Pinky Amador performs Piaf classics at Sonya's Garden

Oh la la is all I can say about last Saturday night at Sonya's Garden where everything was transformed into Paris for the dinner concert of  BFF Pinky Amador aptly billed as "La Vie en Rose".

Clang Garcia who organized the event said she got inspired  after watching Pinky play the role of the legendary Edith Piaf onstage. She said that  "It was my first time to see Pinky perform during Piaf and I thought it will be nice to bring the romance of French songs to Sonya's Garden."

It was truly La Vie en Rose that night. The venue was bursting with the scent of flowers. And of course, the star of the evening - Pinky - was in her best form. She belted out all my favorite Piaf classics such as Padam, Padam (The sound of his, her Heartbeats), Mon Dieu (My God) , Mon Manege a Moi, (You're my Carousel), C'est a Hambourg (It's Hamburg), La Belle Histoire d'Amour and dueted  A quoi ca sert l'amour (What is Love) with Sandino Martin.

Pinky and Sandino sing A quoi ca sert l'amour

I must admit that when I met Sandino that morning, I thought he was too young to be the balladeer paired with Pinky for the concert. Well I had to eat crow that day because when I heard him rehearsing Autumn Leaves with a very deep voice, I had to ask who it was. He played the role of Theo Sarapo, the last husband of Piaf and thus, perfect for their duet.

After the concert, I actually encouraged him to do more singing stints. He said that currently [at 23 years old] he would like to focus more on acting and to finish his thesis for his Theater Arts degree in UP.

Kat and Clang in their French attire

Cocktails were served at 6pm and dinner which featured Sonya's signature dishes immediately followed at 7pm.

The first course was salad with freshly picked mixed greens from her greenhouse served with assorted add-ins such as nuts, egg whites, fresh fruits, vegetables and fresh fruits. The second course was pasta with different topping choices of fresh sun-dried tomatoes, ratatouille, mushroom, black olives and capers The third course was salmon belly and rosemary roast chicken. The last course was dessert of chocolate cake, banana and langka (jack fruit) turon and sweet camote.

Sonya supports local organic products 

The wine du jour was Vino de Coco, a coconut nectar wine brewed in Tacloban.  The wine uses the fresh sap from the flower of the coconut tree. According to Clang, "It is very rich in minerals and nutrients; even if you finish a bottle, you will not have a hang over the following day." We didn't finish bottle but we didn't experience any hangover the next day.

It was good that we stayed overnight. The next day I picked some fresh greens from the garden - lettuce, arugula, coriander and basil - and threw everything in the blender together with saba, mango, cucumber and ginger and made a green blend juice for breakfast. Then, we  pampered ourselves in the spa with Sonya's signature massage (a combination of tuina, shiatsu and swedish), facial massage using rice and hair spa using fresh aloe vera from the garden.

If you're free this Saturday, October 12. If you're free, do wear your berets and head out to Tagaytay and catch the final show!  For info, call (0917) 533-5140.

Clang Garcia with Sandino

Sonya's signature salad

spacious rooms at Sonya's Bed and Breakfast

full support from Pinky's classmates

with the mom and sisters of Sandino

The grand dame of  Sonay'a Garden signing her book 

Pinky Amador as the legendary Edith Piaf

Woohoo! BFF Pinky Amador will be celebrating her 30th year in show business this year and will mark her milestone playing Edith Gassion in Atlantis Production's staging of Pam Gem's critically acclaimed musical  "Piaf".

The story revolves around the life of the legendary French singer nicknamed  La Môme Piaf  (or baby sparrow) as a self-destructive, promiscuous, alcoholic junkie. The title of the play comes from her signature song which I'm sure everyone is familiar with La vie en rose.

According to Atlantis, in this new Piaf version "Gems has reworked her classic 1978 play, vividly capturing the glamour and squalor the rise and fall of this complex, fragile and enigmatic performer."

I'm excited to see Pinky onstage and curious on how she will play Piaf which has been her dream role for years! In the last couple of years, she has been relentlessly studying and training for the role. She even went to the extent of perfecting her French, diligently studying in Alliance Francaise. Early this year, she flew to Paris together with the director Bobby Garcia to pay homage to Piaf and  ask permission to play her part. Apparently, some actresses who have were doing or attempting to do the role have gotten into accidents.

Mind you, Pink  is very very busy. Aside from Piaf, she juggles being a full time director of the Theater Arts department of the Meridian International or MINT College and plays a villain role in the hit teleserye of ABS-CBN "Be careful with my heart".

Gina Alajar, Pinky Amador and Bobby Garcia

Piaf will run until March 24 at the Carlos P. Romulo auditorium, RCBC Plaza (purchase tickets online at ticketworld). The play is directed by Bobby Garcia who is also celebrating his 20th year milestone as stage director. Also in the cast are: Giselle Töngi-Walters as Marlene Dietrich,  Ima Castro as Toine,  and the men of Piaf as played by Jamie Wilson, Reuben Uy, Altair Alonzo, Hans Eckstein, Mako Alonso, Nel Gomez and Sandino Martin.

Postscript:  Pinky, the director, the whole cast and crew were absolutely brilliant! Bravo!!  Note that the play is rated PG due to the strong language and sexual situations.