MANILA, PHILIPPINES — On November 18, Instituto Cervantes and the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines will pay tribute to the Manila-born artist and musician Luis Eduardo Aute, with an online concert in which several Filipino singers will cover select iconic songs by Aute. The event, Con tu latido: Filipinas canta a Aute. A Tribute, will be streamed at 7pm on the Instituto Cervantes Youtube channel.
A reputed artist and popular musician in Spain in the latter part of the 20th century, Luis Eduardo Aute was born in Manila on 13 September 1943. His father, a Catalan working for Tabacalera since 1919, married a Spanish Filipina. In his childhood, Aute studied at the De La Salle School, where he learned English and Tagalog. At an early age, he showed unusual ability as a painter and sketcher.
At the age of eight, he made his first trip to Spain, and in 1954, his family had eventually settled there. Living in Madrid, Aute initially planned to be an architect but left the university almost immediately to pursue a variety of career paths —art, film, and music. By the 1970s, he was creating soundtracks for films directed by Jaime Chávarri, Luis García Berlanga, Fernando Fernán-Gómez, Angelino Fons, Fernando Méndez, among others. The 1970s also saw the consolidation of Aute as a singer, with hits like Las cuatro y diez, or Al alba. His successful career saw the following decades with other chart-toppers like Pasaba por aquí, Sin tu latido, La belleza, and Slowly.
A multi-talented creator, Aute passed away in September 2020, leaving behind a vast collection of works in several fields, in literature, music, cinema, and painting. Now, seven Filipino singers are gathering to pay tribute to his musical legacy by covering some of his most iconic songs in Spanish.
Popular singer-actress Bituin Escalante will render one of the first Aute’s hits, Rosas en el mar, released in 1966.
Mark Anthony Carpio, choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, will perform La belleza.
Toma Cayabyab, a member of the Ateneo Chamber Singers and the Villancico Vocal Ensemble, and leader of his own jazz sextet, Debonair District, will sing another famous composition by Aute, Libertad.
Julius Sinoy, who was a Tenor for the University of the Philippines Concert Chorus (UPCC) from 2013 to 2016, will offer his rendition of Aute’s piece Dos o tres segundos de ternura.
Fascinated by music at an early age, James Barbecho joined a relatively small church choir at 11 years old. Since then, his passion for music only grew and he has been performing everywhere, from cafés to college events. He will be covering Siento que te estoy perdiendo, a song made popular by Aute in 1981.
Sheila Ferrer is a Filipino soprano who has performed as a soloist in both local and international productions. She performed the role of Adina (L’elisir d’Amore), and Serpina (La Serva Padrona). Sheila will cover Slowly, a popular theme released by Aute in 1992.
Finally, Ella Castro, a graduate of BM-Music Education from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, will render her version of Aute’s Sin tu latido. Ella is a composer, singer, conductor, and actress who is currently taking her Masters of Music at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.
The concert will be completed by Spanish singer Rosa León’s rendition of Mirándonos los dos, a song released by Aute in 1980.
The concert Con tu latido. Filipinas canta a Aute is organized by Instituto Cervantes de Manila, in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines and Intramuros Administration. Admission is free. For further information about the event, you may visit the website of Instituto Cervantes at https://manila.cervantes.es or Facebook page at www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila
