Songs from The Soul Siren, Nina

The Soul Siren, Nina dishing out one of her many soulful songs during a concert in Port Moresby on Saturday, September 23, 2011 for the benefit of the Tembari Children and Friends Foundation.

Nina ... haunting

Nina was a sight to behold!!!


By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

FOR trying-hard fotogs like me, The Soul Siren, Nina was extremely a refreshing sight to snap on.

And I didn’t even know any of her songs, a natural disaster that normally descends on people who were reared like a pampered tot on songs of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

What I remember was that I could hear a voice oozing fluidly from the soul of a splendid lady, who was now levitating in the soothing strain of notes just two arms-stretch away from me.

Truly, her music was a healing balm to my strained heart.

Back home in the Philippines, it was said that such a voice could only come from a siren, not the one which Filipino legend had said came from beneath the sea, but from someone only the likes of Nina could own.

So on Friday night, 23rd of September, Nina was up there on the makeshift stage of Dynasty Restaurant singing out her soul and giving us – the audience – the goose bumps.

This angel, who has continuously dominated the metropolis’ weekend concert circuits, was in Port Moresby along with two of her equally able singing-and-dancing-joking colleagues – Rowell Quizon and Chubbylita – for a two-night fundraising concert for the unfortunate children of Tembari Children’s Care (TCC) day care facility and for Friend’s Foundation.

They were imported by the Filipino Association of PNG (FAPNG) under its president Tony Valdez, and their coming, as usual, had been considered a big musical treat for the Filipino community in the capital city.

As in the previous Hatid Saya concerts, the venue was jammed, as usual, with more than 300 Pinoys and expatriates whose tables – most of them – were paid for by corporate sponsors at K3,000 a pop.

Those who came on their own burned a hole in their pockets with a cool but nasty K300 – not for the so-so five-course dinner and a bottle of wine – but for the pleasure of being with this lady, if only for the night.

Very rare had Port Moresby Pinoys been able to witness one live performer as enchanting and sensuous as Nina – a miracle seldom seen on Philippine TV.

That’s why that night, the community of music lovers came in full force, knowing that it would be in these hours when their thirst for Filipino love songs would at last find a quencher in her.

Truly, on Friday night, sultry Nina made love with her songs, and the audience – mesmerized as they were - didn’t mind: they were thrilled; some even wished for her to come again – next year maybe.

And as for me, not knowing a tune from her repertoire, I just clicked on and on and on … and on.

With her, I knew my evening was made.

Please come again, Nina!


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