Carlos is also getting married!

In the first half of this year, there has been a "marriage-wagon" packed full with showbiz couples, highlighted by the controversy-laden May 28 Baguio City wedding of Aga Muhlach and Charlene Gonzalez. Year 2001 might just go down in showbiz history as a "marrying-est" year – and there are six more months left, remember!

Other couples who have hitched a ride on that crowded "marriage-wagon" include Candy Pangilinan and Gilbert Alvarado, Jessa Zaragoza and Dingdong Avanzado, Gary Estrada and Bernadette Allyson, Saksi host Vicky Morales and lawyer King Reyno, Franco Laurel and Ayen Munji, GamePlan hosts Paolo Abrera and Suzi Entrata, Raymond Bagatsing and Lara Fabregas (civil rites last July 5, with an Ananda Marga wedding set for July 28 at the Sonia Garden in Tagaytay City), Christopher de Leon and Sandy Andolong (better late than never!) and, last but not the least, Pilita Corrales and businessman Carlos Lopez (also from Paraguay, like Pilita’s former lover Amado del Paraguay, but now based in Sydney).

Enough for the time being? Guess again.

A roving Funfare DPA just huffed and puffed the flash news that Carlos Morales and his girlfriend "LL" are set to jump into the "marriage-wagon," with a (tentative, according to the DPA) civil wedding set next month.

"Carlos and ‘LL’ have been going steady for barely two months," said the DPA. "I just don’t know if Carlos and his other girlfriend, a would-be lawyer whose first name also starts with an ‘L,’ have already broken up. They went steady for seven years, you know."

The "Double L" in Carlos’ love life is said to be half-American, half-Italian and half-Filipino, and hails from the South, a member of a rich family.

"When Carlos recently guested in a TV show," added the DPA, "he even greeted ‘LL’ whom he addressed as ‘Li Lo.’ How sweet, ‘no?"

Not many people know that Carlos is also half-American, his father (an American, while his mother is a Filipina) having worked at the former Subic Naval Base in Olongapo where Carlos still lives with his mom, coming to Manila only when he has showbiz commitments and staying in a small room (his "halfway" house, so to speak) by his lonesome somewhere in New Manila. Left behind by his father when he was small, Carlos has been ardently dreaming of seeking out his father in the States not to ask for any help, financial or otherwise, but only to show him with pride that he (Carlos) has made something of himself and has risen above his humble beginnings through his own efforts.

Who knows, maybe after their wedding, Carlos and "LL" might embark together on that sentimental trip to the States and get the blessing (basbas) of his long-lost father.

Best wishes and bon voyage to them, then.

Sex and the City promo questions

Here are the answers to the first two sets of questions (for episodes 1 and 2 and episode 3) in the Sex and the City promo conducted by HBO in cooperation with Funfare to mark the recent premiere on HBO Philippines of the popular US TV show topbilling Sarah Jessica Parker (aired Tuesday nights at 10 o’clock on SKY Channel 31 and Home Cable Channel 27):

– Episodes 1 and 2

1. Which island did Carrie and friends go to to judge the New York City Fire Department’s "Calendar Contest"?

Answer: Staten Island

2. What is the name of the politician Carrie meets at the New York City Fire Department’s "Calendar Contest?"

Answer: Bill

3. Where does Samantha’s latest date shop?

Answer: The Boy’s Department of Bloomingdale’s

4. What is the color of the trenchcoat that Carrie wore while at the construction site with her new politician boyfriend, Bill, on one of his campaigning trips?

Answer: Khaki

– Episode 3

1. Who does Carrie bump into when trying clothes on in the dressing room of a clothing boutique while on a shopping trip with Miranda?

Answer: Big’s new wife Natasha

2. Samantha gives the girls a treat. Where does she bring them?

Answer: The spa

And here is the final set of questions (episode 4), answers to which will be published sometime next week to avoid giving them away unwittingly:

1. What type of a photo exhibition does Charlotte invite the girls to?

A. A gallery opening for an artist who photographs drag kings

B. A gallery opening for an artist who photographs drag queens

C. A gallery opening for an artist who photographs children

D. A gallery for an artist who photographs animals

2. What do Carrie and her twentysomething boyfriend do on their date?

A. Roller-blade

B. Go-kart racing

C. Ice-skating

D. Hockey

3. What is the name of the guest star whom Carrie kisses during a round of spin-the-bottle?

A. Jennifer Aniston

B. Robbie Williams

C. Alanis Morrisette

D. Courtney Cox

(Note: Send answers to SATC Contest, Funfare, P.O. Box 512, Greenhills Post Office, 1502 Metro Manila. The first seven letter-senders with the correct answers per episode will get Sex and the City Martini glasses. Enclose in your letters a clipping of Funfare, your name, address and phone number. Winners will be notified by phone.)

Reader’s reaction

Here’s a letter that will surely warm the cockles of the heart of Kuh Ledesma, from Dianne Conception of San Lorenzo Village, Makati City:

Dear. Mr. Ricky Lo,

My aunt took me to Kuh Ledesma’s concert at the Manila Hotel last June 29. The show was called Kuh Sings Streisand. I didn’t know what to expect.

First of all, I am not a fan of Barbra Streisand. Pehaps, it’s because I just turned 20 and I haven’t been able to catch her days of glory. Would you believe that the only songs I can associate with her are Evergreen and The Way We Were? I do know, however, that she’s considered as some kind of a legend.

Secondly, I haven’t watched any of Kuh Ledesma’s concerts. I know she’s the diva, but the type of music I listen to is quite different from her kind of music.

I knew I was gonna be bored.

As it turned out, the show was a blast. I never knew Barbra had such wonderful songs. They were so diverse in type and in theme. And to top it all, Kuh was a virtuoso performer. I was in awe the whole time. My God, she even did a duet with Streisand through a video screen. Their voices blended so well. How fantastic.

Kuh’s duets with Chad Borja and Regine Velasquez were marvelous. But the best part of all was when Kuh sang the song from Yentl called A Piece of Sky(?). Wow!

After the show, there was no doubt in my mind that Kuh is the diva.

– Dianne Conception

P.S. Oh, and by the way, she reminds me so much of Lara Croft.