Cecile Licad has been up before dawn to take the only direct flight to Virac, Catanduanes, where she is scheduled for an outreach concert the next day, the last in a string of performances around the Philippines. The acclaimed New York-based pianist and former child prodigy has been performing almost nonstop for the last few weeks. Yet she is wide awake and giddy at the prospect of exploring a new place she’s never been to before. She joins the dancers who welcome her outside the Virac Airport arrival hall, takes a photo with bunches of bananas growing on a plant, and asks if she can take a tricycle ride at some point during the trip. (Story continues after video.) Video: On the way to her hotel, she asks the van driver to pull over at a deserted beach cove. She steps out, breathes in the sea air, and stares out..
