The stifling heat was almost unbearable at times but weirdly
familiar. The air-condition was out of commission at last Saturday’s
“Jukebox Queens” concert at Pickwick Theater in Park Ridge, Illinois
but the crowd heroically stayed on. It felt just like home.
As playbills-repurposed- as-fans swayed with the rhythm of the four
divas’ numbers I clicked away, sweating like a dog from the sidelines.
After months of hiatus, this was my first coverage and like
perspiration I was flowing.
The ladies had made a guest appearance at a function I covered the
night before and I had established some rapport with Leah Navarro,
initially because she spoke our dialect. She also struck me as an
intelligent, sincere human being. After doing this for a while, believe
me I know how to spot the real ones.
I caught up with her as she was coming out of the huge open
backstage door during a break. We started with light industry talk.
“Fans complained that it was almost impossible to find songs from the
Metro Pop Music Festivals (in the waning Marcosian years) and finally
they’re back.” I made a mental note to self to get a copy. Also, to
check out “wayang kulit” as I snapped the colorful Indonesian puppet
theater-like silhouettes on the curtain.

“No matter how many times you have sung a particular song, I
always make it a point to do my best each time for that somebody in the
audience who may be hearing it for the first time.” Her eyes glowed with
memories of past glories as we talked of how her music is an important
connection to the past to many in the audience. “A lot of them are not able to
travel home often and through my songs I hope to lessen their loneliness.”

Producer Bobby Milagrosa
Our short tête-à-tête covered such minutiae as her former
boyfriend (whose relatives incidentally lived next door to us back home) and
her misfortune of having bought a digital camera which turned out to be a
display item with dead battery.
A gaggle of young autograph-seekers approached us from
behind. Time to resume my role as a photojournalist and clicked away as Ms.
Navarro took time to meet and greet. To those who have counted off these
performers as “has beens”, here’s photographic proof otherwise. No shrieking
fans here though but another generation of those who appreciate the enduring artistry
of Leah Navarro.

The evening wore on without relief from the heat. I heard
the producer mumbling about refunds as I hurried to stage right in time to
shoot a few frames before Ms. Navarro’s turn. She was seated behind the
curtains, smiling calmly as she surveyed the night’s proceedings a noisy fan
blowing at her feet.
I wondered what was on her mind. Then just as I was getting
lost in my own private thoughts the stage manager came. Smiling in the semi darkness
towards my direction she got up and I did the same. Its show time!

ALL ACCESS: The Jukebox Queens Photo documentary by Armand B. Frasco
[Reprinted]
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