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Levi Celerio: Celerio'S Musical Contribution

Levi Celerio was a Filipino composer and lyricist who wrote over 4,000 songs. He was recognized as a National Artist of the Philippines for Music and Literature in 1997. Celerio was known for using leaves as musical instruments and was featured in the Guinness Book of Records for being able to play music using a leaf. He had a difficult childhood growing up in poverty, but was encouraged by his mother to pursue music. Celerio composed many folk, Christmas, and love songs throughout his career.

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Josie Balasbas
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76 views

Levi Celerio: Celerio'S Musical Contribution

Levi Celerio was a Filipino composer and lyricist who wrote over 4,000 songs. He was recognized as a National Artist of the Philippines for Music and Literature in 1997. Celerio was known for using leaves as musical instruments and was featured in the Guinness Book of Records for being able to play music using a leaf. He had a difficult childhood growing up in poverty, but was encouraged by his mother to pursue music. Celerio composed many folk, Christmas, and love songs throughout his career.

Uploaded by

Josie Balasbas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LEVI CELERIO

CELERIO’S MUSICAL CONTRIBUTION


LEVI CELERIO
Levi Celerio (April 30, 1910 – April 2, 2002) was a
Filipino composer and lyricist who is credited with
writing over 4,000 songs. Celerio was recognized as a
National Artist of the Philippines for Music and
Literature in 1997.

He is also known for using the leaf as a musical


instrument which led to being recognized as the "only
man who could play music using a leaf" by the Guinness
Book of Records. This led to him making a guest
appearance in television shows recorded outside the
Philippines.
CELERIO MUSIC
Aside from being a musician, Celerio was also a poet
and a film actor who appeared in various Philippine Levi Celerio was a member of the Manila Symphony
films of the 1950s and 1960s. Orchestre but his stint with the musical troupe ended
when he fell off a tree and broke his wrist. He
Levi Celerio was born on April 30, 1910, in Tondo, temporarily worked as a comic illustrator and later
Philippines to Cornelio Cruz and Juliana Celerio and decided to shift to songwriting.
was born to a poor family. Celerio's affinity for music
was a result of influence from his mother who is a
Prior to turning to songwriting, Celerio got involved in
harpist and a member of a church choir. He was
poetry and was a humorist in the orchestra of Premiere
estranged from his father who is involved in the real
Productions. He held high regard to the poet, Jose
estate and jewelry business. His father was never
Corazon de Jesus. However, his poems failed to gain
married to his mother.
positive reception and his works were regarded as
"lacking in style". Later in his career, he had Filipino
His mother encouraged him to be involved in music as a
Palindromes and Take It From Levi, a collection of love
distraction from the squalid conditions of their
poems he wrote published.
neighborhood. Despite this, Celerio became a close
acquaintance of gang leader Asiong Salonga. At his
Levi Celerio is credited for writing more than 4,000
mother's encouragement, Celerio started playing the
songs, many of which are dedicated to his wife and
violin at age 11 taking lessons from a member of the
children. He wrote Filipino folk, Christmas, and love
Philippine Constabulary Band. Celerio later performed
songs and some of his songs were used in feature films.
with the band as its member while simultaneously
attending Torres High School. It was during his high
school years that Celerio learned about his father.

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