16 years after playing drums with legendary reggae/rock band CocoJam during the European tour of Goldtooth, a Street Children’s Musical, Loloy Biscaro, has returned to Stairway in the capacity of art and music teacher. Loloy shares his insights from the past as a musician and the present as a teacher in an interesting and inspirational read.
It was a cold evening of the later part of the year 1997 when a shy, quiet-type guy Kuya Loloy Biscaro first landed in Stairway where his band mate use to lodge. At first, he thought that it was just an ordinary landing pad for the Manila musicians and artists alike. It was so dark that the sketch of the real landscape of the place was swallowed by the dimly lit locale and the tones of the bending bamboo trees blown gently by the breeze were the only audible sounds that broke the silences of the night.
He woke up the next morning and the majestic rays of the sun revealed the real beauty of the place like he slept in a jungle and woke up in paradise. His eyes were in awe as the clear waters of the Tamaraw beach welcomed him with open arms. As the day passed by it became pellucid that the place is a haven for street children from Manila as 2 of them approached him with a very Filipino way, “Hello Kuya!”
In the afternoon he thought that a bash was going to happen and a band instrument setup was there for them to play with.
He said to himself…
“I didn’t know there would be a party going on in here!”
There was a stage but the band setup was placed down facing the stage and he got confused.
“Something else is going to happen here?”
He waited until ate Monica began directing a play called Goldtooth!
He began to remember when he was in high school he was always a member of the Drama Club where he played the role of a light man and musical scorer. This time, as a musician, they are going to play it live. At first he thought that the play was just an activity for the kids to remain occupied instead of just sitting the whole day out but the rehearsals went on a schedule on a day to day basis then he knew that it was not just an activity.
“It’s getting real!”
After more than a year of painstaking rehearsals Goldtooth reached Manila and the GSIS Theatre was the opening venue.
When the passports and the visas were ready Goldtooth finally reached Europe in 1999.
He remembered when he was a kid his grandmother from London always make him recite names of European countries.
“My grandmother made me recite names of some European countries from the post cards that she collected from the countries she visited. When I reached Europe then I knew a dream has come true. It may not be all the countries I recited but at least I reached Europe neither as a resident nor as a regular tourist but a person with a mission. I went to places where only the rich people can afford and Stairway Foundation helped me attain that dream.”
Dreams come and go. When Goldtooth ended he went back to Manila to pursue his career as a musician. Dwelling in the cities of the metro jungle wasn’t easy as there are bills to be paid and the streets are becoming uneasy. As a musician his nightly encounter starts from a race to get a taxi cab, wait in line for a bus or wrestle his way in for a seat in a jeepney. During rush hours EDSA looks more like a parking lot than a highway and jobs are getting more competitive when you deal head to head with the younger generations.
Kuya Babes to the rescue!
After 16 long years at the 25th Year Anniversary of The Stairway Foundation a reunion happened. Most of the casts, musicians, organizers and those who were behind the scenes of Goldtooth finally met each other once again. In a rare chance to go back to Puerto Galera Kuya Babes offered him to work in Stairway as a music teacher for the kids and ate Monica and kuya Lars offered him to try it out. Those were very rare offers and opportunities and so he grabbed it.
When he landed again in Stairway the kids were all excited and a gleam in their eyes tell what their lips can’t speak.
“At last we have our music class now.”
For five and a half days they will try to attempt what they consider as a Mission Impossible…to be able to play as a group of drumbeaters. The first day was a mess and he didn’t know how or where to start. Tasking is very hard so a grouping seems to be the only plan that will work.
“Whenever I gave them a task they can perform it in a matter of minutes. Only, I have to give each group a rhythm pattern to play and that’s it…we had our Stairway Drumbeaters as the kids want to call themselves. With the help of the KUYA’S or what we call them the PM’s (peer motivators) Kuya Ismael, Kuya Reynaldo, Kuya Derick and their house parent Kuya Jhonie made the job a whole lot easier.
“What a strange feeling when we were about to perform that Saturday night. A mix of pressure, tension and worry because just the other night the UPLB Choir has done, what they had been doing for years, an astonishing performance and we are on the same stage doing what we had prepared for five and a half days.”
A brilliant idea came into his mind…face paintings!
“And why not? The choir dressed up for the occasion last night. Today these kids are the soldiers on the battle field and a little “soup up” will be of help for the visual effects with the stage lights adjusted to the tone of a portentous dark tint.”
Izana lead the team in costume designs and in face and body paintings while kuya Jhonie manned the stage lighting controls and the effect was so evident that everything seems to pattern the ambience of what was happening on the stage.
“I did not help them do the face and body paintings because I want to see what they can come up with paints and brushes so that I know where to start when I give them art lessons.”
“Before we even start I know that these kids can do it. That night and from the past days that I worked with them I began to trust their capacity and what these kids are capable of doing.”
The result was a brilliant show that wows the crowd including ate Monica and kuya Lars and the rest of the visitors from other countries.
“I felt so good when I got the chance to teach the Stairway kids the tools I used that lead to realizing my dreams. At first I really didn’t know how to start because it is my first chance to work with kids like them. They thought I was just a musician but what I wasn’t telling them is that I was an artists and a painter before I became a drummer. My art teacher Mr. Elmer M. Borlongan now resides in Zambales and is very happy when he learned that I’m back to the arts and is teaching the kids here in Stairway. I feel so blessed by sharing what I have learned to get to where I am now. I may not be the best music and arts teacher that they have nor will ever have but working with these kids make me learn something from our everyday encounter and that is why, instead of feeling that I shared them something, I realized they gave me a gift of learning who they are and a lot of kids like them are still on the streets. Being contented with what I have is what my parents have taught me ever since I was a kid and now I began to realize the real meaning of it.”
As of today he teaches music and arts for the Stairway kids and is looking forward to a great new experience.
“I am happy with my new work and environment and I hope to be of help to these kids in any way I can. I am very sure that when I have the chance to bring my own kids here in Stairway they would love it here, too! “
Kuya Loloy