93. ROY T. GONZALEZ, 1st Filipino Design Genius to Conquer Europe's Fashion Houses

IMAGE 1:  DESIGN WIZ. 22-year old Roy T. Gonzales, works on designs for the House of Cardin at his Paris office. Pierre Cardin handpicked the young Filipino to join his fashion house after seeing his award-winning designs while a student at the famed Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Image: Sunday Times Magazine

In 1964, a young Filipino design student placed first in a class of 80 students from  France’s premiere fashion school Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. It was a historic triumph in the fashion capital of the world for the unassuming Kapampangan boy who displayed his mastery in cutting and designing to beat competition.  Little did his professors and classmates know that Froilan “Roy” Gonzales, had long prepared for this, living and breathing fashion design in all  his 20 years.

His auspicious win would presaged a long career in Paris, where he would conquer the elite fashion houses of the city—the likes of Cardin, Patou and Lecoanet-Hemant, the Versace and Calvin Klein of that period.

Undoubtedly, his creative genius was in his genes, imbibed from both his grandmother and mother, prominent couturiers back in Manila. But the course of his career was also shaped an influenced by a unique background, the kind of story that movie dramas are made of, and which must be retold.

IMAGE 2: ALING BELTA, MODISTA PAR EXCELLENCE. Roy’s design genius was inherited from grandmother Roberta “Belta” Paras, whose own drama-filled life story tested her will and shaped her character. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Roy’s grandmother was  Roberta “Belta” Tablante Paras, a woman of extraordinary talent and character, very much ahead of her times. She was the daughter of Modesto Paras, a juez de paz of Angeles, Pampanga and Juliana Tablante. Early on, Belta showed dexterity in handling needle and thread; she could cut and sew clothes with such skill that she started making a name for herself as dressmaker of note. Thus, in 1902, the young modista opened her Angeles shop.

IMAGE 3: JOSEFINA PARAS. Roberta Paras’ love-child with prominent Angeles doctor, Dr. Jose Tayag, and Roy’s mother, at her communion. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

By a twist of fate, she would fall in love with Dr. Jose Tayag, a prominent Angeles doctor who was very much married man.  Her father disowned her, so she fled to Manila, heavy with the child of Dr. Tayag. Yet, she managed to open a small dressmaking shop in Quiapo on Fraternal St. near the Pasig River in 1912. She would give birth to her daughter, Josefina,  on November 9, 1912, but once she recovered, the single mother went back toiling in her little shop.

IMAGE 4: CLIENT CALL. Lola Belta gained a reputation for her beautiful bridal gown creations. Her early commissions include this bridal gown of Socorro Brigida Naval for her wedding with Zosimo P. Ricafort. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Her ambition and determination paid off; her creations—from bridal ensembles to ball gowns and formal wear found a steady stream of clients, many from among Manila’s elite. So in 1918, she moved her shop to Binondo in where her business gained more ground

IMAGE 5: R.T. PARAS BUILDING, along Rizal Avenue, housed a school of dressing as well as the fashion shop of Roberta Paras. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

But there was more to come. With her substantial earnings, Belta invested on a property along Manila’s premiere commercial center, Avenida. She put up her own R.T. Paras Building at 859 Rizal Avenue, which housed not only her couture shop but also a school of dressmaking. The last venture, too, flourished, and Belta’s fashion business was now a big-league enterprise.

IMAGE 6: ALING BELTA WITH GRANDCHILDREN, TITA & ROY GONZALES. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Roberta Paras lived long enough to reap the rewards of her dreams and enjoy them. She remained selfless in the midst of her success, welcoming even Dr. Tayag’s children to her house in Manila during their schooling in the University of the Philippines, and treating them as her own. Most important too, she managed to pass on to daughter Josefina her passion for her art and craft, her exacting eye for good design, and her fine taste in fashion couture. These too, were not lost on grandson Roy, who, at a young age, was a witness to her grandmother’s talent, work ethics, and strong family values that  that would serve him well as a design student in Paris.

IMAGE 7: INANG, THE SUCCESSOR. Josefina “Inang” Paras (with  Roy), continued the R.T. Paras fashion house and her business savvy helped grew the family enterprise. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

When Roberta Tayag Paras passed away in 1952, her daughter, Josefina, took on her mantle and embraced her new role as the head of the fashion house. She brought to the table, her sharp business acumen honed by years of being an assistant to her mother as a teen. She finished her high school at St. Theresa’s College and earned a Commercial Science degree from Jose Rizal College. She also enrolled at her mother’s dressmaking school, and successfully completed that course too.

 “Inang” (b. Nov. 9, 2012) as she was fondly called, married Francisco Gonzales of Camiling, Tarlac who gave him two children, Robertita (Tita) and Froilan (Roy). The two would tag along with their mother when she reported to the shop of their Apung Belta, staying close as the elders managed the affairs of the day.  Tragically, at age 9, Tita would  drown in a summer swimming accident that would test Inang’s faith and spirit. A woman of weaker constitution would have spiraled into profound despair at this great loss, but Inang pulled herself together, buried her daughter, and carried on with what she had left—her son Roy, and her mother’s legacy, now a flourishing fashion business she had promised to run.

IMAGE 8 : ON THE MOVE. The House of R.T. Paras at the new Quezon Boulevard location in 1957. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Inang proved to be as strong-willed as her mother, but on her own, she was also a visionary of sorts. In 1957, Inang moved R.T.Paras to a new location in Quezon City, an area that was then just being developed. A spanking, modern building was built to become the all-new House of R.T. Paras Haute Couture.

