By I interviewed singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan around a decade ago for Afterburner, the last section of UNO Magazine. The Ilonggo sugar business owner is famous for his tracks like “Beautiful Girl,” “Can We Start Over,” “Deep in my Heart,” and “Please Be Careful with my Heart,” among others. But if you’ve lived in the Philippines long enough, you’ll know that his song “Christmas in our Hearts” is undoubtedly one of the most sung Pinoy Christmas songs. I have probably attended enough Christmas parties to have seen this song performed by different people. I was actually lucky enough in 2019 to watch Jose Mari Chan perform this song with no other than Lea Salonga at a Uniqlo event. Here’s my interview with Jose Mari Chan about “Christimas in our Hearts” and his favorite Christmas songs. Advance Merry Christmas everyone!
ON THE MOST SUNG OPM CHRISTMAS SONG
It’s such a wonderful blessing that “Christmas In Our Hearts” has been woven into the very fabric of Philippine Christmas. I never thought back in 1990 that a song as simple as this would make such a lasting impact on people, young and old alike, and become a perennial part of our Yuletide celebration. It makes me both proud and humble.
My other song, “A Perfect Christmas,” a love song for the season, has also become an annual favorite.
INSPIRATION TO WRITE CHRISTMAS SONGS
Christmas is a most joyful season. Next to love, it is the most inspiring story to sing about.
HISTORY OF “CHRISTMAS IN OUR HEARTS”
The song had a very interesting beginning. In 1988, the Assumption High School Class of ’63, which was celebrating its Silver Jubilee, asked me to compose their Jubilee song from a poem written by one of their classmates, Chari Cruz-Zarate. The poem was entitled “Ang Tubig ay Buhay.” Two years later, Universal Records Producer Bella D. Tan suggested that I do a Christmas album. That’s when I remembered my melody for “Ang Tubig ay Buhay” so my mind began to work on writing Christmas lyrics to it.
One Sunday morning as I was coming out of the church, a young lady named Rina Caniza approached me as we were about to drive away. She introduced herself as a young songwriter hoping to collaborate with me. I sent her a cassette of the melody, and after several back and forths we came up with a rough draft of “Christmas in Our Hearts.”
Driving along the North Expressway, the inspiration to write the last verse came like a gentle breeze:
“Let love, like that starlight on that first Christmas morn/Lead us back to the manger where Christ the child was born.” Meanwhile, Universal was rushing me to complete the album in time for its commercial release in October. My first choice to sing the song with me was Lea Salonga. My enthusiasm was dampened by Lea’s recording studio’s refusal to allow her to do the recording for a competing label. Quickly, my next choice was Lea’s colleague in Miss Saigon, Monique Wilson. But something happened that weekend. Monique lost her voice and apologized that she could not go into recording. Meanwhile, time was ticking fast. We had to get someone to do the duet with me. That’s when we thought of getting my eighteen-year-old daughter Liza. She had sung in her high school musical program as well as in the Ateneo College presentation of Pippin, though only in the ensemble, not in a starring role. But apart from that, we had not sung much together.
I remember walking into her bedroom while she was studying for an exam. I gave her the cassette of the song and asked her to learn it for our recording the next day. And so, she did.
Looking back now, I’m truly convinced that the hand of the Holy Spirit was behind the song from the very start, guiding me all along.
I acknowledge the role of Chari Cruz- Zarate, whose poem established the meter of my melody. I credit Rina Caniza, who collaborated with me on the lyrics. I credit my daughter Liza Chan-Parpan, whose voice put magic into the song. But most of all I thank the Holy Spirit for inspiring us to create that song.”
HIS IDEA OF A PERFECT CHRISTMAS
For me Christmas will never be complete unless it is shared with my loved ones. In other Christian countries, people travel for miles by train, boats, and planes in order to be home for Christmas. That’s how I’ve spent my Christmases since I was a kid and that’s how I will want to spend my Christmas every year.
FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONGS
I was about nine years old in our hometown of Iloilo when my mother, who’s now eighty- seven, sat down at the piano with me one evening in December and taught me to play “Silent Night.” I played the left-hand accompaniment while mama played the melody. I’ll never forget that moment. The other favorite Christmas song of mine is Johnny Mathis’ version of “O Holy Night,” one of the most beautiful Christmas songs ever written. I cannot not mention two other Yuletide songs: “Little Christmas Tree” of Nat King Cole and “Give Me Your Heart for Christmas” of the McGuire Sisters. Is it any wonder why I included those two in my Christmas album?
Denise J. Mallabo 