MANILA, Philippines—Last year, a cancer-stricken, wheelchair-bound Toti Fuentes thought his time was up. Suffering from a rare stomach ailment since 1999, the 55-year-old US-based keyboard virtuoso was rushed to the hospital thrice.
Even now, Toti told Inquirer Entertainment, “I feel death follows me around all the time. On the other hand, I have more angels of life around me as well. When I was in the hospital, these angels came to my rescue.”
The cancer is reportedly now in remission, thanks in part to an experimental treatment program that Toti undergoes as a volunteer in a Chicago hospital. Most wonderful of all, he’s back doing what he loves most: playing music.
Though still gaunt-looking, Toti says he feels rejuvenated and ready for an upcoming series of shows in Manila. The stint, aptly called “Perfect Pair,” reunites him with singer Anna Fegi, with whom he shares a few remarkable connections.
Both are Visayan and received musical training at an early age. Toti, born in Cagayan de Oro, learned to play the piano at six. His parents saw him as a prodigy and sent him to the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music for college.
Ana, a native of Cebu, was under the tutelage of a music-loving teacher who gave her prime exposure in concerts and plays while attending the University of San Jose-Recoletos.
Determined to pursue a musical career, Toti hooked up with Rico J. Puno, who was then building a reputation at the Spindle in 1974. When Rico broke into the pop scene, Toti became his regular pianist in concerts and recordings. Toti also did session work with the Apo, Hajji Alejandro, Basil Valdez, Pilita Corrales and other popular artists.
By 1978, Toti was evolving as a jazz musician and wanted to get into “the source,” as he called it. He went to the US, where he would spend the next 20 years as a working musician—playing with the likes of Sergio Mendes, Natalie Cole, Anita Baker, Julia Fordham, Aretha Franklin, Andy Williams and many others.
Toti was in Manila in the late ‘90s when Ana became his protege. “She was brought to my attention by her manager Bibsy Carballo. I recognized her talent [right away],” Toti recalled. “I helped her by recording minus-one arrangements of some 40 songs, including my originals and a Motown medley, which she used in her performances.
Like Toti in the US, Ana found work abroad as a professional artist. She was in the cast of the theater musical “Hair” in Japan and “Rent” in Singapore, among others. She just finished a 20-month run as Nala in the Hong Kong Disneyland production of “Lion King.”
Looking back on their overseas work stints, Toti and Ana attribute their success to dogged determination and discipline.
Toti logged on several years as a session musician in Los Angeles, hoping to play with his idol, Sergio Mendes. When they finally met, it didn’t take long before Sergio asked Toti to join him on a concert tour.
As for Ana, she said appearing in “Lion King” has prepared her for any tough assignment in the future. “It was a 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. job, five times a week, which I had never experienced. I had to be physically fit for all the running, dancing, jumping and climbing we did onstage.”
Tags: Entertainment, Toti Fuentes
