The beautiful people of a glamorous era

If you were old enough and could afford (or probably read about) those fabulous fashion revues of the ‘70s and ‘80s, you’d surely remember those great lunchtime shows at the Hyatt at the far end of Roxas Blvd.

Two weeks ago, the Hyatt models had a reunion primarily to give recognition to Hyatt’s former social directress Chito Madrigal Collantes, the hotel’s general manager, Peter Jentes (whose wife Minnie Cagatao was also a model), and their director/choreographer Gary Flores, who had to fly in from the United States where he is presently based to attend this affair.

Originally, they wanted to hold the reunion — actually a fashion show — at the Hyatt, except that the hotel is now undergoing renovation and is closed for business. The venue was eventually moved to the North Forbes Park home of Ms. Collantes where pieces of furniture were moved in the grand living room to give away to a fashion runway.

I got invited to this affair because of Bessie Badilla and I went there not just to witness this major social event, but also so that we could swap pasalubong (Nyquil for me and hopia for her).

Allthough the people were very warm at the reception line, I didn’t know most of them. They were faces who appear in the columns of Johnny Litton and Pepper Teehankee, but we do not know each other personally.

I continued searching for somebody I knew and could be comfortable with and spotted Myrna Panlilio Borromeo, who asked me to sit beside her. Myrna still looks radiant and I asked her if she was attending the Binibining Pilipinas coronation night (held last Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum and aired over GMA 7). Myrna, the first Binibini title-holder, shook her head and said that although stage manager Lito Calzado kept following her up, she was skipping this year’s rites (she had been attending too many functions lately) and would watch it from the comfort of her bedroom — cracking watermelon seeds (something she’d never be able to do at the Araneta).

I wanted to do more small talk with Myrna, except that the show immediately started just when my seat was starting to get warm.

After some musical numbers on the piano by Raul Sunico, the show proper unfolded — with Bobby Caballero and Bessie Badilla as hosts. The models came out in alphabetical order and as they paraded in front of us I realized that most of them had dabbled in show business in the past. Maybe it was because my exposure was more on popular entertainment than fashion, which was why I didn’t know that a lot of the participants in that Hyatt reunion were models before they got into TV and the movies. Here they were:

Azenith Briones — I knew she was a product of a beauty contest, but I had no idea she was into full-time modeling back then. Now a Reyes, she still looks the same and doesn’t seem to have gotten old at all. Hyatt colleagues remember her as the model who insisted on wearing big chunks of jewelry — "kahit naka-bathing suit."

Jean Altavas — I knew her from Super Laff-ins and was already a mainstay of that ABS-CBN gag show when she won Miss Luzon in the Mutya ng Pilipinas contest. It was actually from Myrna Borromeo that I found out that Jean was the sister of the late Juvy Cachola, who was one of the most beautiful faces in the Sampaguita lot in the late ’60s (she died in a horrible vehicular accident in the ’70s). Now based in Cebu, Jean has dyed her hair platinum and is still model-slim.

Julie Ann Fortich — I know she played a fashion model in her launching film, Mahal Kong Taksil, but I didn’t know she was also one in real life. Ignorant me only found out during that Hyatt reunion.

Susan Reyes — I know she endorsed a margarine brand on TV before. She still looks exquisite.

Via Marquez — I know she married one of the popular matinee idols in the ’70s, then became a Hoffmann and, later, started producing movies. But I didn’t know she modeled.

John Gaddi — He also goes to Gold’s Gym and we know each other personally, but I wasn’t aware that he modeled. All I remember was that he kept dancing on TV and also appeared in a number of drama anthologies.

Robert Tongko — I do recall that he was a good choreographer/dancer and dated one of the Miss Universe candidates the first time it was held in Manila. He is now based in Canada.

Ed Roxas — He also became showbiz when he joined the marketing team of TAPE. Ed still looks very young even if he tells me that he was the classmate in La Salle of Edu Manzano (just kidding, Doods — you look very young yourself).

Of course, I knew that Margie Moran was a model before and that night, she still had the regal bearing that won for her the Miss Universe crown. The scene-stealer, however, was Melanie Marquez and she later confessed to me that she decided to go all the way when she spotted me in the crowd. "Showbiz na kung showbiz," she laughed.

But everyone was really in agreement that Melanie had always been an excellent model — among the best if not the best.

The following day, I was introduced formally to the rest of the gang at the get-together at Bessie Badilla’s house. Don Gallardo was there with Benjie Toledo, Jean Altavas, Nerissa Meneses, Azenith Briones, Bong Gacho, Gary Flores, Tonichi Nocum, Eddie Hernandez (who clips all articles I write about Bessie) and Celine Magat Lopez. They reminisced about the old times — how Bessie mistook the legendary Wanda Louwallien for a foreigner, who didn’t speak Filipino. ("‘Yun pala, German-Capampangan siya!" screams Bessie.)

I left after a short chat with Bessie (just to see how she was doing) and after wolfing down dinner (prepared by Kuya Sonny Badilla). Although it was a fun crowd, I knew it was their reunion and that there was a lot of catching up among themselves.

I was just too happy to have rubbed elbows even momentarily with those legendary people of a glamorous era that we’d never be able to bring back.