How the MUSIC started…

There is one question that always pops up - during ordinary conversations and interviews…When did you start singing? Lourdes usually jokingly gives them the "I started singing before I even learned to talk or walk" cliche but perhaps this will answer a lot of other questions regarding her music career. 

Her earliest memory about singing is way back in grade school while growing up in Mankayan, Benguet. In Grade 3, she started joining amateur singing contests which were a regular part of the town's annual fiesta activities. She would sing songs taught by her teachers, most memorable of which was one song from the movie "The singing Nun" entitled "IT'S A MIRACLE." This was her first winning piece. She only placed second though because she mistakenly sang the third stanza ahead of the second stanza and realizing this, she paused for a fraction of a second, then went back to the second stanza and finished the song as if nothing happened. She remembers clutching the envelope which contained her cash prize (How much was it? She can't remember anymore) and the euphoria that went with her successful initial attempt to sing on stage to a large audience. She also clearly remembers running up to where her grandpa Claro (Daddy Lucien's father) was seated and excitedly giving him the envelope. The old man beamed with pride and told her to keep it or use it to buy something for herself.

Lourdes became a regular participant in these singing contests after that memorable event, earning more prizes as she got more comfortable with the microphone, with the stage, and with the audience. In school, as expected, she earned the reputation as "a good singer", a description then used for persons who had remarkable singing voices. She became the school's regular soloist and school programs wouldn't be complete without her vocal solo part. She also represented her school in out-of-town singing contests, either on her own or teaming up with other equally-talented classmates.

She also made some money out of her singing at an early age. In the family-owned restaurant, she would be asked by regular patrons to render songs and she would entertain them with her repertoire of western, pop and children's ditties. The delighted customers would give her money for her efforts. Her dad's American bosses who ran the Lepanto Mines then were her biggest fans and most generous tippers.

In high school, Lourdes' monicker changed to "The Golden Voice". Perhaps this was due to the similarity of her vocal quality with Nora Aunor who was at the peak of her popularity then. Both had alto voices. She continued singing in school programs and affairs but this time the emcee would say, "now let us listen to the golden voice of Lourdes." It was also in high school that she started getting interested in folk songs, influenced by the great music of John Denver, Elton John, Neil Young, and pop greats like the Carpenters, Maureen McGovern, Michael Jackson, and many more. John Denver's songs also inspired her to learn playing the guitar.

Then to the big city for college… for the first time she saw and heard live folksingers sing and pick their guitars on stage - and she thought… "I can do that, too."

She bought her first guitar, a Yamaha nylon-stringed classic guitar, with her scholarship allowance. She had to learn the chords on her own, with the aid of chordbooks. there were no local music schools then. Some guitar-picking friends, like Vicky,  were helpful, too, but she still considers herself as "self-taught."  

Next : How a hobby and pastime became a profession and a full-time job.

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Lourdes Authorized Biographer