Surviving the 28th Gawad Urian

I prayed hard for rain all throughout summer. But except for that one time in May when it rained so hard that power went off and traffic got so bad the summer rain came in trickles.

And so I prayed harder. And it came... last Saturday – when we were staging the 28th Gawad Urian (of all days!!!).

The day before, I heard in the news that there was a typhoon coming. But I never trusted the weather bureau and that forecast totally skipped my mind.

Late Saturday afternoon, we finished Startalk a little bit early, but I decided to stay a while until 5 p.m. to eat a late lunch of fried fish and string beans in coconut milk at the talent room of the studio.

Prior to that, I consulted with Startalk director (slash style guru) Floy Quintos about the formal coat I was wearing to the Urian. (If they have plans of putting me on Saturday’s Tigbakan portion, I can always put the blame on him). I told Floy I had a red bowtie to go with it, but he said no to that and instructed me to get a gray one instead. Too late. I had to be at the AFP by 6 p.m. and didn’t have time to go to Rustan’s to get a gray bowtie.

When I left GMA 7, it was already starting to drizzle and I had hoped it was just going to be some light shower. The weather was the least of my problems that time. It was finding the right bowtie that was my bigger concern. Yeah, you have the right to crucify me this very minute. We have the VAT issue, the jueteng scandal and there was I worrying about the right bowtie to wear.

As soon as I got home, I sought out my buddy and neighbor Junjun Camcam and asked him if he had a gray bowtie. He only had a white (which I also have) and a red one. I snatched the red one because it was in a deeper hue and didn’t have a shimmer to it – unlike the one I had which I bought in Shoemart and was very Master Showman.

After taking a quick shower, I slipped into my tuxedo shirt and put on my borrowed bowtie. While grappling with it though, the detachable hook slipped and fell on the floor and just disappeared! And then followed thunder and lightning (I swear it was cinematic) – and to my horror, the heaviest rain I have experienced in my life.

After organizing a search mission to find the missing hook, I got a call from Peachy Salvador of APT Entertainment (producer of the Urian show) to tell me that part of the orchestra section of the AFP Theater was already flooded. Oh that will recede in time, I assured her. Don’t panic. I had a bigger problem to solve – I couldn’t find the hook to my borrowed bowtie!

The next call I got came from Gloria Romero who was a presenter that evening. She was already on her way to the AFP Theater (bless her for always being early) and couldn’t find the right gate in Camp Aguinaldo. She already went through flood and traffic – and that jolted me into realizing that there was a bigger problem waiting for me. I dispersed the search team (they were still on all fours looking for the missing hook), put on my shimmering bowtie (I’m telling you, it bounced off enough light to illuminate the entire theater) and jumped into the car.

Along the way, I called up Peachy Salvador again and asked her to please have somebody take care of Gloria Romero. (To Tita Glo, as you read this, I hope you’ve already forgiven me for putting you through all that.)

When I got to Boni Serrano, I began an hour-long trip in a short stretch that ordinarily would have taken me only three minutes at the most to navigate. Then, I finally got to the theater and it was already full. The show was ready to start – except for one problem: The trophies were not there yet – stranded in traffic. I wanted to die – at least before supervising producer Malou Choa-Fagar could kill me. But she knew it wasn’t my fault.

Still I was so embarrassed and I began thinking of ways to kill myself without causing so much mess in the theater. I gave myself two choices: Maybe I could strangle myself with my shimmering red bowtie. Or I could hold my breath until the trophies arrived. I chose the latter. Mercifully, the trophies arrived shortly before 9 and my life was saved.

And so we began the show with hosts Janno Gibbs and Michael V. doing the opening number to a wild applause from an appreciative audience.

In between breaks, I had a chat with co-host Pia Guanio and we talked about work and it was then that I realized how serious she is about her profession. It doesn’t come as a surprise to me anymore that she is already this successful early in her career.

At other times, I would needle Lito Calzado, who was there to escort daughter Iza (who later was declared Best Supporting Actress). Previously, Lito and I worked in about 12 Urian awards presentations – with him as stage director. But that evening, he was just there to lend moral support to his talented and beautiful daughter. Deep inside him, however, I knew he was aching to get backstage, roll the sleeves of his barong tagalog and get to work. But he need not worry. Everything was going well backstage. (Even the esteemed Tony Tuviera of APT Entertainment was there to oversee things.)

Much awaited was the tribute to the child stars (participated in by the lovely Lorna Tolentino, Snooky Serna, Judy Ann Santos and Gina Alajar — with Jiro Manio and Cesar Montano) that featured the famed Loboc Choir of Bohol. I know it’s not proper to be talking about costs (it’s the very generous APT Entertainment that spent on it anyway), but I swear that production number was expensive since the young singers and chaperones had to be flown in to Manila – yes, flown as in by plane and not by boat. But it was worth it since it turned out to be the most applauded number of the evening.

The Gawad Urian went fast — at least by local awards standards. Before I realized it, Judy Ann Santos was already on stage — teary-eyed — and accepting her Best Actress trophy. Then, the winners were herded on stage for the picture-taking. There was Iza, Judy Ann and Best Supporting Actor winner Wendell Ramos. Cesar Montano couldn’t carry his loot for the evening — three trophies (for Best Director, Actor and Picture). It was a good thing his wife, Sunshine Cruz (Panaghoy sa Suba’s associate producer) was there to help him carry the third trophy.

Everyone seemed happy after the affair. I don’t know about the losers though. (They should take comfort in the fact that a nomination is already a major recognition of their talent). I was happy that the rain had stopped. After all the hassles we all went through because of the downpour and the inconveniences it caused (especially the delayed), I was just happy to have come out of it alive.

(On Thursday, the post awards dinner with the winners.)