We writers are hopeless romantics, that’s why writers like 16th century English poet William Shakespeare gave us such immortal love stories as Romeo and Juliet, the Greek poet Homer penned the love story of Paris and Helen of Troy for his Iliad, and countless others. However, I believe that life is indeed often stranger than fiction. What are the most romantic and saddest real-life love stories of the Philippines?
3 controversial love stories of the Araneta clan
Recently, at a lunch with top real estate developer Dino Mañosa of the Campanilla Lane project in Quezon City’s New Manila area, his wife Gem and their aunt Mitos Araneta, I heard some interesting love stories from Gregorio Araneta’s clan. Among the many other members of this clan are the Ateneo de Manila University’s first Filipino president, the late Fr. Francisco “Fritz” Araneta, S.J., the late president Marcos’ son-in-law Gregorio Ma. “Greggy” Araneta III, LBC Express boss Santi Araneta, Jose “Joey” Araneta Concepcion III and others.
I learned that of the 14 kids of Dino’s maternal great-grandparents, the pre-war political leader Don Gregorio Araneta and Carmen Zaragoza, they were very displeased with the choice as well as circumstances of their three children’s lovers, thus refusing to attend these three weddings. One of these three kids was a prominent son who eloped with a lady friend after his unexplained ending of a long relationship with a girlfriend.
The second case was Dino’s maternal grandmother Margarita, who had an Indian of the Sikh minority as a suitor named Raja Singh, a medical student whom family members remember for his good looks and good character. He eventually became her husband and a doctor. Mañosa Properties’ first project Lantana Lane in New Manila, Quezon City was part of the former one-hectare home of Dino’s maternal grandmother Margarita Araneta Singh.
The third romance which greatly displeased Don Gregorio Araneta and his wife sounded like a story by the late great Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A son fell in love with a cousin who was also a neighbor. This son was quickly sent to Spain to break off the budding yet forbidden romance. He subsequently fell in love with a Spanish young lady with a surname which meant “laughter” in the Castillan language.
After two years, this son again had a chance meeting with his cousin which immediately rekindled their old romance and he abruptly broke off with his Spanish girlfriend. The son married this cousin.
Many years later, when this son of Don Gregorio Araneta was advised to visit his former girlfriend, he went to the house of the lady whom he jilted in order to personally apologize for what happened. He learned that she never married and that she had died just a few days before; this son was so shattered he went directly to a Catholic church to cry with great remorse.
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Love story becomes the first-ever surprise proposal & wedding
Recently at a luncheon, I had the chance to talk to three top entrepreneurs behind the Weddings & Debuts 2015 Bridal Fair scheduled for Feb. 20 to 22 at SM Megamall’s Megatrade Halls 1, 2 and 3. I asked them to describe the most romantic couples and weddings they’d done.
Nice Photo CEO Charisse Santillan Tinio replied: “To me the most romantic couple was actress Carmina Villarroel and actor Zoren Legaspi, their November 2012 wedding. It was a surprise proposal and a surprise wedding — the first of its kind in the Philippines. All the people in the room were crying, even wedding suppliers like me and the caterer engineer Alex del Rosario of Juan Carlos Catering. We were crying. Nakatatak, hindi mapapantayan (It left an indelible mark, no comparison).”
Juan Carlos Catering CEO Alex del Rosario said: “To me, the most unforgettable romantic couple I’ve catered for a wedding is a non-celebrity couple, the first runner-up of ABS-CBN’s I Do romantic reality TV show. They’re the on-call waiter Chad Fontanilla and baker Sheela Beterbo, both of Rizal province. I saw how very much they love each other; they couldn’t afford a wedding, but their dream happened because of the goodness of TV host Judy Ann Santos. We catered this wedding and gave them a special discount; they were crying out of great joy.”
What to them were the biggest weddings in the Philippines in recent memory? Charisse Tinio, Alex del Rosario and The Wedding Library owner Winnie Natividad agreed these were the weddings of actress Marian Rivera and actor Dingdong Dantes; actress Ruffa Gutierrez and Turkish businessman Yilmaz Bektas; actor Cesar Montano and actress Sunshine Cruz; and Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion. Sadly, only one of these high-profile marriages is still intact.
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The most romantic & saddest love stories in showbiz
Recently at a luncheon hosted by PLDT MyDSL head Gary Dujali to explain their Cyberya mini-Internet cafe, I was seated across from the famous talent manager, Pilipino Star Ngayon columnist and GMA 7 Startalk host Lolit Solis. I asked this University of the Philippines political science graduate and veteran showbiz observer for the top three greatest love stories in Philippine entertainment, and she quickly replied: “Rosemarie Gil and Eddie Mesa, Susan Roces and Fernando Poe, Jr., Boots Anson Roa and Atty. Francisco ‘King’ Rodrigo.”
When I asked why she chose these three couples, Solis explained: “The actress Rosemarie Gil separated in 1970 from her husband, singer and actor Eddie Mesa in 1970, after giving birth to three children — actor Michael de Mesa, the late actor Mark Gil and actress Cherie Gil. She later married the basketball player Estoy Estrada. They both reunited again in 1986 after he became closer to God. Their love story of reuniting back with each other is so beautiful, showing all of us that there’s always hope.”
On Susan Roces and the late FPJ, Solis said: “I admire the love story of Susan Roces and Ronnie Poe, they remained with each other despite all the rumors about the other loves of Kuya Ron. She is my example to other showbiz couples of how people should continue with their marriage and their love. Look, in the end, Susan’s still the winner. Susan always stood by FPJ. Whenever there were rumors and I’d ask Manay Inday, she’d tell me: ‘Lalaki ‘yan, nasa kultura na ‘yan, lalo na sa showbiz (He’s a guy, it’s already in the culture, especially in showbiz) with all the temptations around.’ Manay Inday said that marriage is a commitment which you don’t just break. I consider their enduring love story very inspiring.”
On why she picked actress Boots Anson Roa and Atty. King Rodrigo as her third favorite love story in showbiz, Lolit Solis responded: “Boots was 69 years old and Atty. King Rodrigo was 75 when they got married last year, ang tanda tanda na nila, ‘di ba ang romantic (they’re both so old already, isn’t that just so romantic)?”
What about the saddest love story in Philippine showbiz? Without even a moment’s hesitation, Lolit Solis replied that it was the romance between her talents, actress Lorna Tolentino and the late actor Rudy Fernandez.
Lolit Solis recounted: “Why Lorna and Rudy? She was with him throughout his struggles with cancer until the very end. They really loved each other very much. You know, Lorna was approved for a green card, an extraordinary visa for the US, but she didn’t use it because she told me she remembers that whenever she used to go to America with Rudy, it was for his medical treatments; she couldn’t forget that. Throughout the sickness of Rudy, Lorna took good care of him and became an expert about cancer, I never thought that she was as strong as that. Their love story, to me, is the saddest and yet also so inspiring as an example of devotion.”
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Last but not the least, I recently asked the wife of a scion of a socially and politically prominent clan what is the secret of success to an enduring love story. She laughed and smiled: “Have deep faith in God and a good sense of humor!”
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