was founded in 2004, it was only a matter of time that sellers and dealers discovered it as an effective selling platform. Which was why, in 2016, Facebook launched its Facebook Marketplace that continues to be a convenient destination on  social media to discover, buy and sell items with people in one’s community.

It was in this way that I stumbled on a painting offered by dealer Kenito Romero, who had posted it, along with other picks on the said selling site.  I had previously bought a Ben Alano portrait from Kenito, who, when not on assignment in Qatar doing aircraft maintenance, also dabbles in freelance selling of collectible like antiques and paintings.

THE PAINTING, AS IT APPEARED FOR SALE ON A FACEBOOK GROUP.

This was, however, my first time to see a Jose Hernandez painting offered for sale from a picker—usually I see these in galleries and personal collections. I have always wanted a Hernandez artwork, as I am partial to the works of Kapampangan artists, of the “Mabini-style” kind, and Hernandez’s works reflect this style. He was more partial to large-scale themes, and I have seen these in paintings capturing town fiestas teeming with people, sprawling landscapes,  and Amorsolo-esque rural scenes.

Jose Hernandez was actually born in Tondo, Manila on 22 September 1944. The family, however, moved to Pampanga after the war, when his father, a lawyer, accepted a teaching job at the Harvardian College, a local law school in San Fernando. By 1948, the Hernandezes were well-settled; they had also established the Luzon Women’s Fashion Academy beginning that year.

SIGNATURE OF JOSE W. HERNANDEZ

Jose Hernandez, nicknamed “Boy” showed an early interest in the arts. As early as Grade IV at the Assumption Academy, he would use his notebooks to doodle and draw at the expense of his school work. As a teen,  he earned extra money as a painter- apprentice in a movie theater sign shop owned by Nards Mendoza. He was painting even as he started his high school at Pampanga High School. In his senior year, he was given a scholarship by Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, allowing him to graduate in 1963.

But his heart was in the arts, so, in the mid 60s, he pursued this passion under the mentorship of future National Artist, Fernando Amorsolo, Carlos “Botong” Francisco and Vicente Manansala. At the same time, he was also visiting the studios of  such popular artists as Simon Saulog, Cesar Buenaventura,  and  Miguel Galvez. He totally abandoned his education to learn art from these masters.

HERNANDEZ PAINTINGS ONLINE  Sources: alamy stock photos/worthpoint.com

In 1965, he was honored to join his idols in a group exhibit held at the National Library.  Later in the decade, his paintings were carried in the Angeles gallery of Conrado Zablan. Finally, he struck it on his own by opening his own gallery along Friendship Highway in 1974.

In 1980, he made it in the international scene with an exhibition of his works at the Fine Arts Gallery in Spokane, Washington. It was from this period that this mountainscape from Facebook Marketplace was painted.

NOTE THE CONDITION OF THE PAINTING, that has been glued on plywood, and framed.

When it arrived at my doorstep, this large 24” x 30” was in dire condition. It had been glued to a thin plywood, as it was the custom to keep the canvass flat, and it was coming off from the frame, which seemed too small to hold it. At the back, a dedication was inscribed with a pentel pen: “To Sammy, A Remembrance & Thanks for Everything. Robert Domingo P.D.” ( A quick google check revealed a certain Robert Domingo, a Production Designer for movies)

DEDICATION, written in pentel pen on masking tape at the back of the painting.

The seller, Kenito, told me that it had hanged in a restaurant in Tagaytay for years, which explains its sorry state.Exposed to the elements, the painting had sustained many scruffs and accumulated layers of dirt, I had to clean it at once, first with sponge and soap, followed with a generous rub of Wipe-Out cream. The original colors came alive, and the brush stroke details revealed that this could have been painted briskly, and quickly—on-the-spot.

THE CANVAS, as found was glued to a plywood board that revealed a paper sticker about its provenance.

I was so bothered that it had been glued on a plywood, so I set about trying to pry the canvas out. After a few, firm tugs, the canvas started to come off—thank God, the rubber glue had completely dried off.  It took awhile for me to pry the canvass loose, as even with careful peeling, all that pulling I added more scruffs and scratches to the painting.

To my  surprise, I found a sticker on the plywood to which the canvas had been affixed.  I could not avoid tearing the sticker to pieces, but I pieced it together like a jigsaw puzzle, revealing important information about the painting and its provenance,

RECONSTRUCTED STICKER , shows the piece came from Genesis Gallery.

The sticker yielded the name of the gallery it had come from: Gallery Genesis, a well-known gallery still extant today,  based in Pasig. It also confirmed that Jose Hernandez was the artist behind the painting, entitled “Zambales Landscape”, painted in 1983. The rest of the information, unfortunately, is unreadable due to the damage I caused, but all I needed to know was there.

