MARIAN Rivera used to be the image model of Blue Water Day
Spa that has branches in Makati, Greenhills, Ortigas, Capitol Hills, Tagaytay
and Alabang. But she has been replaced by Karylle. Did management do this to
show they support Karylle more after the controversy over Dingdong Dantes?
"No, there was no such intention," says Nancy Go,
operations manager. "Every 15 months, we replace our models. We started with
Brad Turvey and a model named Patty who was later replaced by Toni Gonzaga,
then Marian with Piolo Pascual. Now, for a change, we decided to get Karylle
and Brazilian-Japanese model Akihiro Sato. When we were brainstorming, we
thought of Karylle who’s really been a regular client since we started our
operations four years ago. Nakasama pa niya noon si Dingdong. She’s
loyal to us, so why not get her?"
"I always go to Blue Water to pamper myself and relieve
stress," says Karylle. "Noon pa, naiisip ko na, ano kaya, kunin nila akong
endorser? And heto nga, it happened na. I’m really thankful
to them.
"My favorite massage is Herbal Pack combined shiatsu and
swedish. I also enjoy their spa theater where you can have a massage while
watching a movie on a giant screen."
Karylle had a grand launch with Akihiro last Tuesday night
at Events Place Greenhills. The writers who attended were treated to free
massage and foot spa. Blue Water Day Spa operates only from 3 p.m. to
midnight. They not only offer massage but also facials, face and body machine
treatments for peeling, radio frequency, hair and wart removals. For an
appointment, call 723-4932, 723-5534.
***
Richard Gutierrez really wanted to be present at the
Flawless re-launch last Sunday but his high fever prevented him from going.
When he felt better, he chose to attend the wake of his personal assistant,
Nomar Pardo, and condole with the widow and two sons. As of this writing, it’s
still not sure as to when he can return to the "Zorro" set in Bagac, Bataan
and resume taping.
"He really needs to tape new episodes for ‘Zorro’ but his
doctors say he still has to rest some more," says his mom Annabelle Rama.
But the other cast members of "Zorro" resumed the show’s
taping last Saturday even without Richard. They’ll just focus on the scenes
that do not involve him yet. Meantime, "Zorro" gets more engrossing this week
as the villain Ramon (TJ Trinidad) asks Lolita (Rhian Ramos) to marry him
since he says he’s the only heir of the Pelaez family. If Lolita would not
consent, then he’d confiscate the property of her family that’s supposed to be
mortgaged to him. But Don Carlos (Leo Martinez) says he’s not in favor of
Lolita marrying Ramon as he’s more concerned about his daughter’s personal
happiness, so Ramon drives them away from their house. Lolita and her parents
sleep on the streets. The women of the night see them and give them food.
Antonio (Richard) remains missing with Pepe (Buboy VIllar),
so his friends Bernardo (Antonio Aquitania) and Juana (Michelle Madrigal) are
arrested on charges of hiding a criminal. Someone tries to rape Juana in jail
and Bernardo defends her. Her brother Agustin (Bodie Cruz) shows up and helps
her and Bernardo to escape from prison, making Ramon very furious.
***
Lorna Tolentino will end her year of mourning for her
beloved husband, Rudy Fernandez, on June 5. His memory will forever remain in
her heart but she has managed to move on and is now taping a new teleserye
with Christopher de Leon, Jericho Rosales, Kristine Hermosa and Karylle on
ABS-CBN. This is the show where ABS-CBN reportedly required them to take a
workshop four times before taping started, even if she and Boyet are already
veterans in the field of acting.
LT looked radiant as she walked down the ramp at the
Flawless relaunch last Sunday as their epitome of Timeless Beauty. What can
she say about the controversy that her friend Dr. Vicki Belo, part owner of
Flawless, is now involved in?
"She’s really a good friend as she helped our family at the
time we were going through some trials in life. She was an angel na
talagang dumamay sa amin at the time we needed help, so I really care for
her. Nang magkausap nga kami, I told her that I’ll always be here for
her sa anumang pinagdaraanan niya ngayon."
What’s her opinion about the Katrina-Hayden video?
"Babae ako, siempre, I will side sa kapwa ko
babae na siyang mas naapi. Also, I’m an actress like her kaya kami sa
KAPP (local actors guild), we’ve already issued a statement that we will stand
behind her."
And what about Hayden who’s now being called "Ang
Pambansang Manyak"?
"Yes, I know him, but he’s not the one who is my friend but
Dr. Belo. Ayokong mag-judge kasi, lahat naman tayo, tao lang at may
kanya-kanyang pagkakamali sa buhay. Sabi nga ni Jesus, he who is without
sin, cast the first stone."
