• What's eating up Snooky? • Who's the 'mystery man' behind Sofia?

Just when you thought that she and her brand-new husband Niño Mendoza have settled down in quiet domesticity, Snooky would resurface on national television parrying off a new round of nasty rumors, such as, 1) Has she and Niño broken up (so soon)?; 2) Were they driven out of the Makati condo they were renting?; and 3) Is she not okay with her ex-husband Ricardo Cepeda?

Unlike when she appeared to be "ruffled" in her TV guestings, Snooky (who seemed to have dropped – temporarily – the new name Kate she adopted upon the advice of a religious person) was cool and collected, not showing the slightest sign of harassment, when she faced Funfare for an exclusive interview.

First, the intriguing question on perhaps everybody’s mind: Is it true that something serious is eating her up?

"If you mean that I am mentally disturbed," said Snooky pointblank, "the answer is a big no, although I must admit that I once consulted a psychiatrist because I didn’t understand a lot of things about myself. But I’m okay now."

Did she marry Niño, head of his own band, on the rebound? (The couple got married in civil rites last April 29, only two months after Snooky and Ricardo’s marriage was annulled.)

"It’s unfair for people to say that," said Snooky who came with her two daughters, Samantha, 12, and Sachi, 11, both scholars at the Integrated Montessori Center (the former a high school freshman and the latter a fourth grader); her mom, Mila Ocampo; her aunt Eden; and her brother Anthony.

"I must admit that during the few months following my separation from Ricardo, I wasn’t level-headed but I was in my full senses when I got married to Niño. It’s also unfair for people to say that I married Niño because I was impressed by his being proficient in English, kababawan naman ‘yon; but I must say that I admire his intelligence."

Snooky and Niño had known each other for barely nine months before they got married but that’s not a problem, said Snooky.

"Ricardo and I were married for 13 years and yet neither of us can say that we know each other very well."

So, is she and Niño on the brink of breaking up?

"No," said Snooky, "we’re still together, surviving."

They wanted to get married in church last July 3 but they had to cancel it simply because they couldn’t, yet. Her marriage to Ricardo has been annulled civilly, all right, but it has yet to annulled by the church.

"Blessing in disguise," said Snooky, "so we’ll have more time to know each other better."

She and Niño were forced to give up a condo unit in Makati they had been renting since May for, according to Snooky, "practical reasons."

"It was a strain on our budget. I was dropped from the cast of Captain Barbell (the GMA teleserye). It was my own undoing. I was late on the set. I must admit that I deserved the punishment. I really caused them damage," explained Snooky who is still being managed by Annabelle Rama. "I promise to change. Right now, I’m really starting from scratch."

She and Niño are now living "for the meantime" in the house of Niño’s mom (who, like Niño’s siblings, is abroad) in San Lorenzo Village, Makati City, until such time when they can afford to move to a place of their own. Ricardo, whose own family was among those evicted from Fort Bonifacio (his father is a retired general), is staying at a rented house in Magallanes Village, also in Makati.

"Ricardo and I are okay. In fact, we have a better working relationship as parents now than before. It sounds contrived but we became better friends after we broke up. Our daughters stay with him during weekdays and with me on weekends. I’m leading a new life now and I hope Ricardo is moving on beautifully. I’d be happy if he finds a new love of his own."

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She has "it," no doubt about it. Talent with a capital T.

To find out, all you have to do is listen to her debut album, Bossa Latino Lite (inching towards the Top 10 only three weeks after it released by Ivory Records a few weeks ago), and you’ll nod and say that she does have a distinctive voice that could easily find a niche all her own.

The album has 18 tracks, inspired by Brazilian and pop classics, cut in classy arrangements, concept and style. Like a good novel, the album is "unputdownable." I’ve listened to it again and again and, although I like all the 18 selections, my favorites include The Look of Love, Breaking Up is Hard to Do (a duet with Roji Soriano), Just The Way You Are, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (also with Soriano), Blue Moon (again with Soriano), Waters of March (Aguas De Marco), Just No Ordinary Day, Let’s Wait Awhile and Dance With Me.

But wait, why isn’t the new singer using only one name – Sofia – without a surname? Is she "hiding" something? Who’s the "mystery man" behind Sofia?

This much Funfare has dug up: Sofia, 21, is a petite (5’2", 110 lbs.) Dewi Sukarno lookalike who is multi-talented. Besides singing, she’s into creative writing, painting and drawing, photography, learning new languages and composing songs. She’s a UST Med Tech graduate, the first singing medical technologist (we have a singing doctor in Nonoy Zuñiga, a singing nurse in Kuh Ledesma and a singing lawyer in STAR contributor Dot Ramos Balasbas-Gancayco).

Artists who have influenced her style include Cynthia Alexander, Wolfgang, Paulinho da Viola, Tom Jobim, Paulinho Moska, Big Mountain, The Corrs, Pinikpikan, Bob Aves and the Eraserheads.

Funfare learned that Sofia was asked by Ivory to help do a research on materials for the company’s new bossa-nova-inspired album and, voila, Ivory execs discovered that she could sing better than any artist they could think of.

But then, who really is Sofia and who’s the "mystery man" behind her?

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