IMAGE 9: A WEDDING GOWN CREATED FOR BRIDE NONNIE AGUINALDO. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

This proved to be a smart move as the fashion house even became even more popular, its elite roster of clients growing by leaps and bounds. In its heyday, the House of R.T. Paras got to dress all the First Ladies of the country (except Dra. Loi Ejercito), beginning with Mrs. Aurora Aragon Quezon . Presidents Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were also valued clients. Manila’s 400 came knocking at the doors—the Cojuangcos, Aranetas, Tansecos,  Lagdameos , among others.

IMAGE 10: THE SON ALSO RISES. Young Roy Gonzales showed his design skills early, using his school notebooks to sketch and do fashion illsutrations.Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Froilan “Roy” Gonzales (b. Mar. 23, 1944) remembers distinctly how, as an 8-year old, he started sketching his own designs in his school notebooks. He was just 13 when the House of R.T. Paras opened in Quezon City. Although not a stranger to the comings and goings in the house—client consultations, design discussions, cutting, sewing, endless fittings--the pace of activities have quickened at an accelerated rate. And, he was absorbing, as he was observing everything with much interest.

Roy’s horizons expanded when his mother took him to her trips abroad, traveling to such places as Hong Kong, Egypt and Europe, with the last making the most impression on him. He was an Economics sophomore at the Ateneo when he made up his mind to help continue the legacy left behind by his grandmother, now in the able hands of his hardworking mother. And so, still in his teens, he decided to study Fashion Design in Paris no less, home to the world’s leading fashion houses.

IMAGE 11: PARIS, HERE I COME. Roy Gonzales was admitted to the hallowed fashion school, Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

Roy enrolled at the famed Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, a fashion school founded in 1927. For almost four decades, the school have been turning young talents into polished,  highly-skilled professionals who are seen to chart the course of fashion and the fashion industry. Beginning in 1960, the school started creating international affiliations, paving the way for Roy, a Filipino, to be a student of the school.

His first place award for school year 1963-1964 drew the attention of Pierre Cardin, the French-Italian designer who would take the fashion world by storm for his avant-garde unisex creations—including the bubble dress launched in 1954. Taking an interest in Roy’s talents, he handpicked him for an interview one day in June 1964.  Roy strode in to meet Monsieur Cardin armed with his sketches, that so impressed the design icon that he hired him on the spot.

The Filipino designer, who had just turned 20, was quickly put to work on the Spring Summer Collection of the House of Cardin. The Op Art collection reflected the rage of Paris at that time, marked by stark, geometrical patterns, with a bold splash of orange and yellow, the colors of the season.  Unlike in Manila, it was not just the dresses that Roy designed, but also the accessories to go along with the look, including hats, jewelry and shoes.

 IMAGE 12: DESIGNS BY ROY. Some of Roy’s designs for the House of Cardin reflected the style of the season: op art. Creations include dress inspired by a kimono, day dresses, and accessories like hats and pieces of jewelry.Image: Sunday Times Magazine, 8 May 1966 issue.

As Cardin’s lone fashion designer, Roy reported daily at the Cardin workshop that occupied a whole building along Rue du Fauborge Sainte-Honore, on Paris’ 5^th Avenue. He worked directly under Cardin, and a small staff that includes a business director (who took care of contracts involving the sale of patterns to American department stores), two Frenchwomen  and a Swiss who staged Cardin’s fashion shows.

His rigid schedule begins from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and then from 2:00 pm. to 7 p.m., a full 8 hours that involved sketching and designing. Cardin would then choose the ones he liked for production. In his first attempts, only a few would be selected by Cardin from his scores of design. Being a quick learner, he was soon averaging about 5 approved designs for every 10 sketches submitted. “I think I know Cardin’s taste by now”, he says, “which is for me an accomplishment”.  The cutters and seamstresses are then put to work to execute the design, and when finished, are shown off by models to prospective clients.

IMAGE 13: TWO TERNOS, by Roy T. Gonzales. Even in a foreign land, Roy also designed Filipiniana pieces. These ternos, designed 40 years apart, shows a tri-colored terno and a terno specially designed for her mother, Inang. Images: Sunday Times Magazine/  A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

In the six years (1964-1970) with Cardin, Roy got to know many high-profile customers of Cardin, like actresses Jeanne Moreau (who was romantically linked with his boss), Greek superstar Melina Mercouri, Natalie Wood, Bridget Bardot, Mme. Dewi Sukarno and Mme. Claude Jacqueline Pompidou, First Lady of Prance.

From the House of Cardin, Roy worked for a year (1972-1973) at the House of Cerruti, founded by Italian stylist Nino Cerruti. As an assistant modéliste (model maker), he created the patterns of a garment based on a sketched design, which showed his cutting skills at his best.

IMAGE 14: JUDOKA JACKET of white cotton pique damask, edged in braid over pleated black satin trousers. Jean Patou designed by Roy Gonzales. 1978. Image: https://www.shrimptoncouture.com

It was at the House of Patou that Roy’s star would shine even brighter. The venerable couture house was founded  by designer Jean Patou, who died unexpectedly in March 1936. His sister Madeleine, together with husband Raymond Barbas,  continued the House of Patou which have come to include world- renowned designers like Marc Bohan (1954–1956), Karl Lagerfeld (1960–1963) and Jean Paul Gaultier (1971–1973).

Enter Roy Gonzales, now with more fire, more experience tucked under his belt. Starting as a modéliste, he proved his worth for five years, where his technical wizardry in design served him well, indeed.  

