40 is just a number when you're Juan

I can’t believe I’m 40!” exclaims Juan Elizalde when he celebrated the big 4-0 recently at the Willow Root at the Manila Polo Club. When you’re as consistent with work and play like Juan is, time just happens to pass and you find yourself looking back at such action-packed years.

I take the “play” back from that last sentence because there are few people I know who have the same tenacity and drive in the boardroom, the beach and the bedroom as Juan. Okay, I take the “bedroom” back from that last sentence because only his wife Bianca Araneta-Elizalde would know — and the baby bump should speak for itself.

When their little girl Isabeli grows older, she would be delighted and slightly shocked that her parents and I knew how to party. Specifically, Juan knew how to throw a party. I remember the old tradition of Juan’s Christmas parties. After Christmas Eve, party peeps would head straight to Hobbit House, where Manolet Dario and other DJs would be spinning the latest holiday tracks while the midgets of habit would be serving us our drinks. It was a surreal way to spend your Christmas day, with Juan spreading the good cheer.

I can’t say these were the good old days because I am a firm believer that these days are the best so long as we make them such. So the best Juan is the Juan we have now, a devoted family man, a gentleman of the highest order and still an exclamation point when it comes to celebrations.

Former clubbers and future Juans

“It doesn’t feel any different, actually. It’s just a number. But looking at my 30s brings back great memories,” shared Juan as he looked at the people who have stuck by him through those 30s and some from his 20s, and of course, his dear family, led by mom Josine Elizalde, who has been there from day one. There were the Elizaldes and the Aranetas, the ravishing Revillas, his Boracay buddies, Polo clubbers, former clubbers and future clubbers.

I say “future clubbers” because the table I sat in had a handful of expectant mothers. Actually, you wouldn’t think they were pregnant until they stood up. Bianca, for one, is a glowing example of grace under pressure as she table hopped with Juan at the same time being in full control of the party situation. You wouldn’t suspect that prior to that night’s affair that she was bedridden for two months, due to a delicate pregnancy. Her cousin Georgia Schulze-del Rosario is also on the family way, but she still looks like she could do a teen mag spread. In that way, the vibe that night was “expectant.”

And you can add “magical” to that. I have never seen the Polo Club glow like that. Tents and beds were set up outside as a play of lights illuminated the guests who stayed till the wee hours. At a certain point in the night, Bianca raised a toast to celebrate 40 years of being the Juan and only. “What makes this year so special for me is that I am with my closest friends and family,” said Juan, as he sipped from his glass of water. Let me point out that Juan and Bianca have given up all vices, alcohol being the top of the list — all in the name of family.

For Juan, 40 is simply a beginning.