A Wicked Soiree

CEBU, Philippines - Last August 3, on a stormy  Saturday  night in the Queen City, evil queens, their minions, serial killers and killer clowns, just the vilest and most vicious characters in all of villain-dom, conspired and congregated at the Jarque home in Bauhinia Drive to compare notes (from minor misdemeanors, mass murders, to the most depraved plans of world domination), feast, drink, and enjoy a respite from making life on earth miserable.

Despicable and dreadful, sly to downright scary—leading figures of the macabre like the Queen of Hearts, Maleficent, Cruella De Vil, Queen Ravena, Ursula, the Joker, Darth Vader, et. al. showed up, garbed in sartorial mayhem and mischief. Inspired by the spirits (read: alcohol), they simply couldn’t resist concocting, conniving, carefully planning their next malevolent undertaking.   

Home for a few months from her tour of duty with the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF or popularly called the  Doctors Without Borders), Kitts Sarte (aka Cruella De Vil) hosted the Villain Party, together with home owners Cisco and Marilen Jarque, for family and close friends to jointly celebrate her homecoming and only son Nico Sarte Celdran’s birthday (Nico was the Joker for the night).

Everyone came in their most evil costumes: Maite Moraza as Hannibal Lecter, Bianca Acebedo Lopez as Maleficent, her daughter (my niece) Arabella “Arya” Lopez Celdran as Ursula, Jaja Chiongbian- Rama as Queen Ravena (from Snow White and the Huntsman), Joyce Celdran Chiongbian as DC Comics’ Harley Quinn, Carol Sarte as the Queen of Hearts, Karla Alegrado as Darth Vader in a skirt, Mariana Chiongbian as the Snow Queen, Stacey Corominas as the Black Swan,    Ysa Moraza Unchuan as Catwoman, Paco Jarque as Percival C. McLeach (in case you’re wondering who McLeach is, like everyone was during the party, he is the evil poacher in Rescuers Down Under), Monique Jarque as the Black Widow, Miren Jarque as Elektra, Charlie and Isabel Jarque came as the Joker and a She-Devil. Chiongbian brothers Tonyo, Joshua and Alonzo came as Syndrome, Vector, and Scorpion, respectively, while home owners Cisco and Marilen Jarque were dressed as an evil pirate and Stephen King’s IT (the killer clown).

The panel of judges for the evening’s games were non-villains, a set of good-looking humans—the beautiful Georgina Wilson, the lovely Jessica Wilson, fetching Moritz Gastl, and the always handsome Marken Aboitiz.

Halloween is two months away but we can always find an excuse to play dress up any given day. And how fun it is to live someone else’s life, see things through someone else’s eyes, even for a night—especially when they are infamous.