An avalanche of pompously conceptualized and planned Valentine’s Day events that nippy Saturday, February 14, successfully pushed through with neither being hampered nor hindered by the prevalence of the inclement weather condition and single digit temp. Significant snow of varying intensity gradually diminished the volume of travelers and commuters due to worsening road conditions and freezing coldness but still, as they say, “the show must go on…” and amazingly, every scheduled event that gloomy Saturday went on as planned.
VYNNZ-NY & JB Entertainment’s Valentine’s day treat: Live-Laugh-Love @ Payag Restaurant
Once again, the main hub of authentic Pinoy cuisine in Queens, New York catered not only their most sought-after native delicacies but also a compelling Valentine’s Day musical production for their most valued customers with impeccable preference via Let’s all Live, Laugh and Love!, another quality presentation from Vince Gesmundo’s VYNNZ-NY Entertainment.
Ably headlined by VYNNZ-NY prime contract vocalist Geo Ed Rebucas, JB Entertainment’s signature tenor-pop talent Jared Martin, and the fast-rising vocal toast of the tri-state area, sultry Angel Ram, the show offered more than what it was billed and promoted. The audience couldn’t just have enough of Geo’s unrivaled comical punchlines and dexterous funny antics…and not to mention his over-the-edge vocal range that could give Mariah Carey and Beyonce Knowles a run for their money.
If Geo left the audience rolling on the floor with laughter, as expected, the crowd instantly regained equanimity with Jared’s soothing vocal renditions that inevitably stimulated every hopeless romantic to fall in love again and dreamingly saw a profuse shower of roses. This huggable quintessential balladeer of superfluous talent is a delight to watch on stage much more when he renders love songs with such pulsating emotion in either schmaltzy or meditative mood. There’s instant magic in his every riveting performance!
And where does this leave equally talented Angel Ram? The beauteous chanteuse, who also hits pop and rock with much aplomb, effortlessly delivered a livewire performance that remarkably transcended her previous live stage routines. Versatile with an abundance of creative energy and vocal power Angel Ram is definitely one talent worth-watching and listening to.
Indubitably, the collaborative production of VYNNZ-NY and JB Entertainment, together with FG Express and AsiaWest Entertainment, nailed it again! Their followers and supporters are already enthusiastic about the group’s upcoming pre-spring presentation: JO AWAYAN @ 50, celebrating the rocker’s fifty years of life and twenty five years in the music industry. Justifiably dubbed “The Queen of Lounge,” Jo Awayan maybe diminutive but daring on stage with irresistible zest and artsy innuendoes easily earning for her another title, the Total Performer! “Awayan @ 50,” slated on Saturday, March 6, 2015 at Payag Restaurant, also features Angel Pe Awayan, Angel Ram, the NU7 Band and Chin Gomez as special guest.
Show starts at 8 PM and door fee is pegged at $35. For tickets and reservations, please call: Mayette (646) 644-1412; Vince (917) 981-4155; Payag (347) 935-3192.
The Filipino Social Club of NY Little Miss Valentine coronation night
What better venue to hold such an unforgettably grandiose affair than at the posh Banquet Hall of Astoria World Manor in Astoria Blvd., Astoria, NY and The Filipino Social Club of New York did just that last Saturday during the grand coronation of its Little Miss Valentine 2015. The FSCNY feisty lady honcho, Madame Joann Carman, she with an excellent taste, left no stone unturned (down to the minutest detail) just to insure the annual event’s unprecedented success.
Crowned as this year’s Little Miss Valentine was Keilyn Rae Gainao Paulino, an eight-year old daughter of Efren Rey, a Civil Engineer and Licensed Practical Nurse, and Aileen, a Registered Nurse/Nursing Supervisor. A typical Cancerean, born on June 27, 2006, young Kedai (as her parents fondly call her) is a third grader at Resurrection Ascension School in Queens, New York and dabbles in the arts.
