Born to a Spanish father and a Spanish-Filipina mother during the first half of the 20th century, Luis Eduardo Aute was an accomplished painter, film director, singer and composer. Though a true renaissance man in all art forms, his true calling was music, having first written for other artists and later performing his own songs. With hits in many Spanish speaking countries around the world, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most accomplished Spanish artists of his time.
Though he is of Spanish birth, Aute was actually born in Manila, having lived in the city for most of his childhood. As such, Aute had always felt a strong connection to the Philippines, which bled into his work. In honor of his legacy, Instituto Cervantes, in partnership with the Embassy of Spain will be releasing “Con tu latido: Filipinas canta a Aute. A Tribute” this September 13 in celebration of his 79th birth anniversary.
A 50-minute documentary slash filmed concert, the audiovisual will feature Filipino singers such as Bituin Escalante, Mark Anthony Carpio, Toma Cayabyab of the Ateneo Chamber Singers, Julius Sinoy, Sheila Ferrer and Ella Castro covering songs from Aute’s vast discography.
Bituin Escalante will render one of Aute’s first hits, Rosas en el mar, which was released in 1966.
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.
James Barbecho will be covering Siento que te estoy perdiendo, a song made popular by Aute in 1981.
Soprano Sheila Ferrer will cover Slowly, a popular theme released by Aute in 1992 while Ella Castro, a graduate of BM-Music Education from University of the Philippines-Diliman, will render her version of Aute’s Sin tu latido.
The concert will be completed by Spanish singer Rosa León’s rendition of
Mirándonos los dos, a song released by Aute in 1980.
“He [Aute] never came back, but the Philippines was always in his heart,” said Director Javier Galvan of the Instituo Cervantes of the Philippines, “and we presume it was also in his mind because his compositions have some link with the Philippines somehow. We were not able to bring him back to Manila when he was alive, so we decided to organize this concert of Filipino singers singing the songs of Aute.”
In addition to the performances, the 50-minute documentary will also include clips of Aute himself talking about his fond memories of Manila during his youth in fluent Tagalog. Filmed in the picturesque walled city of Intramuros, Director Galvan calls this event a “great opportunity” that will showcase this unique merge of cultures, showcasing the historic sites of the city as well as the fondness Aute held for the land he was born in.
“Filming in the urbanscape so particular to Intramuros, I think, will be good publicity for the City of Manila and Intramuros in terms of tourism,” he said.
The audiovisual celebration will be streamed on Instituto Cervantes’ official YouTube channel and is currently in talks with TV networks in both Spain and in the Philippines for broadcast. In this way, Aute’s music will be able to reach a new generation and evoke the same “familiarity” he felt for the country.
“The singers have told me they found familiarity in his work, and even Aute himself. When he was asked what the Philippines is for him, he said; ‘For me, it is something familiar’ so that familiarity is on both sides,” Galvan concluded.
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. 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.
Image credits: Dolores Ochoa/AP