Filipino singer-songwriter Rey Valera, whose ballads and pop classics have helped define generations of Original Pilipino Music, will perform in Queens on Nov. 17.
The concert will be held at The Palace (63-01 Roosevelt Ave, Woodside) and will be presented in part by Dulay Roy Productions, with New York-based producers Yoyong Suarez, Eddy Aranez and Elton Lugay.
Valera, 72, is known for songs including “Ako Si Superman,” “Maging Sino Ka Man” and “Walang Kapalit.” He also wrote “Mr. D.J.” and “Kahit Maputi Na ang Buhok Ko,” songs closely associated with singer Sharon Cuneta.
Born Reynaldo Valera Guardiano in Meycauayan, Bulacan, Valera began his solo recording career in 1977 after performing with Electric Hair Band. He later became a songwriter, arranger, producer and music director, building a catalog that has remained central to Filipino pop music.
“Mr. D.J.,” written for Cuneta early in her career, became one of her breakthrough recordings. “Kahit Maputi Na ang Buhok Ko,” also written by Valera, remains one of the most enduring Filipino love songs. Valera’s own recordings, including “Maging Sino Ka Man,” “Kung Kailangan Mo Ako,” “Pangako,” “Naaalala Ka” and “Tayong Dalawa,” have also been recorded by later generations of artists.
Valera has received major career honors, including the Awit Awards’ Dangal ng Musikang Pilipino lifetime achievement award in 2005 and the MYX Magna Award in 2015. He was inducted into the Philippines’ Eastwood City Walk of Fame in 2009.
He has also reached younger television audiences as a former head judge on “Tawag ng Tanghalan,” the singing competition segment of the Philippine noontime program “It’s Showtime,” and as a judge on “Sing Galing!”
The Queens performance is part of Valera’s fall North American concert schedule. Organizers said the show will give Filipino American audiences a chance to hear the songwriter perform the songs that have become staples of OPM radio, karaoke sessions and family gatherings.
The Queens concert will bring Valera’s long-running catalog to Filipino American audiences, with songs that have remained fixtures of OPM radio, karaoke gatherings and family celebrations for decades. For ticket inquiries, contact Hannah Suarez at (212) 500-0591.
