Ric Segreto, 46 Yrs Old

Ric Segreto (September 27, 1952 – September 6, 1998) born Richard Vincent Macaraeg, was a Filipino-American recording artist, singer-song writer, actor, teacher, journalist and historian who became popular in the Philippines.

Ric Segreto was born in Brooklyn, New York to Bridget Segreto, an Italian-American and Godofredo G. Macaraeg, a Filipino. Ric, the second son of five brothers and one sister was raised for the first five years of his life in New York by his mother, a dietician at a New York hospital and his father an abdominal surgeon.

Ric’s father, born in Malasiqui, Pangasinan, educated at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, was a medic with the rank of Captain in the Philippine Army during World War II, was captured by Japanese soldiers and made to march in the Bataan Death March and imprisoned on Corregidor Island. After the War, Dr. Macaraeg travelled to the United States and attended Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Macaraeg was the first Filipino diplomate to the F.A.C.S.

Both Ric’s parent’s love for music influenced Ric’s interest in music and singing. The family moved to the Philippines in 1957 where his father set up a physician’s practice. Ric went to Lourdes school in Quezon City. The family then moved to Guam in 1959, where growing up in a milder environment furthered Ric’s interest in the performing arts. Ric played in rock bands with his brother, and the grandsons of Filipino composer Nicanor Abelardo. At the ages of 12 and 13, The Asteroids, Ric’s band members, played military bars and were not even old enough to drive.

Ric was then sent back to the Philippines to attend high school at the Ateneo de Manila. While there he became fast friends with Jim Paredes who later formed The Apo Hiking Society. After a year at Ateneo, Ric returned to Guam. He then formed a band that included his brother called the Salvation Army, singing and playing all over the island every weekend till he finished out his high school. Going to college made Ric look to the States and choosing Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, he majored in history. During his college years, music found Ric playing in bar bands, to military service men in Bellevue, Nebraska (home to Offutt Air Force Base) and doing college stage play acting.

After graduation in 1974, he toured the US with a show band, singing and playing bass guitar at Mountain Shadows in Scottsdale, Arizona, Harvey’s in Reno and clubs in Las Vegas, Nevada. Meeting up with another show band bound for Japan out of San Diego, California, Ric played for Japanese audiences during the early 80′s.

On September 6, 1998 at around 12:15 PM, on a Sunday, Ric was riding his motorcycle from his home in Makati. He was killed in an accident on the Makati – Mandaluyong bridge, when he ran into or was hit by debris, possibly caused by workers on a construction project.^[