Celerio was known for using the leaf as a musical instrument which resulted the Guinness Book of World Records to recognize him as "the only man who could play music with a leaf". According to his daughter, he first learned to play the leaf as an instrument during the World War II. According to the account, he had to prove himself as a musician when he had an encounter with Japanese soldiers. He managed to pick a young leaf and play them a song and he was left unscathed.