2009 04/01-04/07

MANILA MAIL COMMUNITY

U.S. West Coast Tour of Sarah Geronimo, Mark Bautista, Billy Crowford and Charlie Green. They have a meet and greet at Roberto's on Friday night of March 27, 2009. March 28, 2009 concert at the Fox Theatre. April 4, 2009 at Grand Sierra Hotel in Reno, April 24, 2009 at San Diego Convention Center.

NY Life's Lilwyn Pascua, left, and ABS-CBN's Keena Ocampo strutted the runway in Brittany Hampton's Summer and Spring Collections last Friday, March 27th in South San Francisco.

A Family Affair. (L-R) Budding Fashion Designer, Brittany Hampton, granddaughter of noted Designer, Crisanta Malig with Fashion Show Director, Mary Jane Powell graciously receive closing call accolades after their very successful show last Friday, March 27th in South San Francisco.

BALITANG AMERICA LAUNCHES

“PAYONG KAPAMILYA SA FORECLOSURE” ON TFC

First-ever Filipino on-air foreclosure prevention workshop

reaches out to kababayans affected by housing crisis

In a sustained effort to respond to the rise of foreclosures and job loss affecting many Filipinos in the U.S., The Filipino Channel’s (TFC) flagship program, Balitang America, launched recently the first-ever foreclosure prevention workshop on air.

Payong Kapamilya Sa Foreclosure is an ongoing segment on Balitang America, the only nightly Filipino news program in the U.S. that offers direct, free, no-strings attached advice and information to Filipinos facing the grim possibility of losing their homes.

The first two segments featured the following expert panelists: Faith Bautista, president and CEO of Mabuhay Alliance, a San Diego-based non-profit organization and HUD-approved Housing Counseling agency; Chito Desuasido, CEO of GDE Holdings, Inc. and project manager of Bay Area Mabuhay Alliance; Robert L. Gnaizda, co-founder of and consultant for the Greenlining Institute, a Berkeley-based research and advocacy group that works on racial equality issues; and Joe Ohayon, vice president of client and community relations of the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage’s default and retention team.

As the audience always plays an important role to Balitang America, the segment entertained questions from viewers that were answered by the panelists. The questions touched on loan modifications, refinancing, foreclosure prevention and how the Obama administration’s Housing Rescue Plan impacts homeowners.

Balitang America has been deluged by hundreds of phone calls, emails and texts from troubled homeowners needing advice. Bautista commented that Mabuhay Alliance received over 300 calls the day after she first appeared as a panelist on Payong Kapamilya Sa Foreclosure. Balitang America received letters of thanks for the segment. Lucy Pamplona from Las Vegas , Nevada wrote: “Ako po ay nagpapasalamat nang marami dahil marami akong natutunan sa mga tinatalakay ninyong isyu tungkol sa problema ngayon ng ating bansa, lalo na sa housing market. Salamat po at mabuhay kayong lahat” (I’m very grateful because I learn a lot from the topics that you discuss that pertain to our national problems, especially in the housing market”).

“Payong Kapamilya Sa Foreclosure is resonating among Balitang America viewers because many property owners throughout the nation face the real potential of losing their homes,” said ABS-CBN International News Bureau Chief Ging Reyes. “For many of them, their home is the largest investment they will ever make. Foreclosure has a significant impact on their quality of life and on the Filipino community in general.”

Reyes added: “Payong Kapamilya Sa Foreclosure is in keeping withBalitang America ’s mission of providing the Filipino community with news and information that matter to their lives in North America . We continue to be a venue for discussion and a part of a collective brainstorm to find solutions to various issues affecting all of us in the community.”

To see all installments of Payong Kapamilya Sa Foreclosure, please visit www.youtube.com/TFCbalitangamerica.

SEEN IN THE CITY

Sarah Storms SFO & Stockton; Reno is Next!