IMAGE 15: PATOU IN THE PHILIPPINES! Roy T. Gonzales, design head of the House of Patou, brought the Jean Patou Collection to Philippines in 1976. Image: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

In 1976, Roy returned to the Philippines, to stage a homecoming fashion show at Hotel Intercon featuring his designs worn by statuesque Patou models. The show was a smash hit; Manila revelled in his international success, which further elevated the quality high-fashion reputation of the House of R. T. Paras. The next year, Roy was finally named design head of Patou, thus establishing him firmly as a world-class fashion genius.

In the summer of 1977, Roy  presented his summer collection for Patou that was hailed as “one of its prettiest collections in recent years”. Here, he deftly replaced traditional blouses with little waistcoats. He also featured a lot of strapless dresses which doubled as evening skirts when dropped from bust to hip. Singled out as Patou's best was a fluttery shirt of red-striped beige over a red dotted beige skirt and topped by a beige canvas waistcoat. The collection  was noted for its eminently European, ultra-feminine look.

He made quite a splash at the fall couture show held in July 1977 in Paris with such eye-turning numbers such as a vest made of feathered patchwork and a batwing cardigan sweater. In the 1978 editorial of Vogue Paris, his sumptuous designs for Patou were featured on the pages magazine considered as a fashion bible.

IMAGE 16: GET WELL SOON! An illness forced Roy to slow down and check-in at a French rest house where he would convalesce. While recovering, he was visited by his mother Inang. Photo: A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

But a debilitating illness befell Roy, which would hound him for months, so in 1981, he took off from work to recover in a country home in France where his mother, Inang,  visited him. His convalescence however, took more time than usual,  and he sadly decided to quit the House of Patou in 1982, and return to the Philippines for a much needed rest. Roy would be succeeded by the equally brilliant Christian Lacroix as design head in 1982, and who, in a matter of years, become a fashion superstar.

Back on his feet in 1982, Roy returned to Paris and  was signed up as by Dorothée Bis as its modeliste-stylist . The ready-to-wear house was founded by Jacqueline and Elie Jacobson in 1962. It would earn repute for its stylish sportswear line, that included knits.

In 1984, he would start a long and illustrious career at Lecoanet Hemant, which was founded by Didier Lecoanet and Hemant Sagar in the ’80s, right on the street where Roy first worked for Cardin, close to the Elysée Palace. The fashion house became known for a unique style that mixed eastern and western elements, most evident in the drapings reminiscent of the Asian sari, that characterized most of their creations.

IMAGE 17: ROY IN THE PARIS METRO, after a 1984 Didier Lecoanet Hemant Sagar fashion show 1984. Photo:  Jean-luce Huré, http://snap361.com/ig-tag/roygonzales/

Draping was one of Roy’s area of expertise being a superbly-skilled technician, and he would leave his mark in this haute couture house that was patronized by European aristocrats, Middle eastern blue-bloods, as well as the international jet set crowd. He would stay with Lecoanet Hemant until 1998.

By then, Roy’s mother Inang was already 86 years old. Away for more than three decades, he finally decided to come home for good in 1998 to spend time with her. It was also the perfect time to take over the reins of the R.T. Paras Couture House which her mother had so productively ran by herself with her loyal staff, and which had set a record by becoming the longest continuing haute couture shop in the country. Indeed, the name “R.T. Paras” was top-of-mind when it came to creating opulent wedding gowns, smart corporate attire, suits and formal wear.\

IMAGE 18: HER MOTHER’S SON. Roy Gonzales and her mother Josefina Gonzales at the pinnacle of their success, Photo: Ruppert Jacinto, A Century of Couture R.T. Paras, 1902-2002.

 Comfortably settled in Manila, Roy indulged her mother’s passion for dinners, dances and costume parties with her ‘amigas’. They were even planning the 2002 centennial of the House of R. T. Paras, plus her 90^th birthday. Roy had already designed a fabulous terno for her mother to wear for the said occasions. But Inang would not be there to see the celebration of their milestone of the design empire that she helped built; she passed away on January 28, 2001. It was a most heartbreaking moment for Roy, and he would reflect later on that “her absence scooped out a portion of our lives…and for me, it was a bucketful.”

On November 9, 2002, on what would have been the 90^th birthday of Inang Gonzales, the House of R.T. Paras celebrated its 100^th year, marked with a spectacular fashion show and an exhibit of vintage Paras gowns at the NBC Tent, Fort Bonifacio.   The beaming Roy chose to call it a “family reunion”, as it was attended by many patrons of the house, veritable members of Manila’s who’s who.

Roy Gonzales now holds high the torch of the esteemed fashion business that was begun a century ago by his Apung Belta and his beloved mother, Inang. But he also keeps the fire close to his heart, as he strives to continue the legacy of the house—now solely  his own.

These days, Roy has totally immersed himself in the local fashion scene, and his couture creations been seen everywhere—from the President’s State-of-the-Nation Address to gala balls and fashion runways. Part of his continuing journey is his mission to share and impart his couture knowledge to budding designers and students. In 2010, Roy was one of the mentors in the Designer Fashion Workshops  organized by fashion professionals in collaboration with iacademy.

The trailblazing Filipino who conquered the leading fashion houses of Europe and who paved the way for other local designers to leave their mark in the international fashion scene, can afford to rest on his laurels, no doubt.  But he chooses not to, for while he holds high the torch of the fashion business started a century ago by his Lola Belta and Inang, he also keeps the fire close to his heart. Now infused with the lifeblood of three generations, the House of R.T. Paras lives on.

 SOURCES:

Gutierrez, Lydia C., The Wizard of Op. Sunday Times Magazine, May 8, 1966, pp. 50-51.

