Vic del Rosario
Born
Vicente del Rosario Jr.

(1945-10-26) October 26, 1945
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • media executive
Years active1966–present
Board member ofViva Communications
Spouse
Mina Aragon
​
(died 1996)​
Children3, including Vincent and Veronique
RelativesOrly Ilacad (cousin)

Vicente del Rosario Jr. (born October 26, 1945)[1] is a Filipino businessman who co-founded the music publishing company Vicor Music in 1966 and the entertainment company Viva Communications in 1981.

Career

Vicor Music

Del Rosario co-founded Vicor Music Corporation with his cousin Orlando "Orly" Ilacad along Raon Street (now Gonzalo Puyat Street) in Quiapo, Manila in 1966,[2][3] which was later incorporated in 1969;[4] the company president and general manager were del Rosario and Ilacad respectively.[3] The initial singles released by the company were of singers Jeanne Young and Helen Gamboa, with del Rosario and Ilacad visiting music stores along Raon street to ask if their singles could be sold by their establishments.[3]

As the company developed, the cousins recruited Tony Ocampo to help manage the company while Del Rosario handled music deals and Ilacad acted as producer for the records Vicor released.[3] The company oversaw the release of the first mini-LP in the Philippines in 1970, Tirso Cruz III's album Maria Leonor Theresa, which culled songs from Cruz's previous album PIP.[5] Del Rosario also signed folk singer Freddie Aguilar with the company in the 1970s.[6] By the later part of the decade, Ilacad left Vicor to form a new company called Canary Records (later renamed OctoArts International), with Del Rosario also leaving the company soon after to pursue film production; Ocampo eventually formed Ivory Records in 1983 which later bought Vicor Music Corporation.[3]

Viva Communications

In March 1980, del Rosario's three-year-old daughter with actress Mina Aragon, Vina Vanessa, perished in a fire set by Rodolfo Quizon Jr. to their home in San Juan, Metro Manila.[7][8][9]

In November 1981, del Rosario established the media conglomerate Viva Entertainment (now Viva Communications) with his sister Teresita "Tess" Cruz;[10] he named it after his late daughter Vina Vanessa.[7] Thru its subsidiary Viva Films, the company released its first film P.S. I Love You in the same month, which became a box office success.[10] By the 1990s, Viva Films had the highest annual film output among all the film studios in the country.[11]

Del Rosario's methods in developing Viva's roster of talents have sometimes been to gear its artists toward having a raunchier image. In the early 2000s, del Rosario continuously asked actress Andrea Del Rosario in their meetings if he can remake her image into a "sexy" celebrity, with Andrea relenting in 2003 by accepting the lead role in the erotic drama film Lupe: A Seaman's Wife.[12] Actress Maui Taylor, who previously starred in the television series Anna Karenina and T.G.I.S., accepted a suggestive role offered by del Rosario in the 2002 film Gamitan.[13] In 2003, del Rosario launched the girl group Viva Hot Babes, which included Taylor in the original line-up. The group recorded pop songs that were noted to frequently feature sexual undertones.[14] In 2009, del Rosario had plans to cast Cristine Reyes in a raunchy horror film, but intended to stop short of making the film sexually explicit in order for theaters to allow its exhibition.[15]

In January 2021, del Rosario directly developed and oversaw the launching of Viva's streaming platform Vivamax.[16] Since its launch, a large portion of the platform's original content were sexploitation films and series; though Vic's son and Viva President Vincent del Rosario denied the view of Vivamax as mostly offering "sexy" films, he stated that "Our adult content is the differentiator."[17]

In mid-2022, Vic del Rosario greenlit the period film Maid in Malacañang under the banner of Viva Films after holding discussions with Senator Imee Marcos, whom he previously worked with in establishing the Metro Manila Popular Music Festival in 1978 and the Cecil Awards in 1982, stating that "I think it would be great to put on film what [the Marcos family] experienced during [their] last three days in Malacañang."[18] The film was intentionally marketed by the company as "the most controversial film of the year".[18]

