Describing “Sino Ang Baliw” as just another great creation by composer Mon Del Rosario is an understatement. This song, recorded by Kuh Ledesma and performed live by several artists, including Angel Andal, who impressed audiences with her rendition on The Voice Kids Philippines, is a standout work.
“Sino Ang Baliw” was Del Rosario’s breakthrough song, winning the grand prize at the prestigious Metropop Songfest and becoming a mainstream hit.
Del Rosario’s dedication to this song is evident in his ongoing work on a musical based on it, a project he has been developing for nearly 40 years. This long-term commitment underscores the significance he places on this composition.
“I will always consider ‘Sino ang Baliw’ as my most important composition because the internal narrative in the lyrics transcends time and will always be relevant even in the coming generations,” said Del Rosario, the hitmaker with a medical degree whose experience as a medical student led him to write the song that essentially put him on the map.
The then-budding musical artist was on duty at the UST (University of Santos Tomas) Psychiatry Ward when he was inspired to write a song while “observing the behavior of patients there.” He felt he wanted to explore the figurative meanings surrounding the word “baliw” (crazy).
In a phone chat with the “Doctor Musico” who’s among my treasured friends in the music business, he informed me that he started working on Sino Ang Baliw the Musical in 1982, just a year after the song won the highly competitive Metropop on its fourth edition. He noted that “in retrospect,’ the passage of time enabled him to “integrate more universal characters in the story.”
Mondel, as I prefer to call him, described the musical as semi-fantasy with “Sino Ang Baliw” as centerpiece, backed by some of his other hit compositions like “Tamis Ng Unang Halik” which That’s Entertainment talent Kristina Paner popularized. He said it features mostly new songs or 80 percent of it.
The tunesmith behind other now-classics like “Isang Linggong Pag-Ibig” (popularized by Imelda Papin) and “Boy” (Timmy Cruz) said that his son Raymond, who used to be the lead guitarist of a signed band called Craeons, is taking care of the business matter of putting together a musical as he concentrates on the creative side.
He mentioned a couple of notable theater artists and singers he wishes to appear in the “Sino Ang Baliw the musical” that pays tribute to his craft, especially the song that has impactfully earned him both the respect of industry peers and the general listening public. There is not yet a definite date as to when the musical can be performed on stage. But the fact he hoped it would happen later this year means it could be anytime soon.
Mondel himself interpreted “Sino Ang Baliw” at Metropop. He got endeared, as do countless others, to a live version performed by Lea Salonga at a big theater outside of the Philippines.
He expressed in amusement, “Until now, I still cannot believe that the song won the Grand Prize (at Metropop) because I had no grand expectations about the song. Perhaps, it was an idea whose time has come!”
As to what has kept him from finishing the musical all these years, he joked that other music-related projects, like film scoring or serving as head judge at ASOP (A Song of Praise) songwriting festival, made him defocused for good reasons.
A self-taught arranger, Mondel, who considers OPM pioneers Snaffu Rigor and Homer Flores as mentors and dearest friends who helped him learn the ins and outs of the biz, has served as musical director for around 400 films.
Labeling himself as “a songwriter who sings, and not the other way around,” the successful melodist and lyricist shared, “I did finish a medical degree in college but somehow, it was hard to refuse the call of the muses after I graduated. Music was like a ‘curse’ that I cannot rid myself of. It was even more difficult to escape when the royalty revenues started to come in. Such a sweet curse!”
Oddly enough, the first song Mondel completed writing was one called “Ang Butiki.” He certainly has crawled his way up.
Outside of the music industry, Del Rosario does business consultancy specializing in copyright Licensing. He is also a triple licensed financial planner.
When asked where he owes his brilliance, he quipped in his natural tone of humility, “Daig ng songwriter na masipag ang songwriter na magaling!”