A  Century of Couture, R.T. Paras 1902-2002, Le Recueil des Anniversaires

Tayag, Claude. My Tita Inang, TURO-TURO column,  6 October 2002 https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/sunday-life/2002/10/06/178780/my-tita-inang

https://prabook.com/web/froilan_tayag.gonzales/775456

Shrimpton Couture: Photos of Patou Designs,

https://www.shrimptoncouture.com/blogs/curated/shadows-and-lights-on-the-new-evening

 Photo, Vogue Paris, 1977. Photo by Helmut Newton. http://snap361.com/ig-tag/roygonzales/

 The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois · Page 28, Publication: Thursday,  October 27, 1977, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/73127955/

 Image: “Surprise Encounter ! Didier Lecoanet Hemant Sagar in the Paris Metro after their show 1984 and Roy Gonzales”,  Photo Jean-luce Huré, http://snap361.com/ig-tag/roygonzales/

 

 

92. BORROMEO LOU: The King Who Ruled the Philippine Jazz Age

JAZZ THE WAY YOU ARE. Luis F. Borromeo of Cebu, came back after hitting it big in the American entertainment circuit, and introduced jazz music to the Philippines by way of his song-dance-circus-magic revues that livened up the Carnivals. Ca. 1922.

He has been dubbed as the country’s “King of Jazz” and “Paderewski of the Orient”, but Luis Borromeo will always be known and recognized as the originator of Orientalized classic jazz in the colorful vaudeville years, popularizing an exciting new sound from the music halls of the West, and ushering in the age of jazz in the Philippines.

Luis Borromeo comes from the prominent Borromeo family of Cebu, but his love for music began in Leyte, where he would begin his early musical training. Like a few of his siblings, he went to America where he furthered his studies in piano, while quickly imbibing its lively musical culture.

In 1915, his fascination for the performance arts brought him to San Francisco to see the 1915 Pan-Pacific International Exposition which featured stage shows and similar entertainment. In one such show, he was egged on by compatriots to show off his piano-playing skills at the Dutch Pavilion, which led to his discovery.

Taking on the stage name “Borromeo Lou”, the talented jazz pianist was signed up to perform on the Orpheum Circuit, a chain of U.S. theaters that featured films and stage shows. He often performed with singers and dancers, and his 3-year stint with Orpheum enabled him to see much of America—with tours to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland.

LEADER OF THE BAND. Taking on the name “Borromeo Lou”, the jazz pianist played his way across America through the Orpheum Circuit, and before long, became a band leader.

As part of the trio “D’avigneau’s Celestials”, Borromeo’s act became a headline attraction, drawing crowds who came to see and hear the jazz man and his Chinese-American companions —tenor Shun Tok Sethe and Men Toy, a beautiful danseuse.  From 1919 to 1921, the Chinese costume-clad trio mesmerized audiences with their unique, jazzy sound  that one reviewer called “oriental syncopation”,  which set them apart from other stage acts.

Philippine newspapers regularly reported Borromeo’s success on the highly-competitive American entertainment circuit, often commanding one thousand pesos per week for his performance.

An opportunity to return came in 1921, at the height of the Manila Carnival craze, an annual national event that featured spectacular stage shows from here and abroad. So,  in 1921, Borromeo returned to the Philippines, and put up a band that played classical-jazz music. This music genre found favor in the local entertainment circuit, which integrated such performances in the variety shows,  later named as “vod-a-vil” by Borromeo  (from the French vaudeville). It was Filipinized into ‘bodabil’, and the term stuck.

BORROMEO’S FOLLIES. Loosely modeled from the Ziegfield Follies, Borromeo Lou’s revue featured beautiful dancing girls, exotic Japanese singers and talented musicians. He often played many of his original piano compositions.

His big band music repertoire often included his own early compositions like “My Beautiful Philippines”  ( about  U.S. sailor pining for his Filipina sweetheart in the islands), “Jazzy Sound in All Chinatown”, “Manila Mia”, and “My Vamping Sweet Guitar”.

Borromeo Lou’s familiarity with the latest American music trends made him and his group much-in demand in Manila. He was often invited to grace important events and high society functions. The Borromeo troupe were the featured performers at the Philippine Columbian Party held on Sept. 30, 1921, with Philippine Gov. Gen. Francis Burton Harrison and future president Manuel Quezon in attendance.

He would found lasting renown in his native land when he was tapped by the Manila Carnival committee to stage his own revue called “Borromeo’s  Follies”-- at the 1922 edition of the national fair. The enterprising pianist-impresario went beyond spreading his jazz music by organizing his own repertory of artists known as the “Borromeo Lou & Co., Ltd.” , which had magicians, dancers, acrobats, comedians, singers and musicians in its roster of performers.

He and his troupe were thus introduced to the Carnival audience as “Manufacturer of Jazz, Joy, Melody and Funny Noises” while Borromeo Lou himself was described as “a pianist of rare skill and ability, and champion of all ‘round mirth provoker of the Far East”. To hype his show, it was announced in promotional ads that the appearance of Borromeo Lou and his group was made possible through a “royal appointment by her Gracious Majesty, the Queen of the 1922 Manila Carnival”.

DUDU-IT-YOURSELF. One of Borromeo Lou’s prized performers was the Moro singer , Dudu, who sang beautifully, accompanied by his own banjo and guitar.

The cast was headed by Borromeo Lou himself (“The Human Dynamo, Director and Classic-Jazz Pianist”), Miss Toytoy ( the “captivating China girl that has won the hearts of all Manila with her character songs and distinctive dances”), Datu Mandi (a  superb and inimitable Moro baritone “who interprets with perfection the most difficult operas and sings the exquisite melodies of modern composers”) , Dudu (the Moro musician who accompanied himself with his banjo) , Lucas  (an impersonator who was known as the miniature Harold Lloyd) , Hayoki and Maruki San (the demure Japanese twins who sang Japanese folk songs and dances, and Osolev (Moro dancer).

