The Marc of a good father

When Miguel Cerqueda was going up the ladder in the hotel industry, at one time carrying the distinction of being general manager of The Manila Hotel during its most exciting years, he would often feel guilty that he did not get to spend as much time with his growing sons, Miguel Jr. and Marc.

But perceptions do not always reflect reality. And though the jury may well be still out for workaholic parents, the verdict in the Cerqueda family is overwhelmingly in favor of dad.

Because Miguel Jr., now 38, is a hotelier himself, working at the Crowne Plaza in London. And Marc, now 34, is the Food and Beverage manager of the Hotel InterContinental in Makati City, the very same hotel where his father started his career in the Philippines almost 35 years ago.

"That’s why I joined the hotel business, because I wanted to live the life that I grew up with. It’s a life that’s never boring. You meet different people every day. It’s a life of activities," says Marc over sangria (a family recipe) and mouthwatering paella at the Gambrinus, where a food festival featuring delicacies from Barcelona is ongoing until Aug. 15. Barcelona is close to Marc’s heart – it was where his parents Miguel and Christine (nee Aguado) were married almost 40 years ago.

Today, Marc’s special lunch guest is no less than his father. Miguel Cerqueda began his career as a hotelier in Asia as manager of the Intercon’s El Castellano (later the Bahia) and after that, as manager of the Prince Albert, the hotel’s signature fine-dine restaurant. A native of Andorra, a tiny republic between France and Spain, Miguel met his future wife, a lovely Filipina named Christine Aguado, when they were both studying in Switzerland. They were married in Barcelona and lived the early years of their married life in Andorra, where their eldest son was born. They moved to Manila when Christine was expecting Marc, who was born in 1972, a month after martial law was declared, at the Makati Medical Center. While at the Intercon Manila, Miguel was offered the job of banquet manager at the Intercon Jakarta and later, as assistant food and beverage manager at the Intercon Saipan. It was while Miguel was in Saipan that he was asked to return to Manila in 1977 as food and beverage manager of The Manila Hotel, an offer that was hard to refuse.

Miguel Cerqueda, then only 30, adjusted easily to his new life at The Manila Hotel. So did his boys.

"In Saipan, we lived in a beach resort. So for the boys, it was school, the hotel and the beach. They were always climbing trees. Then you bring them to The Manila Hotel. On our first day there, the general manager Mr. Schutzman, brings me to the swimming pool area. Then he says, ‘Who are those two little bastards climbing that tree?’ I said, ‘Oh my God, they are my children!’ They were used to that in Saipan, you know, climbing trees," Cerqueda laughs.

Cerqueda was at The Manila Hotel for 22 years. Those were very happy years for the family, and the hotel (when Cerqueda was promoted to GM, the family lived in a suite that had a view of the famed Manila Bay sunset) was both home and a classroom of sorts for young Marc. Just watching his dad work was already like six units of Hotel Management 101.

"He taught me the value of hard work, a lesson which I definitely drew from and brought into my own present career. Professionally, he’s definitely my mentor. Most people would choose other people they’ve worked with as their mentor. Though I never worked with him, my dad (whom he calls "Papa") is my mentor because I grew up seeing him work almost every day," says the 6-ft.-2-in. Marc, who was with the Hyatt Regency on Roxas Boulevard before joining the Intercon.

You must have admired your dad a lot, I ask Marc the obvious, and he obliges me with an answer. Looking shyly at his dad, he nods, "Yes, I do."

I ask Señor Cerqueda if he exerted any pressure on his boys to follow in his footsteps. He says no but Marc hints that, hmm, maybe, just a little bit of pressure?

"He didn’t force me but there was a gentle push towards the hotel business. The same thing with my brother, who is in the same business," adds Marc.

Okay, concedes the father. He did encourage his sons to "consider" going into what may well be the "family business" (Miguel Sr.’s parents used to run a small hotel in Andorra.).

"Well, you know, I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done with my life and I said to myself, this is something good that they can also enjoy. Work is work is work, but you have to enjoy what you’re doing. Hotel work was good for me, I’m sure it can also be good for them. And so far, so good. Marc has a nice career," says the proud papa, who now heads Genesis, a hotel management consultancy group. Genesis runs the Astoria Plaza, A. Venue luxury residences on Makati Avenue and the Eskaya resort on Panglao Island in Bohol.

The lessons Marc learned from his father are carved in stone (including the sangria recipe, which you definitely must try when you partake of the Barcelona buffet, which is being presented in cooperation with Singapore Airlines and Princess Cruises).

Miguel takes a spoonful of the paella, which is cooked to moist perfection by guest chef Jose Miguel Lontoc over firewood in an outdoor oven. He dabs aioli sauce on it (the way they do in Barcelona, which makes the paella even more delicious), tastes it and then nods approvingly before he answers my question.

"From Marc, I have learned how to enjoy life," says the father. "I think Marc knows how to live life. He has a good way of balancing work, fun, leisure. I’m learning from him. Maybe one of these days, he’s going to teach me how to play golf."

These days, what Papa is encouraging Marc to do is to finally settle down and get married. Sorry, ladies, Marc Cerqueda is already taken, and dad approves very much of Marc’s girlfriend, whom he (Miguel) describes as a "very lovely lady."

"There are just too many adults in this family, it would be nice to see children playing around during our future reunions," muses Marc.

Father and son admire each other, it is obvious. But both want the other to shine in his own way.

Marc admits that being Miguel Cerqueda’s son carried with it a lot of expectations. "I have to live up to a legend. The expectations are huge, it can be a burden. I got the best advice three years ago, which was ‘Stop trying to be your father. Be yourself. You have your own style’."

By setting a fine example, Miguel Cerqueda has made his mark. And now it’s Marc’s turn to make his.

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