A dazzling night in Cebu

The colossal, one-of-a-kind Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, dahlings, held the tres successful launch of the 2002 Cebu Art Festival to celebrate the splendor of the arts, dahlings, on a glorious full moon which seemed made-to-order. The event was a fantastic three-day happening featuring an exhibit and sale of the most dazzling rocks moi has seen in ages. The gems belong to Cebu socialite Amparito Lhuillier and fashionable alabaster beauty, Lili Adina.

The prestigious art affair also marked the formal inauguration of the newly renovated Atlantic Hall of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino and the 65th anniversary of the prestigious Cebu Art Association.

Showing their full support for this art festival as guests of honor, dahlings, during the formal opening were the Cebu art world’s hotshots like Cebu Arts Council president, Petite Garcia; Cebu Art Association president, Nelson Paglinawan; Commissioner of the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission, Osman Jumalon; and DOT regional director, Dawnie Roa. Since the late founder of the Cebu Art Association, Julian Jumalon, was popularly known for his mosaic artworks made entirely of colored butterfly wings, the grand opening featured a symbolic release of butterflies at the hotel’s huge and busy lobby, palanggas.

The ribbon snipping ceremony, also dedicated to the formal inauguration of the Atlantic hall, was done by the city’s hottest namedroppables like popular Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama; Cebu City First Lady and dedicated civic-oriented persona, Margot Osmeña; Waterfront’s First Lady, tall and elegant Dee Hua Gatchalian; Waterfront Phils. mega president and the South’s pride and joy Patrick Gregorio; and CHAC commissioner, Cebu’s fashionable Empress of Society and one of the country’s hostess with the mostest, Amparito Lhuillier.

The Waterfront’s Group EVP, tall, articulate young achiever Rexlon Gatchalian and the hotel’s mega smart manager Bernadette Jingco joyfully welcomed Cebu’s chi-chi crowd to the cocktail party at the pre-function area of the Majestic Atlantic Hall.

The audience was mesmerized by the specter of colors from the artworks displayed on panels all over the Atlantic Hall, as well as the gorgeous, sparkling jewelry showcased at the center. But the grand happening in the evening was made even more dramatic by Fusion of Art, an art show celebrating the union of five forms of art, a first-of-its-kind in the fashion and art history of the Philippines.

Art maestros Tito Cuevas, Prof. Tamayo, Rudy Cuevas and Paulina Constancia provided the rich visual backdrop and inspired the stunning creations by Cebu’s top in-demand designers, Philip Rodriguez, Arcy Gayatin, Jun Jun Escario and Dino Lloren. These were then complemented by the breathtaking, to-die-for jewelry by M. Lhuillier Jewellers and Lili Jewellery, donned by some of the country’s world-class models.

During the showing of the dazzling gems, the audience was superbly entertained by Cebu’s most vibrant dance troupe and captivated by the magical, gorgeous voice of soprano Rochelle Gerodias from the Singapore Opera Company who jetted in just for the one-night showing.

Visual art, jewelry design, fashion design, music and dance all blended in perfect harmony. Over-all concept, direction and choreography was by the fabi and talented Jackie Aquino. The hard-to-beat affair was brilliantly conceptualized by the hotel’s top mover and shaker, F&B director, the brilliant and creative Marco Protacio, no less, with the help of his rah! rah! team–attractive PR manager Pia Almedras, PR assistant Alyssa Alpuerto, and Joel Olivares of Island Art Productions.

It was definitely a wow show that would certainly be a smashing hit in Cosmo Manille as well, palanggas.

Inspired by jazz

Many full moons ago, dahlings, handsome and creative JB Ablaza Macatulad was at the popular Plush Room in San Francisco watching a performance by renowned jazz singer Paula West, no less, who sang Sarah Vaugh’s They Can’t Take That Away From Me, a song JB simply can’t forget. "She sang it in a way that I felt as if her experiences were my own and that the pain and longing she felt were that of mine to share," he relates. JB closed his eyes and drifted off to the sound of Sarah’s voice which he says was "Subtle yet emotive, rising like warm bath water and filled the room with richness. (It had a) a fluidity, a color so luminous, that breathing the air made you feel like it would dye your lungs the same shade of blue."

Legendary jazz musicians Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday used to say they never performed a piece the same way twice. Each song, each note, had a personality and emotive complexity unique to a moment. They believed that their music was their own experience, their own thoughts, their own wisdom shared with anyone who cared enough to listen and feel.

It is precisely this passion, this personal experience conveyed through music, palanggas, that JB tried to communicate in his popular, in-demand paintings. Each piece has been titled apres a jazz song that inspired it. He hopes that in looking at these images, "You will experience the same richness that enveloped me when I first became inspired by jazz music."

Kind of Blue: Jazz Revisited opened at The Podium’s Second Floor last Oct. 27 and will run until Nov. 3. It had among the ribbon snippers former Education Secretary Raul Roco and JB’s aunt, civic-oriented socialite Mellie Ablaza. JB’s first one-man show and his first ever here in the Philippines, Kind of Blue: Jazz Revisited is an exhibit of jazz-inspired artworks consisting of 16 oil paintings and 10 digital photographs. Marked by vibrant colors and strong brush strokes, the images attempt to convey the spontaneity and free-flowing nature of jazz music.

The images depict contemporary musicians from San Francisco and Cosmo Manille, palanggas, as in the world of jazz. All the oil paintings are named after jazz songs that have inspired JB in a similar way. This is JB’s second jazz series; his first was exhibited in a group show at Sutter Gallery in San Francisco in 2000.

The painting entitled Without Your Love is the recipient of the red ribbon (second place) for Best Figure Painting at the annual San Francisco Academy of Art Spring Show in 2000.

Needless to say, dahlings, JB’s main influences as an artist are John Singer Sargent; Richard Schmid; Nicolai Fechin; Odd Nerdrum; Egon Schiele; and Zhaoming Wu. Locally, he is a fan and big admirer of the works of Ang Kiukok and Arturo Luz.

JB graduated with a degree in English Literature and a minor in Fine Arts from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1996. He later received a BFA in Fine Arts/Illustration from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco in 2000, receiving several awards for his work at the 2000 Academy of Art Spring Show. He then worked as the lead web designer for Thrive On-line, healthcare division of Oxygen Media, Oprah Winfrey’s high-profile website for women. He is the founder and designer of the multi-award-winning website for artists, www.controlled-freestyle.com.

Need moi say more, dahlings? Dash over to The Podium’s second floor and see this truly one-of-a-kind exhibit by the one and only artist of the hour JB Ablaza Macatulad.

As always, palanggas, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino is where you’ll find the action. Do check it out as well as JB Macatulad’s art exhibit.

Have a nice weekend with your famille and loved ones. See you!