References

  1. ↑ Pikapika Showbiz (October 30, 2018). HIGHLIGHTS: VIVA's Boss Vic del Rosario turned 73!. YouTube. Google LLC. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Manila Indie Expansion Drive". Billboard. Manila: Billboard Publications, Inc. November 13, 1971. p. 61. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Japitana, Norma (June 23, 1995). "Winners". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. A3. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  4. ↑ Fernandez, Yvette (October 16, 2019). "Viva's Vic del Rosario: 'The Industry Will Keep on Booming as Long as We Have Strong Creative People Telling Their Stories'". Esquire Philippines. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Philippines Gets First Mini-LP". Billboard. Manila: Billboard Publications, Inc. June 13, 1970. p. SA-26. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  6. ↑ Pecho, Ernie; Velarde, Emmie (March 17, 1979). "Philippines". Billboard. Billboard Publications, Inc. p. SA-26. Retrieved September 17, 2022. The song ["Anak"], according to Vic del Rosario, president of Vicor Music Corporation which eventually signed Aguilar...
  7. 1 2 Drilon, Ces Oreña (March 15, 2020). "The night I watched a concert with Boss Vic". ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  8. ↑ Paruñgao, Miguel Deala (1986). The Drug Menace and You: The Philippine Experience. Camp Crame, Quezon City: Narcotics Command, AFP. p. 168. ISBN 971-91017-0-9. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  9. ↑ San Diego, Bayani Jr. (July 14, 2012). "Ex-convict Dolphy Jr. now pastor, thanks to dad". Inquirer Entertainment. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved September 17, 2022. ...the burning of the Greenhills home of actress Mina del Rosario and producer Vic del Rosario.
  10. 1 2 CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art: Volume VIII - Philippine Film. Cultural Center of the Philippines. 1994. p. 335. ISBN 971-8546-23-5. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  11. ↑ Red, Isah V. (September 13, 1996). "Making it to the box office". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. p. 36B. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  12. ↑ Bautista, Mario E. (October 18, 2003). "Striking while the iron is hot". Philstar.com (in English and Filipino). Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Maui Taylor: Sweet girl gone very bold". Philstar.com. Philstar Global Corp. August 11, 2002. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  14. ↑ Cequina, Jeans (October 30, 2020). "Boom-tiyaya-boom: Are the Viva Hot Babes back?". InqPOP!. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  15. ↑ Miralles, Nitz (January 3, 2009). "Cristine mahirap gawan ng bold film". Pilipino Star Ngayon (in English and Filipino). Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved September 17, 2022. "Boss Vic has great faith in Cristine Reyes becoming popular because she's already beautiful, already sexy, yet she can act well too. He intends to give a sexy-horror project to her, not a bold movie because it won't be shown in SM Cinemas.
  16. ↑ Pingol, Anna (September 17, 2020). "Viva to launch VIVAMAX, the country's biggest Filipino streaming platform". Pikapika.ph (in English and Filipino). Retrieved September 17, 2022. Ronan: Boss Vic is the one with the vision and timing of Vivamax. When we spoke back in April 2020, the plan was already clear to him regarding every aspect of Vivamax.
  17. ↑ Carvajal, Dolly Anne (April 30, 2022). "Vivamax's success story". Inquirer Entertainment. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved September 17, 2022. [Vincent]: It's a misconception that VM's content is mostly sexy films. We also have many wholesome movies. Our adult content is the differentiator. It's edgier than the sexy scenes in TV shows.
  18. 1 2 VIVA Films (June 26, 2022). "Maid in Malacañang Digital Media Conference | July 20 In Cinemas Worldwide". Facebook (in English and Filipino). Facebook, Inc. Event occurs at 6:15. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022. ...I think magandang maisapelikula itong kuwento noong last three days na na-experience niyo in Malacañang.
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