ZAMBALES LANDSCAPE,restored detail.

The scene is actually a portion of the grand Zambales mountain range, and it shows a peak that looks like Mt. Dorst, painted from the Pampanga side. The trees, foliage and vegetation were painted with quick, energetic short strokes, which suggest that this artwork was painted in situ--the artist had tom paint quickly as he was at the mercy of the fickle outdoor weather, The deft handling of the perspective using different shades of blues and greys, and elements like the tiny nipa huts, and the mountains beyond-- give us a sense of the great distance and vast grandeur of this great mountain divide.

Next came the business of having the painting retouched and re-framed. For this part of the job, I sought the service of local painter, Roy L. Datu, a longtime artist since 1967, with a studio along Don Juico Ave., It also helped that Datu knew the painter personally. Datu’s specialties are portraiture and painting restoration, one of the few to have mastered the tedious art. But it took just two weeks for him to finish the restoration job, and double-frame the painting--which he did commendably, as these pictures show.

RESTORED AND REFRAMED "ZAMBALES LANDSCAPE" 

Though the rest of the 80s and the 1990s were a period of  relative stability and success --he opened a frame shop in Bacoor in 1988, was a finalist in the 1995 International Art Competition in Bardonia, New York, and had his “Fiesta” painting reproduced as a UNICEF Christmas Card----Hernandez began having bouts with depression, that grew worse in the 1990s.

While he had weathered the challenges of a struggling artist, his mental illness, compounded by his personal problems,  proved to be a more difficult mountain to climb.  Sometime in the late 1990s, he decided to end it all by taking his own life by hanging. His works today are avidly sought after by discriminating collectors who value the realist tradition with themes made popular by Amorsolo,  of which Hernandez was one true master.

66. FILIPINIANA ART ON OLX.PH AT POPULAR PRICES

BAHAY KUBO BY THE BROOK, signed T.I. Sanchez, dated 1962.

You'll never know what you'll find in olx.ph--once known as sulit.com. I have been pretty successful sniffing out bargain art on this selling site. For example, I got this 1962 Filipiniana painting signed by T.I. Sanchez, at an amazingly affordable price. Mabini-style paintings are just my cup of tea, and this mid-century piece, though a bit scruffy,  is certainly a welcome addition to my collection.

THE PAINTING, as advertised on theonline selling site Olx.ph

I have scoured art books to find out who the painter is, but I have not been successful. The closest was an artist named Turino M. Sanchez, listed as a member of the Philippine Arts Guild in the the book, “The Struggle for Philippine Art”. I have also checked online sites auctions selling art, and  found one or two vintage T.I. Sanchez paintings with prices ranging from $16 to $350, but no info on the artist.

I sent a shout-out to art aficionados and had a response from an art collector who saw a similar painting for sale in a Long Beach flea market.  

SANCHEZ PAINTING FOR SALE AT LONG BEACH FLEA MARKET
Courtesy of Mr. Wuth Franza

Surprise, surprise! The artwork was not only painted by the same artist, but he painted the same subject too. The two looked almost identical, except that they were painted a year apart.

 

IDENTICAL T. SANCHEZ PAINTING, painted 1963, courtesy of Wuth Franz

At this point, finding the real name and background of this painting has become irrelevant. It’s the folksy appeal of the piece that is more important to me. When  at last, I cleaned the painting, its vibrant colors were revealed.

After a bit of retouching, I had the painting re-stretched and then re-framed. The results are on this spread.

65. Filipiniana: A PORTRAIT BUST OF “JOSEFA”

I have been collecting bits and pieces of Filipiniana of all sorts—and one field of collecting interest are old Philippine busts. I have about a dozen portrait busts—Rizal, Bonifacio, Maria Clara, Macarthur, and some unknown personalities—made of wood, composition and cast cement. 

So, when this bust of a lady came into the market, I decided to acquire it to add to my collection. A bust is generally a portrait intended to record the appearance of an individual, but may sometimes represent a type, in this case, a Filipina type.

 It is very unusual for its tiny size, standing no more than 4.5 inches, including its plinth, which has an incised date of 1931. It may have been carved as a practice piece to test the skill of a student carver in shaping and carving the details.

But what drew me to this piece is its uncanny likeness to a Filipina war heroine—the socio-civic leader Josefa Llanes Escoda.  Of course, her martyrdom was still over a decade away, so this could not have been a memorial piece, but by 1931, Josefa was a prominent figure as a social worker, a civic leader and a champion of nationalism and women’s suffrage.

