Editor's picks
What’s a day in the life—rather, a week in the life—of a lifestyle editor like? Truth to tell, my staffers, contributing writers and I try to cover as many events as we can in a week. But we can only attend so much. So here are my personal picks for the busy pre-Christmas week that was.
More than just tree-lighting with president Bongbong and First Lady Liza
Did you know that the tradition of lighting Christmas trees began in medieval Germany? But it was in 1882 when the first electrically lit Christmas tree was created by the assistant of inventor Thomas Alva Edison.
In our country where the Christmas season starts as early as September, tree-lighting events begin as soon as we pull down our Halloween decor. Almost every day in early December, there’s a tree-lighting event held by a hotel or mall! I would get electrified and exhausted if I attended each one of them.
But there’s one such event that I’ve not missed for two years now: the one hosted by President Bongbong Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos because it goes beyond tree-lighting. Last year they awarded the winners of a choral singing contest held among schools. This year, they announced the winners of their “Iisang Bituin, Iisang Mithiin” parol-making contest among public high schools.
“I hope the light of their beautiful parols inspires us to love our country more,” said FL Liza.
“We all deserve a time to set our troubles aside and celebrate the things that matter—with those we hold dearest,” declared President Marcos.
Of course the event was not complete without Mr. Christmas himself, Joe Mari Chan, singing. And Audie Gemora presenting a narrative with Alice Reyes’ dancers.
Frankly, one of the event’s come-ons is so down-to-earth yummy: you get to taste all the street foods and nostalgic Christmasy dishes offered in food huts by restaurateur Florabel Co-Yatco like fishballs, squid balls, hot pandesal with jamon, hot pandesal with kesong puti, palabok, suman, taho, kutchinta puto, bibingka and puto bumbong.
This reminds me of a vintage pre-digital joke: What do you call the instant photo service business set up by Bongbong Marcos?
Answer: Photo Bongbong.
SM billionaire Hans Sy would rather wear a fitbit watch
Thank God for lunches like this one. During a Thanksgiving lunch hosted by SM Supermalls president Steven Tan at Conrad Hotel’s popular China Blue resto, media guests were asked by Tessa Prieto what they were thankful for and what their Christmas wishes were.
Some wished for a new company car, the latest iPhone, or an expensive branded watch.
“I don’t wish for any new watch; I am very happy with my Fitbit watch,” said SM Prime boss Hans Sy.
More than material things, Hans said he wishes for more UAAP victories for his National University students, who—aside from their sports championships (especially in women’s basketball)—recently regained their supremacy in Cheerdance Competition.
“lf my father (Henry Sy Sr.) were alive today, he would be proud that the promise I made to him will be fulfilled earlier,” Hans narrated. “SM became majority owner of NU end of 2008—16 years ago. NU had about 1,000 students then. What was planned with my father was 100,000 students in 2028. We now have 69,974 on 11 campuses nationwide.”
Hans has another wish: that his special project, Child Haus, will continue to give shelter to children from the provinces who seek medical treatment at PGH in Manila. “I learned about Child Haus years ago when I saw Ricky Reyes on TV, crying and asking why children afflicted with cancer have to suffer because of politics. The new government then didn’t want to touch it because it was a project of the past administration. So I said we should continue the project together with Ricky.”
Hans knows the feeling of making a difference in the lives of people, though he is not one to boast about his advocacies.
His simple joys? Playing golf weekly, and bringing his family on a trip to their favorite places like Japan, after the holiday frenzy.
And keeping track of his next steps, among other things, with his Fitbit.
Dinner with Sonny Angara & Puey Quiñones: from education to parenting & fashion
Dinners become extraordinary when the guests have soul and depth. During a dinner hosted by designer Puey Quiñones in honor of DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara and his lovely wife in his chic atelier, conversations were on varied topics.
First, the sad news: “We have a deficit of 165,000 classrooms in the Philippines right now,” said Sec. Angara. “That’s why we have double-shifting in some highly populated schools.”
While Sonny passionately takes care of our school children’s welfare, Tootsy actively promotes Filipino craftsmanship. The couple admires Puey’s use of local fabrics in his barongs, ternos and other local attire; therein lies the bond. Puey added, “My mother was a public school teacher in our Samar hometown where, after every typhoon, our house would get blown away.”
With hard work and creativity, Puey famously has zoomed to the top and now lives in a typhoon-proof home in Makati and maintains a wedding atelier in Los Angeles. This, while still helping his provincemates by giving them livelihood opportunities.
And now, the happy news: “I promise to write again for Philippine STAR after so many years of absence,” said Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan, beloved columnist of “Mommy Talks.” “Maybe I will do it with my daughter Hannah,” Maricel added. I used to see her with her toddler kids, but she has become so busy the past decades raising her brood of achievers.
The dinner was like a reunion with Maricel and her good-looking family: husband Anthony, a key player in the management training and consultancy industry; Ella, an Internet personality, and her husband, businessman Enrique Miranda, whom I mistook for an actor; and Hannah, a famous YouTuber. We missed Donnie Pangilinan, one of our handsomest movie stars, whose dramas on Netflix I follow. In between bites of delicious Japanese food by chef Gilbert Pangilinan of Kai, we also listened to Puey’s partner Paul Martineau, curator of the Getty Museum, as he gave us a virtual art tour. Art lovers Rhoda Campos Aldanese, PQ’s CEO DoJi Lopez and atelier directress Belinda Recto were all ears. Listening to all the conversations from education to parenting to fashion was Robert Mananquil, who was keen on news about politics. But then why should current murder threats and other self-destructing vexations spoil a yummy dinner?
All that lovely jazz with Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya
Did you know that 75 percent of bananas in Japan come from the Philippines?
We learned about this and other import-export facts when we attended the special Japan Cultural Night hosted by the amiable and cool Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya at his residence recently.
That night, Ambassador Endo presented a jazz concert featuring Charito, a Japan-based Filipino singer who sang eight numbers, accompanied by a band “coming from three generations,” as she described them.
They are pianist Yuki Arimasa, bassist Riku Takahashi and drummer Hiroki Kitazawa, looking hip with his mini ponytail. Each has achieved success with awards, recordings, teaching stints and concerts outside Japan.
After the band’s finale, the Ambassador’s pretty and charming wife Akiko was coaxed by the guests to sing, and she gamely obliged with a duet alongside Charito. After the concert, guests enjoyed a buffet of favorite Japanese dishes.
It was not my first time to meet Ambassador Endo, as he and his staff visited the Philippine STAR office last October where they were welcomed by our STAR president Miguel Belmonte. With them, along with our editor Amy Pamintuan and my associates Doreen Yu and Marichu Villanueva—and Japanese Embassy First Secretary Matsuda Shigehiro (who, to my amazement, speaks Tagalog fluently as he has been here for eight years) and Press Officer Rintaro Shigeyoshi—we enjoyed discussions on political and security issues, cultural exchanges, economic cooperation and bilateral ties and how to foster deeper Japan-Philippine ties.
This jazz concert highlighting a Japan-based Filipino talent surely hit a high note.
