Celerio example essay topic

378 words
LEVI Celerio, National Artist in Music and Literature, passed away yesterday afternoon at the Delgado Memorial Hospital in Quezon City due to cardiac arrest and multiple organ failure just 28 days from his 92nd birthday. Acknowledged as the dean of Filipino lyricists, Celerio was known for writing the words to classic songs that tugged at the Filipino heartstrings and resonated in the collective memory. His works include such instantly recognizable hits as "Ang Pipit,"Ang Pasko ay Suma pit,"Kapaa Puso'y Sinugatan,"San Ka Man Naroroon,"Dahl sa Isang Bulaklak,"Sa Ugly ng Duy an", and "Waray-Waray". Accounts vary, but some estimate his works at anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 songs. The discrepancy is mostly due to the fact that he was writing even before the concept of copyrighting became popular. He was an incredibly prolific songwriter, and was known to complete a song within 20 minutes.

He also earned much popular acclaim for his spot in the Guinness Book of World Records, which listed him as the only man who could play music on a leaf. The Maestro was born in Ton do on April 30, 1910. He started taking violin lessons at age 11, finished two semesters of a violin course at the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music, was recommended for a scholarship at the Academy of Music of Manila, and became the youngest member of the Manila Symphony Orchestra. However, a fall from a tree, which resulted in a broken wrist, ended his dreams of becoming a violinist. He got his first break in the mid-1930's when he was asked to write the theme song of Filip pine Films' Dalagang Buk id, which starred Rogelio de la Rosa and Rosa del Rosario. A great number of his most memorable songs were written for the movies, which earned him the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) and the Filipino Academy for Movie Arts and Sciences.

He was conferred a doctorate in humanities, honor is causa, by the University of the Philippines in 1991. Other awards include citations from the Popular Music Foundation of the Philippines, Gawad CCP Para sa Sining, and Natatanging Gawad Urban from the Manu nuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino.