Innate talent | The Manila Times

NATHANAEL “NATE” QUIJANO Chief Executive Officer Backstage Manila

“At a very young age, you have to decide what you want in life. Eventually, as you grow older, you see a different perspective.”

LAWYER Nathanael “Nate” Quijano, chief executive officer of Backstage Manila, often had a problem with how people spell his first name. Normally, others will spell it Natha-niel, but his is uniquely spelt as Natha-nael.

“The name is usually spelled with a ‘Natha-niel,’ so I have to always correct it,” Quijano lamented. “Even in my records, my name was always misspelled.”

Quijano spent high school in Cavite Science from 2004 to 2008, where he initially planned to take up Medicine.When he took the UPCAT (University of the Philippines College Admission Test) in 2007, BS Public Health was his first choice at UP Manila.

“That was a preparatory course for Medicine,” said Quijano, the second and only boy in a brood of three. “To become a doctor was my direction at that time. When you’re a doctor, you save lives. That was a common impression.

“At a very young age, you have to decide what you want in life.

Eventually, as you grow older, you see a different perspective, and you also saw engineers and lawyers around you.”

His second and third choices were Political Science and Accountancy in UP Diliman.

When he was a freshman, Quijano’s choice eventually changed as he was exposed to a bigger world after coming from Cavite. Yet, he finished his course and graduated with a Public Health degree in 2012.

The transition from Medicine was partly because of Quijano’s fear of needles. He goes “catatonic” and grows pale when he sees blood and needles.

“Every time there was blood extraction, I couldn’t prick the needle,” he recalled. “My classmates were laughing at me.”

He initially worked for four years as a research analyst at the newly opened St. Luke’s BGC (Bonifacio Global City).

“There were very few buildings in BGC at that time,” Quijano shared.

Then after four years, Quijano took up Law in San Beda College.

“The others came straight from college then went straight to Law,” he shared.

“I had a different perspective. I was earning for four years, but I had to stop when I really decided to pursue Law. There was a certain kind of discipline there.

“We just have an advantage in terms of stock knowledge, but you can catch up with that. Even in my first year of Law proper, I actually did well. It was a matter of discipline, how you study and eat up all the books, the readings.

“We read up on cases, annotations, laws that you have to memorize and understand. My biggest advantage was I was four years ahead. I already have that maturity compared to those who came straight from college.

“My perspective is that I’m already earning. I had to stop because I needed to study again. There’s a certain kind of discipline there when I started.”

In Quijano’s first 10 months into Law school, he attempted to try studying and working at the same time.

“But eventually, I had to stop,” he said. “Law school needs a different discipline. I want to do really well.”

He took the Bar exams during the pandemic.

Instead of November 2021, the exam was moved to February 2022.

Normally, the exams took four weeks, but during Quijano’s time, the exams were completed in only two days. There were no bar exams in 2020 and 2021.

“We were the first to take the exams digitally,” Quijano said. “We were distributed in testing centers across the country. The results came out two months later.

Quijano initially joined ACCRA (Angara, Abello, Concepcion, Regala and Cruz) Law offices and stayed for two years — 2022 until 2024.

Then he set up Backstage Manila, which originally started in 2018 with Cris Mananquil, who previously solely owned the company. Aside from Quijano and Mananquil, there are two other stakeholders in the company.

“We started that last year because there was a complete change in the setup of Backstage Manila, which started with only corporate events and product activations,” said Quijano. “I officially became part of Backstage Manila in August 2024.”

This time, Backstage Entertainment and Backstage Live are divisions of Backstage Manila, which was merely supporting certain events and shows before. Backstage Manila is now venturing into concert production with the “Still, Lani” concert on Aug. 21 at The Theater at Solaire.

“It is a bold move on our part,” said Quijano. “For one, I really put a lot of my trust in Chris in terms of logistics and operations. He knows how to organize events. In terms of the production side, that’s a new thing for me.

“I’m just still learning now in terms of the actual creative process, production, logistics. I never ventured into concert production before. That’s at the core activity of Backstage Entertainment. You can go into TV shows, music — the live scene.”

“Still, Lani” will mark Lani Misalucha’s 40 years in the music business, her birthday in August when she stages her concert.

“When this project was presented to me, it resonated so much,” said Quijano. “What we want to showcase to the audience, her concert, storytelling artistry. So there’s a story to tell and there’s an artist you can showcase.

The legal framework of producing a concert is on the creative process. Quijano is also handling the contracts of the artists. That’s an advantage for him.

