Singers and musicians are set to hold a fundraising gig on Monday, Aug. 5, for retired folk singer and OPM (Original Pilipino Music) legend Coritha, who has suffered a stroke that left her paralyzed and bedridden in her home in Tagaytay City.

“Awit Para Kay Coritha” will start at 7 p.m. at My Brother’s Mustache Bar in the Hive Hotel, Scout Tuason and Scout Madrinan, Quezon City, for a show charge of P500. The lineup includes performances by Bayang Barrios and Mike Villegas, Becky and Lester Demetillo, Bobby Mondejas and Friends, Chickoy Pura, Corky and Kiko, Cooky Chua and Kwachi Vergara, Lolita Carbon from the folk band Asin, and Toto Sorioso.

The show is expected to be the first of many gigs to raise funds on behalf of the OPM icon.

‘Mang-aawit ng aking panahon’

Coritha was famous in her prime as a folk singer and composer in the 1970s and 1980s. Her discography includes hit songs “Oras Na,” “Gising Na O Kuya Ko,” “Lolo Jose,” and “Sierra Madre.”

She is known for her clear, soaring voice. Her music mostly follows the Pinoy acoustic folk style popular in the 170s, but some songs, such as “Sierra Madre,” are also blues-inspired in their arrangement.

Coritha officially retired in 2000 and has since laid low from the local music scene. As recounted by her partner Chito Santos, her Quezon City property was razed in a fire in 2018, which briefly made her homeless before she moved in with him on his farm in Tagaytay.

She suffered a mild but critical stroke earlier in the year. Her condition was recently brought to light in a YouTube vlog by newscaster Julius Babao.

In the vlog, Santos recalled to Babao the moment when Coritha was rushed to the hospital, and how it was discovered through a CT scan that she had had earlier strokes that went unnoticed.

Their story became viral and earned the sympathy of netizens young and old.

Outpouring of support

One of them, Monet Pura, is the organizer of the upcoming gig at My Brother’s Mustache. She is married to musician Chickoy Pura.

The Puras discussed the idea of a benefit gig to help Chito and Coritha, as they had done in the recent past for other musicians. 

“I thought, there’s still nothing being done yet, so I took the first steps to get the ball rolling,” Monet Pura, speaking in a mix of Filipino and English, told CoverStory in a phone interview. “Many others are just waiting for someone to get things started.”

She is coordinating with Romeo Babao, a producer and sound engineer, and reached out to performers Chua and Carbon with the initiative.

The bar is expected to be packed as many seat reservations were made in the runup to show night. Most recently, payments for the reservations had to be paused because Santos’ GCash account, to which donations and early-reservation fees were deposited, had exceeded its wallet limit.

“There were so many wanting to reserve seats,” Monet Pura said. She advised those who had made reservations to come to the venue before 7 p.m. so they could properly claim their booked seats.

She said that in the course of planning the show, they received notice that “too many” other musicians wished to perform for the fundraiser, so much so that a “part two” could be expected.

The lineup had to be limited so the show would not end too late at the beginning of a work week, she said, adding: “After the show on Monday, we’ll try to list the next lineup, and then we’ll play it by ear.”

“Awit Para kay Coritha” may be viewed live on CoverStory’s Facebook page on Monday. Stay tuned.

As an alternative to GCash, donations may be sent to Chito Santos’ bank account (BDO account No. 005620439330, under Luisito T. Santos).  In-kind gifts of adult milk and diapers, wipes, and nasogastric tubes are welcome.