Innately creative, Kedai is into dancing, drawing, singing, ballet, playing the violin, and baton twirling aside from perfecting her craft on operating photo and video cameras, swimming, and ice skating. Efren and Aileen didn’t find it hard to convince their little princess in joining the contest since the budding beauty queen had already her mind set to such.
The coronation procedure was elegant and stylish befitting a princess of Kedai’s stature. Ably escorted by her elder brother, Keenu Zander, a 5th grader from the same school, Kedai was crowned by Noelami Kai Reyes (Little Miss Valentine 2014), Desiree Wisotsky (Little Miss Valentine 2008) and Lauren Baylon (Little Miss Valentine 2011). Her grandparents Mr. & Mrs. Rogelio and Cynthia Gatinao handed her the bouquet while Bebeth Martin and Michael Anthony Perez awarded the trophy.
Members of Kedai’s royal court are equally adorable and pretty young muses:
Second Princess Kristina Lynn Robles escorted by Master Edrick Ang and First Princess Cloey Mariano Cabasal with escort Master Theo Weintraub.
Given a few more years this PYT (Pretty Young Thing), after constant training and her talents perfectly honed, is unquestionably another beauty queen potential and not only a magnificent stunner but a beauty competently armed with loads of talents.
Now on selected theaters: “English Only, Please!”
The paucity of coming across a movie that is simultaneously award-winning while commercially successful is tantamount to basking underneath the rain in a mid-summer day. “English Only, Please…” profitably defies the norm that when a movie rakes awards it is doomed to suffer in the box office or vice-versa. Legitimately award-winning while simultaneously raking in voluminous returns at the box office, what made ”English Only, Please” even more astonishing is the fact that its writer, has instantaneously stamped an indelibly distinct mark despite her early foray into the mainstream…directly catapulting her name in the league of award-winning and certified box office screenplaywrights.
“English Only, Please” is a light-hearted romantic-comedy film with a combination of optimism, broken heart and the fuzzy warmth of a newfound true love. It delivers memorable lines, crisp dialogues, and thrilling scenes that the audience can relate.
Factitiously written screenplay by Antoinette Jadaone and directed by Dan Villegas, “English Only, Please” is about a Fil-Am businessman Julian (Derek Ramsay) with one ultimate goal in mind: to perfectly deliver an extremely angry Tagalog-translated letter to his ex-girlfriend that broke his heart. He hires Tere (Jennylyn Mercado) to tutor him but their teacher-student relationship went beyond each other’s interest about life, culture, and love…and an inevitable romance blossomed.
The main protagonists’ characterization is fairly equiponderant and convincingly acted minus the usual anfractuous sub-plots just so to stretch an already thin storyline.
After having reaped the following major awards in the recently concluded 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival: Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Original Story, Best Editing, and 2nd Best Picture, what more is there to yearn for?
Actually, Jennylyn Mercado’s Best Actress award is one long overdue recognition for her innate acting prowess. This is a clear vindication for Jennylyn after being deprived of her supposedly first Best Actress plum in Joel Lamangan’s Blue Moon in 2006.
“English Only, Please…” opens on Friday, February 20, all over the USA particularly in California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Simultaneously, the romantic-comedy film is also opening in Canada: in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario.
Here in New Jersey, “English Only, Please” is showing at AMC Jersey Gardens (651 Kapkowski Road, Elizabeth, NJ 07201) and in NY at Douglaston Movie World Cinemas (24202 61st Avenue, Douglaston, NY 11362),
“English Only, Please” is released in the USA by Jay Diaz’s Above The Line Events.
V-day afterthoughts:
The brain, being the biggest organ, controls all our senses especially the touch, smell and sight.. and those well-endorsed aphrodisiacs, ‘though having chemical reactions and effects in our systems, are merely bounded by our imagination as everybody is equipped with biological imperatives.
Still, there’s one appalling state of our emotion that we should do away with…being heartbroken. Heartbroken Syndrome overly produces a distress hormone that could poison the heart especially after losing a loved one and there’s that deplorable stance when one loses his willingness to continue living.
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