2010 03/10-03/16

MANILA MAIL COMMUNITY

Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao, 31, shown here during his last MGM Grand post-Cotto fight press conference, will be bigger in Texas as his likeness will be beamed across the venue's much-talked about 70-foot HD screens and in the world, as he fights Joshua Clottey on March 13th. Yes, Manila Mail Newspaper will be there, front and center, to capture and share with you the moments. Photo by Chris Farina of Top Rank.

Personally confirming her recent Island Pacific grand opening attendance in Los Angeles, "KRISTO"'s Veronica, Krista Ranillo innocently exclaimed "I was there!" to a Jinkee Pacquiao photo taken of the same event, when this column gave her a souvenir copy of the event article. I said "I know, that's why I wrote it." Controversies aside though, if there is only one event you will see in a year, make it "KRISTO". It is that riveting, touching and well-presented.

"KRISTO" the dialogue-less Philippine Passion Play I saw at theChabot College of Performing Arts Theater in Hayward, is world-class and a must-see for all Catholic believers. It starred Matt Ranillo, as Jesus Christ and sister Lilibeth Ranillo as Virgin Mary, among other 80 cast members, approximately. Juni Ranillo competently directed.

Enjoying the birthday lechon feast a couple of weeks ago, are (L-R) Arthur Estoesta, Mel nicolas, Aileen, Pittsburg's Susan Tanedo, San Jose's Jocelyn tabora and their special guest all the way from Germany, Joyce and Frankie Tabora (birthday celebrant Matt Tabora's brother). Photo by Fernand Tanedo

Belated happy birthday, again to East Bay's Ms. Teofila Lao (March 5th), shown here enjoying her 'Tocilog' at Canyon Ranch Dining inside the Cache Creek Casino Resort.

Krista Ranillo's mom, the former Miss Linda Tupaz, left, savor the moments of accolade, shown here backstage with San Francisco City Hall's Elsie McAteer.

Union City's La Bella Salon's Mitos Enriquez's (right) expert artistry in hair and make-up took center stage (she single-handedly worked on a cast of 80+) during last Sunday's "KRISTO", shown here with her good friend from way, way back, the show's Production Manager, Ms. Bengil Ranillo (the show's director, Juni's wife).

Jackie Castillejo, right, played Mary Magdalene in "KRISTO" while husband Atty Michael Guingona of Daly City, watched in awe. I told Michael "alot of people cried in the audience" and he jokingly countered "even if they know already know the ending, huh!"

The members of Hayward-owned St. Clement Choir, who rendered haunting musical song numbers that served as very effective

Kristo

Stage Play, a Philippine Passion Play in dance-drama pantomime, was held Sunday, March 7, 2010 at the Chabot College Performing Arts Center in Hayward, CA

See more pix at "Kristo Photo Album"

Pacquiao is Bigger in Texas

Easy win predicted for the King of the Ring

The 5-foot-6 31-year old Filipino boxing icon stands to be bigger in Texas, as all airline flights this week lead to the gigantic $1.3 Billlion Dallas Cowboys Stadium (the world’s biggest domed venue), as he reinforces boxing supremacy over Ghana’s Joshua Clottey, scheduled this Saturday, March 13th!

Pacquiao’s every punch will be beamed across the venue’s multiple 70-foot HD TV screens. “I feel like a football player” is what the Champ remarked during the recent huge press conference the boxing world has ever seen in their whole lives.

Buoyed further up by unfounded performance-enhancing drug allegations, controversies and lawsuits, the Pacquiao-Clottey fight have reportedly sold more than 20,000 tickets during it’s first three hours of Ticketmaster release, according to the very reliable ESPN.com.

The fight is now sold-out (and Pacquiao hasn’t placed his ticket orders yet) with reportedly 50,000 estimated people scheduled to show up.

Even the Gaylord Texan Hotel where Pacquiao will reportedly check-in is no longer accepting reservations. This, considering a recent google search which I did that yielded round-trip airline fares as high as thousands of dollars from San Francisco to Dallas .