HAYOKI AND MARUKI-SAN. These twin siblings sang Japanese ditties and performed traditional Japanese dances in Borromeo’s Follies. They were in fact, Filipinos.

There were also musicians like  Sulubi ( a saxophonist, “a victim of saxiphobia”) and Swasing (slide trombone player) . Of course, Borromeo’s jazz orchestra, capable of “producing about 240 jazz explosions per minute”, topbilled the Carnival show.

Under Borromeo Lou’s superb direction, his troupe dished out quality entertainment for the Carnival crowd, furnishing “the joy racket of the big show”, night after night.

“If you’re sick, come and be cured. If you’re going to die, come and have a good laugh first. If you’re well, come and help carry out the Jazzophobia victims”—so went Borromeo Lou’s call-to-action to Carnival visitors and revelers. And, indeed, the crowds did not go disappointed; in time, the whole nation was consumed by big band jazz euphoria.

EAST MEETS WEST. Borromeo Lou’s distinctive sound was described as having “Oriental syncopation”. The bandleader often presented Asian stereotypes in his performances, by way of costumes and language.

After making a triumphant splash at the carnival, Borromeo Lou and his vaudeville troupe stayed on at the Olympic Stadium across the Bilibid and continued performing as  “Borromeo Lou’s Stadium Vod-a-Vil”.  Other companies began sprouting up and by the end of 1925, Manilans had a choice of watching the Nifties at the Savoy, Variety Stars at the Rivoli, and the Lux Peaches at Lux Theater. Borromeo took his act on the road and toured Philippine provinces, captivating local audiences with his free-form jazz music, while his dancers titillated—and sometimes scandalized conservative townsfolks with their skimpy costumes and flirtatious dancing.

His “bodabil” shows would thrive for the rest of the American occupation—staged in fiestas, petit fairs and theaters—and jumpstarting the careers of well-known artists as singer Katy de la Cruz, dancer Bayani Casimiro, and the Charlie Chaplin look-alike, Canuplin. Not much is known about Borromeo’s later years, as birth and death records in Cebu were lost during the war. His children, however, remained in the U.S., a country which he has come to love.

JAZZ JOY, MELODY AND FUNNY NOISES,,,FROM BORRMEO LOU & CO. UNLIMITED.

The Jazz craze would continue to endure for many years, providing leisurely diversions to Filipinos, especially during the war years. In the 50s and 60s, musicians like Exequiel “Lito” Molina and the Jazz Friends, Romy Katindig, Romy Posadas and Angel Peña melded folk tunes with jazz music, a distinctive sound that found wide acceptance with mainstream audience. Fusion music was all the rage in the 70s thru the 80s,  as innovative artists like Eddie Munji, Ryan Cayabyab, Boy and Eddie Katindig , Bong Peñera and Rudy Lozano dabbled in jazz mixed with rock,  pop and Latina elements, ushering a new golden age in Philippine music—thanks to the pioneering king of vaudeville  jazz  who started it all—Borromeo Lou.

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR TOWNANDCOUNTRY.PH AND POSTED UNDER THE TITLE: "MEET THE FORCE WHO RULED THE PHILIPPINE JAZZ AGE", posted 1 July 2018. All images from Alex R. Castro Collection.

REFERENCES:

Pinoy Jazz Traditions. Pasig City: Anvil, 2004

Castro, Alex R., Manila Carnivals 1908-1939, www.manilacarnivals.blogspot.com

Walsh, Thomas P. Tin Pan Alley and the Philippines: American Songs of War And Love, 1898-1946 .https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=UJV8HQsaJB0C&pg=PA257&lpg=PA257&dq=borromeo+lou,&source=bl&ots=kEW-mmwKga&sig=u06kzq12ulYkiIX6CZ0ymXzx1_4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiPgPul9vDbAhXKTrwKHdi2AY44ChDoAQg5MAc#v=onepage&q=borromeo%20lou%2C&f=false

Himig: the Music Collection of FHL.http://www.himig.com.ph/features/61-jazz-music-in-the-philippines

http://fritzgrace.blogspot.com/, http://fritzgrace.blogspot.com/2013/02/some-borromeo-lou-compositions.html

Marvin, David. From Madison to Manila: Filipino Music icon Redisovered, http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2014/mar/26/madison-manila-20s-filipino-music-icon-rediscovere/

 The Politics of “Oriental Syncopation”, by Fritz Schenker, http://musicologynow.ams-net.org/2018/03/the-politics-of-oriental-syncopation.html

The American Colonial and Contemporary Traditions in Philippine DanceHE, http://nlpdl.nlp.gov.ph:81/CC01/NLP00VM052mcd/v6/v4.pdf

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

85. GEORGE REY URBANO: A Filipino Trailblazer in International Professional Wrestling

GEORGE REY URBANO. For over 3 decades, this trailblazing Philippine-born wrestler made waves in the American wrestling circuit as Rey Urbano, Tokyo Tom, Taro Sakuro, and his most famous wrestling persona—the Great Kabooki.

Wrestling has always had a worldwide audience, ever since the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), was founded in 1948 as a governing body for professional wrestling. Based in America, NWA began promoting brawling matches on television back in the early 1950s.  By 1961, canned wrestling programs (Men’s and Women’s) were seen regularly on late-night Philippine TV over DZBB Channel 7.

