Photo by Nicanor Arriola
ART is the natural attitude of the soul, wrote Lissa de Guia. Even in sorrow and in pain, true artists connect to their art. Imagine performing your music for 40 years. Think of how Martin Nievera persisted, irrespective of his surroundings and circumstances, to be giving the best of his performances to fans, as if they are the king.
“No one ever told me I was good. No one ever told me, ‘You’re great.’ Then, someone had to name me Concert King. It’s hard to live with the name Concert King. My philosophy is that as a singer, I want to be that singer who gives a performance fit for a king, and the king, for me, is the audience,“ Martin shared.
Joyful moments defined #M4D concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Martin Nievera is the first Filipino solo male artist to perform at the iconic venue, giving a performance just under 3 hours for his audience of 1,601 attendees. The audience was family to him, some of whom travelled a distance just to see him in person. He performed generously for his “King”, the audience, 24 songs. When we attend concerts at Disney Hall, we are lucky to have six songs performed by the orchestra.
Journalist Ruben V. Nepales described it: “The show is a big milestone for Martin, known as the Philippines’ Concert King, as he bows in revered architect Frank Gehry’s landmark hall.”
Martin was accompanied by his live band, who travelled all the way from Las Vegas, and returned home that same night.
Goodwill greetings from Martin’s peers
Apl.de.ap introduced a nine-minute video, and came in person to give tribute to Martin, and watched the compilation of greetings from their professional colleagues:
*Pilita Corrales who described how she knew the first time she saw him that he would be a superstar.
*Coco Martin who thanked him for helping with the theme song of a teleserye, Juan de la Cruz.
*Becca Godinez who met Martin when he was 17 years old and forecasted his success and now witnessing the “stretching of his vocal cords to reach high notes. You give to your audience and that is what endears and brings them with you.”
*Regine Alcasid and Ogie Alcasid who playfully had a short repartee to greet Martin.
*Susan Anton who acknowledged Martin’s concerts getting audiences’ raves.
*Manny Pacquiao, Sharon Cuneta and Piolo Pascual greeted him as well.
*The most meaningful and loving greeting came from his ‘bro,’ Gary Valenciano. Gary described their journey together as fellow artists, how they would try to outmatch each other and by doing so, became even better professionals. He was certain they would reach heaven and would perhaps joke about who outlasted whom. He ended it with an endearing “I love you, bro!”
*Lea Salonga congratulated him for performing in the best acoustical stage in Los Angeles and for a fantastic career that had longevity, because he was such a joy to be with, in having so much fun and “being such a presence [onstage], makulit (persistently annoying) whom I highly respect and love.”
Ikaw was sung by Martin Nievera, quite endearing and quite a spectacular Disney Hall performance, attended by 1,601 folks in August, a tough vacation month to fill up venues.
I replayed the video vignettes, feeling the emotions that he conveyed, with every lyrics sung expressing tender feelings of love, one would surmise – is he singing to his three sons or to his current partner?
Ikaw ang bigay ng Maykapal (You are a gift from God)
Tugon sa aking dasal (The answer to my fervent prayer)
upang sa lahat ng panahon (So that for the time that goes by)
bawat pagkakataon (Every opportunity)
Ang ibigin ko’y ikaw. (I get to love you)
Ikaw ang tanglaw sa aking mundo (You are the light in my world)
kabiyak nitong puso ko (The other half of my yearning heart)
wala ni kahati mang saglit (No one even in a split of time)
na sa iyo’y may papalit (There will be no one else)
ngayong kailanman ikaw (Now and forever, but you).
At the press conference convened by Ted Benito as director and producer in August 2022, I told Martin that I would read my questions, to which he responded with wit, “I will read my answers.” That quickly gained rapport with me.
“I am an aging grandmother that I cannot help attending your press conference. I saw you perform TwoGether with Pops Fernandez and I like you both a lot, that I followed you performing at a casino. This is my third concert and I bought the first seven tickets for my family,” I told him.
Martin asked, “was it the 80’s, the 90’s?”
“I watched the most recent ones,” I told him.
First question: Spirit is the substance of reality, deeper than your young boyish, handsome looks; deeper than the inked letters of the lyrics you are going to be singing, describe please your parenting spirit to your sons, your publicly declared treasures, Robin and Ram (his sons with ex-wife Pops Fernandez and Santino (his son with ex-partner Katrina Ojeda) a savant, a gifted child for a specific zone of knowledge.
