Minda D. Azarcon: Her Musical Talent Was Off the Scale
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Minda Azarcon (Photo by Marc Stayman)
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to many Filipino luminaries, and among those that shone the brightest was Minda D. Azarcon. She immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s and eventually settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. She guided several generations of Filipino Americans in realizing their musical aspirations through her patient tutelage and comprehensive instruction.
She was a music institution, a fixture in the community, one never to be taken for granted. Minda Azarcon had an aura about her that filled the room the moment she entered, her regal beauty rivaled only by her musical prowess. In the performance world, this quality is more commonly known as “stage presence.” Although never one to consciously draw attention to herself and her accomplishments, her influence resonated and touched multiple and diverse lives. She was known very fondly by her students simply as “Tita Minda.”
But what many do not know is the wealth of musical legacy she had left behind in her native country, the Philippines. Graduating with distinction at the Music Conservatory of the University of the Philippines, she was the first ever to be conferred with a master’s degree in Music. An illustrious career followed, with musical performances in both local and international scenes. A consummate musician, she was not defined by just one form of discipline. She majored in both piano and classical voice, but was just as accomplished in music composition, as well as choral and orchestral conducting. She was blessed with pitch-perfect hearing and could identify a bad note a mile away. As her aspiring voice students would know, evading this gift of hers was futile. You would also understand how a volley of pitch practices and vocalizations would follow to correct your error. Woe to the student who struggled to get it right because Tita Minda would never let go until you nailed that note!
Tita Minda had this uncommon and innate ability for extemporaneous music transposition, defined as “the process of moving a collection of notes or pitches up or down in pitch by a constant interval,” or put more simply, changing the key of the song on the spur of the moment. For a singer, having an accompanying pianist with this skill is a godsend, especially in spontaneous, unrehearsed performances. Tita Minda’s musical pedagogy strengthened the foundation of many a famous performer and/or stage and film celebrity in the Philippines. Some of these celebrities would be considered household names in the country, such as Celeste Legaspi, Pinky de Leon, Christopher de Leon, Eva Eugenio, Dulce, and even Nora Aunor.
Azarcon, with famous Filipina singer/celebrity Kuh Ledesma and the author (Photo courtesy of Janine B. Castillo)
At Minda Azarcon’s 75th Birthday Concert/Celebration with tenor Sennen Bagos (r) (Photo courtesy of Janine B. Castillo)
The filmmaking, a highly collaborative art form, beckoned Tita Minda. As talent always attracts other talent, and exceptional talents always attract other exceptional talents, film legends like directors Lino Brocka and Mario O’Hara, recognized Minda Azarcon’s musical acumen. They engaged her expertise in helping make what are now considered Filipino film classics. She was music director and composer of musical scores and movie themes for hard-hitting classics like “Tinimbang Ka Nguni’t Kulang,” “Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos,” “Tatlo, Dalawa, Isa,” and the Cannes Film Festival 1978 awardee, “Insiang,” which catapulted the actress Hilda Koronel to super stardom. Minda Azarcon’s haunting and poignant style beautifully underscored the equally haunting stories of Philippine social realities unflinchingly portrayed in these films. Sadly, the younger generation of students are most likely unaware of her significant contributions to Filipino film. One can only hope that these classics have been lovingly restored and preserved for future generations to enjoy and appreciate.
Along with her numerous awards and recognitions, Tita Minda left behind a treasure trove of musical compositions that are largely undiscovered. Often composed with lyrics in her native tongue, Filipino, the handwritten music sheets sit patiently in her home, waiting for the fortunate person to one day bring them to life for the world to hear. Her musical style is very distinct, her musicianship undeniable, and her melodies are often heart-wrenching. Her work lends itself profoundly to moving and beautiful love stories on film, adding emotional depth that only music can provide.
Like a musical composition, we go through the patterns of life, scaling through the undulating notes, discovering harmony, and following various rhythms in our own inimitable style. Tita Minda’s life narrative followed the same complex path. Not unlike other female artists who doggedly pursue their craft while balancing motherhood and marriage, she had to make difficult choices in the face of curve balls that came at the most unexpected times.
Compromise and unrealized potential are a constant in a woman’s reality, and Tita Minda was no exception. Consequently, her music career did not always take center stage. Opportunities such as scholarships abroad, demanding lead roles, and significant performances, were put on hold or even missed, for the sake of other equally important matters, like her marriage and children. Tita Minda, however, had no regrets, and with a deft sleight of hand lived her life with grace even in the face of heartaches, hurts, and other disappointments. She gave of herself completely and loved unconditionally.
“Tita Minda’s musical pedagogy strengthened the foundation of many a famous performer and/or stage and film celebrity in the Philippines. Some of these celebrities would be considered household names in the country, such as Celeste Legaspi, Pinky de Leon, Christopher de Leon, Eva Eugenio, Dulce, and even Nora Aunor.”
Tita Minda had a wholeness of spirit. There was almost no difference between the values and the dedication she applied to her music and the way she lived, the words she uttered, the people she loved, the people she allowed in her life, her health regimen, and her daily routine. She lived her art. And as an artist, she guarded her integrity. At one point, she was asked if musical ability was a product of genetics, or a product of the environment. She believed it was both. The genetic predisposition for music, and an environment that supports and reinforces the cultivation of the art, would almost certainly produce individuals with highly developed musical sensibilities. Indeed, our Bay Area environment was gifted with her great contribution to the nurturing of music especially among the youth. This author’s sons were among those who directly benefited from the well-rounded music education Tita Minda gave them while they were growing up. As young men with highly developed piano and vocal skills, they both live lives blessed with the virtues of a solid music education, whose value cannot be understated.
The Azarcon Family: (l-r) Melissa, Arlene, Minda, Max III, Cecile, Max, Jr.
The Bay Area and its Filipino American community lost a bright light in its midst. True to her nature, Tita Minda left this world without fanfare, without noise, peacefully and gracefully slipping away one bright November morning barely a few weeks shy of her 85th birthday. As she gasped her final breath, surrounded by her loved ones in the cozy warmth of her home, a deep feeling beyond personal loss settled in, a profound sadness at knowing that one would no longer experience her gift. Yet, that morning, the roses in Tita Minda’s backyard bloomed in a beautiful riot of color, oblivious to human suffering, almost in defiance of it. The message came very clear. Tita Minda will always be in our hearts, her legacy quietly living on, the enchantment of her music forever blooming in defiance of human mortality.
Janine B. Castillo, a Fine Art graduate of University of the Philippines (BFA), and the Academy of Art in San Francisco (MFA), is an exhibiting visual artist based in the SF Bay Area. She also dabbles in free lance writing as well as classical singing.
