Ruben Tagalog (October 17, 1922 – March 5, 1985) was a Filipino

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, famous for his works in the

kundiman Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino ballads, predominantly with romantic themes. The lyrics of the kundiman are written in Tagalog. The melody is characterized by a smooth, flowing and gentle rhythm with dramatic intervals. Kundima ...

style. He was also one of the founders of the singing group

Mabuhay Singers The Mabuhay Singers were a group of singers from the Philippines that was formed in 1958. Some members went on to become soloists including Cely Bautista, Raye Lucero, Naning Alba, and the late Rene Evangelista, among many others. The group wa ...

. He is known as the "Father of Kundiman". He was a member of the US Army during the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas''; ) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan, Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during Wo ...

Later career

He first caught the attention of radio listeners in the 1940s when he hosted his own radio program, ''Harana ni Ruben Tagalog''. His baritone voice filled his songs "Ramona", "O Ilaw", "Sayang", "Azucena", and "Nasaan Ka Ngayon" with emotion. He revived ''danza''s and ''balitaw''s like "Nahan Kaya Ikaw", "Bakit Ka Lumuluha", "Barong Tagalog", "Dalagang Pilipina", and "Caprichosa". He was the first artist to record "

Bayan Ko "Bayan Ko" (usually translated as "My Country"; ) is a Filipino patriotic song. It was written in Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish by the Philippine Revolution, revolutionary general José Alejandrino in light of the Philippine–Ame ...

" and "

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 ...

". Tagalog is also known for '' harana'' or serenade songs such as "Dungawin Mo, Hirang" and "Kay Lungkot Nitong Hatinggabi". In spite of his last name being "Tagalog", he was born in the city of

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

in the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...

and thus was a speaker of Hiligaynon or Ilonggo. He released at least two albums in the Cebuano language: ''Ruben Tagalog Sings Visayan Songs'' and a duet album with Cebuana singer Nora Hermosa called ''Duet in Visayan''. In the early 1950s, he became the first to popularise the Tagalog version of the 1933 Visayan Christmas carol "

Kasadya Ning Taknaa ''Kasadya Ning Taknaa'' (, ) is a Cebuano Christmas carol composed in 1933 by Vicente Rubi with lyrics by Mariano Vestil. Its famous counterpart is ''Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit This article lists Christmas carols and songs sung by the Filipinos durin ...

" as "Ang Pasko ay Sumapit". The Tagalog lyrics were written by

Levi Celerio 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 for Music and Literature in 1997. He is also know ...

. He is also known for performin
"Panahon 'tang Nagdaan"
a kundiman composed by Ambrosio del Rosario.

Death

He died on March 5, 1985, in Orange County, California. He is laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial in California.

Legacy

After his death, he came to be known as the Philippines' "Father of Kundiman" or ''Hari ng Kundiman'' (King of Kundiman) and the "King of

Ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

". His posthumous songs were featured on '' Yesterday'' and '' Remember When'' on

DZMM DZMM (630 AM) Radyo Patrol is a radio station owned by Philippine Collective Media Corporation and operated conjointly with ABS-CBN Corporation under Media Serbisyo Production Corporation. The station's studios is located at the ABS-CBN Broad ...

every Sunday, and also featured on ''Moonlight Serenade'' on weekday mornings on DZMM. The DWIZ882 radio show ''Bella Filipina'' (heard every Sunday evening) honored Ruben Tagalog's centennial for the entire month of October 2022, and continues to air his recordings of ''balitaw''s, ''danza''s and novelties.

Filmography

Film

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tagalog, Ruben 1922 births 1985 deaths Filipino male musicians Male actors from Iloilo 20th-century Filipino male actors 20th-century Filipino male singers Visayan people Filipino male film actors