The Interrupted Saga of Rodie Lapad

Essay 22. THE INTERRUPTED SAGA OF RODIE LAPAD

By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

There were four Rodolfos among my group of friends. One of them is my younger brother Rudy. But those who knew him from way way back didn't call him Rudy. He is better known in our neighborhood here in Tondo as Buding. I was puzzled for a long time why he was called that. I finally learned why when he himself told me that Buding must be just a variation of Ruding.

Another is Rodolfo Ollegue who was introduced to me as Rody Tuko. I don't know why he was given that derisive moniker. I perceived nothing in his appearance and demeanor that would remind one of a gecko. I could be wrong though. Playmates who knew him earlier than I did must have noticed a resemblance I couldn't discern between him and that lizard specie 

Yet another Rodolfo was the late Rodolfo Valiente, whose nickname, Popo, was just a repetition of the last syllable of his name. But because he was asthmatic, we called Popo when he's not around, Rhody Hika. 

The fourth Rodolfo was Rodolfo Hamor. The moniker assigned him by teasing playmates was Rodie Lapad because of the unusual shape of his head, which was a bit flat (lapad) at the back. While I was already friends since childhood with the three other Rodolfos, I only met Rodie when we were both already 18 years old.. 

Rodie died young. He was only 25 years old when he left us one day in January 1982, the morning after he attended a fiesta in Barrio Magsaysay.  Cause of death was stroke.

Oh how we cried during his funeral. It was a great and painful loss for all of us who knew him. Although he was into karate, he was at heart a peaceble man. He was friends with everyone. I don't remember him getting into any sort of quarrel or fight, nor was he into bad-mouthing someone he didn't like.

Rodie was a 'kasining' too, a fellow artist---a man gifted not in the visual arts like drawing or painting like myself, but in music. Rodie had an excellent singing voice. He can sing ballads as well as rock songs with equal aplomb. His singing voice was a cross between those of Anthony Castelo and Pabs Dadivas. And he did mean renditions too of Juan Dela Cruz Band songs like "Kagatan" and "Laki sa Layaw". 

Rodie can also write music. This talent of his was what elevated him to true artist stature, because he didn't just interpret or sang songs---he can also create them. Rodie composed the melody of the Vox Juventus song, for which I wrote the lyrics.

But despite his enormous musical talent, Rodie's dream of becoming a professional singer didn't materialize. I remember him in the late 1970s practicing for many months with a newly formed rock band in our neighborhood whose goal was to land a playing slot in some nightspot in Japan. Rodie's dream crumbled when he and the bass guitarist Mationg were dropped from the group by the other band members who are siblings.

What happened was their manager saw a powerful selling point in promoting the rock band as a family band. That was a bright idea indeed. But one that dimmed the prospect for advancement in the musical world for Rodie and Mationg.

So, the rock band went to Japan, and did gigs there for several years. I don't remember exactly what the name of the band was before they went to Japan. But maybe, it was Mighty Spirit Gang, because that was what Rodie wrote on the first page of his big notebook that contained their song repertoire with their respective guitar chords. Anyway, for their stint in Japan, and perhaps afterwards, the band carried the name Family Corporation Band. 

Rodie could have made his mark in theater too, especially in comedies, being a man gifted also with a huge sense of humor and great comic timing. His impersonation of Elvis Presley performing with his combo during the first Vox Juventus induction and ball was so hilarious. Rodie also played the role of the gay director in a comedy skit presented during the same event. Needless to say, both performances in which he played the main roles tied for first place.

Rodie is part Bicolano part Kapampagan. He was a good cook, the one who introduced to me bicol express, which he cooked for me one time. I guess his recipe was the authentic Bicolano recipe because its main ingredient, comprising perhaps 80% of the whole dish, was the long green chilli we call 'siling espada', cooked in 'gata ng niyog (coconut milk)'. Thus, it's more precise I supposed to just call the bland bicol express dish being sold in eateries these days simply as 'ginataang baboy (pork stewed in coconut milk)'. 

Rodie must have held me in high regards because he again cooked for me another dish which he learned while working at Anito Lodge.  He worked there for a time as roomboy after he was junked by the band he practiced with and after quitting aeronautical school when his father died. That dish was spanish omelette. Rodie also introduced to me that famous Kapampangan delicacy I often heard of but never got the chance to taste before, 'burong isda (pickled or fermented fish in rice)' for which I have also developed a craving to this day.

There are many mysteries in the universe that are difficult to ponder and understand, and one of them was the cutting off of a life that held much promise. Who knows to what height in the musical world Rodie could have risen to had he been allowed to live his life to the fullest. He could have written many more songs and perhaps created many videos of his performances that would have gone viral if he is still with us today.

After his death, we thought it apt to name the trophies we gave away in tournaments we organized here, Rodie Hamor Memorial Trophies. That was our way of remembering and honoring him and letting him know, wherever in the heavenly expanse he is singing and playing  his guitar now, that he is not forgotten.