Kuh Ledesma, Christian Bautista team up for concert

Councilor Roderick Paulate filed his Certificate of Candidacy last Thursday, October 11. He is running as Vice Mayor for Quezon City, teaming up with Chuck Mathay, who is running as Mayor in the 2019 midterm elections under the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino Party.

For now, it is Kuya Dick and Chuck who are running under the KDP party but they are open to accepting congressmen and councilors who would be willing to run alongside them.

“We are giving the voters of Quezon City the choice as to who they want to lead them,” said the three-termer council member.

His ardent wish is that he and councilor Gian Sotto, who is also running as vice mayor, will not be dragged into controversy.

“I am close to Tita Helen Gamboa (Gian’s mom) and it won’t look good if the two of us will be involved in intrigues. But I know that such eventuality is bound to happen because we belong to different parties,” said Kuya Dick.

He added that it would be best for the people to know of his capability and willingness to serve Quezon City in a bigger scale as vice mayor. “I am offering myself as a public servant. I just want to be of service to the people,” he added.

When asked what edge he has, if any, compared to the other candidates, Kuya Dick said it is the fact that he is already doing the job of the vice mayor in his capacity as President Pro-Tempore of the city council whenever the vice mayor is absent. It is also his duty to preside at the plenary during session in the absence of the vice mayor. He also has the power to sign to approve laws enacted by the city council.

Kuya Dick is now on his last term as councilor in the 2nd District of Quezon City. His decision to run as vice mayor is fueled by his desire to be of service to the citizens of QC. He is hoping for clean, peaceful and orderly elections.

For now, Kuya Dick is enjoying his stint appearing in the top-rating ABS-CBN program “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” where he plays a mayor. He is likewise open to doing an indie movie if there is a good script that will be offered to him.

*** When she was just starting out as a singer, Pop Diva Ms. Kuh Ledesma said Barbra Streisand became her mentor in voice placement. She didn’t have the money then to take voice lessons from a voice teacher.

“Cecile Azarcon became my voice teacher later on but my real voice teacher at first was Streisand because I would emulate and actually sing her songs. I would learn how to place my voice and I learned to sing hard songs. Streisand always sings hard songs,” said Kuh.

The Pop Diva had the chance to watch Barbra Streisand perform in a concert ten years ago when she was living in Los Angeles. She watched the concert together with her mom and both of them were mesmerized by Streisand’s voice and musicality. “It was an experience and I was glad that I went to see one of her shows,” said Kuh.

Kuh’s first album was an all-Tagalog album with compositions done by the revered George Canseco. “I didn’t know if I sounded like Barbra in some of may ‘hagod’ not because I didn’t want to sound like her. If I sounded that way, then it was probably because I was singing some of her songs. But my other songs like the ones done by Cecile Azarcon probably sounded like her siguro because my composers patterned my songs to her. Siguro ‘yun ang naisip nila na would sound good for me,” she recalled.

For his part, Christian started his career singing Josh Groban songs. “We didn’t want to compete with the biriteras because I am really a baritone. We found out that the songs of Josh Groban fit me because he has a lower register. As for the music of Streisand, my father used to play Barbra Streisand songs when I was young and that was how I was introduced to her music,” he said.

Christian also shared that he sang “You Raised Me Up” in an event and it inspired a lot of people. He tweeted this to Josh Groban who responded, “Thank you for singing ‘You Raised Me Up.’” Christian followed this up with another tweet, “Hey you want us do a song together?”

“No reply. Yun lang,” the singer related with a laugh.

As Solaire Hotel opens The Tent, they will feature Kuh Ledesma and balladeer Christian Bautista singing the hits of Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban and Michelle Legrand in a concert titled “Kuh Ledesma Christian Bautista Sing Streisand Groban Legrand” on Saturday, October 20. The concert is directed by Carlo Orosa.