Last Sunday night, Mr. Jonathan Aligada, the amiable current US Tour Manager of Viva Concerts was ecstatic in reporting to us that again, the group of Sarah Geronimo: The Next One (kudos to Sarah Geronimo, Mark Bautista, Billy Crawford and Charlie Green) delivered another sold-out concert in Stockton, CA right after San Francisco last Saturday. These back-to-back sold-out events were coming in the heels of their other sold-out gigs in Guam , Hawaii , Los Angeles and Las Vegas . Having witnessed the group perform last Saturday at the Fox Theater in Redwood City , it is easy to understand why people troop to this show. Sarah Geronimo is today’s ‘it’ girl and everything she does the people watch and see (from movies and concerts to TV to commercial endorsements). And for a reason. The girl takes her craft seriously, not faltering any notes in any of her numbers, rehearses religiously during her breaks, takes really good care of her gem of a voice and continues to develop her dancing and spiels. From among her song numbers that night, in my opinion, the one that showcased her vocal and style maturity is her ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ number. Buoyed by the giant screen showing a variety of sky blue images and Louie Ocampo’s crescendoing arrangement, she sang that song like I have never heard it sang before, with just the right amount of coordinated hand and body movements that even highlighted the final notes. That number is an experience (I felt transported by the song!) and that alone is worth the price of admission.

Comparatively, Sarah Geronimo: The Next One, the show itself is several notches ahead of the other shows presented here in the US . No less than noted musical genius Louie Ocampo is the show’s Musical Director and his magical work is very evident in the unique and refreshing arrangement of all the songs delivered by all 4 performers. The very young Charlie Green was all charm, Billy Crawford is a sight to behold while performing and Mark Bautista almost stole the show when he sang a medley of oldies, from ‘Love Is A Many Splendored Thing’ to ‘Love Story’ and his very rousing finale – ‘What I Did For Love’. His naturally cool huge voice resonated with magical charm during his numbers.

The supplementary huge screen was maximized functionally and artistically, not being just a static display of images but moving footage were optimally complimentary to the song numbers being sang. Sound echo and the dramatic turning on and off of lights were used appropriately.

Sarah Geronimo: The Next One sets a new standard as far as musicality and entertainment quality of US shows, henceforth. It’s the show to beat this summer.

Notwithstanding the ongoing recession, the group is aiming to make this a grand slam of purely sold-out performances and their next cities to conquer are Seattle , Reno , New Jersey , Washington DC , Chicago , Texas and San Diego .

Again, congratulations to Jonathan Aligada (he was a UP Cum Laude in Mass Communications, for crying out loud) for putting together everything that worked well on this show. With the collaboration of greats on this show, really it can be said that, ‘water seeks its own level’ on this group.

For those who missed the San Francisco and Stockton shows, you can still catch this show at the nearby Grand Sierra Resort in Reno , NV on Friday, April 4^th at 8:00pm. Call Eric Calayan (408) 712-3743 or George Fuentes(415) 260-1394 for tickets and reservations.

TO-BE-SEEN IN THE CITY

Richmond Health Festival

The Office of Senator Leland Yee invites the public to the 5th Annual Richmond Health Festival on April 18th, 2009. There will be free health screenings, live entertainment, children’s activities, and more. FREE health screening and consultation will be provided, like:

· BMI testing

· Blood pressure screenings

· Physician consultation for BP screenings

· Eye glasses cleaning

· Medication review

· Hearing testing

· Health education

· Hep B screenings

· Dental screening

· Acupressure &herbs demonstration

· Bone density testing

The public will also have the chance to meet State Senator Leland Yee andSupervisor Eric Mar. Please bring your family and friends to enjoy this day of fun. For more information, please go to the URL link below:

http://sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/bdsupvrs/supervisors/Eric_Mar/events/RHF2009-Postcard.pdf

Should you have any questions or concerns about this event, please feel free to contact Melissa Apuya at (415) 557-7857 or email atsusan.chan@sen.ca.gov.

PERSONAL NOTES

Congratulations to Crisanta Malig and her granddaughter Brittany Hampton for a very successful fashion show in South San Francisco held last Friday, March 27^th. No less than South San Francisco Planning Commissioner Wallace Moore presided the event, participated in by a bevy of very young models (starting from 2 years old!). Mainstream ex-fashion model and now a show choreographer and producer Mr. Charleston Pierce choreographed the whole show with Mary Jane Powell supervising the models.

This column appears online also athttp://www.ManilaMailCommunityNews.blogspot.com and atwww.FilipinoVillage.com

Do you have any personal or community events you want announced? Just email them to bradford_adkins@yahoo.com