As a little girl, she watched big stars on the silver screen, but now she was hobnobbing among them. She had finally arrived. She was one of them.
That must have been the feeling of the comedienne when she attended the grand debut held at the NBC Tent at the Fort of Mega-Daughter KC Concepcion.
"Oh, look at Ai Ai all dressed up like a human being," director Jose Javier Reyes cooed as he made beso-beso with his pet comic.
Soon enough, Ai Ai was flitting and fluttering from table to table like a kooky social butterfly (her stand-up comedy alter ego Cheenie La Chika would have been proud of her), hugging Action King Fernando Poe Jr., bussing Movie Queen Susan Roces, and chatting with Megastar Sharon Cuneta.
Ai Ai has definitely arrived.
If Ai Ai is considered as one of the top stars in the land, it’s because she has worked long and hard to attain her current status in the biz.
She is not only one of the funniest single mothers in local showtown, she also qualifies as the busiest and most hardworking.
Ai Ai, dubbed as the Comedy Concert Queen, can also lay claim to the title "the most visible single mom" on the boob tube, an honor she shares with good friend Kris Aquino for sure.
As of last count, she comes out on at least three ABS-CBN 2 shows: on the daily noontime extravaganza Masayang Tanghali Bayan (MTB) and on two weekly sitcoms, the very adult Whattammen and the very wholesome Arriba! Arriba!. As if those three high-profile shows were not enough, she also co-hosts the ABC 5 singing contest SingGaling. On top of all this TV work, she also found time to shoot two stellar movies back-to-back.
On the big silver screen, Ai Ai is a double treat with two Star Cinema flicks in the offing: Ang Tanging Ina, under director Wenn Deramas, and Kikay Club (formerly, Power Girls), under filmmaker Jose Javier Reyes.
In Kikay Club, Ai Ai will share the screen with two of the sexiest stars in showbiz: Joyce Jimenez and Assunta de Rossi. Indeed, the Joyce-Assunta outing fulfills Ai Ai’s long-cherished dream "to go bold and be considered a sexpot."
After all, this was the same wacky woman who marched down Malate wearing nothing but a tangga draped with fishnet.
"The bystanders thought I was a drag queen," she laughs at the memory. "They thought I was gay!"
For her splashy launching movie, Ang Tanging Ina, Ai Ai is leaving no stone unturned because it marks yet another milestone in her storied career, the fulfillment of another long-time dream. (Ai Ai’s life story, in fact, was featured on the drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya, with the Diamond Star Maricel Soriano playing her.)
"I want my first starring role to be really funny," she points out. "I want it to be a big hit. Kumbaga, I only did it once and it was worth the long wait."
In Ang Tanging Ina, which is set to open on May 28, she portrays a character close to her heart that of an incredibly industrious mother-both in and out of the delivery room.
"The title of the sequel will be Ang Tanging Ina Mo Rin," she jokes. And if a part three is ordered up by the Star Cinema big bosses, Ai Ai has a ready title: "Ang Tanging Ina N’yong Lahat."
Mother of all mothers.
The variety of her projects proves Ai Ai’s versatility and range as a comedienne. But one has never experienced Ai Ai until he or she has caught one of her live shows.
It is in the live comedy circuit where AiAi reigns supreme as the comedy Concert Queen. Her achievements in the concert scene cannot be ignored. She is the only comedienne to fill up (to the rafters) both the Folk Arts Theater (Respect Me in 1998, Seduct Me in 1999, Abuse Me in 2000) and the Araneta Coliseum (Out of This World na Me...Araneta na Kasi in 2001), as well as Le Pavillion (Ai Ai Whattawoman in 2002). Also in the works is a major concert by the end of the year.
Ai Ai just moved into her spiffy new home in the suburbs of Quezon City. Her lovely home, she fondly calls the product of my "blood, sweat, and tears."
The biggest thrill in her life is the fact that she now lives in the same area where fellow celebrities Judy Ann Santos, Vina Morales, Ara Mina and Herbert Bautista also live.
"I live in the Village of the Stars," AiAi quips.
Ai Ai states with pride that she is working herself to a frenzy primarily for her three kids: Sancho Vito, 12; Shaun Nicolo, 9; and Sophia Andrea, 7.
Although she sometimes feels the guilt that hounds most single moms, she is somehow reassured by the fact that her kids are provided with a safe and stable home environment by her unpredictable and demanding work schedules.
She is only striking while the iron is red-hot, she owns up.
"While a lot of people still find me funny, I’ll work hard," AiAi promises. "My greatest fear is to be a has-been and have nothing to show for it."
That may never occur in the future, but in the here and now, Ai Ai continues to work hard and save for her family because she is, first and foremost, one amazing mama, Ang Tanging Ina.