FARIDA grew up in a house full of music. The middle-child of Ilonggo musicians Gilopez and Corazon Kabayao, she recalls waking up during most mornings to the melodies of her mother’s piano or her father’s violin. It seemed almost inevitable that Farida would find her place in music and theatre. After all, the talent was in her blood.
“I don’t remember at what age I wanted to get into music because I felt that it had been a part of me since I was a child,” shares Farida. “But the pictures show that I was already prancing around on stage with my older sister, holding the smallest violin at age two.”
As a teenager, Farida discovered that, aside from music, she had another calling. “I was 15 when my passion for
started. It was after watching a rehearsal of a CCP musical theater production of Rizal’s ‘Noli Me Tangere’ that I knew I wanted to pursue theater and train hard,” shares Farida.
Since then, the stage has become her second home. She has performed with Repertory Philippines, taking on roles in classic plays Cinderella, Fiddler on the Roof and My Fair Lady, as well as joining numerous international and local performances with her family.
Her older sister Sicilienne and younger brother Gilberto are also talented violinists, both been playing the instrument since they were children. Together with their renowned parents, they make up the tour de force Kabayao Quintet.
“Performing as a child was never imposed on us by our parents. Instead, they made sure that my siblings and I had fun when we performed in concerts and never punished or scolded us when we made mistakes onstage,” said Farida.
The group has performed all over the world, their flair and gift in music recognized from here in the Philippines to the United States and back. People would assume that having maestros as parents, the three Kabayao children would have been roped into music whether they liked it or not. But, Farida shares, they have been nothing but welcoming and supportive of their children’s other endeavors.
“While our parents never imposed on us that we should take on the reigns as the next generation of professional musicians in the family, they only gave us one rule: ‘You may pursue whatever interest or career path you plan to take and we will support you all the way as long as you don’t neglect your violin,’” she shares. “I can say that my siblings and I have kept this pact to this day.”
Truly a family that plays together, stay together – “Performing with my family is always fun. Because we’re always apart most of the time, my brother is based in the US while I’ve been based in Manila, [through performances] our bond has grown stronger. We savor and enjoy the rare times we rehearse and perform together,” shares Farida.
Retelling a performance she will never forget, Farida says she knows that her family will always behind her through thick and thin. “I was seven years old when the family was invited to perform at the Philippine Consulate in Brunei. For my solo, I performed a short piece by Bach. But there was a part in the piece where I stumbled. I got so nervous that I stopped and burst into tears, right onstage!” recounts Farida. “To my surprise, they calmly told me that things do happen onstage, that musicians also make mistakes and that it can happen to any artist, even to the best artist in the world! They assured me that what mattered most was that I did my best.”
With all the talent and blessings the
Kabayao family has received, they’ve always found ways to give back. Founded in
1996, the Gilopez Kabayao Foundation, Inc. was established to promote and
continue the advocacies that Farida’s father started and still strongly
believes in now. The foundation has a four-fold thrust – Spiritual support for
Christian churches and its ministries; Educational scholarships for deserving
students, as well as the holding of various workshops; Cultural sponsorships
for concerts, exhibitions, workshops, and scholarships for music students; and
the collection and distribution of medical and hospital supplies to public
clinics and
hospitals.
For her own advocacies, Farida wishes to push for the promotion of arts as a tool for cultural, spiritual, social awareness, and development, especially here in her hometown Iloilo. Just a few years ago, Farida spearheaded the staging of the Palanca Award winning play “Juan Tamban” here in Iloilo, adapting it to a more local context and tapping an all Ilonggo cast and crew.
“The experience of having staged a play that brings about social awareness became more meaningful through the enthusiastic response of the students who watched the show. For some of our Ilonggo audience, it the first play they have ever watched, and the fact that they learned a lot from it were enough to affirm the idea that one does not necessarily have to be knowledgeable nor exposed to be able to enjoy art,” shares Farida.
But her journey doesn’t stop here; Farida still aims to encourage the growth of Iloilo’s music and art scene, so that it can rival other cultural destinations here in the country. This could be her own way of giving back too.
“It took me quite some time to fully grasp the significance of giving and sharing whatever you have to others – whether it be time, talent, encouragement, etc. Only then did I realize that in the giving and the sharing, one finds more meaning and purpose in living and moving forward,” shares Farida building a house full of music here in Iloilo, one note at a time./PN
