On his 100th birthday, the Philippines honored Levi Celerio with a special-edition stamp. On his 108th birth anniversary, Google is honoring him with a doodle.
After paying tribute to the great literary genius Francisco Balagtas earlier this month, the giant search engine now ends April with a commemoration of the life of Celerio, a National Artist for Literature/Music.
Celerio was a prolific lyricist and music composer, who wrote over 4,000 songs in his lifetime. Among those are Original Pilipino Music (OPM) classics like Saan Ka Man Naroroon, Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal, Kahit Konting Pagtingin, Ikaw, and Kapag Pusoý Sinugatan. His Christmas songs are also ageless like Pasko Na Naman, Misa de Gallo, and Ang Pasko ay Sumapit.
Born in Tondo, Manila on April 30, 1910, Celerio was a natural music genius. He has the unique talent of playing beautiful music using just a leaf, earning him the Guinness Book of World Records title as the ‘only leaf player in the world.’ He was also featured on TV show ‘That’s Incredible’ for that. Celerio made history as the youngest member of the Manila Symphony Orchestra.