 In 1940, she founded the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. Tragically, she was captured by the Japanese for her underground activities during the war, and was presumed executed on 6 Jan. 1945.

That’s how I came to call my tiny wooden bust, “Josefa”. With her head slightly turned to the left, she has the exact middle-parted, marcel-curled hair that Josefa Llanes-Escoda sported in her extant pictures, a style popular in the late 1920s-30s. She is carved wearing a collared Western dress (Escoda favored the baro’t saya) and a bead necklace hangs from her neck.

“Josefa” is a fine example of Filipino skill and artistry, in a period where Western influences began intruding on our artistic traditions and making lasting impressions until today. 

SOURCE:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josefa_Llanes_Escoda

63. First Filipino Broadway Star: CELY CARRILLO

FIRST FILIPINA BROADWAY STAR, as MEI-LI, LEAD ACTRESS, FLOWER DRUM SONG

 Cely Ocampo Carillo (born 18 Feb. 1934/d. 2017) was the daughter of  Dr.Tomas Carlos Carrillo Sr.from Binan, who once served as a medical officer in the U.S. Medical Corps during World War II. Her mother, Carmen Casas Ocampo, was a Spanish language teacher at the University of the Philippines. The school opened doors to the the child musical prodigy who often performed in presentations staged by the U.P. Dramatic Club.

CELY CARRILLO, press picture, 1960.

One of Carrillo’s  earliest performances was playing Gilda at age 13, in the Verdi’s opera “Rigoletto”, where she was hailed and billed as the world’s youngest coloratura soprano. To prove that her success was no fluke, she next appeared in another play directed by Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero—“Give the Kid a Break”(written by Mely Landicho). When the play opened at the Little Theater in Diliman, Cely--who was only in a minor role as the younger sister of the lead character Roberting—earned the highest kudos of the evening.

NEW YORK GIRL. Cely refreshes for a shake and  burger .

Her stage achievements that included starring roles in “Kismet” and “Firefly”, paved the way for the young artist to compete against other budding international talents for a slot at the famed Juilliard School of Music. Her efforts were rewarded with a 6-year scholarship at the school in New York. Moving to the U.S., and quickly immersed herself in getting a complete Western-style theater and performance arts education.

CELY TAKES MANHATTAN.

Carrillo, bent on pursuing her Broadway dream,  lingered on and rented a West Avenue apartment in upper Manhattan. With her was brother Tomas Jr., who was starting college at Fordham University, and her unmarried maternal aunt, Miss Ocampo (her mother and 2 sisters Cory and Cecille, were living in Tennessee).

CELY CARRILLO answering an audition call, NY. April 1960

Like all aspiring artists, she went on countless auditions, snagging TV roles on and playing alongside Raymond Massey and Lee Tracy. She was also a featured singer in the ABC-Paramount produced record, “Hi-Fi in an Oriental Garden”, where she sang 3 folk songs: Leron, Leron Sinta, the Pearls of Mindanao, and Bahay Kubo.

LISTEN TO CELY CARRILLO SING

"The Pearls of Mindanao" Here:

In 1958, a casting call was sounded out for a new Broadway musical created by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee.

FLOWER DRUM SONG PROGRAM, 1960S.

The story is about a rich Chinese refugee,  Wang Chi-yang, who clings to traditional values in San Francisco's Chinatown.  The musical shifted its focus to his son, Wang Ta, who is caught between two clashing East-West cultures, including the practice of arranged marriages. Rodgers and Hammerstein, with stage director Gene Kelly, then scoured the country for Asians or Asian-looking talents to form the mainly Oriental cast.

FLOWER DRUM SONG, Road Tour Program, 1960

Carrillo joined the casting call  for the new musical, and was taken in as part of the ensemble. Also passing the audition was a compatriot, Patrick Adiarte, originally from Manila, best known for appearing as the young Prince Chulalongkorn in the 1956 film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, “The King and I”.

SCENES FROM FLOWER DRUM SONG, 1960

The lead female role, however, was won by the Japanese-American actress and former nightclub singer, Miyoshi Umeki.  Umeki had won a supporting role Oscar for the 1957 film, "Sayonara", headlined by Marlon Brando. Carrillo, later became her understudy, a fortuitous role. She also understudied Pat Suzuki, who was cast as the first Linda Low, Ta's nightclub love interest.

