After decades of separation, bossa nova singer Sitti Navarro finally met her Muslim father in an emotional reunion in Tawi-Tawi on April 25.
Navarro, who rose to fame after releasing her Café Bossa album in 2006, was made to believe by her grandparents that her dad passed away when she was still young.
The truth is, her father left after her parents separated. She was still 9 months old then.
The bossa nova singer finally learned the fact when she was in Grade 6. Her mom, she said, felt she was already at the right age to know the truth.
“Kapag naglalakad ako sa kanto, naiisip ko kung nasaan siya ngayon,” she said.
“Friendster (a social networking site) arrived. ‘Yong eldest brother, father's side, in-add niya ako sa Friendster…. ‘Yong pangalan po niya with Jr., tapos nagpakilala din siya na, ‘I’m your kuya.’ Pero hindi ata ako nag-reply sa kanya. I think I ignored it.”
Looking back, the singer said she opted to ignore it because she “was still too young. I didn’t know how to deal with it.”
“Kasi parang bakit? Naisip ko siguro noon, ‘Bakit? Lumaki ako na wala kayo. Bakit?’”
“Then the next communication was, I was having a mall show. Then autograph signing, the usual may pumipila. Then this guy comes up to me, nagpa-autograph. Sabi ko, ‘What’s your name?’ Pinakita niya ‘yong ID sa akin. Nagulat din ako noon. And then I didn’t know how to react. Of course, I signed the CD, I’m buying time. Hindi ko alam ang gagawin ko.
“’Yong natapos ‘yong autograph signing, hinanap ko ang kapatid ko. Hindi ko na siya nakita.”
When her father managed to get her contact number and called her house, she admitted that “it was like talking to a stranger.”
“My father would call our house, siguro mga 2 years ago. Three phone calls, kakausapin ko siya. I don’t know what to say. It’s like talking to a stranger, just being polite.”
The reunion finally took place on April 25 in Tawi-Tawi. She said she was happy to finally meet her dad.
“Doon ko na-realize I’ve always loved my dad even though I’ve never seen him noong lumaki ako, thinking na hindi ko kailangan ng tatay. And then when I saw him, ‘Wow may matatawag pala akong papa.’"
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/05/16/11/sitti-reunites-muslim-dad-after-decades
