The Kapuso grand treat in Sinulog

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Just like in previous years, the recently-held Sinulog Festival was, of course, colorful, grand and packed with events that added glitter and fun to the celebration annually held for over three decades now.

As expected, the affair that celebrated the feast of Sto. Niño, traditionally observed every third Sunday of January, drew an extraordinary traffic of foreign and local tourists that instantly filled hotels and turned local businesses more lucrative. Fluvial procession and Pontifical Mass were held as scheduled. Nobody failed to hear the Sinulog beat and hummed its infectious melody. Even the much-anticipated performance of contingents, all garbed in colorful costumes, of the distinct two steps forward and one step backward routine complemented with a signature yell “Pit Senyor!” still remained a crowd pleaser.

Another attraction that once again filled the air with excitement was GMA Network’s participation in the celebration via a series of shows. This time, the Kapuso treated Cebuanos beyond anyone’s expectation. It staged five shows compared to the usual two consecutive Kapuso nights. Temptation of Wife stars Marian Rivera, Dennis Trillo, Glaiza de Castro, Bettina Carlos, Michelle Madrigal and Rafael Rosell drew a large crowd at Ayala Terraces Cebu the night of Jan. 18. The warm reception of the audience proved wrong talks that GMA 7 stands in the bottom of the popularity ladder.

“Yes, Willie’s (Revillame) show was a hit,” said our driver, obviously referring to Willie’s former show Wil Time Bigtime. “But GMA is consistently strong.”

In fact, I’ve witnessed how Kapuso stars seemingly became magnets that instantly attracted people when they started to perform on stage one after the other. Wild cheers and applause greeted Michelle as she ascended the stage and rendered Firework. The audience rned crazy with her version of Madonna’s Crazy for You.

Bettina, who was in character as Tiya Madel, added delight to the show. She introduced her co-stars with wit. She, too, openly expressed her feelings towards the cast. She’s visibly “irked” with Glaiza, who plays Heidi in the TV series, that Bettina introduced her as “the woman who stinks like a fish” while she described Marian, who is Angeline/Chantal, as “sweet and beautiful.” 

Rafael, on the other hand, turned the audience wilder when he threw his black leather jacket in the air. It fell right smack under from where we were seated. Result: I and Manila Bulletin entertainment editor Crispina Belen were mobbed and almost had our backs on the floor due to the sudden rush of people wanting to get the precious jacket. Thanks to those seated behind who prevented us from totally landing flat on the floor. Fortunately, Manila Standard Today editor Isah Red stood up quickly and “escaped” unhurt in the mayhem. 

Still, we opted to stay and watched Marian entertain the crowd. She sang Ako’y Iyong-iyo as the audience shrieked in excitement. She even called onstage five young gay fans who got the chance to click their cameras away with Marian. Then, Marian asked them to imitate her booty-shaking dance number in Temptation of Wife to everyone’s delight.

Dennis, who plays Marcel, thanked everyone for supporting their drama series. He is happy how people are responding to their respective characters especially in confrontation scenes or his sweet moments with Glaiza. Asked if there’s a possibility for their onscreen love affair to turn real, Dennis said it’s just purely all for work. He described Glaiza as serious and intense. “Tahimik lang s’ya sa set pero once the cameras roll, you could see how intense she is in her craft.”

After Temptation, Dennis looks forward to doing “something different. A character who is obsessed with a woman is what I wish to portray next. Di ba para iba naman?”

He, too, welcomes the idea of doing action on the small screen. “But these days, it seems impossible since drama is the No. 1 fad on TV.”

Equally elated with the viewers’ positive response on the show is Marian who plays a martyr wife turned tough for all the miseries she went through. “Kahit ako nanggigigil at tinatanong ko yung direktor, ‘Bakit ganun sasampalin na naman ako wala akong gagawin?’ But now people are rejoicing because Angeline, now known as Chantal, knows how to fight.”

She, too, is smiling from ear to ear these days for the success of her first sexy pictorial on FHM. “There are requests for reprints and I’m glad with the outcome. In fact, it’s not new to me posing in swimsuit but this is the first time I did it for a men’s magazine. It came out okay kaya nakaka-proud.”

Asked about her beau Dingdong Dantes’ reaction, Marian quipped, “Ay dati pa, since Day 1 daw sexy na ’ko sa paningin nya.”

Meanwhile, Dingdong with his Pahiram Ng Sandali co-stars Lorna Tolentino and Max Collins took time out from their taping for a meet and greet with their Cebuano fans at Gaisano Grand Fiesta Mall, Tabunok and dropped by at SM City Cebu Event Center where Indio stars Bong Revilla, Jennylyn Mercado, Alden Richards, Rhian Ramos, and Ehra Madrigal performed before the crowd. Bong, Rhian, Alden and Ehra also participated in the Sinulog Grand Parade last Sunday. 

Barbie Forteza, Kristoffer Martin and Isabel Oli, on the other hand, gave a rousing performance at Gaisano Grand Mall Mactan.

(GMA’s participation in Sinulog 2013 will be featured in the two-part special of Let’s Fiesta airing on Feb. 10 and 17 via the network’s regional stations in Bicol, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Dagupan, Ilocos, GenSan, Bacolod and CDO.)