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 

Hazy Singapore, PSI as high as 421!!

Sporting the hottest fashion craze in Singapore

As luck would have it, we were right in the middle of the country's worst haze ever. When we arrived, the air quality level in Singapore was hovering at 300 PSI (Pollutant Standards Index), breaching the "hazardous" classification.

The PSI level is reported on an hourly basis by the National Environment Agency (NEA). Note that 101-200 is unhealthy, 201-300 is 'very' unhealthy and over 300 is hazardous.

Last Friday at noon, the PSI  reached up to 421 level. That's when Pinky stepped out to lunch with her former student who is taking her masters degree at Lasalle College of the Arts . She said that the whole of Singapore looked like a foggy day in London, all white, the visibility was less than 500 meters.  She said that while  walking, she experienced difficulty in breathing.

It's no joke. I was mostly indoors in the hotel where the workshop was taking place. The strong smell of burning vegetation was wafting through the air-tight, air-conditioned room. In fact, that Friday, the screen was blurred due to the dust particles between the projector and the screen. I felt my lungs burning as I was breathing and my nose was already runny and eyes swollen. The photo below shows how the haze can impact one's health.

The government of Singapore was urging residents to remain indoors and to wear not just any ordinary surgical mask but a N-95 particulate respirator mask. This type of mask  filters 95% of airborne particulates; otherwise, it's better to use a damp cloth to cover one's mouth and nose. The masks were already sold out and a few stores were selling  for as high as S$10 a piece (original price is S$2). Pinky got our masks in Mercury Drug Store for only PhP 95.

view from our cab at 292 PSI

Apparently, the haze occurs annually when neighboring Indonesia clears their plantations specifically in Sumatra through the slash-and-burn technique. This is similar to our kaingin system where farmers burn forests to create agricultural fields

Our taxi driver said that it was the worst in years and was blaming the palm oil companies of Indonesia for burning over 100,000 acres of peatland. Palm oil is used in the production of cooking oil and is used in the manufacture of cosmetics, soaps and now biodiesel fuel. He said that the plantations clear the land every five years.

Pinky singing at O'Leary 

Well, despite the haze, Pinky was able to swing a mini-concert called "Pinky Amador in Transit". Thanks to Jun and Mylene Flores, DeoVirtucio and the Requiem Rising and instant PA Roselle Effrancia who organized everything at the O'Leary's Bar and Grill (next to the Singapore Flyer). There were more than a hundred Filipinos who watched the show.

Tips for those Singapore or Malyasia-bound during this hazy period:
1. Check the NEA website of Singapore or  Malaysia every hour for it's pollution index reading. The index will tell you the reading from healthy to unhealthy to hazardous.
2. Wear a N-95 mask outdoors when it reaches an "unhealthy" level and also indoors when it reaches "hazardous". (Note to bring your own mask since the country may run out).
3. Keep hydrated by drinking  lots of water.
4. Use nasal sprays and eye drops.

hazy night with the gig crew

Pinky with Vivian and Isabelle

classmates Rachelle and Sheryll with Dr. Rohan and Matthew

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.

Pi Villaraza's Maia Earth Village

Birthday celebrant Pinky with Pi and Camille behind

I just spent the weekend in Bahay Kalipay  (BK) in Puerto Princesa, Palawan to celebrate Pinky's birthday detoxing (diet consisted of all raw food and coconuts) and doing some inner dance.

BK-owner, Maia EarthVillage-founder and inner dance lead Pi Villaraza was busy preparing for the Maian Planet 2012 Festival, a gathering of inner dance practitioners from all over the world. He's expecting over 50 participants. I met the ladies from Hawaii  - Petronella (who gave us a traditional Lomi massage), her sister, Amaya and raw food expert Elle; Americans Mary and Shannon; the Brits UFC fighter Tom,  DJ Vicky; Singaporeans, French and Filipinos. There are more coming before the festival begins on March 21.

Maia Earth Village in Palawan 

I asked him if he timed the event during the March 22 warning  and he said that March 21 is the date of the spring equinox when the day is equal to night. The word is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). Also, the date falls on a new moon.

The festival's venue is in the Maia Earth Village, the first intentional community in the Philippines. It is now mushrooming with almost built structures - a yoga shala, a healing space, an indigo school and an inner dance center. The last time I was there, the main building (left) photo was under construction.

Quoting from his post, the festival's venue is "within Maia Conscious Community grounds, an eco-village that rests on the principles of inner dance process. Maia is not a geographical place on earth, it is rather an ongoing visioning of applying inner dance ascension principles to practical life."   He said that the purpose of the gathering is for the practitioners to interact with othr cultures and "experience each other with heightened inner dance, inner languge, inner world and conscious community levels."

Pi welcoming the Singaporeans (who are not in the photo)

Pinky helping UFC fighter Tom

Camille, Ellie and Shannon (who's happy her tumor's gone after 10-days on raw food)

After this weekend's experience, it is quite uncanny that I chanced upon this video uploaded in November 2010 of Keisha Crowther, a Shaman referred to as the Little Grandmother who prophesied to expect a pole shift in 2012 (well, this year) and to prepare ourselves. She said that
"we literally have two years to change the way we are... That which you give your energy or emotion to becomes your reality.. In the next couple of years, many things are going to change... if you stay in your heart and are excited for what is coming then you will live in joy.. If we do not change and stay in the mind and ego, we will be removed. All we are asked to do is be love."

Pinky Amador as Mrs. B, a dinner benefit for the families of Desaparacidos

BFF-Pinky was tapped by the Concerned Artist of the Philippines (CAP) to play the role of the mother of abducted activist Jonas Burgos, Mrs. Edith Burgos. Her son was taken by a group of four unidentified men and a woman while eating inside a mall in Quezon City on April 28, 2007.

The play is a dinner benefit for the families of the desaparcidos, or victims of involuntary disappearances.

The term 'disappared people' was initially referred to South American victims of state terrorism during the 1970s-1980s. The Philippines became notorious in perpetrating enforced disappearances at the same period during Marcos' martial law regime. At that time, human rights groups placed the number of victims of extrajudicial killings at 1500 and over 800 abductions and watchdog-Karapatan records show 759 desaparacidos. American military historian Alfred McCoy in his book "Closer than Brothers: Manhood at the Philippine Military Academy" cites 3,257 extrajudicial killings, 35,000 torture victims, and 70,000 incarcerated under Marcos.

The same practice continues today (as of August 2008), the Alliance for the Advancement of Human Rights has documented a total of 193 desaparecidos since Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency in 2001.

The play is to commemorate the second year of abduction of Jonas who was tagged by the military as a member of the New People's Army. Jonas is the son of the late press freedom icon Jose Burgos, Jr, (publisher of the We Forum and Malaya) who fought against Marcos. Jonas continued his father's legacy of serving the country, however, through teaching organic farming to farmers. He is an agriculture graduate of the Benguet State University (BSU) and a trainor of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan (AMB), an affiliate of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP). He is married with one child.

Pinky's role as Mrs. B, the voice of the desaparacidos, in this 2-hour monologoue is worth the watch! A graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and a two-time Aliw Awardee for best stage actress, she is known for her powerful performances onstage, on TV and films.

The play, co-written by Grundy Constantino and Rowena Festin and directed by CAP's Secretary-General Soc Jose will premiere this Saturday, April 18, 2009 at Ten02 Bar & Resto (#33 Sct. Ybardolaza St. corner Timog Ave.) in Quezon City. Ticket is P500 per person with dinner. For more information contact Grundy at 572-4410 or 0919-8388443.

check out photos taken during the premiere night here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=104535&id=677835438&l=49d6d4f2c6