Curiously, Filipinos did not catch on to wrestling despite their love for contact sports, preferring boxing instead. After all, the boxing world included many Filipino champions—Pancho Villa, Ceferino Garcia, father and son Cely and Anthony Villanueva, Flash Elorde, among others-- fighting figures of our national pride. They were the best reasons to root for the sport—not alien names like Bobo Brazil, Gorgeous George, Killer Kowalski, and the Fabulous Moolah.

Not until the mid-1980s that Filipinos took a second look at wrestling. By then, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) took command of the sports, booking champions and producing big wrestling events, beamed on cable TV from huge venues like Madison Square Garden and Shea Stadium.

SMACKDOWN SOUVENIR. A 1950s fight program from the first golden age of American wrestling features a match between Rey Urbano of Manila versus Axel Cadier from Sweden.

WWF signed up and headlined wrestlers Hulk Hogan, André the Giant, Roddy Piper and Bret Hart, in shows like WWF Superstar, set amidst music, lights and much theatrics. Merchandising gimmicks were launched for its pool of talents, spawning action figures, video games and toys. When the programs went into syndication, they were lapped up by a mainstream audience who found new heroes to idolize.

The entry of Filipino-American grapplers further fueled the Filipinos’ crazy fascination, and later, obsession, with wrestling. There was Dave Batista (David Michael Bautista), a hulking 6’6” wrestler who was snapped up by WWF (now World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE) in 2000.  Now retired, Batista remains visible in action films like “Riddick”,  “Guardians of the Galaxy”, and “Avengers: End Game”.

Benny Cuntapay (B.Boy), has also successfully fought in the All-Pro and Combat Zone Wrestling. While T. J. Perkins, who used to fight as “Pinoy Boy”,  won the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Championship in 2016. Recently, Fil-Am Michael Paris (aka DJZ), 2-time Impact X Division Champion, was reported in March 2019 to being squired by WWE.

REY OF LIGHT.  Rey Urbano resplendent in a Philippine Muslim costume. Photo by Libnan Ayoub, 100 Years of Professional Wrestling in Australia via Online World of Wrestling.

The extraordinary feats and skills of these world-class Filipino matmen, however, were foreshadowed not too long ago by a Manila-born strongman who blazed trails by breaking into the competitive world of international wrestling—in his time, the only professional wrestler in all of the Philippines: GEORGE REY URBANO.

FATHER JUAN. Rey’s father was born in Samar and became an inventor, the first Filipino to own a U.S. patent for a fountain pen and pencil that can write in the dark. He later entered the movies business back in the Philippines.

Born in Manila on 25 Apr. 1924 to Juan and Sixta Urbano, Rey had quite a comfortable life. His father was a successful inventor and businessman, the cousin of famed movie director and actor, Manuel Urbano (screen name: Manuel Conde), who had made waves in Venice in 1952 with his opus, “Genghis Khan”.

COMING  TO AMERICA. As a student of the San Francisco City College, Rey Urbano (on the right) was a valuable member of the school’ football team in 1948. Photo courtesy of The Guardsman via RECON MAGAZINE, March-April 2017 issue. Used with permission.

Four year old George Rey,  his older 3 siblings (Belen, Marina, Isidro) and their mother Sixta moved to America in 1928, to follow Juan, who had  gone there ahead to set up a manufacturing business. Sixta boosted the family income by selling jewelry pieces. The children went to schools in the San Francisco area where they had settled.

Things were going well for the family, until tragedy struck in 1939 with the death of their mother. Rey was only 15 then, still a student at the San Francisco Polytechnic High School. To make things worse, his father Juan decided to return to the Philippines to look for business opportunities in the field of movie production—an obvious influence from his showbiz cousin whose career was about to peak.

Left in the U.S. in the care of relatives, Rey immersed himself in football and judo. The war in his native Philippines cut short his college dreams, and so, at age 19, like his brother Isidro before him, he joined the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment in early 1943.

REMEMBER THIS ALAMO SCOUT. 19 year old Rey Urbano, Rey Urbano, as a member of the 1^st Filipino Infantry Regiment in 1943. He and his brother would also sign up as volunteers of the Alamo Scouts. Used with permission from RECON MAGAZINE, March-April 2017 issue.

The 2 brothers would later volunteer to become Alamo Scouts, an elite reconnaissance unit that saw action in the jungles of  New Guinea. The next year, Rey and Isidro were deployed to the Philippines as part of the Allied landing forces.

When the war ended, the young veteran left his military career to go back to school. He entered San Francisco City College in 1947 which had an excellent football program. Though a bit underheight for the sport (he was 5’9”, 200 pounds), Rey became an outstanding player of the 1948 team, which snagged a mythical national junior college championship.

To build his stamina and strength on the gridiron, he took to an alternate sport he had also been avidly indulging in: wrestling. He underwent intense training in the school put up by the acclaimed Filipino wrestler Pantaleon Manlapig, who had previously held many Pacific Coast titles, under the name Tony Aguinaldo in the 1940s.

MENTORED BY MANLAPIG. Rey Urbano trained under Filipino wrestling legend, Pantaleon Catanghal Manlapig, who fought in Hawaii under the name Tony Aguinaldo. He held the Pacific Coast title in the 1940s for several times.

Rey was instantly hooked. He came to master many fighting styles and techniques—Greco-Roman, Sumo, catch-as-catch-can styles.  Bitten by the wrestling bug, he passed up a football scholarship from the University of Southern California,  ignored his father’s pleading to return to the Philippines and be a movie star, and instead, chose to focus on a new goal: to become a professional wrestler.

