Villar Records is a Filipino record label owned by Mareco, Inc. which also owns the Mabuhay Records label. It was launched in 1950 by the late Manuel P. Villar who was known as the "Father of Philippine Recording" for pioneering the recording of original Pilipino music or OPM. He was also the first president of the Record Industry Association of the Philippines (RIAP). Mareco, Inc. bought original compositions from various Filipino artists and commercially produced recordings of numerous folk songs, ''

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 ...

'', ''balitaw'' and other traditional music from different regions of the Philippines, keeping indigenous music alive in the 1950s and 1960s in the face of American and British imports. It also produced ethnic sounds of the

Ilocos The Ilocos Region (; ; ), designated as Region I, is an administrative region of the Philippines. Located in the northwestern section of Luzon, it is bordered by the Cordillera Administrative Region to the east, the Cagayan Valley to the northe ...

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

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 ...

Cordillera A cordillera is a chain or network of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly used in physical geogra ...

, Tausug and

Maranao The Maranao people ( Maranao: ''Bangsa'' ''Mëranaw''; Filipino: ''mga'' ''Maranaw''), also spelled Meranaw, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is a predominantly Muslim Filipino ethnic group native to the region around Lanao Lake in the island of Mi ...

tribes. All these indigenous music recordings were marketed under the labels Mabuhay Records and Villar Records. The company was first to produce a recording of the

Philippine National Anthem "" ('Chosen Land'), originally titled in Spanish as "" ('Philippine National March'), and also commonly and informally known by its incipit "" ('Beloved Country'), is the national anthem of the Philippines. Its music was composed in 1898 by Jul ...

. It has released prolific amounts of recordings from certain of its artists, to the point where it was noted internationally in ''Billboard''. Villar released 18 albums of organ music in a single year from artist Relly Coloma, who surpassed the record held by the

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 ...

. Coloma released 50 albums by early 1971, all on Villar."Villar Prepares Strong Push on Coloma Album"
''Billboard Magazine''. January 16, 1971. Retrieved from Google Books. p. 78. Mareco, Inc. is currently managed by Luis P. Villar from its offices in Tirad Pass, Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City, Philippines (the studios of radio station 105.1 Crossover — now as 105.1 Brigada News FM, which is owned by the Mareco Broadcasting Network, Inc. is also located here). The company's extensive collection of music recordings is globally distributed through Villar Records International from offices in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Philippines and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States.

Artists

Sylvia La Torre Sylvia Reyes La Torre-Perez de Tagle (June 4, 1933 – December 1, 2022) was a Filipino singer, actress, and radio star. Early life La Torre was born on June 4, 1933, to director Olive La Torre and actress Leonora Reyes. Career Singing La Tor ...

* Ruben Tagalog * Diomedes Maturan *

Bobby Gonzales Bobby Gonzales (born 15 February 1984) is a Malaysian footballer. He spent most of his career with Sabah and Sarawak where he played as a forward. He currently hold the all-time top scorer of Malaysia Premier League with 90 goals. Personal ...

* Ric Manrique Jr. * Leo Valdez *Pedro Concepcion *

Pilita Corrales Pilar Garrido Corrales (August 22, 1937 – April 12, 2025), better known as Pilita Corrales, was a Filipino singer, actress and comedian. She was known for her distinctive backbend when singing and was popularly referred to as the "Greatest s ...

*Sampaguita *

Nora Aunor Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (May 21, 1953 – April 16, 2025), known professionally as Nora Aunor (), was a Filipino actress, producer and singer. Known for her leading roles with patriotic, feminist and Political sociology, socio-political th ...

Hotdog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiling, boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter (F ...

*Relly Coloma *Roland Valentino *Carmelita Alburo *Flor Ocampo

References

External links

*
Affiliates of Villar Records
{{Authority control Philippine record labels Record labels established in 1950