Help Lea choose songs for her December concert

Curtain-raisers:

• The recent admission of a sexy star on national television that she owns a house in San Francisco (worth $30-M nga ba, wow-wow-wow!!!...or was she just bad with math?) sent eyebrows soaring. She must be filthy rich, even if, as she said, half of the amount was donated by her non-showbiz boyfriend. Who could the generous guy be? Pinoys in San Francisco are taking a good look at that very expensive house.

• If and when Senators Mar Roxas and Noynoy Aquino agreed to team up in the 2010 elections, the former for president and the latter for vice president, that would make Korina Sanchez the luckiest and most “titled” woman in the world. If Mar and Noynoy won, Korina would be the First Lady to Mar and, yes, the Second Lady to Noynoy, her “ex” who has remained single (although he reportedly has a girlfriend who is a councilor in a city near Metro Manila).

• Now that she is of legal age, having turned 21 recently, will a popular young star start demanding for freedom from her overly strict mother who, so far, keeps a tight rein on her? Like another star with “controlling” parents, this young star can’t fully enjoy the money she’s working hard for. But not for long? It’s a familiar cycle in showbiz. Wait and see.

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Lea Salonga needs your and my help.

On Dec. 11 and 12, she’s having a special concert at the PICC Plenary aptly titled Lea Salonga...Your Songs, produced by AmbientMedia. Director is Bobby Garcia, with Lea’s brother Gerard Salonga as musical director. The 47-piece FILharmoniKA Orchestra will accompany Lea whose guests include Richard Poon, Ai-Ai delas Alas and the award-winning dance group Philippine All Stars.

As the title implies, the concert will feature a repertoire of your and my favorite songs, songs of your life and mine, songs of your loves and mine, songs of your dreams and mine, and that’s where Lea needs your and my help.

Easy does it: Send the titles of your requested songs through Lea’s website at www.LEAyoursongs.com.

Last year, Lea celebrated the 30th anniversary of her career with a concert titled Lea...My Life...On Stage also produced by AmbientMedia. It won the 2008 Aliw Award for Best Director, Best Musical Director and Best Major Concert for Female.

AmbientMedia is a media and entertainment company whose aim is “to bring the talents of both artists and entrepreneurs together to create things that last in the memories of their audience.” It recently produced the successful concert Quick Change featuring Jon Santos and The CompanY.

Titled beauties

1. Newly-crowned Mutya ng Pilipinas International Jane Bañares wants to continue her modeling career rather than join showbiz, while at the same time practise her profession as a nurse.

That’s what she told The STAR’s Legazpi City correspondent Anacito Dematera in a phone interview one day after she won the title Sunday night in Aurora Province where the grand finals was held.

The 20-year-old half-Bicolana and half-Caviteña admitted that she is not good in acting, but good in modeling, a profession she was into when her pageant handler Alden Orense discovered her potentials as a beauty queen.

Bañares is the youngest daughter of Florencio Bañares of Legazpi City and Ermenida Riel of Cavite.

She said 2009 could be her lucky year because she also passed the recent nursing board exam by merely having a self-review.

Her pageant handler, Alden, is a multi-awarded fashion designer who also discovered Melody Gersbach, also a Legazpi City native who is this year’s Bb. Pilipinas-International, and Venus Raj, 2008 Miss Earth Tourism.

Bañares earlier also won in many provincial and regional beauty contests: First runner-up in the Tabak Festival in Tabaco City; and second runner-up in the Uyangi Festival in Polangui, Albay. She also won in several bikini and long-gown competitions.

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2. From Funfare’s “beauty experts” Felix Manuel, Joey Cezeare, Francis Calubaquib and Gery Yumping: Former ABS-CBN reporter Camilla Kim Galvez finished second runner-up at the 2009 Mrs. Universe Pageant held last Aug. 9 in Riga, Latvia. She was accompanied by her husband Raul Galvez to the pageant. Camilla is the CEO and owner of Blue Gardens, a popular wedding venue. She has worked for Bantay Bata and is currently the image model for bag maker Kimbel International.

The winner of Mrs. Universe 2009 was (see photo) Vaida Ragenaite of Lithuania and her court included first runner-up Krista Hoeijmans of Belgium, second runner-up Camilla Kim Galvez of the Philippines, third runner-up Jennifer Cirone of the USA, and fourth runner-up Heidi Polkki of Finland.

Camilla was also adjudged Best in Evening Gown and Darling of the Press.

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