STRIKING A FIGHTER’S POSE. Rey Urbano in his first official photo as a professional wrestler, taken in 1950. Photo courtesy of L.A. Public Library via RECON MAGAZINE, March-April 2017 issue. Used with permission.

He debuted in a match held in Honolulu, Hawaii on 23 April 1950, using his real name, “Rey Urbano”, defeating Chico Garcia in his very first professional outing . The Ogden Standard-Examiner in Utah was effusive in its review of Rey’s performance: "Rey Urbano came here recently from the Philippines and has impressed with his ability under all kinds of fire… The Islander uses the side of his hand in a cutting manner not unlike the chopping knife he used at home in the sugar cane fields. It is both legal and effective."

Rey was on his way. The next year, Rey was billed in a match at the Los Angeles Olympic Coliseum, capturing the attention of the nearly ten thousand screaming wrestling fans that crammed the venue. The one sad setback he experienced was the death of his brother, Isidro, who was killed in action in the Korean War of 1952.

Though he found steady work throughout the west and southwest in the next few years, Rey realized that the crowd drawers of wrestling bouts were not the favorites like him, but the villains of the ring. In fact, they also brought in the big bucks!  Rey, thus, in a complete turn-around, shed his clean, good boy image to assume a villainous wrestling persona.

TURNING JAPANESE. Rey Urbano made a major career shift by becoming a wrestling villain in the person of  “Taro Sakuro”, a name he used from the late 50s and 60s. Photo courtesy of RECON MAGAZINE, March-April 2017 issue. Used with permission.

As it was just a few years after the terrible War in which the Japanese earned a reputation as heinous villains for their war crimes, Rey chose to be known as “Taro Sakuro”. In 1959, in his first fight in Tennessee, the bearded “Japanese” hulk in a short robe and wooden sandals, ascended the ring and struck fear with his evil eye gaze and calm, but fearful exterior. But most of all, his behavior and fighting tricks disgusted the crowd—which he had hoped would happen—a despicable anti-hero that the audience loved to hate.

Rey enjoyed immense success with his new wrestling character. In  1962, he won the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship, and, with Oyama Kato, the NWA U.S. Tag Team title. Promoters began matching him  with more popular, more high-profile wrestlers. Needless to say, this move paid off, and he began collecting more susbtantial paychecks. 

 THE TERROR THAT WAS TARO. Rey Urbano as “Taro Sakuro” demolishes Alberto Torres in a 1962 fight. Photo courtesy of Wrestling Revue. Via RECON MAGAZINE, March-April 2017 issue. Used with permission.

As the new bad guy of wrestling, Rey had to deal with the backlash of fans. He survived a shooting, stabbings, and countless verbal and physical attacks. The most serious of all was being spiked on the foot by a woman using her sharp,  stiletto-heeled shoe,  a bloody injury that required surgery. He took all these in stride as occupational hazards that he had come to expect from the job.

Through all these, Rey carried on and retained the Japanese guise that helped  revitalized his career. Appearing in Texas in 1965, he briefly became “Tokyo Tom” and a substitute for “Tokyo Joe”, a convicted wrestler who was banned from the ring. He introduced gimmicks like incorporating over-the-top karate chops and thrusts in his moves that had the audience reacting wildly.

Shortly after the Texas stint, Rey faced another difficult, life-threatening hurdle. He was afflicted with a brain tumor and underwent a crucial operation. Thankfully, the mass was benign. He spent his 5-year long convalescence by going back to the California State University-Hayward  to finish a college degree (Recreational Studies). He found gainful employment at a recreational park where he held P.E. classes and occasionally wrestled to raise funds for his advocacies.

THE GREAT KABOOKI. The most well-known wrestling character conceived by Rey Urbano was a huge, hulking menacing Oriental warrior, a villain that the audience loved to hate. Alex Castro Photo.

Though doctors believed he will never wrestle again, he defied their dire prognostications and returned to the ring in late 1972 in a new incarnation. This time, he transformed himself into a villainous Japanese warrior of unspeakable brutishness, with a fierce-looking face painted for battle, and a name that no one will forget: The Great Kabooki.

He took his Japanese character to heart, dressing in authentic robes, and performing the ceremonial sumo ritual of throwing salt in his fights, which he also used to blind his foes. Everywhere he made an appearance, the Great Kabooki was a daunting figure to behold, inspiring fear and awe. His triumphant rebound was met with roars from the audience, who lapped up his acts and antics on the ring, catapultin him again to national prominence.

THAT KABOOKI FACE. Rey Urbano was the first wrestler to use paint make-up to make his Japanese character more theatrical, and more fearsome.

Rey, as The Great Kabooki, made a surprising comeback and toured the Midwest and the Southwest region. In 1973, he secured a spot in a Detroit promotion starring top wrestling star, The Sheik. He also worked the Great Lakes area, and wrestled in a few International Championship Wrestling shows.  Approaching 50, he still managed to complete 22 matches that year but the tolls of advancing age had begun to show, and he felt it.

To slow down, he accepted a job as a part-time chef in a California restaurant. He also seemed to have inherited his father’s creative genes. He devised “First and Ten”, a football board game and “Knockout”, a boxing game, both for kids. He formed a company—Urbano & Associates—to market these, but they generated little interest, so he eventually sold them off.

THE NAME OF THE GAME.  “First and Ten” was a gameboard developed by Rey Urbano, who inherited his father’s inventive genes.

With failed financial expectations, he returned to wrestling at age 58, reviving his Great Kabooki image. This posed some confusion, however, as by 1981, a younger Japanese wrestler by the name of Mera Akahishi, had started using the same name using the original spelling—the Great Kabuki.

