Juan De la Cruz Band

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Juan de la Cruz Band
Background information
Origin	Manila, Philippines
Genre(s)	Filipino rock
Years active	1970–?
Members
Wally Gonzales Rene Segueco Clifford Ho Romy Santos Bobot Guerrero Sandy Tagarro Edmund "Bosyo" Fortuno Joey "Pepe" Smith Mike Hanopol

The Juan De la Cruz Band was the first Pinoy rock and roll band in the Philippines. In December 1970, the band was featured in the first open field rock festival in the Philippines, the Antipolo Rock Festival. The band's popularity gained momentum in September 1971 when it backed up the production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Then in December of the same year, the band garnered its crowning glory when again, for the first time in the Philippines, a rock group on its own, backed by a full symphony orchestra (the National Philharmonic) was presented in concert at the CCP.

The band originally had six members: Wally Gonzales (guitars and vocals), Rene Segueco (organ and vocals), Clifford Ho (bass and vocal), Romy Santos (wind instruments), Bobot Guerrero (drums), and Sandy Tagarro (lead vocals). Sandy Tagarro left the band before the band's first album "Up in Arms" was released. Wally Gonzales, in an interview later credited Edmund "Bosyo" Fortuno of having coined the band's name though Bosyo's collaboration with the band wasn't until 1981 with Juan De la Cruz Band's 6th Album in which he was the drummer along with Joey "Pepe" Smith.