My column piece for today is triggered by a Facebook post from Bea Jacinto, daughter of seasoned musician and noted businessman RJ Jacinto. She expressed a heartfelt message for her dad, including deserved praises like him being “the only retired man at 80 who works seven days a week” and that he taught her the “values of discipline and how to get back up even when you’re down.”
That one post led my pair of ears to RJ’s classic album Back From Exile, which digital platforms dated as a release from 1987, or a year after he returned home after spending, in Bea’s words, “days when we were exiled under Martial Law.”
The album actually yielded two certified classics, Muli and Hele-Hele, which I want to emphasize as being underrated tracks. These two songs need to be heard on classic OPM playlists and should be covered by Filipino show bands more. The arrangements for both are classy and carefully crafted, especially with their Latin rhythms, bright sound, and relaxed singing.
Muli boasts one of the most memorable opening lines from a Filipino-written song: “Sinasabi ko sa’yo na wala akong daramdamin.”
In a 2019 post, RJ wrote, “Muli was my first OPM composition in the mid-1970s when I was exiled in the USA. I wanted it to have a Latin flavor so it would have an upbeat pace.”
Hele-Hele, on the other hand, contains a tuneful chorus, with the verses flowing smoothly toward it. It’s the type of feel-good composition Barry Gibb would have written in English and performed with his brothers. While Muli is musically well-structured, Hele-Hele is lyrically pleasant.
I’ll give two thumbs up to bar acts who’d put these two in their lineup of classic, danceable OPM gems that usually include songs like VST & Company’s Awitin Mo, Isasayaw Ko, Hotdog’s Manila, and Boyfriends’ Sumayaw, Sumunod.
Another track of note from the same album, Philippines My Philippines, expresses patriotism with a sense of calmness and sincerity—certainly not the type you’d hear from a yelling politician promising heaven and earth during the election campaign period and then stealing taxpayers’ money upon victory.
“Together we will climb your highest mountain / Together we will swim your deep blue sea,” RJ sings on this track that mentions the Filipino country’s name twice in the title.
And while not on Back From Exile, his offering for the Christmas season, Pasko Na Naman, released some 30 years ago, is another nationalistic ditty with a delightful chorus anchored on an admirably tight arpeggio.
Let RJ himself assure you that despite all the negativity hounding Filipinos, “Darating ang ginhawa sa ating buhay / Magsumikap tayong mga Pilipino.”
“He’s pioneered many things, lifestyles, and throughout the years fought many battles,” RJ’s daughter added in her post.
A quick check reveals that Bea is an executive vice president at Free Air Broadcasting Network Corporation and went to the International School of Manila. She’s an accomplished, dignified-looking woman with commendable leadership qualities, which she essentially inherited from a man who knows how to run a good show—a charismatic frontman on and off stage. Let us recall his then band, RJ & The Riots, which produced a 1964 album considered a cultural milestone.
As most of us compatriots know, RJ Jacinto has gone beyond making music and performing, with some established brands serving as proof: RJ 100.3 FM, RJ Guitar Centers, Bistro RJ, Jacinto Color Steel, and more.
The man is a good model for every musician—or any artist, for that matter: make music and do business at the same time.
While there are those who dropped their art to focus on corporate work or whatever business they chose to venture into, and on the other side of the spectrum, there are, sadly, comrades who lived and died struggling as musicians, RJ is that fellow who kept his music alive while finding ways to expand his brand. It can be done, and RJ Jacinto is the man to show that it’s possible even in a developing country.
A common friend once told me that RJ is a great subject to write about for a biography. I agree. Rarely do you find a man who can turn himself into a household name both in music and business and who is a true patriot who had been in exile for a while.
