Holy Week in Boracay can be one of the most crucifying experiences indigenous to Catholic Philippines. Never holy to the letter and resembling the combined nocturnal density of Greenbelt, Rockwell, and Eastwood, those seven days on the island can be physically and spiritually castigating, similar to an epicurean
penitensia, nightly crowned with a thorny hangover. In contrast, the week after Holy Week still offers the best party features of the island at a more humane crowd size. This more peaceful period served as the apt backdrop for the San Mig Light Bora Bound 3 Event.
After checking into Boracay Plaza that Thursday morning, I decided to take a quiet beach stroll to look for a certain cluster of celebrities, DJs, models, and lifestyle writers who were supposedly running amok on the island. "Welcome to the San Mig Light Bora Bound kick-off volleyball game!" proclaimed Studio 23 VJ JM Rodriguez over the outdoor speakers at Cocomangas. With the legions of TV personalities and models on both sides of the volleyball net, the succeeding match resembled a merged sequence from the
Gladiator and
Zoolander flicks. To my back, actor Dale Villar, like a Ceasar of sorts, would orchestrate the music from the elevated DJ booth while
Gameplan’s Rovilson Fernandez, still bearing the scars of the games, charged towards the nearby tent of Skin Private Joyce and Havaianas for a quick reconstructive foot massage. However, the real gladiatorial face-off took place not on the court but on the dancefloor that night. Grooving to the R&B beats of DJs Jon Hererra, Rej, and Mars, showbiz pals Jackie Forster and Geoffrey Rodriguez marched in and killed the competition via their arsenal of bump and grind moves, all performed over an unsuspecting white monoblock chair.
Browsing through the itinerary the next day, I realized that the physical and festive activities were only just beginning. "Okay Ipe, you’re with Team Caltex Vortex Gold!" Eventscape’s Stephen Ku said, unilaterally conscripting me for the Extreme Beach Games to be staged in Club Paraw. So, with a sponsor’s bandanna on my head and a banana-strawberry milkshake in my hand, I joined the other teams in a series of activities that afternoon. From volleyball matches employing water balloons, to obstacle races using hoola hoops, to group chicken fights in the water, the competition literally took the likes of models Borgy Manotoc, Rich Herrera and Brent Javier as well as the rest of us, all over the beachfront while bystanders cheered from the sidelines.
Moving to Aria Restaurant for dinner, I was greeted by a large elevated catwalk that had been constructed between the terrace and the sea. "Come back at about 10 p.m. for the show," eventsman GP Reyes casually mentioned over some slices of margherita
pizza. Sure enough, the spectacle-in-question was the Nothing But Water Fashion Show which promptly began a few hours later. Individually and in groups, a flock of gaunt-cheeked female models stepped out of the dressing rooms and into the floodlights, strutting not only their hips but the latest collections of beach apparel from the brand. With the final bow of the brand’s marketing manager Erin Campos, the event quickly segued into a beach rave with Temple Bar’s Martin Pulgar and NBK’s superstar duo of Manolet Dario and Raji Mata at the turntable. Together with a range of VIPs including
Sports Unlimited’s Marc Nelson, eventologist Tim Yap, and MyX VJ Karel Marquez, the whole congregation, true to form, danced and drank to the beat of house music until the late hours of the morning.
"What a party!" I repeatedly verbalized over the long outdoor table in front of El Toro Restaurant the next night. Restocking our bodies with several servings of paella and fruit shakes, our group decided to wind down by listening to reggae music at the beachfront of Bom-Boms and Pat’s Bar. With Hemp Republic playing in the background and a slew of beach cocktails in the foreground, each one of us attempted the recount, to the best of our memories, our personal misadventures in the last 72 hours. As for myself, I also realized that I had so much more fun during this trip than that prolonged seven-day Holy Week Bora
vacation the week before. Perhaps, it was due to the difference in the amount and variety of people this time around. On the other hand, it was probably due to the fact that I was lucky enough to be part of this amazing three-day event. Then again, it must have been both.
E-mail the author at mybubbleboy@ hotmail.com