Vingenr Tan, 40, quit his job at the Department of Interior and Local Government Central Visayas (DILG-7) to pursue his dream of competing at the World Championships of Performing Arts 2019. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines— For five years, Vingenr Tan worked as the Local Government Operations Officer II at the Department of Interior and Local Government in Central Visayas (DILG-7).
But he had to bid that job goodbye in April 2019 to make way to prepare for the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) 2019.
It was his dream to perform in the prestigious competition, which was held in Long Beach, California from July 12 to 21, 2019.
“I did not want to compromise my training for WCOPA 2019,” he recalls his commitment to his craft as one of the reasons why he resigned from his job.
Tan, 40, joined the Senior Male Vocals category, which consisted of participants who are 30 years old and above.
Tan is one of the four Cebuanos who brought pride to the Philippines.
Tan along with Christian Cayobit, Erneville Vinculado, and John Willace Tubalde took home two gold awards for the Opera and Performance in a Group Production, silver medal for Broadway, and bronze for Latin.
They performed the songs: “Stars” (from Les Miserables) for the Opera and Broadway category; “When You Wish Upon A Star”(Disney Medley) for Group Production; and “Livin Lavida Loca” (Ricky Martin) for Latin.
Joining the WCOPA 2019 is more than 13 years dream in the making for Tan, a native of Barangay Inayawan, Cebu City.
It was always his dream to join WCOPA after his friend, Riza Navales, participated in the competition in 2005 with Kapamilya singer Jed Madela.
Tan did not audition in 2005 because he had to focus on law school and work as an administrative aid at a university in Cebu City.
“I was really scared to audition plus I
had duties to perform,” he shares.
Stars aligned
But what is meant to be is meant to be.
Tan believes that 2019 is the right year for him to join the WCOPA.
Mustering all his courage and confidence, Tan auditioned to be part of the delegation on October 17, 2018 at SM City Cebu.
The WCOPA audition was scheduled from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The same day, Tan was asked to represent DILG-7 office for the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-hired policemen at the SM Seaside
City Cebu.
The oath-taking ceremony was scheduled at 2 p.m. so he went out of the office at 12 to register for the WCOPA audition at SM City Cebu.
After registration, he got his priority number: 501.
“I had to ask the audition staff that in case my number was called, ‘Could you just skip it and call me back when I came back from my official duty at the SM Seaside City Cebu?'” Tan says.
The staff told Tan that they could not wait for him in case all the auditionees were done.
Noting his responsibility to his job, Tan went on to perform his official duty for the oath-taking ceremony.
The event wrapped up at 4:10 p.m.
He immediately flagged a taxi to head to SM City Cebu.
But the traffic situation between SM Seaside and SM City Cebu has a notorious reputation of being slow especially at 4 p.m. despite the fact that both malls are located in the same city.
“So I said, ‘God if you wish me to join, let me catch up. Thy will be done,'” he shares.
When he arrived at the audition venue,
Tan looked for the same audition staff, who asked for his priority number.
“O, ikaw na,” the staff told Tan.
(It is your turn.)
He walked up the stage and performed his audition piece, “Stars” from “Les Miserables.”
“I sang my piece and as soon as I was done, I heard the applause of people all the way to the third floor,” he says.
He was asked to stay at the venue by the organizers.
After 20 minutes, the staff was handing pieces of paper to the auditionees.
He recalls seeing frowns and smiles from his fellow auditionees.
Tan was the last person to receive a paper.
He thought he did not make it because one of the staff told him, “Sorry Kuya!”
He looked at the paper and on it was the word he was waiting to read: “Congratulations!”
“To me, that incident of arriving in time for my audition was a sign from God that I would make it to WCOPA 2019,” he says.
Tan along with more than 100 Filipino performers flew to Long Beach, California on July 10, 2019, for the WCOPA 2019.
With three other teammates, Vingenr Tan won two gold awards for the Opera and Performance in a Group Production, silver medal for Broadway, and bronze for Latin. At the World Championships for Performing Arts held in Long Beach, California in July 2019. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Fighting spirit
For Tan, his WCOPA 2019 journey taught him a valuable lesson: to make your dreams happen.
“If you want to be successful, always hold on to that dream. Work for it and make it happen,” he tells CDN Digital.
He says there will always be disappointments and challenges on the road to achieving your dreams.
Even then, he tells aspiring singers to have faith and to never be afraid to learn new things.
He says he took into heart a mantra from his law school professor: Diligence compensates much the lack of talent.
“As much as you can, never stop. Soon, you will become a master of your craft. If you believe that, then you will become a successful singer,” he says. / celr