In addition, car rental companies have jacked up daily prices as I noted recently.

David Foster friend, Oprah protégé and one of ABS-CBN’s hottest properties, Charice, is reportedly going to sing the Philippine National Anthem (according to published quotes from GMA-7’s resident balladeer, Jay-Ar, who was originally tapped the task). As of presstime though, it was Journey's Arnel Pineda who was being mentioned to be singing the Philippine National Anthem.

Here are the snippets of the fight week schedule, as emailed to us by the event promoters’ official media representative:

MEDIA CENTER (Credentials Distribution)

Gaylord Texan – Longhorn Exhibit Hall E – Convention Center Level 1

Monday, March 8 12 noon – 5 pm

Tuesday, March 9 1 pm – 5 pm

Gaylord Texan – Grapevine A&B – Convention Center Level 2

Wednesday, March 10 9 am – 5 pm

Thursday, March 11 9 am – 5 pm

Friday, March 12 9 am – 5 pm

OPEN WORKOUTS

Monday, March 8 1:30 pm Clottey

Tuesday, March 9 1:30 pm Pacquiao

MAIN EVENT PRESS CONFERENCE **CREDENTIALED MEDIA ONLY**

Wednesday, March 10 12:30 pm Press Conference begins

Cowboys Stadium – East Plaza

1:30pm Press Lunch Cowboys Stadium – Main Club South

WEIGH-IN **OPEN TO THE PUBLIC**

Friday, March 12 5 pm On Scale Cowboys Stadium – Outside East Plaza

*FINAL CREDENTIAL PICK-UP

Saturday, March 13 9 am – 12 noon Gaylord Texan – Longhorn Small

Registration E

4 pm – 9:30pm Cowboys Stadium – Stadium Will

Call Entrance A

FIGHT DAY SCHEDULE (subject to change)

9 am – 12 noon Credential Distribution at Gaylord Texan –

Longhorn Small Registration E – Convention

Center Level 1

4 pm – 9:30 pm Credential Distribution at Cowboys Stadium –

Stadium Will Call Entrance A

4 pm Doors open

5 pm First bout

8 pm Televised fights begin

10 pm Main Event

POST FIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE

The Post Fight Press Conference will take place shortly after the Main Event in the North Event, Bell Helicopter, Parking area of Cowboys Stadium.

Manila Mail Newspaper will be there, 200 feet away from the ring, in the flesh, taking down notes, sidelights and photos that will be shared to this column’s readers next issue. And that’s a promise, folks!

SEEN IN THE CITY

Krista In “Kristo” is a Rare Gem!

It’s been more than a couple of decades since I last saw a Senakulo (term for Philippine Passion Play) when I was a kid and yet, I still vividly remember its great spiritual impact on my growing young years. That same feeling came back within me, as I watched the Ranillos-produced and superbly-acted (Gloria, Suzette, Jojo, Krista, and their immediate family members) “KRISTO”, together with a cast of more or less 80 local and international talents, the likes of Joji Isla, Jackie Castillejo (also stealing scenes even in a crowd, as theMary Magdalene, wife to current Daly City Mayor, Atty Michael Guingona), Dave Rodriguez (equally-competent asPontius Pilate), among others.

It is extremely difficult for a drama/passion play, without dialogues, to run for more than 2 hours and not make the audiences walk out. It is even harder to make them shell-out their hard-earned dollars to buy the ticket and show up on a family ‘Oscar Awards’ Sunday, to also endure the sufferings and passion of Christ. “KRISTO” is ensemble acting at its best, sans dialogues. Yet, I did. As well as the others who filled the venue to capacity.

Needless to say, Matt Ranillo effortlessly essayed the part of Jesus Christ. Mitos Enriquez’s (she also did Lea Salongaduring her Union City tour of “Miss Saigon”) hair and make-up worked and complemented the actors’ roles. At the end of the show, I witnessed with my own two eyes, people crying, moved yet gleefully applauding everyone involved in the show during curtain call (right, Tito Ferdie Villar and Miss Charito Benipayo?).

