Konnichiwa, Marene!

Popular abroad but virtual unknowns in their own country. Strange but true, isn’t it?

In the Philippines, for example, Sandara Park is a popular teen idol but isn’t so in her own country, South Korea. Keith Martin (Because of You) is definitely more popular here than he is in his native America. The likes of Thalia (Mexico), Dayanara Torres (Puerto Rico), Michelle van Eimeren (Australia) were such showbiz darlings here more than they were back home. Let Ya Chang (the ABS-CBN discovery) walk the streets of Tokyo and I bet you nobody will recognize him. But let our very own Marlene dela Peña as much as look out of the window of her house in Tokyo and a wave of oh’s and ah’s will reverberate around her.

Yes, Marlene may not be quite known here but in Japan she has been reigning as superstar these past 26 years – and she’s going strong. Here, Marlene may walk into any public place (such as the Wok ‘n’ Stix Chinese Restaurant beside Virgin Café along Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City where this Conversation was done) and not a head will turn; not a face lights up with recognition. Not so in Japan where she is fondly called Marene (minus the "l").

No, Marlene is not a Japayuki which is how Filipino entertainers have become unfairly known.

"You know what the Japayuki means?" asked Marlene. "Comfort woman. ’Yan yung mga babae during the war who sold their bodies and sent the money back home to their families. It hurts me to tag Filipino entertainers as Japayuki."

Unlike before when she performed in huge venues, Marlene has slowed down a bit and opted to sing in smaller, more intimate venues all over Japan, such as the Blue Note (same as the original located in The Village, New York) which has outlets in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.

She is married to James Shiver, an American computer engineer (who used to be with the US Navy) whom she met in Japan. They are childless.

Okay, let’s say konnichiwa (hello) to Marlene who sat for a free-wheeling Conversation during her recent homecoming.

What are you here for this time?

"Actually, I’ve been coming and going since May last year; I’m here almost every month because I’m adopting a child. He was born in May 2004."

How could you do it with your busy schedule in Japan?

"I would schedule a 10-day stint and then I come home. I go back, set another l0-day singing schedule and then I come back."

Why do you have to adopt a child? Why not, you know, have one of your own?

"You know what, I wasn’t even thinking about it. My husband and I really want to have a child but we are not – how do you call it? – blessed. We told ourselves, ‘Okay, we’ll just enjoy our life together; we’ll just play golf!’ And then, my cousin who has four children, offered one of them to us for adoption. My husband and I said, ‘Why not?’ So there."

You must be both too busy to, you know, concentrate on having your own child.

"Busy, yes. Also, I’m too career-oriented to get pregnant. I told myself, ‘If I get pregnant and stay home for one year, what will I do?’ I can’t imagine myself not singing that long. I told my friends, ‘I’d like to have a baby anytime basta huwag lang ako magbubuntis.’ Besides, we are living apart from each other but we are not separated, ha. We hardly spend time together. I live in Tokyo and my husband lives in Nagasaki where he is assigned, one hour away from Tokyo by plane. Since my schedule is more flexible than his, I would go to Nagasaki to be with him."

Don’t you have any plans of living in the same place?

"Now that we have a baby, we might. I plan to move to Nagasaki because I don’t want to raise our baby in Tokyo where children are spoiled. Nagasaki is medyo probinsya and I prefer it to Tokyo."

How long have you been married?

"Five years. We’ve been friends for 20 years. Then, we became lovers. When he first asked that we get married, I turned him down. Kasi, mag-friends kami, e! Since high school kasi, I don’t want a friend courting me. But look, ‘yung inayawan ko ‘yon pa ang napangasawa ko! James has long been part of our family. He’s close to my mom. In Japan kasi, I’m out of the house, working, and everytime James would visit, mom ko ang nakakausap niya. When he came to the Philippines, he would stay in our house for a couple of days. He was close to my mom and my sisters."

They say that lovers who start out as friends usually have a lasting relationship.

"When he was broken-hearted, I was his shock absorber; I offered him my shoulder to cry on. We confide in each other."

How long have you been working in Japan?

"Oh, 26 years. I’m now a permanent resident of Japan. I first went there in December 1978. But I remain a Filipino citizen. I can be a Japanese citizen anytime I want to be. Or an American citizen because I’m married to an American. But I’ve chosen to retain my Filipino citizenship."

Was it hard building a name and a career in Japan?

"I’ve been singing here for three years when I was booked for a singing engagement in Japan. It was hard at the start. Doon, parang they were not open to foreign artists having a career there. At first, everybody was supporting me. But when my career was starting to pick up, I felt that everybody was trying to pull me down. That’s when the struggle started. May mga intriga din doon, baka di mo alam. The managers (of local artists) would feed the media false information about you."

Such as what?

"You know, that I snubbed this artist and that artist even when I was just new in the business. Petty things. Parang dito din sa atin. I was barely four months in Japan when a respected music critic told me straight to my face, ‘You will never make it here in Japan.’ I asked him why. ‘Because you sing good and good singers don’t have a market here in Japan.’ During those days kasi, most of the singers there were ‘yung mga pa-cute lang – you know, idol-idol lang. If you are good, parang you intimidate people."

Na-challenge ka ba?

"Yeah! No, hindi ako nagpa-cute. Instead of adapting my style to the market, I stuck to my own style. Did I start learning Japanese songs? No, I didn’t. In fact, my repertoire until now doesn’t include any Japanese song; all English songs. I only do so when NHK asks me to. Sabi nila, ‘Marlene, you have to sing this because you’ll have a totally different version if you do it.’ I’m the only foreigner in Japan who made it big without singing in Japanese."

