Rachel Alejandro pays tribute to father Hajji Alejandro: 'My Dad was our sun and we were planets'
Rachel Alejandro honored her father, OPM legend Hajji Alejandro, who died after a battle with colon cancer.
"What happens when the brightest star in a galaxy dies?" Rachel said in an Instagram post. "My Dad was our sun and we were planets, orbiting around him, basking in his warmth and light."
She recalled that as a child, she and her sibling would tag along to all of Hajji's activities, including shows, rehearsals, and basketball games.
"We would fall asleep at Dolphy’s house if he was there for an all-night poker game," she said of the late veteran comedian who was close with their family. "There was nowhere else we would rather be than by his side because every minute in his presence was fun."
Even as married adults, Rachel said they craved Hajji's company, talking about politics, financial investments, or even a joke he planned including in his next concert.
"He loved to make people laugh as much as he loved to sing and dance," she said.
Rachel noted that Hajji never had a talent manager, except "recently" when his partner Alynna Velasquez handled his bookings. She said he rarely posted on social media and never needed to pay for any sort of PR or marketing.
"He was a bonafide star and his success was purely because talent, hard work, and charisma," she said. "He was always so entertaining on and off stage and made everyone around him feel special."
When Hajji got ill, Rachel said he asked to keep it private, "which is why none of his family ever spoke about it."
"He was fully prepared to get well and get back to work, which was why he wanted to avoid word leaking out about his sickness," Rachel said.
She described her father as a "happy, optimistic man who valued having a good, comfortable life." But more importantly, he "prioritized providing for his partner, mother, and children."
She noted that Hajji had her when he was 19, and used his "golden singing voice" to take care of her. "[W]hich is why regardless of how he was feeling, he never cancelled shows."
This work ethic of Hajji continued late in his life, that even when he was "already in considerable pain," Rachel said he performed in two more events before getting admitted in the hospital for surgery.
"For Dad, every show is a blessing and performing for you all is our highest calling as singers," she said.
Rachel said that though there were two months of hospital stays with Hajji and she spent time with him at his home afterward, she was "still not prepared" when she "helplessly watched him breathe his final breath."
"What happens to those a star of this magnitude leaves behind?" she said. "I don’t have answers for that yet as I struggle to grasp living in a universe without our Daddwaps."
"But I intend to make him proud in everything I do," she said, "to live by his code of honor and goodness, to perform for you all with everything I’ve got and leave it all on the stage every single time."
"I will now just be singing and dancing with Dad in my dreams," Rachel said in concluding her post.
Hajji's family announced his death in a statement shared by Girlie Rodis, Rachel's manager, on April 22. He battled stage 4 colorectal or colon cancer, Velasquez told broadcaster Julius Babao in a March interview.
Hajji rose to fame in the '70s as part of Circus Band, whose members included Tillie Moreno, Pat Castillo, Jacqui Magno, and Basil Valdez. He earned the moniker "Kilabot ng mga Kolehiyala" for his suave appearance, smooth voice, and snappy moves. His hits include Nakapagtataka, Tag-Araw, Tag-Ulan, Panakip-Butas, and Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika.