Martin’s response: “We’re waiting to see what that is. Every parent who has a special child hopes he or she is a savant or some sort of genius. We want to tell ourselves we did good but I think my son [Santino] has gone through so many different moments where he changes ’savant-ness.” Right now, he loves to play the drums. He has told me that he is going to play the drums for you on August 28. That’s the one place where he is at peace and he’s the calmest. I think it’s because of numbers, just doing one number. I mean, everything is moving at the same time. I think that seems to be where we are.”
“This is the longest he’s been with something. He tried the piano. We bought a piano. Two days later, we didn’t need the piano anymore. He tried the violin. Not even a day later, we don’t need the violin.”
“We tried everything. We read the book; this is what’s going to happen to our special kids. Well, not all kids end up that way. They find what I call ‘a different magic’ and we’ve been waiting to see what the magic of Santino will be.”
“You’re going to have to be with me as we look forward to that day. When we know exactly what it is that he will be, when I’m already six feet under. And that’s my biggest fear.”
“For all three kids, it’s very hard to be the father that I wish I was, because I’m not present. I’m never there. With Santino, if I was guilty that I lost time with Robin and Ram, what more with Santino because his mother and I are no longer together?”
“Every child I have, their mother and I are not together, so how could I accept the award for the best father of the year? It’s always haunting me that I’m not good enough for my kids. My love, my time, as precious, as rare—it’s not the quantity but the quality.”
“I tell myself that all the time. This is how I get when I talk about my kids because I don’t deserve anything more than what I’m getting now.”
Second question: How has music enhanced your parenting of these three young adult men? Will they be embodiments of what your heart carries – like a big tent to help anyone in crises?
Martin’s response: “Maybe because they were there at certain songs during my 40 years. They may not have seen what all of you saw during that time but I was the father that I was back then.”
“Let’s say the first albums, I was present. I was there all the time. We did things together. We slept in one bed together. Their only memories of their mother and me, that’s the first ten albums.”
“The second ten albums, the different songs that I wrote, and now you start seeing it in my lyrics that I am going through something, songs like “What’s on the Other Side.’ I’m wondering what is it like to not be me?”
“Songs like ‘Chasing Time’ – these are songs you may not have heard before. But that’s where I was starting to go as a composer because I was going through something. I struggled with my fame, struggled with Pops and her fame. Fame and fame don’t’ mix, just so you know”
“Two fames don’t make a right. In the case of Santino, maybe in the next 10 and onward, you start seeing these songs of release, of happiness. This is the man I want to be. I’m happy with this man I’m in kind of songs.”
Then he shared the three lessons he learned in 40 years, with those of us, the media folks in attendance: Never forget where you came from; Never forget the people who helped you and Remember the moment: There should be more than a Martin Nievera, just a Nievera to be remembered, makes you a great performer.”
Even the Concert King has his vulnerabilities. He shared his “lack of presence” in his treasured children’s milestones. It had him teary-eyed at the August press conference in Glendale, that this writer promptly said: “but you are doing that now,” reassuring him that while his art took away from his personal life, his music keeps legions alive, soulfully vibrant, and warm hearted.
Martin also supports philanthropies, “I lend myself to charities. Last June 25, I performed and raised Php 3,700,000 to make a difference in 70 children’s lives with heart disease. One I met was a young girl who told me, “My grandma loved you and told me before she died.”
Many were singing with him in the audience as he sang his favorite song, “Say That You Love Me,” which he said that even his mom wrote a chorus for, in Spanish.
At Disney Hall last August 29, 2022, fans would shout out their love for Martin, and he would say out loud, pausing to exclaim: “I love you too.”
Quite memorable for me was when he sang Kahit Isang Saglit, dedicated to each of his three sons, accompanied by a video of Robin, Ram and Santino.
When he sang ‘You are To me’, the three sons were called in to share the stage. The highlight of that evening was seeing Santino on the drums, perfect pitch, enjoying himself to the tune of ‘Sweet Child of Mine.’
When Bones was played by Robin, we knew that the torch had been passed on from Martin to his three sons, surnamed Nievera.
With these songs, and aptly closing the performance with ‘Say that You love me’, ‘Forever,’ and ‘Wonderful World,’ the fans just knew we needed to see more of Martin Nievera and his three gifted sons.
During an ASAP event in Las Vegas, before a full capacity audience on November 5, 2022, many of his fans shouted loudly, “We love you, Martin.”
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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 12 years. She also contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico and over 22 national parks in the U.S., in her pursuit of love for nature and the arts.
