By Tracy Cabrera
AMONG her peers, she will be the country’s next national artist, and there’s no stopping Lea Salonga as she shines on the global stage, grabbing the honor and fame of becoming the first-ever homegrown Filipino artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
For Salonga, this marked another huge milestone in a career that began on a Manila stage and through the years helped open doors for Filipino performers around the world.
“Long before Hollywood, long before Broadway, there was Manila,” Lea enthused in recollection. She debuted at seven in a Philippine theater production of ‘The King and I’.
Lea’s ‘star’ refers to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, which features over 2,800 brass-and-terrazzo stars along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street.
In the ceremony that conferred the honor, Lea was joined by Filipino-American artists H.E.R. and Darren Criss, singer-actress Brandy (leftmost) and actress Ming-Na Wen. This was made possible through the efforts of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Manila International Film Festival.
Speaking in the event, Salonga shared: “I was a little girl in the Philippines who loved to sing and perform. I started working when I was very young and I certainly didn’t have some grand plan for how any of this was supposed to unfold.”
“This career has taken me to places I never imagined I would go, introduced me to some extraordinary people and allowed me to keep doing what I love,” she continued.
Lea acknowledged the many people who had helped her get to where she us now: “There’s something funny about a star like this because there’s only room for one name. Mine. But no career is ever the work of just one person. So if they made this star big enough, there would be a lot of other names on it.”
Her words expressed her deep gratitude to the people who believed in her and supported her all the way.
First among them was her family, recalling how her mother, Ligaya, used her own meager earnings to record her first album and brought copies to stores.
“Using her hard-earned money to record my first album, she loaded pressed vinyls into our family car and went door to door to stores back home selling copies.
“She was my manager for decades, my champion my whole life. None of this happens without her,” she narrated with the same candid smile she always flashed during her performances.
She also pictured her brother, Gerard, as her first duet partner, favorite accompanist and the finest musician she knew. She likewise paid tribute to her son, Nic, who had begun his own journey into acting and the entertainment industry.
“He is an inspiration, the bravest person I’ve ever met,” Lea described with pride.
There almost no end to Lea’s thankfulness to the people who had supported her both personally and professionally. These included her teachers, directors, composers, lyricists, fellow actors, musicians, crews and representatives, as well as the audiences who had followed her through different roles and projects.
“Some of you heard my voice coming out of Princess Jasmine (in the Disney film ‘Aladdin’) or Mulan before you had any idea who I was. And some of you have stayed with me through all of it. Thank you.”
Her reflections also turned to the opportunities that are available to Filipino and Asian artists today.
“When I began my career, I didn’t see very many people who looked like me doing the things I dreamed of doing on the world’s biggest stages and screens. There wasn’t an obvious road,” she cited with nostalgia.
“And over the years, I have watched that world begin to change. Not enough, not completely, but it has changed.
“There are so many extraordinary Filipino and Asian artists working today, telling our stories, playing roles we once could have never imagined being offered, and creating new opportunities for future generations. That means an enormous amount to me.”
In conclusion, Lea expressed hope that her star would become a source of encouragement and inspiration for Filipino kids with dreams of performing on the international stage.
“I hope that someday a young Filipino kid comes to Hollywood, sees my name and thinks, ‘Oh, maybe I can get here, too’.”
“And to everyone who walks down Hollywood Boulevard in the years ahead, please feel free to step on me,” she quipped.
“Maraming-maraming salamat. What an extraordinary journey this has been. And the best part is I’m not done yet,” she ended once again flashing her bright smile.
