Lady of the Night

The setting was picture-perfect, dahlings with a full moon, a cool breeze, and loads of beautiful people. Tres charmant, eye-catching beauty and brains Maritel Nievera of the super popular Cabalen, palanggas, hosted a romantic dinner by the poolside of the impressive Essensa at The Fort for her pal, attractive Philippine STAR columnist and working lady, Mons Romulo-Tantoco.

The well-heeled invitees not only enjoyed Maritel’s excellently prepared buffet dinner, they also marveled at how Maritel had transformed the place into a fabulous tropical lagoon.

Looking like the fashion plate that she always is, our Lady of the Night, Mons Tantoco looked great in a cool outfit by Suzy Calma and Melissa Lao of Circus. She welcomed 80 invitees belonging to Cosmo Manille’s hotshot new society with her hubby, popular entrepreneur Sander T., who made sure everyone was well-taken cared of. We certainly were, palanggas!

Heading the fun pack was Mons’ super workasonic and well-respected dad, Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo; Mons’ attractive sister Berna Romulo-Puyat; brother, brilliant lawyer Roman Romulo and his pal, observant Liza Gokongwei; fashionable and civic-oriented Justa Tantoco; First Daughter Luli Arroyo who breezed in with beautiful couple Sabin and Bettina Araneta-Aboitiz; tres charmant HUDC Secretary Mike Defensor; DJ Sta. Ana and a slim, slim Karen Davila-S.; good-looking young parents Aga Muhlach and gorgeous Charlene Gonzales-M.; sultry beauty Pops Fernandez; mega Sen. Kiko Pangilinan; Gov. Tony Leviste and his lady love Sen. Loren Legarda-L.; fashion icon of the trendy Mix boutique Tina Maristela-O. and smart restaurateur Ricco Ocampo; construction magnate Philip and high-fashion persona Ching Cruz; the Vice President’s right and left hand, beauty and brains Agnes Huibonhoa; man of the hour Lance Gokongwei solo-ing it (his wife was relaxing at home following the birth of their first heir); Bukidnon Rep. Miguel Zubiri and his ultra glamorous mother Vicky Z.; dashing businessman and banker Raul Manzano; PEOPLE Asia’s brilliant Philip Cu-Unjieng and his gorgeous wife Tricia Panlilio-C.; Elbert and Liza Cuenca; Philippine Tatler editor Anton San Diego; Philippine STAR Lifestyle editor, fashionable lady of style Millet Mananquil and businessman Robert M.; Kachika’s Karen Santos; Manny and Camille Santos; feminine beauty Lilibeth Virata; in-demand architect and interior designer Anton Mendoza; moi palanggas, handsome Bernie Concepcion and adorable Marilen Santos-C.; stylish, fashionable Mandy Santos; romantic lovers, Mia Borromeo and international businessman Jacques Dupasquier; and coosome twosome, witty Celine Lopez and engineer Victor Consunji.

It was definitely a memorable night, palanggas, with the fun party going so well as there was no band playing ear-splitting music and everyone joining in to sing "Happy Birthday" to our Lady of the Night, Mons Romulo-Tantoco.

Cheers, palangga!

A French spring in Manille

The new, tres charmant French Ambassador Rene Veyret, already a tres well-liked persona in Cosmo Manille, formally opened the French Spring in Manille 2002, the French Embassy’s annual interesting cultural event, dahlings, amidst a throng of avid supporters

The newly-installed French envoy happily welcomed the city’s alta sociedad into the Grand Ballroom of the elegant Mandarin Oriental Hotel during a full moon.

French Spring in Manille’s Moving Cultures, palanggas, is the fourth in a series. As in the previous years, we will again be treated to a generous display of French talent in a month-long celebration of French artistry.

In her speech during the opening ceremonies, Ambassador Veyret expressed her desire to share with the Filipinos the French language and values through cultural exchange. She also warmly expressed her appreciation for the support given by various French and Filipino companies who helped make the event a tremendous success.

Clearly enjoying the high-brow event were tons of namedroppable Philippine government officials; national artists; members and super pals of the chic-ky diplomatic corps; media practitioners; and representatives from the business and private sectors.

The opening ceremonies followed the cocktails reception where wine and the bubbly champagne flowed like forever. Right apres, the tres chic classy crowd was treated to a night of fabi music from international duo pianists, Emmanuel Strosser and Marie-Josephe Jude who enchanted everyone with a fantastic repertoire of Dukas, Debussy, Chabrier and Brahms.

The opening night of Moving Cultures was made possible by the support of BNP Paribas and the one-of-a-kind Mandarin Oriental, naturellement, cheri.

It was a great way to start the week with Mons Romulo-Tantoco who becomes more radiant with each passing year, plus the French Spring Festival breezing into Cosmo Manille.

Be happy. See you.