Riza Hansen: On publishing Chavit's legacy

Riza Hansen, publisher of the book Chavit: Legend of the Philippines, shared the story behind the book's creation and how it aims to capture a global audience.

In the June 17 episode of DAILY TRIBUNE’s Spotlight, Hansen talked about what inspired her to publish a book about Chavit Singson.

According to Hansen, the idea began in 2021 when a friend called to tell her that a popular newspaper in Poland had featured Singson “shooting money with his golden gun.” Amused, Hansen who is based in Europe contacted Singson to share the news. This moment eventually led her to invite an author to write about his life.

A legacy in pages

Bringing a copy of the book with her, Hansen described it as “a legacy,” emphasizing how readers, especially younger ones, can learn valuable lessons from it.

“It’s not only a biography, but also historical, motivational, and inspirational. A lot of students can learn from this book,” she said.

Hansen also emphasized their wide vision for the book, which includes translating it into 15 languages.

"So we want to share this, not just to us but to the Philippines and also the whole world, because this book will be translated to 15 languages, and we already started translating it to Tagalog, Russian, Arabic. Because we will have a book launch in September in Dubai and October or November in Moscow. The one in Korea and Japan, were still finalizing it. We can't translate in one time," she added.

When asked if she believes the book can capture the global audience she is targeting, Hansen confidently responded, “Yes.” She went on to describe the author’s dedication, noting that he flew to the Philippines to immerse himself in Singson’s life.

“Do you know the author flew all the way here? He’s not based in the Philippines. He spent time with Manong Chavit 24/7—living with him in Quezon City, joining him on international trips in his private jet, observing him so he’d know the right questions to ask. This book contains about 700 questions, many of them controversial. And Manong Chavit answered them bravely,” Hansen explained.

The book’s question-and-answer format, she added, is a key feature that makes it easy to read. Hansen noted that they were inspired by popular bestsellers that use a similar style.

Hansen revealed that the book went through a long and rigorous editing process to ensure Singson himself was fully satisfied with the final version.

“This book took over a year to make, 14 months of constant revisions. We didn’t publish it until it was fully approved,” she said.

She also quoted one of Singson’s favorite sayings: “The number one teacher in life is experience,” underscoring how the book is filled with real-life lessons that are “inspiring, motivational, and can serve as a guide.”

“Manong Chavit always says, ‘If you’re happy, I’m happy.’ He loves bringing joy to people. It’s so genuine—he truly wants others to be happy,” she added.

To date, around 81,000 copies have been sold. Upcoming book launches are scheduled in Vigan and at the Chavit Coliseum. The book is available online at chavitsingson.com.