The Jingle Maker
by Oliver Carlos
The most talented musician I’ve ever worked with was Rene Deriquito. I call him Kuya Rene because he’s at least 5 years older than me. I can’t exactly recall how we met, but I do recall vividly the good old days when we were together enjoying each other’s company and jamming the hours away with our guitars.
Kuya Rene’s life testimony is very inspiring. He had a wild and troublesome youth, and he would tell me stories of how he caused a lot of headaches to his mother. “I’m like a guitar whose strings are out of tune,” he said. But somehow, the Lord sought him, and he let Jesus in his heart, and thus he became a changed man. His favorite Gospel song is “Tupang Ligaw” which runs parallel to his life story.
The Deriquito family used to own a bakery at Crossing Los Banos. The name of their business was Dainty Bakeshop. I think Kuya Rene was involved there as a baker. However, they closed shop in the late-1990s, and all their equipment was stocked up in a half-finished bungalow at their backyard in Mayondon. That bodega also functioned as Kuya Rene’s sleeping quarters. It also became our makeshift music studio.
I would visit him in his place riding my blue Minica almost daily, and we would play music all afternoon long until dusk. He’s so good in playing lead guitar with his black Fender, as I played rhythm guitar. He does his electrifying guitar solos so naturally like a rock star. In between songs he would tell stories about how mischievous he used to be in his younger years and how he met God who’s now constantly transforming him each day.
Aside from his guitar dexterity, Kuya Rene also has a decent singing voice, so he’s a complete performer. But Kuya Rene’s greatest musical talent is his ability to compose songs. He has composed hundreds already. Many of them were commercial jingles played on the radio. He made jingles for agricultural product like pesticides and feeds. Kuya Rene also composed Gospel songs that he submitted to various songwriting competitions like the Papuri contests. It’s so natural for him to create tunes and lyrics, so natural as scratching one’s skin when it gets itchy. Whenever an itch for songwriting would be felt, Kuya Rene would instantly have a new song in a jiffy.
We sealed our friendship by playing big roles in each other’s weddings. I became his best man in his wedding in 1996, and he became my musician when I serenaded my bride with my original composition in a surprize number at my wedding in 1997. But soon after, Kuya Rene bid farewell as he would be more active in churchwork outside Los Banos. We haven’t seen each other in person for almost 24 years now.
One day, during the lockdown, I saw Kuya Rene on the internet. He’s looks a bit older now with gray hair, but he’s still youthfully energetic and baby-faced. He’s now a pastor in a church in San Pablo City and he has this regular FB show called “20 MD” wherein he performs like a VJ. 20 MD stands for 20-Minute Devotions. Kuya Rene would open the show with his self-made jingle, go thru some greetings, and then deliver a short but concise inspirational message from the Bible. He would end by praying for all his friends and viewers. His show airs via FB Live every 9 AM on Sunday mornings. Replays are always available on his “Rene Deriquito” timeline. Recenty, “20 MD” just celebrated its 1st anniversary.
When I first saw “20 MD” I instantly remembered Psalm 71 (NIV). This psalm is attributed to David. The writer of Psalm 71 was an old man who saw God’s guiding hand in his life, all the way from his youth to where he is at present. He’s a good musician and composer too, based on verses 22 -24:
“I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you — I whom you have delivered. My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long.”
The psalmist vowed to tell of God’s faithfulness, he would do that using his original music. This is what Kuya Rene has been doing all this time during the lockdown period. His faith, songs, and positive outlook on life inspire me to continue trusting God in dark times as these. One day, I believe, we will all be singing new songs to God because he had carried us thru this pandemic.