In his 1982-83  farewell tour with ICW in the Midwest,  the Great Kabooki finished 16 matches, including one against the hugely popular Macho Man Randy Savage. His final fight was staged in a high school gym in Illinois. Like a true professional, he fought with his partner, Ratamyus,  in a tag team match and won---this, despite an audience of only 250.

KABOOKI FOR THE KILL. As a wrestling villain, Rey Urbano was jeered and harassed by hostile fans, but he took all these in stride. He entertained fans with his nasty stage demeanor, his tricky karate chops and martial art moves. 

In his twilight years, Rey joined an association of both retired and active wrestlers and boxers known as the Cauliflower Alley Club, which, in 1992 gave him recognition for his valuable contribution to the sport. Though he was married 3 times in his lifetime, Rey had no children; his family consisted of fellow wrestlers with whom he kept in touch regularly in annual reunions.

His fame reached the Philippines, but he was largely overlooked by his countrymen as they were more engrossed with rising boxers who were starting to win world championships in the 60s and 70s.  His occasional trips to his original homeland were more for family visits.

Jun Urbano, the TV funny man known as ‘Mr. Shooli’, remembers meeting his uncle twice. In one of his uncle’s rare homecomings, his family hosted him lunch and was served a specially-large dish of “kare-kare”. He watched him eat until he finished everything off. Then, Rey turned to Jun’s mother, smiled and hollered: “O-kay! Now bring out the main dish!”. His relatives were stunned at his voracious appetite. “Ang laking tao niya! (Such a big man)!”, Jun Urbano recalled.

GOLDEN GEORGE. In his golden years, Rey Urbano became a member of a fraternal wrestling group, and joined wrestling reunions for 15 years.

But Rey Urbano also had a big heart. In his own, quiet  way, he managed to entertain hundreds of wrestling fans for many decades, never mind that he did not attain the great financial success he worked so very hard for.

Described as “an all-around good person”, Rey  made many friends along the way.  In all, he fought a total of 989 matches in his lifetime career under 4 names, and wrestled against revered names like Bobo Brazil, Bruno Sammartino, Randy Savage and Mighty Igor—credentials that are nothing short of impressive.

Rey spent his remaining days in a Las Vegas nursing home, passing away on 16 Oct. 2007 at age 83. He is interred at the Southern Nevada Veterans Cemetery.

Today, wrestling and its related full contact disciplines like mixed martial arts, have a large, loyal Filipino fan base that continues to grow,  thanks to a constant fare of TV wrestling shows: Raw, Smackdown, This Week in WWE,  Bottomline and UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), among others.

URBANO LEGEND. George Rey Urbano, (b. 25 Apr. 1924/ d. 16 Oct. 2007)

While Filipinos are currently rooting for Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor, The Miz Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss, they are also rediscovering their very own Dave Batista,  Brandon Vera, T. J. Perkins,  Michael Paris and Kris Wolf who have become worthy sports icons for legions of Filipino fans. Add to that the name of  George Rey Urbano—the Great Kabooki—a kickass Pinoy came before them, who broke barriers and made history to  become the only Filipino international wrestler in the first golden age of American professional wrestling.

 SOURCES:

Zedric, Lance. By Any Other Name the Story of Alamo Scout George Urbano

RECON MAGAZINE, March-April 2017 issue, pp. 1-8. http://www.alamoscouts.com/news/RECON_MarApr2017_OL_Magazine.pdf

 Pictures used with permission from Mr.Lance Zedric, unless otherwise noted.

 -Clovis News Journal (NM). “Wrestling Star Has Colorful Background.” Dec 17, 1952

-Drason, Dave. Wrestling Revue. 2007.

 -Friend, Percival. Rest in Peace, Reynaldo Urbano, The Original Kabooki. 2007. Wrestling Newsletter by Mark Bujan. http://www.oocities.org/percivalafriend/friend102207.htm

 -Funk, Dory, Jr. on Rey Urbano. As reported by Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com On Thursday, October 18, 2007.

 -The Guardsman Yearbook. City College of San Francisco. 1948-1949.

 -Hurschmann, Bill. He Makes Football Better Game. San Mateo Times. Jul 11, 1977

 -Johnson, Steve. Original Kabooki faced a tough foe. Slam Sports. Oct 11, 2007. http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2007/10/17/4584657.html

 -Jourdan, Walt and Lee. “From Shoeshine to Star Wars” (The Chronicles of Walt Jourdan).

 -Lamas, Demas. Wild Wonderful Career Recalled. Fremont Argus (CA). Apr 15, 1971. P. 11.

 -Ogden Standard-Examiner. Twin Main Events on Wednesday at Berthana. Dec 16, 1951. P. 12A

 -Online World of Wrestling.http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com

 -Oxnard Press-Courier (CA). “On the Town with ‘Bud’” Jun 25, 1976.

-Urbano, Rey. www.Wrestlingdata.com

 -Wrestling Revue Magazine. 1963. P. 48. Photo of Taro Sakuro.-The Great Kabooki: http://www.geocities.ws/percivalafriend/friend102207.htm

 -World Wrestling Federation, https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/world-wrestling-federation

Other Photos:

·       The Great Kabooki close-up photo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKQ7YXXQ_L4

·       Rey Urbano older photo: Rey Urbano at the 2003 Cauliflower Alley Club reunion in Las Vegas., Photo by Rose Diamond

·       Rey Urbano photo by Libnan Ayoub, 100 Years of Professional Wrestling in Australia via Online World of Wrestling, http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/bios/r/rey-urbano/