Darren Espanto’s virtual birthday concert raised P526,000

Filipino pop singer Darren Espanto spent his 19th birthday in the best possible way. The award-winning singer held a virtual concert D’Birthday Concert from Home for the benefit ABS-CBN’s Pantawid ng Pag-ibig. The said organization aims to help communities affected by the coronavirus disease pandemic.

Darren, who is in Canada, performed from his own living room in Calgary. The said benefit concert was able to raised P526,156.43 from donations online.

“Nakaka-miss mag-live shows pero sana matapos na po itong pandemyang ito so we can go back to doing those things kasi na-mi-miss ko na rin makita kayong lahat. That’s something that I always think about, kung paano at kailan kaya tayo makakabalik sa normal na yun at I’d say malungkot at nakaka-worrydin po ang mga directly hit by this pandemic, ang mga nawalan ng mga mahal sa buhay at pati ang mga nawalan ng trabaho of course. Wala pa ring mass testing and padami ng padami na ang bilang ng nagkakasakit especially COVID, yan talaga ang nag-drive sa amin para gawin ito tonight sa paraan na kaya nating magawa,” he said at the start of his show.

Darren’s special guest performers included his younger sister Lynelle, Gary Valenciano, and Moira dela Torre.

Darren on his learnings this pandemic

Did you know that both of Darren’s parents are frontliners? The singer, then, shared how following safety precautions is important in this time of global health crisis.

“I think nakakatakot and nakaka-worry talaga ang nangyayari sa mundo ngayon. There’s just so much uncertainty right now. Our future, our dreams, almost everything that we’ve worked hard for, anytime puwede talaga mawala eh. And in spite of all these challenges kailangan pa rin natin magpatuloy of course. Kaya kami dito sa bahay we still practice strict hygiene, yung tamang paghuhugas ng kamay which is 20 to 40 seconds and even yung social distancing since yung mga kasama namin ng kapatid ko here in our house, our parents are frontliners.

“But in spite of all that, we still find a way to bond. I even had to do self-isolation for two weeks pag dating ko dito sa Canada kasi nga protecting ourselves is also protecting the people around us who we love. And that’s also protecting the dreams that we all have. And in line with that dream ay ang dreams and ambitions nung ating mga mahal sa buhay,” he explained.