"I panicked," said Aga last Tuesday, a day before he left for Dubai with Claudine Barretto and John Lloyd Cruz, along with director Rory Quintos, to shoot for 17 days crucial scenes in the yet untitled Star Cinema movie about OFWs. "I’m fond of loose shirts and I didn’t know I was gaining weight."
He was also feeling aches and pains (sakit sa kasu-kasuan) but his doctor told him there was nothing wrong with him, except that his cholesterol level was somewhat high.
Since then, Aga has been going to the gym (he was there when that "car accident" text rumor circulated) and, happily, his weight has begun going down, down, down...
As soon as he comes back, Aga will again shoot advance episodes for his sitcom preparatory to again going abroad, this time to South Africa with his wife, Charlene Muhlach, to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary on May 28.
"We’ll go hunting," said Aga (he and Charlene have made it a "tradition" to mark their wedding anniversary abroad). "Just the two of us." (As usual, they’ll leave their twins, Aaron and Atasha, in the care of Charlene’s mom Elvie Gonzalez alternating with Aga’s mom Anita.)
Meanwhile, as per the request of his fans, here’s Aga’s list of favorites:
• Actor(s) – John Malkovich ("Magaling magbitaw ng lines") and Brad Pitt.
• Actress – Charlize Theron ("She was fabulous in Italian Job").
• Movies (His Own) – Kailangan Kita (with Claudine Barretto), Dahil May Isang Ikaw (with Regine Velasquez) and Miguelito (one of the only two movies he did with Lino Brocka, the other being Napakasakit, Kuya Eddie).
• Movies (of Other Actors) – Being Malkovich and Legends of the Fall.
• Singer – Gary Valenciano ("If possible, I’d rather he sings the theme songs of all my movies; request ko talaga ‘yon").
• Song – How Did You Know? (the Gary V. version).
• Book – Not a book reader; reads magazines (about homes).
• Perfume(s) – Kenzo (for women) and Kuoros (which he uses both at the same time, one for some parts of his body and the other for the rest).
• Sport – Golf and boxing.
• Fruit – Pineapple.
• Snacks – Jollibee (Burger Steak).
• Dish – Bangus (done any style – fried, daing, grilled, smoked, boiled, nilaga, etc).
• Part of His Body – "My heart."
• Part of Charlene’s Body – "Every part of her, especially when she’s wearing tight jeans. Sexy and asawa ko, eh!"
• Sleeping Wear – Pajamas and white shirt. ("Always white; otherwise, if it’s of another color or printed, I can’t sleep").
• Car(s) – "I go for the classic, such as Mercedes and Jaguar."
• Pet – Birds and fishes.
• Saint – Sto. Nino.
• Hero – Jose Rizal. "I almost played Jose Rizal in a movie with Mike de Leon as director. I learned a lot about Rizal during the pre-production for the movie. I actually started shooting for the movie."
• Comics Character – Archie.
• Time of the Day – Morning ("That’s when I feel fresh, physically and mentally").
• Day of the Week – Every day ("It’s nice waking up every day; masarap mabuhay!").
• Part(s) of the House – Kitchen and bathroom ("That’s where I read everything – scripts, magazines, etc.").
• TV Shows (Not His Own) – Those of Jay Leno and Conan Bryan.
• Restaurant – Le Soufle ("My favorite item on the menu? All of them!").
• Most Precious Possession – "My family. And, as far as the material is concerned, my house."
• City – Singapore ("That was where I proposed to Charlene").
• Color(s) – White (also Dolphy’s favorite; most of Dolphy’s clothes are white) and green (like the color of leaves).
• Expression – Ha, ha! Ha, ha!
March 19 and 20 were the most fantastic nights here (London) as far as Pinoys were concerned. On those two nights, more than 3,000 people watched the concert Amazing Nights with Martin Nievera. So many people showed up that the box office of Wembley Grand Hall where the concerts were held had to close, never mind if hundreds of people were waiting in line.
No doubt Martin is the reigning Concert King not only in the Phiippines but everywhere in the world where there are Filipinos. During the concert, Martin wowed us all with his well-loved ballads. We felt nostalgic. Bigla kaming na-homesick!
It was part of Martin’s Amazing Nights in Europe concert tour. During his concert at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and West Midlands, Pinoys came from all over (Scotland, Liverpool, Leeds, Wales, Birmingham and even Ireland).
The concert tour was produced by Annabelle Cueva of Show Philippines UK Ltd. and Smart (Telecom). Among the sponsors were UMAC Cargo, Charrie Travel, Overseas Consultancy Services, International Health Placements Services, Datu Enterprises, ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel (TFC), S Magazine Europe and PLDT UK Ltd.899.