Xyrene Parsad-Valencia almost had everything a budding music artist could dream of. A third-placer in the GMA talent search Are You The Next Big Star?, Zyrene was under contract with Viva. She was doing a lot of shows while promoting her own record.
In 2010, she was tapped to sing the Philippine National Anthem at the Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito fight in Dallas, Texas. After the performance, she was commended by the National Historical Institute for singing “Lupang Hinirang” the proper way.
“I visited NHI to get pointers. I tried to sing the national anthem every morning so I can be more familiar with its tempo and lyrics. I also jogged every day to improve my breathing. I was cited by Congress for being the only one who sang it the right way,” she told Manila Standard in an interview.
Zyrene said Viva had a lot of plans for her career. After singing the National Anthem, she was supposed to have a concert at the Music Museum, she was supposed to embark on an album tour as well. But love took over with Zyrene leaving showbiz in favor of marriage. She married Nico Valencia, whose father was former governor of Oriental Mindoro.
“Nico was my first boyfriend and we’ve been together for three years before we got married. When I came back from Texas he proposed to me. Who would say no to the person you want to be with forever,” Zyrene said adding that she never regretted her decision.
The couple first met when Zyrene was assigned to interview Nico’s father, former Mindoro governor and congressman Rodolfo Valencia.
“We were on a Supercat to Mindoro when Nico’s dad told me I was pretty. Then, he said that he had a son and introduced Nico to me. We were two right people meeting at the right time. Nico was free and so was I. In fact, he’s my first and only boyfriend,” Zyrene narrated.
Zyrene, now 33, works as the wedding director. Nico, on the other hand, is running in mid-term elections under the partylist Juan Movement, whose advocacy is nationalism, patriotism, and family values.
They plan to start a family after the elections.
“Good things happen to people who patiently wait. We are waiting for the proper time to have a family,” she shared.
Meanwhile, Xyrene and celebrities Arnel Ignacio and Alex Gonzaga are among those who support the partylist group, whose other nominees include Jhun Llave and Mark Boado.
“I support Juan Movement because I believe in its causes. Sometimes, we go just go to a place and ask what we could do, what assistance people need. We work silently. And we thought we could engage more people by raising more awareness. We can encourage more people to support our causes if we bring this to the national level,” she said.
Among the priority bills, Juan Movement aims to pass if they get enough votes during the May 13 elections are lowering cinema admission fees for Filipino films to help revive the dying Philippine film industry and bills protecting Philippine history markers like the Bataan Death March markers and other heritage sites all over the country.