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By Camille Bersola, Special to The Manila
Times
Growing up in a small town of Tuguegarao City,
the singing Cercado Sisters have gone a long way by winning the
Worldstar, Pop Category, Junior Division of the World Championship
of the Performing Arts (Wcopa) in Hollywood, California, in 2006.
But success did not happened overnight for the
pop-singing quartet. Irene, Almira, Mylene and Selina can still
recall the hardships they went through before coming to Manila.
“We even had to sing in a cock derby just to raise money for their
bus fare.
“When I heard about FamJam [a singing
competition in 2006 on QTV], I told myself that this may be the
opportunity for my children to show what they’ve got,” their
mother Linda shares. Having not enough money, she was also the one
who made their own costumes and outfits for their audition.
They also had a taste of spicy criticisms from
the people around them before making their way to stardom. The
17-year-old Irene could still remember, “During our audition for
FamJam, we were one of the youngest among the other hopefuls. There
was one woman who told us ‘Pinabili lang ba kayo ng suka ng nanay
niyo sa tindahan?’”
The Cercados did not make it to the finals of
the talent contest. But this rather opened their doors for more
opportunities. The national director of Wcopa for the Philippine
delegation, Yda Henares, invited the girls together with a number of
local artists. But the girls outsang everyone on the competition
with their own renditions of the Smokey Mountain—original “Paraiso,”
Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” and “Anak” by
Freddie Aguilar.
What makes them distinct from the other young
pop groups is their perfect blending of their heart-felt angelic
voices that silence the crowd. Even the big stars in the music
industry were impressed by their exceptional talent.
Nineteen-year-old Almira says, “We were so happy when we were
introduced to Lani Misalucha. She hugged us and she was teary-eyed
when she heard us sing. She said that we reminded her of her
beginnings because she also started singing with her sisters.”
A few days after bagging the Wcopa award, the
girls had the chance to watch Celine Dion’s concert in Las Vegas
where Lani Misalucha performed for the opening act. This is how the
girls met the Filipino singing diva for the first time.
The sisters also sang for the opening acts of
the Air Supply concert in Subic and a number of Sarah Geronimo’s
concerts. But they are also greatly appreciated by the people from
the higher echelons of the society. In 2007, the Cercado Sisters
were invited to perform for a charity event in the Monaco Film
Festival for the Pentium Fund Foundation. “It was originally Lani
Misalucha who was invited to perform [for the Monaco fund raising
event]. But the show organizers was impressed when they saw the
performance of the Cercado Sisters in a fashion show in Manila
Hotel,” explains Marie Gutierrez, the group’s manager. She adds,
“There was one guy who gave a 100,000 Euros check-donation. The
charity show became really successful compared to the previous
year.”
Although they are greatly appreciated by the
high society, Gutierrez said that they also make a strong impact to
the masses. “They are a symbol of hope and a strong family unit.
They become an inspiration to a lot of dreamers in this country.”
Despite reaching the success that they never
thought they would have done before, the sisters still admit that
they still have a lot of dreams. “We want to make a name in the
international music scene and bring more pride for our country. We
also want to be somewhat like Destiny’s Child of the
Philippines,” said the 14-year-old Mylene.
The girls are currently busy with their
upcoming Viva Mall Invasion tour that starts on August 10. Fans can
also catch them in their homecoming concert in Tuguegarao City on
August 21 and their campus tour in August. They also have a
self-titled debut album released by Viva Records, which includes
remade local tracks, such as Smokey Mountain’s “Paraiso” and
“He Loves Me” by the 1990s girl groups Vanna Vanna. It may have
been another rags-to-fame story but the Cercado girls still keep
their feet on the ground and live a modest life. They remain an
inspiration to many hopefuls as their powerful and soulful melodies
are just enough to spread the message of love and hope.
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