SCENES FROM FLOWER DRUM SONG, 1960

“Flower Drum Song” opened  in New York at the St. James Theatre on 1 Dec. 1958, and was met with enthusiastic reception, generating significant advance sales. There were many sold-out performances and the original cast album which included Carrillo, also did very well too. Some of the memorable songs included: “I Enjoy Being a Girl” (later popularized by Doris Day), “A Hundred Million Miracles” , “Love, Look Away”, “The Other Generation”, and “Chop Suey”.  Come awards season, “Flower Drum Song” received six Tony Award nominations.

THE NEW MEI-LI. Cely takes over Umeki's lead role in 1960.

After over a year of headlining the musical, Umeki left and it was Carrillo who stepped into shoes her in 1960, a milestone in her career. Suddenly, she was thrust in the spotlight as the lead actress in a popular musical, a first for a Filipino. 

CELY CARRILLO featured in a trade card.

Her moment of Broadway fame would be brief, lasting until May 7, 1960 only, as by then, plans were afoot for a film version of the hugely-popular musical. The movie would be released in 1961 topbilled by Miyoshi Umeki, who reprised her stage role, and James Shigeta. Unfortunately, Carrillo was not included in the film adaptation (Adiarte was retained), but when “Flower Drum Song” closed on Broadway after 2 years, she joined a road tour of the musical that opened in Los Angeles in June 1960, and which then played in San Francisco, Dallas, Denver and other key U.S. cities.

CELY WITH ROBERT MITCHUM, in the movie, "Rampage", 1963.

Surprisingly, “Flower Drum Song” would be Carrillo’s  first and last Broadway credit. She would foray into television and films, which by then was burgeoning business. She was seen in The Corruptors (1961, TV series) , rampage (1963, with Robert Mitchum), The Virginian (1964) and Coronet Blue (1967, TV series).

During her stay in New York in the 1960s, Carrillo was squired by a number of suitors. One of them was George Strattan, a classmate at the American Theater Wing who has also appeared in  off-Broadway revues. He would be seen in TV shows such as “The Monkees” and “The Waltons”. But it was to Filipino Antonio M. Onrubia that she would spend her life with.

CELY WITH CYNTHIA. 1977. Pix; flickr.com, by gottogodisco

A daughter, Cynthia Onrubia (b. 27 Jan, 1962, inherited her artistisc genes. She gained national attention, when, as a 15 year old,  was cast in the musical, “A Chorus Line”–the youngest dancer in the blockbuster production that premiered at the Shubert Theater in 1977.  She stayed with the musical until 1985, and then was seen in other hit musicals---"Cats" ( 1982-83); "Song and Dance", "Jerome Robbins’ Broadway" (Asst. choreographer, 1989-90); "The Goodbye Girl"(Dance Captain, 1992); "Damn Yankees" (1993-95); "Victor/Victoria" (1995-97);  "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour"(1999),  “Cabaret” (2014-15),

CELY CARRILLO & DAUGHTER CYNTHIS, Pix: Broadway World.

“Flower Drum Song” enjoyed a short revival in 2001, using a script rewritten by playwright David Henry Hwang. It opened on October 14, 2001 at the Mark Taper Forum with Filipina Broadway star Lea Salonga  in the title role. The sold-out show had an extended run, which ended in January 13, 2002. 

CELY MEETS LEA.  Opening of Flower Drum Song the Virginia Theater.Pix: Getty Images

Because of its success, “Flower Drum Song” was moved to Broadway on October 17, 2002. At  the opening night at the Virginia Theatre, Cely Carrillo was on hand to meet Lea Salonga—the musical’s newest Mei-Li.  It was a trailblazing role that once was hers, which she played to so many standing ovations, and which made it possible for an Asian—a Filipina, to be exact—to conquer the Great White Way and pave the way for other incredible Filipino talents  to follow.

SOURCES:
My thanks to Mr. Rufi Carrillo for Cely Carrillo's personal background.

Aguila, Dan D’umuk, “Cely Carrillo in Broadway”, The Sunday Times Magazine, 10 April 1960 issue, pp. 6-8.

Cynthia Onrubia:  http://www.theensemblist.com/guests/2015/11/12/qa-cynthia-onrubia

http://digitaleducation.net/epa-web/philippine-dance-artist-and-organization/

 Flower Drum Song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Drum_Song

Flower Drum Song Broadway Revival 2002: https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/flower-drum-song-13310

Cely Carrillo and Lea Salonga: Getty Images, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/cely-carrillo-joins-lea-salonga-at-a-party-in-the-lobby-of-news-photo/97299540#cely-carrillo-joins-lea-salonga-at-a-party-in-the-lobby-of-the-a-picture-id97299540

Cely Carrillo & Cynthia Onrubia:
Broadway World: www.broadwayorld.com

Posted by gottogodisco: https://www.flickr.com/photos/70697698@N00/11981976256