Legends of Pinoy Folk Rock together in show

Breaking News:

Viva Concerts and Events will cap another successful year by staging the musical event of 2010.

It’s called Ugat, The Legends of Pinoy Folk Rock to be held on Dec. 3 at the Araneta Coliseum.

The legends are no less than the guys who started it all —- the Juan dela Cruz Band composed of Joey “Pepe” Smith (Balong Malalim), Mike Hanopol (Laki Sa Layaw, Jeproks) and Wally Gonzalez (Wally’s Blues). They were also responsible for Teacher’s Enemy Number 1, Pinoy Antiquities and the iconic Himig Natin.

The Juan dela Cruz Band will be performing for the first time together with Sampaguita, Queen of Pinoy Rock of Bonggahan, Tao and Laguna fame; Lolita Carbon of Asin and Nene with the hits Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran, Pagbabalik, Bayan Kong Sinilangan and Itanong Mo Sa Mga Bata; Heber Bartolome and Banyuhay with Tayo‘y Mga Pinoy, Nena and Almusal; Gary Granada of Kahit Konti, Salamat Musika, Bahay and Mabuti Pa Sila; and Florante with the hits Handog, Ako’y Pinoy, Abakada, Sana and Pinay, who will be flying in from the US purposely for Ugat. New folk rock star Noel Cabangon of the big hit Kanlungan will also join the show.

“It will be a rockin’ night, very nostalgic,” promises Roxanne Lapuz who is directing the show.

(Note: Tickets to Ugat, The Legends of Pinoy Folk Rock are now available at all SM Ticketnet outlets and at the Araneta Coliseum. Prices are P2,500 [Patron], P2,000 [Patron B], P1,500 [Lower Box], P1,000 [Upper Box A], P600 [Upper Box B], and P300 [General Admission]).

Beauty expert Felix Manuel (right, with New York-based makeup artist and fashion designer Joel Adriano) saw President Noynoy Aquino upclose before he delivered his speech. –Photos courtesy of RONN TAN

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Remember Juvy Cachola, the Sampaguita actress whose promising career was cut short by a car accident which killed her?

She and her sister Jean Altavas (a former beauty queen) have a grandniece following in their footsteps. Her name is Janna Cachola.

I learned about this from reader Jenna Lee-Acosta, a publicist, who sent Funfare the following rejoinder to a recent story about the Feliciano siblings Kaye and Paolo (from Hagonoy, Bulacan) who are in the cast of Miss Saigon in New Zealand.

Wrote the publicist (who mentioned that Jean was the producer/scriptwriter of the indie film Romeo and Juliet):

Janna Cachola is also in the cast of Miss Saigon New Zealand edition together with the Feliciano siblings. It was Janna who encouraged them to audition for the musical.

Janna said, “I love Miss Saigon. It’s fantastic. I’m so glad that there are Filipinos in the show with me! The Felicianos are super talented. Kaye is such a beautiful person. I love her and I have adopted her as a younger sister. She’s a great dancer and singer to boot! Paolo is an amazing dancer! I’ve met their mother and she’s so wonderful; she’s my Palmerston mother. I remember when I was sick for a couple of days she rang me to make sure I was okay. So sweet!”

The musical also stars Maria Christina Bergantinos, fashion designer of clothing line Undernourished and runner-up of GMA’s Star For a Night (she was succeeded by Rachelle Ann Go).

Said Janna of Christina,”When I first met Tina, I thought she was such a stunner! Talk about impeccable style. Then when I heard her sing, I just knew she was my new idol! Sobrang ganda at sobrang galing kumanta.”

Janna is a former pupil at Ryan Cayabyab’s The Music Studio and at Ann Arbor Montessori BF Homes. She comes from a family which is not a stranger to the stage or screen. Her father’s cousin, Febe Magbanua-Pantojas (also related to Juvy and Jean), was a member of The CompanY, features in the song Hanggang Wakas with Rueben Laurente.

Janna hopes to work in the Philippines but first, she will have to polish her Tagalog. Her regret is not having seen any of her grandaunt Juvy’s movies.

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Here’s a postscript account of Pres. Benigno “Noynoy/P-Noy” Aquino III’s recent US visit by Felix Manuel, one of Funfare’s “beauty-expert” quartet:

A day before the scheduled “meeting with President Benigno S. Aquino III” event at the Baruch Performing Arts Center at Baruch College at Lexington Avenue and 23rd St. under the coordination of the Filipino-American Community of Northeast in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate General New York, I saw P-Noy in a situation which I rarely see here and probably back in the Philippines. World leaders, athletes and celebrities abound in this city and we often see many of them with their entourage, burly bodyguards and probably their own PR group.

I was walking while texting along 44th street in Manhattan and spotted a van with white bond paper printed with the word PHILIPPINES and I wondered whether P-Noy was in the vicinity. Little did I know that he was billeted at the Sofitel Hotel located on that street.

As I was passing by in front of the hotel, P-Noy casually walked by me. I was astounded by what followed. I expected around 20 people following him and shoving me away. It never happened. In a simple black formal wear, P-Noy walked toward an ordinary-looking black car and entered it via the door near the street. No one opened it for him. I saw only one bodyguard nearby. I was overwhelmed with his gesture, no frills, no fanfare. It seemed to me like he was just another tourist casually enjoying New York. I have seen, time and again, how other celebrities never fail to attract attention because of the number of people in their entourage and the lavish welcome they are accorded whenever they enter or exit an establishment here. It was surreal! I was not even able to utter a word or take pictures. I am really hoping, like many other kababayan here, that he will be able to bring the country to its former glory, a time when ordinary Filipinos like myself would be able to enjoy a comfortable life in the Philippines without leaving loved ones behind.

During his meeting with the Filipino Community at Baruch College, more than a thousand people from all over the East Coast came to welcome him; some even came from as far as Texas. Loida Nicolas Lewis, a Filipino-born, New York-based industrialist, philanthropist, socio-civic leader, motivational speaker, author and lawyer discussed several suggestions on how to improve the lives of Filipinos working abroad and how these OFWs would contribute to our country’s growth. P-Noy warmly received the suggestions and was applauded several times during his talk.

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