Singer and entrepreneur Claire dela Fuente, best known as the “Karen Carpenter of the Philippines” and “Asia’s Sweetest Voice” passed away March 30, Tuesday morning due to cardiac arrest. She was 63.
In a radio interview following her passing, son Gregorio “Gigo” de Guzman said he and his mother both tested positive for Covid-19. De Guzman said Dela Fuente heeded her doctor’s advice to check-in at the hospital for monitoring even though she initially did not feel sick. He added that she was able to talk to him to ask for food but did not reveal her condition.
By Tuesday morning around 7am, De Guzman was informed that Dela Fuente, who was also suffering from several ailments including hypertension and diabetes, had died in her sleep.
Blessed with a silky smooth lower register reminiscent of the late, great American singer Karen Carpenter of the hitmaking duo, The Carpenters, Dela Fuente first shot to prominence during the mid-70s with a string of hits that included her debut single, “Sayang” and the equally iconic ballads “Nakaw na Pag-Ibig” and Minsan-Minsan.” During this period, she was also the voice behind a popular jingle for Hope cigarettes written by legendary composer George Canseco.
In addition to being compared with Karen Carpenter, Claire was also given several other titles including “Asia’s Sweetest Voice,” “Queen of Tagalog Songs” and “Jukebox Queen,” a title she alternately shared with contemporaries and good friends Imelda Papin and Eva Eugenio, who she often performed together with, in recent years.
Following her hitmaking era, Dela Fuente got married, settled down to start a family and later re-invented herself as a successful and respected passenger bus operator. At one point, she was even elected as president of the Integrated Metro Bus Operators in Metro Manila even as she continued to occasionally perform.
While active in the public transportation industry, Dela Fuente also spearheaded a boycott of the Metro Manila Development Authority’s color-coding scheme. As a result of her high profile, she became the face of the industry even as she also found success in other fields, like skin care with The Skin Shop and the restaurant business with Gracielo’s and Claire de la Fuente Seafood and Grill.
But even though she was not as active as she used to be, Dela Fuente remained a sought after performer in the live circuit especially in a series of OPM nostalgia concerts co-headlined by Papin, Eugenio, Rico J. Puno, Hajji Alejandro, Nonoy Zuñiga, Rey Valera and Marco Sison.
Late in her career, Dela Fuente also achieved numerous milestones including a 2008 recording collaboration with Richard Carpenter who was impressed by her voice’s striking resemblance to his sister Karen and a 2010 Christmas duet with powerhouse singer Michael Bolton.
Early this year, Dela Fuente made headlines when her son, Gregorio de Guzman, was tagged by police investigators as one of the suspects in the death of flight attendant Christine Dacera. De Guzman was identified as one of Dacera’s 11 companions who were with her at the City Garden Grand Hotel in Makati when she was found unconscious in her hotel room bathtub on New Year’s Day. Dacera was declared dead on arrival when she was rushed to the Makati Medical Center.
Although Dacera was later reported to have died of natural causes, all of her 11 companions including De Guzman were still charged by the National Bureau of Investigation in connection with her death.
In the same radio interview following the passing of his mother, De Guzman added that he doesn’t know where his mother’s remains are and that relatives and close friends volunteered to handle Dela Fuente’s last rites.