The intelligent use of colorful lights enhanced the dramatic highlights, interlaced with the right timing of music and video slides (it was used in the very important Krista’s Veronica’s scene, very cleverly!). Most of my kudos go to Juni Ranillo, who intelligently helmed the show, who worked behind-the-scenes together with his wife, Bengil who acted as the show’s competent and amiable Production Manager. I was told after the show that music did not work, for some technical reason, during Judas’s breakdown and suicide scene, but it didn’t matter as Thage Montecarlo (yes, ofSouth San Francisco ’s Ichiban Library) carried the scene, even more poignantly.

I am reserving my highest compliments, though, to the very-controversial-these-days actress, Krista Ranillo, who lovingly whispered to her grandma’s ears backstage during rehearsals, Gloria Sevilla, that she skipped personally attending the Los Angeles-based Oscar Awards that day to appear on the family affair that is “KRISTO”. I have seen Krista’s previous works in ABS-CBN’s “Pieta” and “May Bukas Pa” (with Zanjian Jaranilla’s Santino character) before and the curiosity that drove me watching her gets always overridden by her effective and natural acting deliveries. Not over-acting, controlled yet very effective. She was more than that last Sunday, as she goes in and out of the stage, displaying multiple layers of acting excellence on every scene she’s in and not getting overshadowed by her multi-awarded and more senior relatives. After watching her “KRISTO” performance, I can classify her in my books as a rare gem in the industry.

Offstage, she was already a darling, a breath of fresh air, right from the very second she appeared on the rehearsal door and perkingly yelled, “hello, everyone!” up to the final minutes when she accommodated everyone who wanted souvenir photos taken of her after the show. With her positive qualities, you can’t fault every man she meets to be enamoured by her.

Congratulations to all the staff and crew that delivered “KRISTO” in Hayward , CA for making my Sunday (and the auditorium-ful audiences’ which included, former MilpitasMayor Joe Estevez – he is seeking mayoral election again this year) very meaningful!

TO-BE-SEEN IN THE CITY

BLD Bay Area To Hold Fundraising Crab Fest March 20th

The Charismatic Catholic Covenant Community, Bukas Loob sa Dios (BLD) of the Bay Area is holding a fundraising Crab Fest this coming Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 6:30 P.M. at the Falcon Hall of the St. Veronica Catholic Church, located at 434 Alida Way , South San Francisco , CA 94080 . Limited tickets are available for only $40.00 per person which includes, for dinner, fresh marinated cracked crabs, salad, spaghetti, garlic bread (no host drinks). And you can bring your own favorite crab sauce!

For Information/Tickets, call Elvie Williams @ (650) 296-4690 or visit www.bldbayarea.com/

DIRECTIONS TO ST. VERONICA

From 280, exit Westborough Blvd. downhill to El Camino Real, right on El Camino Real; .5 mile to Ponderosa, right one block, left on Alida Way .

From 101, exit 380, then right (N) on El Camino Real 9/10 mile to Country Club, left one block, right onto Alida to 434..

PERSONAL NOTES

Belated Happy Birthday to Teofila Lao of the East Bay who celebrated her birthday by visiting Cache Creek Casino and having the grandest time last weekend, courtesy of her loving son, Richard, who temporarily put his IT and business career on hold to take care of her indefinitely. Again, happy birthday, Mama! And may you have many, many more!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

" Welcome home.” – by this year's Oscar co-host, Alec Baldwin’s character holding his character’s ex-wife Meryl Streep’s privates, in the movie “It’s Complicated” after making love to her, post-divorce. A very funny and intelligent movie, go and watch it.

This column also appears online at www.FilipinoVillage.comand http://sites.google.com/site/adkinsmmcevents/Home/with readership in 61 countries, according to the latestGoogle Analytics report.

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