She is most renowned for her works like as "Bungkos Suite," "Carmen," "Carmina Burana," "Romeo and Juliet," "Cinderella," "Amada," "Itim-Asu," and "Tales of the Manuvu," which are all infused with Filipino culture, gesture, and elegance. Alice Reyes was a famous composer in the Philippines during the 20th century. She has been called "the Maria Callas of the Philippines" because she was a popular female opera singer in Italy when that role was rarely done by a woman in the country. Reyes was born on August 4, 1901 in San Miguel, Manila to Antonio Reyes and Emilia Bonifacio. She had two sisters named Angela and Estella. Her family was very poor so she had to help them out by selling flowers and cigarettes on the streets when she was young. At age 14, she dropped out of school to work full time so she could support her family. At 19 years old, she met Alfredo Padua who was also working as a florist on the streets. He took her to Manila where he opened up his own shop. Two years later, they got married because it was considered a good way to protect your wife from being taken advantage of by other men. However, only one year after getting married, he died in a car accident.