Adventurer of the Week: Mariz
Mariz began her singing career in elementary school. Her first song that she sang in public was the Philippines national anthem. That experience began a lifetime of using her voice to make a living.
She grew up in Manila, where her uncle trained her to develop her voice and to sing as she grew older. By the time she completed high school, Mariz was already looking for work as a singer and eventually landed a job as a singer for an orchestra in Malate. Her talent was noticed and she was encouraged to seek employment overseas.
In 1990, Mariz landed her first six month contract as a singer in Japan. For nearly a decade she shuttled back and forth between Japan and the Philippines. In time the recognition of her talent grew and she saw her monthly salary rise from $500 (USD) to $1,500 (USD) per month.
Of course during her career as a singer, she had many suitors but it was difficult to maintain a relationship while traveling out of the country so often. When back home, she could develop her love life, but when on the road she was living with other entertainers and dancers in a very challenging life that made maintaining a relationship difficult.
Taking some time off from work in Tokyo.
Today, Mariz has many fond memories of Japan and still remembers her trip to Disneyland as one of the most memorable events in her life. Although her career made her life challenging, she recommends that singers with talent explore the possibilities of singing overseas. But she cautions that although the rewards can be great, it is not an easy lifestyle. When traveling abroad for the first time to Japan, one has to be conscious of the dangers of the Japanese criminal underworld and the challenges of learning a new language and living in a different culture.
In 2000, Mariz returned home and sang for a while at several local hotels. Today, she is a manager at a KTV where she now trains other girls to sing and occasionally sings a few songs herself. Although, she is aging gracefully, Mariz still is able to sing with a great deal of passion and ability. Her rendition of “New York, New York” is superb and she does a lot of the older variety songs extremely well. And, of course, she is more than capable of handling the newer popular songs like “Nobody.”
Mariz is Michael’s Adventurer of the Week for having the courage and ability to travel overseas and adapting to a new language and culture. Despite the challenges that she faced, she was able to carve out a satisfying career. Today, she is once again looking into traveling back to Japan. She now is a separated mother who is raising four children and feels the need to earn and save more money for her children’s future.
It is not hard to imagine her singing the following words from “New York, New York” – ” … if I can make it there, I can make it anywhere …” I think those words sum up Mariz’s strength of heart, character, and drive to succeed no matter what challenges are thrown her way.
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