Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 – April 2, 2002) was a Filipino composer and lyricist who is credited with writing over 4,000 songs. Celerio was recognized as a
National Artist of the Philippines
The Order of National Artists of the Philippines ( Tagalog: ''Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas'') is an order bestowed by the President of the Philippines on Philippine nationals who have made significant contributions to ...
for Music and Literature in 1997.
He is also known for using the
leaf as a musical instrument which led to being recognized as the "only man who could play music using a leaf" by the
Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
.
This led to him making guest appearances on television shows recorded outside the Philippines.
Aside from being a musician, Celerio was also a poet and a film actor who appeared in various Philippine films of the 1950s and 1960s.
Early life and education
Levi Celerio was born on April 30, 1910 in
Tondo, Philippines to Cornelio Cruz and Juliana Celerio and was born to a poor family. Celerio's affinity for music was a result of influence from his mother who is a
harpist
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual string (music), strings running at an angle to its sound board (music), soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing ...
and a member of a church choir.
He was estranged from his father who was involved in real estate and jewelry business. His father was never married to his mother.
His mother encouraged him to be involved in music as a distraction from the squalid conditions of their neighborhood. Despite this, Celerio became a close acquaintance of gang leader
Asiong Salonga. At his mother's encouragement, Celerio started playing the violin at age 11 taking lessons from a member of the
Philippine Constabulary Band. Celerio later performed with the band as its member while simultaneously attending Torres High School.
It was during his high school years that Celerio learned about his father.
He also attended the
Academy of Music Manila Conservatory of Music to study violin for two semesters.
Then director Alexander Lippay recommended him for a scholarship at the Academy of Music in Manila.
He received a scholarship and became the youngest member of the
Manila Symphony Orchestra.
Career
Orchestral and poetry career
Levi Celerio was a member of the
Manila Symphony Orchestra but his stint with the musical troupe ended when he fell off a tree and broke his wrist. He temporarily worked as a comic illustrator and
later decided to shift to songwriting.
Prior to turning to songwriting, Celerio got involved in poetry and was a humorist in the orchestra of Premiere Productions. He held high regard to the poet,
Jose Corazon de Jesus. However, his poems failed to gain positive reception and his works were regarded as "lacking in style". Later in his career, he had ''Filipino Palindromes'' and ''Take It From Levi'', a collection of love poems he wrote published.
Songwriting
Levi Celerio is credited for writing more than 4,000 songs, many of which are dedicated to his wife and children.
He wrote Filipino folk,
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
, and
love songs
A love song is a song about love, falling in love, broken heart, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sa ...
and some of his songs were used in feature films.
Among
Original Pilipino Music
The music of the Philippines () includes the musical performance arts in the Philippines and the music of Filipinos composed in various local and international Music genre, genres and List of music genres and styles, styles. Philippine musical ...
(OPM) songs he composed are "Ikaw", "Kahit Konting Pagtingin", "Saan Ka Man Naroroon? (1968)". He wrote the lyrics of the Filipino lullaby "
Sa Ugoy ng Duyan". He also composed folk songs including "Ako ay May Singsing", "Ang Pipit", "Dungawin Mo Hirang", "Itik-Itik", "Pitong Gatang", and "Waray-Waray"
"Sa Ugoy ng Duyan", in particular, was a collaboration with
Lucio San Pedro, a fellow National Artist.
[
"]Ang Pasko ay Sumapit
This article lists Christmas carols and songs sung by the Filipinos during local Christmas season. As with much Filipino music, some of these songs have their origins in the Spanish and American colonial periods, with others written as part o ...
", officially titled "Maligayang Pasko at Masaganang Bagong Taon" is an example of a well-known Christmas song by Celerio, which was the Tagalog version from the original Cebuano song, '' Kasadya Ning Taknaa'', by Vicente Rubi
Vicente Daclan Rubi (January 23, 1903 – November 12, 1980) was a Filipinos, Filipino Visayans, Visayan musician from Cebu, Philippines, best known for composing the Philippine Christmas carol ''Kasadya Ning Taknaa, Kasadyaa Ning Taknaa'', whic ...
and Mariano Vestil. He also wrote the Christmas carols "Pasko Na Naman" and " Noche Buena" with composer Felipe Padilla de León in 1965.
