Fe de los Reyes returns to the ‘karnabal’
At the height of her solo career in the 80s, singer and comedienne Fe delos Reyes gave it all up for, well, the American dream.
It was a shared aspiration among those belonging to a certain generation.
As the 56-year-old, still-smokin’ Fe said simply, “I wanted to start a family.”
TNT
It wasn’t easy. She flew to the US in 1994 and when her visa lapsed, she chose to stay on.
As a well-loved performer in the Philippines, happy to be in the spotlight, she turned TNT (“tago ng tago” or an illegal alien).
It took two years to sort out her status.
Letting go
But Fe, now in town for the reunion concert October 3 of Music & Magic, the 80s show band she and fellow singers Kuh Ledesma and Angeli Pangilinan-Valenciano were a part of, was no stranger to letting go.
In 1996, she said goodbye to Music & Magic, the group she had been with for 7 years—and possibly triggering its demise.
“Si Kuh umalis (after one year), tuloy pa rin. Our musical director Toto Gentica umalis, pinalitan naming. Si Angeli (Pangilinan, Gary V’s) umalis, pinalitan ni Vicky,” she recalled.
Better things
But after Fe left, the group disbanded for good.
“It was tough,” she said of saying goodbye to a group of people that had become her family. “It was like saying goodbye to your asawa or your boyfriend.”
She told her show band buddies: “Good things must end for better things to begin.”
In full flower
It wasn’t just a platitude, either.
Fe saw her career flourish when she went solo, sought after for her versatility as a singer, comedian, dancer, actress and host.
The rest of the band saw theirs take off too down the many musical paths they took.
Life in America
In the States, Fe went about raising the family she dreamed of: two daughters, now aged 21 and 16 with husband Mario Mendoza, as well helping her husband raise his eldest daughter with his first wife.
She also managed to track down a long-long sister, two years her junior and now living in New York, whom she only learned about in 1990.
And she never stopped performing, often sharing the stage with Pinoy musicians on tour in the US, and doing shows on her own. She also starred in the musical “Amerikana,” which was about the pursuit of the American dream.
Fe’s dream
And did hers come true?
“Yes, absolutely! American citizen na rin ako, nahanap ko ang kapatid ko and we are very, very happy in the States,” said Fe, now based in San Francisco, California.
Plus, she feels blessed that she never gave up showbiz. “’Pag pinanganak sa karnabal, babalik at babalik ka sa karnabal.”
Trending Music & Magic The Reunion , a joint production of Viva Live and Artist House, happens on October 3, 8 p.m.at PICC Plenary Hall. Tickets priced at P4500, 3000, 2000 and 1000.
RELATED: Kuh:how to be a diva