“You are able to assess all the possible risks and scenarios that will happen,” he explained. “You need to anticipate the things that can go wrong or how you make the project actually work from a business perspective.”

Quijano’s area of practice is business law and concerns corporate cases. Last year, he put up the Quijano and Tio Law Office that was set up with his friend from San Beda Law, with an office in Makati.

He graduated from Law school in 2021 then passed the Bar in 2022.

He stays in his Makati office for an average of six hours, then goes out for meetings. “Juggling time for work and home is really hard for me, because there are a lot of things that I’m currently doing,” he said. “That’s a good problem for me.

“I see to it that when I’m free on weekends or when I have a free day, I go home to Cavite or at least spend the night there. My parents are there. Sometimes, we meet up here in Makati or BGC, have lunch or dinner when I have free time.”

It’s a “conscious effort” for Quijano to spend time with his parents. “If you get too occupied with what you’re doing, you will lose the balance,” he maintained. “You really have to think about how to spend time with them.

“The family that eats together, stays together. Although not strictly on a Sunday, especially with my line of work. As a lawyer, my job is service-oriented. I calendar my lunch or dinners with my family.”

Quality time for him is traveling with the family where they can all bond. “Last February, we all went on a quick trip to Hong Kong,” he said. “The normal rush gets out of the body.”

Before the pandemic, his family visited his sister in Penang, Malaysia. He also went to South Korea with friends.

Quijano finds time to jog, early morning or late at night. “That’s spontaneous for me,” he said about jogging. “My day doesn’t normally start or end with jogging. That’s not a routine for me.

“When I jog, I only focus on seeing things around. That calms me. I lose the stress in my body and mind. Jogging burns the stress in my body. But I see to it that I do something productive daily. That’s a normal day for me.”

He also plays tennis and works out. Lately, he has even tried golf.

His role model is his older sister, Abbey (short for Tabitha), his “ate,” whom he looks up to in terms of academic and professional excellence.

“I’ve met other people who are probably in the same or even higher level than her,” Quijano said.

“My sister is a banker. She took an MBA (Master of Business Administration) in Virata School of Business in UP Diliman. There are things that I consult with her to check it out or give me advice.”

Quijano’s younger sister, Aly (Alyssa), is a certified public accountant.

He credits his family for the moral support that he gets.

“There are lots of support that they give me — emotional, financial. But the very important to me that I receive is moral support, specifically in the form of prayers.

“My mom and my sister will really ask me to sit down, and we pray. They know how busy my work can get. Even when I am with them, they can see that I have to take calls, take out my laptop and work.”

On weekends, Quijano still gets into a lot of meetings. That’s “normal” to him. “I’m OK with that,” he said. “That was also how I was trained. Four years in Law school and two years in a law firm started my legal training.

“We cannot say no to work on weekends. I guess it’s a matter of really setting the boundaries. You have to learn when to say ‘stop’ or ‘break.’ Work could be at any time of the week. You can say perhaps on a Wednesday, you will not schedule any meetings.

“You will not do anything. That can be a day for playing [tennis]. Now, I’m learning how to play golf, too, but not so often. I practiced at the driving range.”

* * *

QUICK QUESTIONS

What is your biggest fear?

Permanent disability.

What really makes you angry?

When someone is extremely unreasonable. I’m a very reasonable person. I always try to give a reason or find solutions. I try to understand the other person and put myself in his shoes.

What motivates you to work hard?

Freedom, knowing that eventually, I will have so much time to do things that I want.

What makes you laugh the most?

Memes or funny videos, like when someone falls into a puddle of water, face first. You realize that things just happen.

What would you do if you won the lotto?

Invest, travel with family and friends, and buy a resort-farm.

What was the last book you read?

Law book is the last I remember.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Still a lawyer in active practice, with Backstage Entertainment as a long-term business undertaking for me. Of course, leading other businesses and even teaching. I plan to teach.

Which celebrity would you like to meet for a cup of coffee?

I’m a coffee person, but can it be another drink, say beer? My answer to that is (the vocal quintet) SB19.

What is the most daring thing you have ever done?

I fought two robber-holduppers with a balisong with my bare hands in San Andres (Manila) in 2016. I severely injured my left hand and ended up with 13 stitches. The robber got nothing from me. Fight or flight? I chose to fight. If I gave what I had then, I would not be able to sleep.

What is the one thing you will never do again?

Be crazy in love.