Awards and recognition
National Artist for Music and Literature
On October 9, 1997, pursuant to Proclamation No. 1114, President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Fidel V. Ramos
Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...
proclaimed him a National Artist for Music and Literature.[National Commission for Culture and the Arts. (n.d.). ''National Artists of the Philippines''. Manila: National Commission for Culture and the Arts.] His citation read that his music "was a perfect embodiment of the heartfelt sentiments and valued traditions of the Filipino".
Guinness recognition
Celerio was known for using the leaf as a musical instrument which resulted in the Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
to recognize him as "the man who could play music with a leaf". According to his daughter, he first learned to play the leaf as an instrument during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. According to the account, he had to prove himself as a musician when he had an encounter with Japanese soldiers. He managed to pick a young leaf and play them a song and he was left unscathed.
Other honors and awards
The University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...
conferred him an honorary doctorate degree in Humanities in 1991. The Film Academy of the Philippines
Established in 1981, the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) is the Philippines' official counterpart of the United States' Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The FAP was founded through Executive Order 640-A issued by the Presiden ...
gave Celerio the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. He is also the recipient of the CCP Gawad Para Sa Sining in 1991, and the Gawad Urian Award
The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines presented since 1977 by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (), a Film criticism, film critic organization composed of critics, writers, and scholars. It is the regarded as the h ...
in 1993.
Television appearances
In the 1950s and the 1960s, Celerio was involved in various Philippine film as a character actor. He portrayed a variety of roles which ranged from a beggar, a rapist, a liquor thief and pickpocket, and a palm-reader.[ His Guinness recognition led to his guest appearance in '']The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
''[ He also guested in '']The Merv Griffin Show
''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series had runs on two different networks on NBC (1962–1963) and CBS (1969–1972) but is most known for its run on first-run syndication from 1965 to 1 ...
''[Levi Celerio](_blank)
IMDb and ''That's Incredible!
''That's Incredible!'' is an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. In the tradition of '' You Asked for It'', '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and '' Real People'', the show featured people ...
'' (1970s[).
]
Later years
In his old age, Celerio occasionally appeared in public, usually at a concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines
The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) established to preserve, develop and promote Arts in the Philippines, arts and Culture of the Philippines, culture in the Philippines.Presid ...
.[Filipino of the Century](_blank)
Czarina love Karl He also played violin at the Camelot Hotel bar and other small venues.
Death and legacy
Celerio died in the afternoon of April 2, 2002, at the Delgado Clinic in Kamuning, Quezon City
Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...
due to multiple organ dysfunction. He also had a prior episode of stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
.[ He was buried with full military honors at the ]Libingan ng mga Bayani
Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB, , ) is a national cemetery within Fort Bonifacio (formerly Fort William McKinley) in Barangay Western Bicutan, Taguig, Philippines.
First established in May 1947 as a fitting resting place for Philippine mili ...
.
On his 108th Birth Anniversary on April 30, 2018, Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
Philippines featured Celerio in a Google Doodle
Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...
.
Personal life
Levi Celerio was married to Lina Celerio and has 4 children. He had four failed relationships. Singer-comedian Veronica Palileo is a half-sister of his and director-actor Tony Cruz was a half-brother. He also played the piano as a past time but not in a professional capacity.
Filmography
In popular culture
*Portrayed by Ariel Rivera in an episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya
(, abbreviated as ''MMK'') is a Philippine television drama anthology series broadcast by ABS-CBN and Kapamilya Channel. Hosted by Charo Santos-Concio, its first iteration was aired from May 15, 1991 to December 10, 2022. It is the longest ...
titled Byulin.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Celerio, Levi
1910 births
2002 deaths
Burials at the Libingan ng mga Bayani
Filipino songwriters
Filipino folk composers
Filipino OPM composers
Musicians from Manila
People from Tondo, Manila
National Artists of the Philippines