The answer is a resounding "yes." Sen. Loren Legarda and her husband, former Batangas governor Tony Leviste, can attest to that with a wide, wide smile.
You see, according to the Chinese Calendar (Year of the Water Horse starting yesterday), Sen. Loren is a Pig born on Jan. 28, 1960, while Tony is a Rabbit (1940), a horoscopic fact which Tony confirmed only 12 years ago when he turned 50, all the while presuming that he was a Dragon.
These interesting discoveries were revealed by Sen. Loren and Tony the other night during a dinner at the Tin Hau restaurant of the Mandarin Oriental, coinciding with the Chinese Lunar New Year revelry. (The parking space of the Mandarin was, as a "tradition," reserved for the Dragon Dance at 11 o’clock that night, with tiangge booths lining it. Tin Hau was pakced full with Chinese families, all clad in red, on a dine-out.)
Actually, Sen. Loren marked her birthday more than two weeks earlier and her choice to also host a dinner for friends on Chinese New Year’s Eve was properly explained by Tony. "Loren’s birthday – Jan. 28, 1960, that is – fell right on Chinese New Year so everytime the event comes around, the date of which is not fixed, nagsi-celebrate din siya."
There was, of course, another good reason for the couple to be celebrating. Before the lauriat was served to the couple’s guests – including Regal Matriarch Mother Lily who is Sen. Loren’s self-apointed "campaign manager," Bulletin’s Cris Belen with husband Nards, Inquirer’s Leah Salterio, Malaya’s Mario Hernando, Tempo’s Ronald Constantino and Nestor Cuartero, Richard Chen, Ethel Ramos and this columnist – Sen. Loren made an important announcement.
"I am pregnant," she said with a sweet smile, never mind if she was suffering from hyperacidity (that’s why she hardly took a bite). "Two weeks," she added. "It was confirmed by my doctor just the other day."
At 42 (on her last birthday), Sen. Loren said it’s okay whatever the gender of her child is (coming after Lanz, 11, and Lean, 9), "as long as the baby is healthy." If he had a choice, countered Tony, "We’d like to have a girl this time."
The baby, the first to be conceived by an incumbent Senator, will be delivered in October.
The pregnancy came as a pleasant surprise to the couple. Sen. Loren related with a laugh that on the day Tony was discharged from the hosipital after suffering from TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack), she called up their doctor and asked, "Doc, can we make love?" The (male) doctor was stunned at the other end of the line, exclaiming "What!?!" Sen. Loren promptly made things clear. "Not with you, but with Tony." The doctor gave the couple the go-signal.
With a note of victory in his voice, Tony good-humoredly told us, "One shot. It took me just one shot!" How very effective, somebody commented. How very potent. And neither of them had to take any fertility pill, ha!
These days, according to Sen. Loren (who showed up at the salu-salo wearing a Chinese-style dress with Mao’s face printed all over it), she’s craving for malunggay and starting to experience morning sickness.
At the senate, I’m sure Sen. Loren’s colleagues will understand if every now and then she’ll excuse herself to go the bathroom to, yes, throw up.
My personal favorites include her Streisand shows and the Valentine concert she did at Fort Santiago, Gabi ng Pag-Ibig sa Hardin ni Rizal. Only Kuh could have thought of a concept as unique or as classy. I like Kuh because of the way she brings class to everything she does, whether it’s putting up venues (like the Music Museum and the Republic of Malate, both gutted by tragic fires), recording albums (her latest album, Duet With Me was another unique idea, where you get to sing with her) or mounting concerts.
Her latest Valentine show is no different. This time, Kuh shares the stage with no less than French musical great Michel Legrand. Set for Feb. 14 and 15 at the PICC, this concert officially makes Kuh (well, at least as far as I’m concerned) the Queen of Valentine Concerts. For this one, especially, she is perfect. No other female singer would’ve done Legrand’s music justice, except one as classy as Kuh.
For those who don’t know, Legrand is the genius behind such songs as Windmills of Your Mind (the theme song of the Thomas Crown Affair), How Do You Keep the Music Playing, The Way He Makes Me Feel, Summer of ’42, If It Takes Forever and the soundtrack from the Barbra Streisand movie Yentl. One of his more famous songs from that soundtrack is Pieces of Dreams. Now you see why I say Kuh is perfect for it?
How did she manage to land such a juicy offer? Were there any other "divas" considered for the show? If it was offered to others, Kuh is not aware of it. All she knows is that when it was offered to her, she realized it was something she couldn’t pass up. "I said, ‘Why not?’ Performing with Michel Legrand is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I had other offers (to do Valentine shows), but I was inclined to say yes to this from the start."
Another thing you expect from Kuh when she does concerts is that she walks onto that stage looking like a knockout, in classy (and sexy) gowns. But everyone knows that four years ago, Kuh became a devout born-again Christian. How is that going to affect her performance?
If I know Kuh – and I think I do – it won’t detract from the show one bit. She is too classy to go out there all covered up and looking dowdy. After all, she isn’t called a "diva" for nothing. But she admits that there will be certain changes as far as dressing for the stage is concerned. "I will not call it conservative, but I guess I won’t be as worldly anymore," says Kuh. "It just doesn’t go with (my new) spirit and outlook. I’m careful what I do onstage because I don’t want to minister to people the wrong way. Because of who I am, I’m such an easy target for criticism. That’s why I try to be careful these days."
Kuh urges those who are in the mood for a classy Valentine act to go and see the Legrand show at the PICC. With or without a date, it will still be something to remember. I’m certainly going to see it!