OMG! That's Allan Macapugay! He joined our Viva Marinduque project, sang the solo part of my original composition, Marinduque Akin Ka, with the Capitol Choir for performances with Teatro Balangaw in the 6 municipalities. Then we did not hear from him after a couple of years. and now, this! God works in strange ways di baga ngani talaga laang? Congrats Allan!
"Pinoy clerk in UAE overcomes poverty and insecurities to win in singing contests"
- By LUCKY MAE F. QUILAO April 18, 2014 (GMA NEWS)
Allan Macapugay didn't let poverty and lack of new polo shirts get in the way of his singing career.
AL AIN, United Arab Emirates – “I don’t have the looks. I am not that confident with the quality of my voice. I also cannot afford to buy good costumes.”
These are not the words one would expect from someone who had already won two singing competitions outside of his home country, but for Allan Macapugay, these show the long hard road he has traveled as an overseas worker and singer more than his confidence issues.
But there is no easy way to success. Aside from insecurities, poverty also hounds Macapugay, 36, a clerk at the Al Falahi Maintenance and Services, in his singing career.
“I also cannot afford the taxi fares back and forth. Aside from that, I also do not have a costume to wear. It’s either I wear the same polo in two or three contests or I will borrow from a friend,” he shared via email.
This is true not only here, but even in his home province of Oriental Mindoro in the Philippines where, as the eighth child in a brood of 10, he had to put his singing aside to help his family tend their supermarket stall.
“Dala ng kahirapan sa buhay, hindi ko na pinagtuunan ng pansin ang pagkanta. Bagkus ay tumutulong na lang ako sa nanay ko sa palengke na magtinda ng suman at palamig,” he said.
What inspired Macapugay to keep on keeping on, he said, was his college professor, who urged him to take singing seriously.
“Mula pa pagkabata, alam ko sa sarili ko na marunong akong kumanta pero wala akong kalakas-lakas ng loob na ipakita ito,” he said.
“It was my college professor who had encouraged me to join in an inter-college singing contest,” Macapugay added. “I did not win there but from then on, I began joining in other barangay amateur singing contests.”
His self-esteem received its biggest boost when he defeated a relative whom he used to idolize in a singing competition.
“Meron kaming singer na kapitbahay nun sa Oriental Mindoro na malayong kamag-anak. Tuwing maririnig ko siya na nagpapraktis kumanta ay kakaripas na ako sa kanilang bahay para makinig at panoorin ang kanyang pagkanta,” Macapugay said.
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| Macapugay singing the nationalistic song "Dakilang Lahi", Marinduque provincial capitol, July 2007 |
Macapugay’s singing career, however, was relegated to the back seat again when, forced by poverty, he decided to leave the country and work as a receptionist in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, in June 2008.
But good things come to those who wait: When he joined singing contests again, he emerged victorious, being judged grand champion in the "EMAX Sing like a Star" held at the Oasis Center Dubai in October 2010, and in the “Kusina Restaurant Videoke Challenge” held at the Kusina Restaurant Abu Dhabi in January 2011.
Last year, Macapugay was a grand finalist in two more competitions – in the Global Pinoy Singing Idol and in the Battle of the Best by the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mananayaw at Mangaawit sa Abu Dhabi.
“I thought that I will never have a chance to use and share this God-given talent,” Macapugay said. “But it’s true that when you commend everything to God, His plan for you will happen accordingly.” – KBK, GMA
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| Allan Macapugay with the Marinduque Provincial Capitol Choir in Viva Marinduque-Ani ng Sining project 2008, singing "Marinduque Akin Ka" and "Awit sa Pulang Lupa" composed by this blogger. |
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