Minutes away from his first set, Vincent Bueno doubted if he could get up on stage to perform in front of a half-filled Teatrino on a Friday night.
He just lost his voice. It wasn't exactly brought about by that nerve-wracking moment right before one of his first major gigs began, but simply because the last two days of rehearsals had been taxing and trying.
"It was a relief talaga... I think it was a wonder na nakakanta pa ako," recalls Vincent, unburdened, three days after his Got Fridays concert in Greenhills.
Truth be told, when the lights were on him and the stage was his, not an inch of his body manifested fatigue; neither did his voice fail him. Instead, his energy was infectious. As he had been doing for most of his life, performing always turns out effortlessly easy for the talented Vincent Bueno.
That he can emphatically sing and insanely dance, rap, beatbox, and create soulful rhythm and blues or ballads is still unknown to most Filipinos. It has only been about a year since Vincent officially came to the Philippines to perform after gaining popularity and respect in Vienna where the community of Filipinos take pride in his craft. [CLICK HERE to read related story]
Vincent was born to and brought up by full-blooded Filipino parents— his father is a musician, his mother is a nurse—who met and decided to build their family in Vienna. Hence, Vincent grew up immersed in the Austrian way of life. Such explains why his first language is in fact German and why up to now Vincent is still bemused and fascinated by the stark disparity between the two cultures.
Growing up Austrian and Filipino at the same time meant straddling two cultures.
"It's difficult. I say it's difficult because you as a Filipino? You're full blooded Filipino, right? And you grow up in a country where you know the language, you know the culture, you know the mentality but still there's something [missing]... it's not really home," relays Vincent.
At some point, his Austrian background and Filipino heritage brought about a crisis within him.
"To be very honest, hindi ko nga alam, e. Dati, I didn't know if I was Austrian or Filipino inside."
While his foreign peers would affirm his unaccented German and tell him that he has adapted to their culture so well, Vincent mentions of the countless misunderstandings between him and his father who never failed to remind him of Filipino values—respect above all.
"Ang Papa ko talaga siya nagsasabi, 'Alam mo, Pinoy pa rin tayo, Vince. Dapat hindi ka nagbabago.'"
To this he would always retort, "'Pa, pero andito tayo."
The rage inside him rooted from a grueling confusion, "Nakikita kong puwede naman sa ibang pamilya, bakit sa akin hindi puwede?"
