Fresh from the success of his concert “Just Got Lucky,” where a rare public cast reunion of the original Bagets movie happened on stage, Raymond Lauchengco on his social media account posted a long thank you message for “the Megastar” Sharon Cuneta.
The post takes us back to the 80s decade, a chapter where Raymond started his career as an actor and singer in Viva Films and where Sharon Cuneta was the prime celebrity. The singer said it’s all because of Sharon that he got the breaks in the industry.
“Not too many people know that I have the Megastar herself, Sharon Cuneta, to thank for my start in show business. That happened because back in the day, Sharon was a student of my father (his favorite one), and one day, she saw my picture on his desk while she was in his office. Next thing I knew, she had set up a meeting for me with Boss Vic del Rosario of Viva Films, and soon after, I was cast in her movies and given all these beautiful songs to record under Vicor Records. All because of Sharon,” Raymond said.
Aside from acting as his bridge to enter showbiz, on a more personal level, Raymond admitted a secret crush with the Megastar.
“But the bigger story is that Sharon was my first serious showbiz crush! I used to go to sleep with my Walkman headphones listening to her songs. So can you imagine what a thrill it was for me to finally meet her, act out scenes with her, and sing duets with her at her concerts! And to be honest, we had great chemistry together. The chemistry of... brother and sister. To this day, with my silver hair and all, she still calls me her baby bro,” he added.
The inspiration made Raymond who he is today, four decades after that discovery.
“Despite the unrequited love, Sharon turned out to be the best showbiz Ate ever as she set off a wonderful chain of events that saw me through 40 years all the way to my Just Got Lucky concert last Saturday. So naturally, I had to ask her to be a part of my concert since she was the one who discovered me. So I reached out to her and asked. She replied almost immediately saying she really wanted to do it for me but couldn’t because she would be touring her Dear Heart concert in the US and Canada.”
With the magic of today’s technology, the duet number still pushed through as a major segment of Raymond’s concert.
“She could have left it at that and it would have been totally understandable, but because she has such a big heart she came up with an alternative — what if we recorded something together before she left? It was my manager Girlie Rodis who took that idea a step further and said, make an interactive video duet where Sharon appears on screen and I would sing my parts live. That was going to be tricky though because it meant Sharon would have to both record, and then film, her parts and we all know how packed her schedules are.
“To my utter surprise, she said yes. She would definitely make time for me. And she did it gratis et amore, because she said she wanted her gift to me to be complete. And what gift it was! Come concert night, without anyone in the audience knowing, I thanked Sharon for discovering me and said: So there I was, not knowing what show business had in store for an 18-year-old kid with nothing more than a hope and a dream in a world full of stars. Then I started to sing a song from a Sharon movie that I was a part of — ‘Bukas Luluhod ang mga Tala,’ which Marvin Querido had rearranged masterfully,” he said.
It was a dream come true for Raymond and truly a magical part of his concert.
“Stars in a dreamy night sky filled all the screens, beautiful shafts of light poignantly lit the stage, and Sharon appeared as the audience gushed. As I sang our virtual duet, my mind was flooded with 40 years of beautiful memories. All the ups and downs, all the starts and stops, and most importantly, God’s faithfulness and guiding hand all through out. Memories that would not have even existed without Sharon Cuneta. Thank you, Sharon, for such a selfless, beautiful and perfect gift! Your baby bro loves you!” Raymond said.
Aside from Bagets and Bagets 2, he starred in movies with Sharon Cuneta (Cross My Heart and Bukas Luluhod ang mga Tala), Janice de Belen (Remember Me, Mama), Gary Valenciano, Herbert Bautista and Aga Muhlach (Hotshots) and Maricel Soriano (Saan Darating ang Umaga).