DESCRIPTION:
Chris and Chuck Cerna, identical twins, were born on November 27, 1981, in Cebu, Philippines. As a young child Chuck, twin brother of Chris, showed an unusual talent in music but died of cancer before reaching his fifth birthday. During that time, Chris preferred playing with toy soldiers and matchbox cars. At the tender age of 5 ½ , just nine months after his twin brother's death, Chris, without formal training, started playing the piano, which could be considered a miracle since Chris had been blind since the age of 18 months.

Soon Chris was accompanying his mother's church choir. Word of this special youngster and his gift quickly spread throughout Cebu. At the age of seven, Chris had his first concert before an audience of 700 people. Chris received the Perlas Award as the Valuable Filipino for Special Talent from The Philippines Foundation, Inc. for harnessing his gift of music and sharing his talent and skills with the community, particularly those who need inspiration to live productively despite a physical handicap.

Chris was brought to Hawaii by the Aloha Medical Mission in 1991. The mission provided Chris with reconstructive surgery and hydroxyapatite implants. These implants are artificial eyes which behave like real eyes. It was the first time that this type of surgical procedure was performed on a child. Chris' doctor, Jorge Camara, a well-known ophthalmologist in Honolulu, continues to monitor his progress to ensure that his implants are properly maintained and also conducts periodic checks to monitor the possible recurrence of cancer.

Chris gift of music has been enhanced through a scholarship from Ho'Opono, for music lessons with the Ellen Masaki School of Music in Honolulu. Chris is a talented pianist. He enjoys composing his own music. He loves playing jazz, popular and classical music, movie scores and his own compositions. Besides playing the piano, Chris also plays othe instruments such as the tuba, vibraphone, harmonica, accordion, samishen, Indian drum, flute, guitar, mandolin, laud, banjo, recorder and lap steel guitar.

Fortunately, Chris learned to adapt to being visually impaired. Visual impairment has not stopped Chris from living the life of an average teenager. Chris is an avid Boy Scout. As a scout, Chris goes camping, hiking and performs community service with his troop. Serving five years with the Boy Scouts of America, he earned his Eagle Scout honors, the highest rank, on December 2000.

The community has benefited from Chris' talent in music. He has shared his talent by playing at nursing homes, churches and schools to inspire other students, voluntarily.

He is a consistent regional winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs competition for the handicapped for the past five years. He won an award from Hawaii Stars in 1998, first place in the piano competition sponsored by the Morning Music Club of Hawaii in 1997, and won second place award in the State Junior High School.