An Interview With Funny Fe

Mel Brooks once defined comedy in a simplistic fashion. If a person gets a paper cut, that’s tragic. If a person falls into a manhole and dies, that’s funny. Which is what comedy is all about - the ability to laugh at a situation that you would otherwise find unpleasant had it happened to you. But this is where the difference lies with Fe de los Reyes.
Most comedians are usually serious people outside of their acts. Not so with Fe.
Barring great tragedies, this performer is almost always ready with a humorous response to any given situation, even at her own expense. This probably explains the gravitation towards comedy despite her years of experience as a front liner for the famed show band Music and Magic. As an original member of the band (she was there with Kuh Ledesma from the very start and way after the pop diva left to pursue superstardom), Fe eventually provided comic relief in between singing some of the hit covers the band performed.
As in everything in life, all things come to an end. And Music and Magic was no exception. But Fe had no trouble in launching a career all her own. And comedy was an obvious choice.
TV shows came, as well as movies and her own comedy concerts. But all that did not seem enough. In time, she left the Philippines and moved here where she started carving out a name for herself.
Now a mother and wife, Fe lends credence to the old adage ‘the more we change, the more we stay the same’. Even with all the changes she has been through, Fe remains the same sweet, funny and extremely accommodating human being that she has always been.
The following is a question and answer segment where Fe gives a better, albeit somewhat humorous, insight into the kind of person she is now.
Q: How is life treating you these days?
Fe: Not bad ...busy with domestic life as a wife and a mother (domestic goddess, di ba?). I’m busy with shows too. Having the best of both worlds is great.
Q: You’re no longer a Filipino in the technical sense of the word. Has this changed you in any way?
Fe: No, it has not. In my heart I will always be a Filipino. Blue passport, but proud to be brown! (..teka green na yata ang Philippine passport) Dugong Pinoy forever!
Q: What are your plans for the future?
Fe: I am going back to the Philippines for a career comeback of some sort. (probably) sometime late July. I will be bi-coastal...(jetsetter sounds yabang!) I’ll be traveling back and forth the Philippines and USA.
Q: Is being a Filipino-American entertainer any different from being an entertainer in the Philippines?
Fe: Yes, it is different. For one, I really cannot go fulltime here in America because my priority is my family. Sa Philippines, full gear ako at super focused sa career, so that means I make more money in the Philippines than (I do) here. My husband is the dollar earner here (ang dollar spender - ako! he-he-he)
We are really spoiled in the Philippines. Ang daming assistants -feeling star talaga. Dito sa America, ako lahat in terms of performance. I basically do the same stuff - comedy with a lot of singing. But the theme of “life in America” relates more to my audience here in the States, of course, kasi they can identify with the jokes and experiences - kaya funny.
Q: How hard (or easy) was it for you to get to where you are now?
Fe: Nothing comes easy. We all must work hard to get to where we (want to be). Well, unless you are super-duper lucky. Talent is not enough. You need luck and hard work too.
Q: Is there anything you miss about being in the Philippines?
Fe: Philippine showbiz ... my career ... my friends and family ... being pampered ... you know - spa, massage, manicure, pedicure, hot oil, the night life. I know you can have these things here too, but labor and services here are so expensive!
Q: Part of your act shows how difficult life here is in terms of having to do everything by yourself. Is this depiction based on reality or mere comic genius?
Fe: (It’s) based on reality talaga - from exFErience. I have been living in America for ten years now and mahirap na masarap. Kailangan masipag ka kung gusto mong umasenso. Life is good here. Nakakapagod lang. It is a matter of getting used to it, I know. A lot of my colleagues from Manila want to come here and settle here. Ako naman, gusto kong bumalik. I like it here (but I also) like it there. Well kung puwede ko lang hatiin ang katawan ko...cloning kaya?
Q: Do you still keep in touch with your old friends or do you have new ones that replaced them?
Fe: I keep in touch with old friends and make new ones all the time. My friends are my wealth.
Q: Why did you decide to come to America?
Fe: New life ... new beginnings .. And of course, that so called “American Dream.”
Q: Have you ever regretted your decision to come here?
Fe: No.
Q: What was the funniest incident of culture shock that you ever experienced?
Fe: America is the land of choice. And when I order something at a restaurant, natataranta ako. And I don’t understand pa sometimes what the waitress (is asking) me - like soup or salad? Then I’d answer yes! Tapos ang dami nang choices ... ay sus!
It’s operating all these machines - very intimidating talaga ... like the coffee maker, washing machine, dishwasher, dryer, garage door, vacuum cleaner - basta lahat ng pumalit sa human labor...feeling ‘engot’ talaga ako. Pero ngayon expert na ako dyan!
In other words, modern technology, technology and more technology...
Q: Are there any “dream” projects that you want to undertake in the future?
Fe: I want to put up my own cafe/theater lounge. I also want to record a Christmas album (because it’s played every year ... hindi nawawala sa uso), be a part of a Broadway musical, own a beach house, travel around the world, have a regular TV show... Naku! Ang dami kong dream projects.....kulang ang space ng newspaper ninyo..
Q: How did you get into showbiz?
Fe: With the Music and Magic in 1979 at the Alibi Bar of the Regent of Manila.
Q: What keeps you busy?
Fe: Being a domestic goddess (he-he-he-he) I am a mother and a housewife - that takes priority. I have two kids - Julia (9) and Alexandra (4).
Q: Does stand-up comedy as we know it here have a chance of working in the Philippines?
Fe: Yes. Stand-up comedy is standing and doing a monologue. Stand-up comedians are basically monologists (doing a monologue with hardly any props. (They) just go onstage - plain and simple - with just their material. It could be a prepared script or pure ad lib. Or (you can) just be spontaneous and come in cold (puwede rin). We do that in the Philippines. I am not a pure monologist. I (also) do a lot of singing. I can (also) do monologues, though more on adlibs.
Q: Are there other Filipino entertainers here that you respect and admire?
Fe: I actually am not very sure who is here in America. Every Filipino entertainer deserves respect for whatever they do anyway. Hmm .. is Florante in America ? Or Sylvia la Torre? There are a lot of young, talented Filipino-American entertainers here (who) sing well. Lea Salonga (for one) is world class. I admire and respect her.
Q: Do you still enjoy doing what you do?
Fe: Definitely!
Q: If there were anything in your life that you can change, what would it be?
Fe: Wow ang dami!
Well, I just want to be a “better” me. I don’t (really) want to change anything in my life. I just want to keep on improving and make myself a better person each day.
Q: Did you always want to be a comedienne? Or did you set out to become a singer?
Fe: Singer. Being a comedienne was incidental.
Q: Do you think that raising a family here is any different from raising one in the Philippines?
Fe: Well, I raised my kids (here) without (the benefit of) day care (or a) babysitter. Full time mother ako. Sa Manila, we have yayas and maids. Ako, nakatutok sa mga anak ko. In America, kayod talaga and kids go to daycare (or have a) sitter para makatrabaho ka. Pag-uwi ng parents, pagod na. Oh well, it really is on a case to case basis. I believe children raised in America are independent and self-sufficient. They learn to take care of themselves at an early age. Hindi dependent sa maids and yayas to do things for them. There are basic universal values that we teach our children, regardless of where we live. Sa America man o sa Pilipinas, what matters is love in the family.

 

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