Levi Celerio
Celerio also attended the Academy of Music Manila Conservatory of Music to study violin for two semesters, where then-director Alexander Lippay recommended him for a scholarship at the Academy of Music in Manila where Celerio would become the youngest member of the Manila Symphony Orchestra.
Early Life
Levi Celerio is one of many national artists of the Philippines in Literature and Music. Of course, as he is one of the many national artists of the Philippines, he is a very talented person. Born on April 30, 1910, in Tondo, Manila, to Cornelio Cruz and Juliana Celerio; he is a composer and songwriter. His affinity for music was a result of the influence of his mother, who was a harpist, and he, himself, was a member of a church choir.
Because he was estranged from his father who was involved in the real estate and jewelry business, his mother encouraged him to be more involved in music which would serve as a distraction from the squalid conditions of their neighborhood.
Levi Celerio became a close acquaintance of gang leader, the infamous Asiong Salonga nicknamed the Hitler of Tondo. At his mother's encouragement, Celerio started playing the violin at age 11, taking lessons from a member of the Philippine Constabulary Band. Later on, Celerio would go on to perform with the band as one of its members while simultaneously attending Torres High School.
Songwriting
Levi Celerio is credited to writing more than 4,000 songs over the course of his lifetime, many of which are dedicated to his wife and children. Celerio wrote a wide variety of songs such as Filipino folk songs, Christmas songs, and love songs.
Among Original Pilipino Music or OPM songs he composed are "Ikaw", "Kahit Konting Pagtingin", and "Saan Ka Man Naroroon?". He wrote the lyrics of the lullaby "Sa Ugoy ng Duyan"; and also composed folk songs including "Ako ay May Singsing", "Ang Pipit", "Dungawin Mo Hirang", "Itik-Itik", "Pitong Gatang", and "Waray-Waray".
No Filipino can miss the song or lyrics of Levi's Christmas songs such as Pasko na Naman, Ang Pasko ay Sumapit, and Misa de Gallo.
Awards and Recognition
National Artist for Music and Literature
On October 9, 1997, pursuant to Proclamation No. 1114, President Fidel V. Ramos proclaimed him a National Artist for Music and Literature. His citation read that his music was a perfect embodiment of the heartfelt sentiments and valued traditions of the Filipinos.
Guinness Recognition
Celerio is also known for using the leaf (yes the one that grows on the branches of trees) as a musical instrument which resulted in the Guinness Book of World Records recognizing him as "the man who could play music with a leaf". According to his daughter, he first learned to play the leaf as an instrument during World War 2, when he had to prove himself as a musician when he had an encounter with Japanese soldiers. He managed to pick a young leaf and play them a song, and he was left unscathed.
Other Honors and Awards
The University of the Philippines (UP) conferred him an honorary doctorate degree in Humanities (HUMSS) in 1991, while the Film Academy of the Philippines gave Celerio the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. Levi Celerio is also the recipient of the CCP Gawad Para Sa Sining in 1991, and the Gawad Urian Award in 1993.
Television Appearances
In the 1950s and 1960s, Celerio was involved in various Philippine films as a character actor. Celerio portrayed a variety of roles that ranged from a beggar, a rapist, a liquor thief, a pickpocket, and a palm-reader. His Guinness recognition let to his guest appearance in The Ed Sullivan Show, The Merv Griffin Show, and That's Incredible!.
Later Years
In his old and elderly age, Celerio occasionally appeared in public, usually in concerts at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and also played the violin at the Camelot Hotel Bar and other small venues.
He later died on April 2, 2002, at the age of 91 at the Delgado Clinic in Kamuning, Quezon City due to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome or MODS. Levi Celerio is presently buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani cemetery in Taguig.
