Now its out in the open. After weeks of speculations, rumors and innuendoes, a Toronto-based Filipino-Canadian promoter had confirmed
That “mismanagement of funds before and after the shows “ was the cause why the legendary Juan De La Cruz band was not fully paid of their talent fees.
The iconic band, composed of Jose “Pepe “ Smith, Wally Gonzalez and Mike “Jeprox “ Hanopol along with ASIN lead singer Lolita Carbon were contracted by Segga productions to do several concert shows in Canadian cities and in the United States starting May 9 and suppose to end in November of last year, 2009.
They’re demanding payment of some $23,000, which Segga represented, by Grace Parucha and her sister Elsie Parucha Maranan owed them. They have also complained of being held “hostages and coerced “ into playing concerts in San Francisco but refused when they found out that they were holding B1B2 visitors’ visas that don’t allow them to perform and accept payments from US promoters.
They also charged that Ms. Elsie Maranan had warned them that they will not be given their return tickets unless they perform.
Wally Gonzalez, lead guitarist of the group, said they were practically “blackmailed and held hostages “and even quoted Maranan as assuring the US line producer that the group will perform as demanded saying “Wala naman magagawa ang mga yan,tutugtug yan, wala silang plane ticket pa Manila, walang pera (the group), no choice sila..tutugtug yan (they cannot do anything but to play they have no plane tickets and no choice.. they will play and perform).
Ms. Maranan disputed this saying their visas entitle them to perform in US soil but Gonzalez said “ May annotation yung US Visa naming na B1B2..NOT FOR PROFIT PERFORMANCES IN THE US “. Had they performed, a lawyer whom they sought for advice, said they would have been arrested and banned from entering the US by immigration authorities.
Worse, the plane tickets that Segga was supposed to send them did not come at all because by Ms. Grace Parucha’s admission, “they (the group)were getting frustrated because we couldn’t confirm or send the tickets to them. Part of the problem in not having the tickets sent to them right away was because we DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY to pay all the tickets at the same time “.
Stranded, Gonzalez, Pepe Smith and Lolita Carbon borrowed plane fare money from some friends and relatives just so to get home and fulfill some
scheduled commitments waiting for them in Manila.
Grace Parucha said Segga’s troubles began when they discovered that some personnel had run away with their money representing revenues from ticket sales while others failed to pay them money owed.
As a result, Parucha described their fiscal situation and “:projected budgets were way under actual expenses. In other words, She said “Segga was totally mismanaged “ leaving them with little money to run their operations.
By the time the concert tours were to begin, Parucha said there was nobody left to carry on except her, Elsie Maranan (a sister) and Allane (a niece) plus an independent promoter as everybody else involved with Segga allegedly left and abandoned them.
Four producers who were originally interested to buy the shows from Segga backed out due to some rumors that Pepe Smith was not given a Canadian visa and therefore cannot perform.
Parucha said because of this, they had to depend totally on ticket sales but she claimed that “ all the shows were not profitable “.
“We did not make any money from any of the shows. Not even enough to pay the venues “ she declared.
Reports gathered by this writer showed that Segga had failed to pay one concert venue (Rex Saigon along Sheppard in Scarborough)of at least $3,000 and a tour bus operator that brought the band to Montreal. There other outstanding debts owed other creditors including some Filipino-Canadian community newspapers. Parucha said these will also be paid .
Wally Gonzalez however said Segga’s financial troubles were the least of their concern. The bottom line , he said is that they should fulfill their contract and obligations to the band and Lolita Carbon by paying the balance of their talent fees.
Parucha assured this writer and the group that they are not reneging on their contract and had in fact submitted to the group a proposed schedule of payments on an instalment basis until everything is fully settled.
In the first week of January, Parucha wired the first instalment of $500.00 to Wally Gonzalez thru Western Union.
She pleaded with Gonzalez “$500 lang po and mapapadala ko muna dahil gipit na gipit po ako “.
Parucha said on January 16,2010, she will send another $1000 thru Western Union and another $1500 on February 3,2010 and again $1000 every two weeks until the balance has been fully paid.
Staggered amounts will also be sent to other members of the group like Lolita Carbon of Asin and Pepe Smith.
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WE’RE SORRY
“Unfortunately, we have learned a very painful lesson about show business at the expense of the Juan De La Cruz band and for that we’re truly sorry” Parucha said.
Lolita Carbon, when asked for comment, was bitter about having to have experienced being left to fend by herself in a strange land, with no money in her pockets. She had lost potential incomes as a result of her failure to come home to waiting commitments.
There are however deeper ramifications on the Juan de la Cruz-Segga fiasco. One is there could be an adverse backlash on future concerts and engagements by Manila-based artists and performers as a result of the ordeal suffered by the Juan de la Cruz band.
Potentially some artists might decline accepting a performance or gig in Toronto promoted by Filipino-Canadians for fear of suffering the same fate as the Juan de la Cruz band.
Pepe Smith and his group have considerable influence among peers in show business and we don’t know what their next moves will be, whether legal or otherwise.
Perhaps this is a wake up call among Filipino-Canadian promoters to notch up their game. Perhaps, its time to professionalize the business, gain some experience and make sure there are enough capital investments to avoid miscalculations. (See related story on page 34)