Belo welcomes Kris back

The best begets the best. The Queen of Beauty, Dr. Vicki Belo, welcomed back Kris Aquino, the Queen of Media, to the Belo Medical Group as its endorser through a media launch recently.

Imaging expert and Belo consultant Jojie Dingcong put together the memorable event at the Red restaurant of Makati Shangri-La Hotel. Robert Blancaflor turned the restaurant into a palette of rich gold and rosette with his beautiful floral arrangements.

Guests delighted at the white roses, stargazers and daylilies that adorned each table. Each centerpiece even had its own heart-shaped crystal jewelry. Robert even made a floral artwork with the Belo logo by using a considerable amount of white roses.

The cameramen covering the event almost elbowed each other when Kris and her son Baby James Yap walked through the red-carpet entrance. The arrival of world-famous beauty surgeon Vicki Belo and her daughter Cristalle, who were respectively dressed in pale gold and coral, triggered another paparazzi frenzy. The camera flashes became almost blinding throughout the night as more and more famous guests to the event came in.

Spotted at the scene of revelry included Kris’ sister Pinky Aquino-Abellada, whose education advocacy in Bacolod got the support of Belo; hair stylist Philippe Tordjman, who is Dr. Belo’s latest beauty business partner; Mega World’s big boss Kevin Tan; and my favorite traveling partner Tessa Prieto-Valdes.

Raya Mananquil hosted the event. Matteo Guidicelli performed two songs in honor of both the Queen of Media and the Queen of Beauty.

Guests enjoyed the five-course dinner of smoked chicken and mango avocado salad with pommery mustard dressing and the surf-and-turf main course of wagyu beef with truffled mashed potatoes.

A lively Q&A with the press ensued after Vicki and Kris shared their success stories and beauty secrets in a casual, light manner. As expected in an event hosted by Vicki, who is famous for inspiring perfection among the people around her, the celebrity cosmetic surgeon raffled off a designer bag and an iPad to two lucky guests.

As always, Dr. Vicki Belo made sure that everyone under her care got only the best.

Tutti Tango

The Filfest Cultural Foundation exists to bring the very best of classical music to the Metro South communities in partnership with Insular Life, which celebrates its centennial this year. Tutti Tango will be on Oct. 23, 8 p.m. at the Insular Life Auditorium in Alabang and will feature four dancers led by Myra Beltran and four of the Pundaquit Chamber Players led by Alfonso “Coke” Bolipata, featuring the music of Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla.

Myra Beltran formed Dance Forum in 1995 and came to pioneer what was to be called Philippine independent dance. She has done commissioned work for the Arts Development Association of Taiwan, University of Iowa’s Theater Department, CASA San Miguel Center for the Arts, independent and mainstream dance and theater groups, locally and internationally. She was awarded the National Commission for Culture and Arts 2001 Alab ng Haraya (flame of inspiration) and her Dance Forum was given the Aliw Award for Best Dance Group in 2001. She received the Tanging Parangal Award from the City of Manila in 2007. 

The Pundaquit Chamber Players is a resident ensemble of Casa San Miguel, composed of artists dedicated to the chamber music repertoire. Founded in 1996 by Bolipata, the ensemble was envisioned to serve as the mentors to the community children in the training program of Casa San Miguel.

(For more information, please call 666-4095 or 0918-9419472 or e-mail [email protected])