And the only Filipino singer. (Jake Concepcion, the saxophonist, is another Filipino who made it big in Japan.)

"But siguro 50 years ago, there was Bimbo Danao. He was the first Filipino superstar in Japan; I’m only the second. Bimbo married a big, big star in Japan."

Why didn’t you marry a Japanese?

"In fact, I had a Japanese boyfriend for eight years. We are still good friends. He even attended my wedding."

I remember you had a stalker in the Philippines who almost killed you by stabbing you several times.

"No, he wasn’t my stalker; he was my secret admirer. He didn’t court me. I learned later that he was obsessed with me. I was only 15 then; wala pa akong malisya noon. I was then doing Operetang Tagpi-Tagpi for Johnny de Leon."

How did it happen, the stabbing incident?

"I can still recall that incident as if it happened only yesterday. The guy pretended to be a promoter for Japan. He was insistent. I didn’t want to go abroad because even while I was already singing, I was still studying at the Sta. Ana Villamor High School. He told me, ‘Only for a Christmas show; one week ka lang doon.’ Mapilit, so pumayag ako. Nilakad niya ang passport ko. When we were getting my visa at the Japanese Embassy, he asked permission from my mom for me to go with him; may kukunin lang daw kami sandali."

Oh. And what happened?

"He brought me to a building in Ermita. We walked up to the 12th floor where there were empty rooms. Had he pulled me into one of the rooms and raped me, nobody would have heard me shout. Then, we left the building. Talagang may plano siyang masama. Lakad kami nang lakad. Then, he asked if I was hungry and he brought me to a restaurant on Carvajal Street in Binondo. After eating, he stood up to go to the comfort room and something fell from the envelope he was carrying. It was a knife, a kitchen knife. I even picked it up for him. Biniro ko pa nga, e, ‘Ikaw, ha. Bawal ‘yan; deadly weapon.’ I never suspected na may maitim siyang balak."

You could have run.

"Anyway, he put the knife back inside the envelope and proceeded to the comfort room. When he came back, hayun, he started stabbing me all over my body. Ako naman, sangga ako nang sangga. When the waiters tried to pacify him, he would threaten them with the knife. When he was finished, I sustained 36 stab wounds all over my body. I really fought for my life. One of my lungs was hit. When I slipped on a pool of my own blood, he stabbed me at the back. He escaped by jumping out of a window."

What happened to him?

"He was caught. Nakulong siya. I learned later that he died while in prison. Why did he do it? His parents told me that he was secretly in love with me. Kaysa mapunta daw ako sa iba, he would rather kill me and commit suicide."

Just like what happened to Selena, the Latina star, who was shot to death by a fan.

"I was lucky I didn’t die. I have scars all over. I don’t want them removed. I want them as reminders of that incident. Was I traumatized? No, I wasn’t. My doctor told me that I was brave, that it was my will to live that saved me."

Back to your struggle in Japan... How did you survive the intrigues?

"During the first two years, they marketed me as an idol, a pop idol, pero hindi ko feel. Kasi ‘yung mga idol nila at that time, hindi nila kailangan kumanta. Pa-cute-cute ka lang, okay na; pa-smile-smile at pa-beautiful eyes ka lang, okay na. I felt that I was too old for that. I said, ‘It’s not what I want to do.’ In the Philippines, five years old ka lang nagbi-belt ka na, di ba? I wanted to be a singer in the real sense of the word. ‘Yung talagang kumakanta."

And you succeeded.

"During those first two years, I did seven singles and some commercial songs, but I never really made it. I wanted na nga to come back, eh. I hated what I was doing. But at the back of my mind, something was telling me, ‘Marlene, don’t give up! Something is waiting for you.’ Besides, I didn’t want to come back a failure. I went there to make a name, not money. Kumikita na naman ako dito at that time, a! I was earning and able to help my family. I’m the eldest among six children. When I left, one of my sisters was only a year old. Now, may asawa na at anak. I didn’t want them to say, ‘Ate, iniwan mo kami pagkatapos umuwi ka ring bigo.’ I didn’t want to come home a failure."

When did you start to feel that you were a superstar?

"You know what, I never had that feeling na superstar ako. What I know is that, modesty aside, I’m popular and people love me. I’ve never acted like a superstar."

How many albums have you done in all those 26 years in Japan?

"More than 27 albums, all in English, roughly more than 300 songs."

What’s your Most Requested Song (MRS)?

"Spain. ‘Yung kay Al Jarreau. That’s my standard song. You know what, nagbabayad ‘yung mga tao just to listen to me sing that song. I even recorded that song."

How were you able to adjust to the Japanese lifestyle?

"I didn’t have to. I simply went with the flow. It was easy. I’m a positive thinker. The fact that the people there love me helps a lot in my adapting to life in Japan. I’m a joiner din kasi. When not busy singing, I join golf tournaments, kami ni James. I’m glad that I can still enjoy some privacy, some quiet moments in my personal life. I can go anywhere I want, I can mingle with anybody. I’m happy with my life. I have a house in Shinagawa."

But, of course, home is where...

"...right! That’s why I keep on coming home everytime I have a chance to."

What will make you come home for good?

(Thinks awhile) "I don’t think I’ll stay here for good. But one thing is for sure, I’ll always come back."

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