***
The exciting anime show, "Full Metal Alchemist:
Brotherhood," is now being shown on TV5. This TV adaptation of the dark
fantasy Japanese manga is about two brothers who use the power of alchemy to
revive their dead mother, with tragic consequences. The older brother, Edward
Elric, loses his left leg while the younger one, Alphonse Elric, loses his
entire body. To restore their bodies, they seek the help of the mythical
Philosopher’s Stone so they embark on a perilous journey.
Hailed as the no. 1 anime in Japan TV web polls, "Full
Metal Alchemist" also won five trophies in the American Anime Awards in 2007,
bagging the Animation of the Year Award, best original story and best music
awards. It now airs every Friday at 7:30 p.m. on TV5, the ultimate Animega
authority.
***
We spent the last weekend with the Romualdez family in
Tacloban City along with colleagues Aster Amoyo and Ronald Constantino. It was
the birthday of topnotcher councilor Cristina Gonzalez-Romualdez last Saturday
and her husband, Mayor Alfred Romualdez, hosted a dinner party for her at
Baluarte, a huge social hall where they also had their wedding reception 11
years ago. She looks as young as she was when she was launched by Regal in the
movies, her figure as sexy as ever.
We also attended the graduation of 250 scholars of Kring
Kring (Cristina’s nickname) at their astrodome called Tacloban Convention
Center. They’re products of her Learn and Earn livelihood program and were
taught various courses like cosmetology, food processing, weaving (Tacloban is
famous for its beautiful mat handicrafts) and other jobs. The special guest
was Sen. Loren Legarda who was with us in the same PAL flight that morning.
In the dinner affair, special guests entertained the crowd:
"Men of the ‘80s" Randy Santiago, Raymond Lauchengco, Gino Padilla and Louie
Heredia, plus Pilita Corrales. They were also the guests of L.A. based
impresario, Alfonso Chu of Anaheim, California, who was the hermano mayor in
the town fiesta of San Jose which is near the Tacloban airport. Later on, we
joined them at the San Jose gym for their mini-concert.
Gino Padilla is a livewire who really brought the house
down with his medley of Manila Sound songs like "Laki sa Layaw," "Ikaw ang
Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko" and "Manila." Raymond and Louie sang some of their
hits then Randy came in and not only entertained the huge crowd with his songs
but also with his funny antiques. These guys are real crowd pleasers. Pilita
was not supposed to appear yet (she’d do a show with the "Golden Divas" the
next night) but she did a number with them and it was a hit.
Earlier at the party of Kring Kring, when Pilita did her
signature song, "A Million Thanks to You," we felt goose bumps while watching
her as her artistry as a performer has not at all changed after all these
years. Like fine wine, she has become better with the passing years. This is
what a real artist develops into if she would take real good care of the
talent God gave her, unlike other artists who take to smoking, booze or drugs
and let their abilities go to waste.
***
We later got to talk to Pilita and asked her if it’s true
that the late Nomar Pardo was her relative. "He was brought to me by his dad
as a baby," she said. "Iniwan na ng mother niya. Kami ang nagpalaki
sa kanya and he was with us until Annabelle Rama got him and he worked for
them as personal assistant. I feel so sad about what happened to him because
he has two small children, only 5 and 3. The first thing I’ll do when I get
back to Manila (that was last Monday) is to go to his wake because his funeral
is the next day."
Annabelle said she felt guilty when Nomar passed away so
suddenly as they had a small fight earlier when she was telling him to wake up
Richard so they won’t be late for his shooting. "Kaya kinakausap ko siya
while he’s in his coffin and I told him to forgive me," she said. "Kami
ni Richard, sasagutin na namin ang pagtulong at pagpapaaral sa mga anak
niya kasi kawawa naman."
Going back to Kring Kring and Mayor Alfred, it’s very
obvious that the people of Tacloban love them very much. They’re mobbed like
they’re Brad and Angelina anywhere they go and their constituents want their
pictures to be taken with them, which should not be surprising as they’re
really a handsome couple with two good-looking daughters. The eldest looks
like Mayor Alfred and the youngest is a Kring Kring carbon copy.
At the dinner party, so many people gave wonderful
greetings and praises to Kring Kring, with someone even saying that the best
decision Mayor Alfred did in his life was to marry her and make her the First
Lady of Tacloban. They kept tinkling their cups for them to kiss like
newlyweds.
Kring Kring was requested to sing and being a former
recording artist, she obliged and sang "Reflection" from "Mulan." Her voice
seems even better now than before and if ever she’d decide to sing again
professionally, she can certainly give Gretchen Barretto a run for her money.
She also sang a special song about Tacloban City. We didn’t understand the
Waray lyrics but obviously, their constituents like it as they all gave her a
hearty applause.
To Kring Kring, happy birthday again and many more to come!
