He was diagnosed with first stage autism when he was only three years old. LA Santos (born Leonard Antonio), Flor Santos, his mother, said she was bothered when her son was unable to speak as three years old kids would. She sought medical help and that was how she found out her third child was autistic.
Now, 17 (he was born on Jan. 27, 2000), if you didn’t know he was diagnosed with first stage autism, you would think he’s just like other young men in your family.
“I made a lot of sacrifices to make sure LA could go past the challenges of being autistic,” Flor related.
She had to quit her employment to focus on taking care of LA as the child was growing up. “Kids with this condition need more than just lip service of love and understanding. You have to let them feel you love and understand them.”
She is very grateful to have found a considerate partner that not only extended empathy and care for her son but also became her partner in raising LA who was then growing up with ADHD, another condition that bears the same behavioral pattern with those suffering autism.
LA loved (and still does) playing basketball. When he started going to school, he gravitated naturally to the sport. Since Grade 7 at University of Sto. Tomas (now in Grade 9), he was a Tiger Cub. Then, he stated liking music, specifically singing. Flor and her husband made sure LA would get the necessary things to make him focus on singing.
And in no time at all, Lnard Antonio Brioso Santos or L.A. Santos has been dubbed “Singing Idol.”Mind you, he isn’t just a singer. He is also a songwriter.
And now, his passion is music. While appearing as guest performer in various concerts, someone thought of giving the young boy a concrete chart for a future in singing. Eventually, LA got the chance to sing with famous international singers (The Stylistics and Air Supply) in their shows in Manila. He also has his own band called Winchester Street formed after attending a recent workshop at ABS-CBN.
According to record producer Jonathan Manalo, himself a songwriter and a top gun in Star Music, the record company that is distributing LA Santos’ album, “The boy has improved musically since I first heard him perform. We brought in a vocal coach to help him cope with the difficult phrases in the songs and thus far what I hear is good.”
Manalo also acknowledges LA’s mother, Flor, and his siblings Kin, Kanish and Ken as factors in the young boy’s success in his quest to perfect music.
An avid fun of Bruno Mars, Bamboo and pop icon Michael Jackson (his ultimate idols), there’s no stopping him from reaching his dream of becoming a singing sensation, notwithstanding his condition.
“I am very thankful to my family for the love they have given me and for the understanding,” he remarked when asked how he feels about having an album.
The nine-track eponymous album is downloadable from online music apps and also available on physical album (CD) at music stores nationwide.
★★★★★
The photo of carrying Maine Mendoza on his shoulders at the concert of Coldplay at the MOA concert grounds became viral. But wait, it wasn’t only the love team known as AlDub that attracted the audience’s attention. There was also Juancho Triviño among the VIP crowd and like Alden he carried fellow Kapuso Thea Tolentino on his shoulders. Well, the two actually did an ersatz for fun. Netizens liked it and said the two have chemistry. But will the characters being played by the two in Destined To Be Yours ever meet?
Will it be soon and will it mark the end of the good things Badong and Sinag have as well as Benjie and Trish’s relationship?
That’s what we will all wait.
★★★★★
“Me, god?” Zoren Legaspi exclaimed when he heard some Encantadia fans called him “god.”
Zoren told fellow actors in the series the impact of being in the show and the role he plays
As Bathalumang Emre, god of the fairies. Says Zoren, “ When he was offered a role in the show, he didn’t have any second thought to accept it, afte all, this is the kind of show that he likes, action-packed. But he never anticipated that the audience would easily associate his off screen self to the character he plays. He added how happy he was when after a couple of days in the show, the fans have been calling him Emre (the character he plays). “When I go out, they call me Emre. It makes me happy dahil ang bilis ng tatak, maganda naman yung feedback, kaya natutuwa ako, kaya lalo akong na-e-excite.”
★★★★★
With earthquakes shaking Metro Manila recently, the fans also met the cast of Meant To Be with similar intensity that rocked Market! Market! during their mall show.
Barbie Forteza, Ken Chan, Jak Roberto, Addy Raj, and Ivan Dorschner were welcomed warmly by their fans. The mall was enveloped with resounding screams each time the guys performed for them.
Co-stars Manilyn Reynes, Tina Paner, Keempee de Leon, Sef Cadayona, Stephanie Sol, Tess Bomb, and Mika dela Cruz also gave their best to entertain the fans. They can only say “Thank You” over and over again in appreciation of the fans’ support.