Villar Records is a Filipino record label owned by Mareco, Inc. which also owns the Mabuhay Records label. It was launched in 1950 by the late Manuel P. Villar who was known as the "Father of Philippine Recording" for pioneering the recording of original Pilipino music or OPM. He was also the first president of the Record Industry Association of the Philippines (RIAP). Mareco, Inc. bought original compositions from various Filipino artists and commercially produced recordings of numerous folk songs, ''

Kundiman Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs. The lyrics of the kundiman are written in Tagalog. The melody is characterized by a smooth, flowing and gentle rhythm with dramatic intervals. Kundiman was the traditional means of sere ...

'', ''balitaw'' and other traditional music from different regions of the Philippines, keeping indigenous music alive in the 1950s and 1960s in the face of American and British imports. It also produced ethnic sounds of the

Ilocos Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

Cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly us ...

, Tausug, and

Maranao The Maranao people (Maranao: mәranaw Filipino: ''Maranaw''), also spelled Meranao, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is the term used by the Philippine government to refer to the southern indigenous people who are the "people of the lake", a predomin ...

tribes. All these indigenous music recordings were marketed under the labels Mabuhay Records and Villar Records. The company was first to produce a recording of the

Philippine National Anthem "" ("Chosen Land"), originally titled in Spanish as "" ("Philippine National March"), and commonly and informally known by its incipit "" ("Beloved Country"), is the national anthem of the Philippines. Its music was composed in 1898 by Julián ...

. It has released prolific amounts of recordings from certain of its artists, to the point where it was noted internationally in ''Billboard''. Villar released 18 albums of organ music in a single year from artist Relly Coloma, who surpassed former record holders (and labelmates) the

Mabuhay Singers The Mabuhay Singers were a group of singers from the Philippines that was formed in 1958. Some of the members went on to become soloists like Cely Bautista, Raye Lucero, Naning Alba, and the late Rene Evangelista, among many others. The group ...

to do it. Coloma released 50 albums by early 1971, all on Villar."Villar Prepares Strong Push on Coloma Album"
''Billboard Magazine''. January 16, 1971. Retrieved from Google Books. p. 78. Mareco, Inc. is currently managed by Luis P. Villar from its offices in Tirad Pass, Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City, Philippines (the studios of radio station 105.1 Crossover, which is owned by the Mareco Broadcasting Network, Inc. is also located here). The company's extensive collection of music recordings is globally distributed through Villar Records International from offices in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, United States.

Artists

Sylvia La Torre Sylvia Reyes La Torre-Perez de Tagle (June 4, 1933 – December 1, 2022), was a Filipino singer, actress, and radio star. Early life La Torre was born on June 4, 1933 to actress Leonora Reyes and director Olive La Torre. Career Singing La Tor ...

Ruben Tagalog Ruben Tagalog (October 18, 1922 – March 5, 1985) was a Filipino actor and musician, famous for his works in the Kundiman style. He was also one of the founders of the singing group Mabuhay Singers. He is known as the ''Father of Kundiman''. He ...

Diomedes Maturan Diomedes Maturan (August 16, 1940 – April 7, 2002) (tagged the "Perry Como of the Philippines" and "The Golden Voice") was an actor who played in ''Botika sa Baryo'' (1960) and a grand champion in ''Tawag ng Tanghalan''. Early life Diomedes wa ...

Bobby Gonzales Bobby Gonzales (born 15 February 1984 in Beaufort) is a Malaysian footballer who plays for Malaysian Super League club Sabah as forward. He currently hold the all-time top scorer of Malaysia Premier League with 90 goals. Personal life Bobby ...

Ric Manrique Jr. Ricardo "Ric" Manrique Jr. (23 May 1941 – 22 September 2017) was a Filipino kundiman singer. He was known as one of the two ''Hari ng Kundiman'' (Kings of Kundiman) in the Philippines, alongside Ruben Tagalog. Early career He was a member of ...

Leo Valdez Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...

*Pedro Concepcion *

Pilita Corrales Pilar Garrido Corrales (born August 22, 1937) is a Filipino pop singer, songwriter, actress, comedian and television presenter. She is dubbed as "Asia's Queen of Songs" and is widely known for her rendition of "Kapantay ay Langit" which eventu ...

*Sampaguita *

Nora Aunor Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (born May 21, 1953), professionally known as Nora Aunor (), is a Filipino actress, recording artist, and film producer. Aunor has also appeared in several stage plays, television shows and concerts. She is known as Ph ...

Hotdog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausage) or a frank ...

*Relly Coloma *Roland Valentino *Carmelita Alburo

References

External links

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Affiliates of Villar Records
{{Authority control Philippine record labels Record labels established in 1950