Dayanara, Marc: What went wrong?

Three weeks ago, the sad news that Dayanara Torres and Marc Anthony have separated was received with genuine concern by showbiz-watchers who consider Dayanara as "one of us" because she opted to embark on a showbiz career here after relinquishing her 1993 Miss Universe crown to India’s Sushmita Sen. It was also here where Dayanara first fell deeply in love (with you-know-who) and, sob and sigh, experienced probably her first heartbreak.

Several readers have been asking if, now that she’s separated, Dayanara would stage a showbiz "comeback" in the Philippines and I told them that I doubt it very much. It’s not as if Dayanara just put her career here "on hold," to be resumed if her marriage didn’t work.

Speaking of Dayanara and Marc’s failed marriage, there have been all sorts of speculations as far as the "why’s" and the "what might have been’s" are concerned. To put things in the proper perspective, Funfare is reprinting the real story that came out in a recent issue of People magazine. Here it is, headlined Blue Note:

Just last October, Marc Anthony was painting an idyllic picture of the romantic gestures that kept his marriage to former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres alive: the daily gifts, the backyard love seat he built for her, their quiet candlelit time together. "My wife is first," he said. "No matter what."

No more. Though no legal action has been taken, the couple – who have a 17-month-old son, Cristian – have separated. "They’re still friends," says Anthony’s publicist Jennifer Nieman. "They love each other very much, and they’re both being very mature and strong. It was a mutual decision."

The move came a week after news that Anthony was in talks with Jennifer Lopez, whom he once dated, to star in a film based on the life of salsa singer Hector Lavoe. A source close to the couple dismissed any suggestion that Lopez, newly single herself, had any connection to the split. "There’s nothing bad or ugly," she said. "It’s just hard when you are in this business to keep things together."

Still, the split shocked those closest to Anthony, 33, and Torres, 27, who met through friends at a Puerto Rican nightclub in 1998. They wed in May 2000, when Anthony surprised Torres by chartering two private jets and whisking her to Las Vegas for an impromptu midnight ceremony in front of 15 guests. "We’re all heartbroken," says the source. "They’re soulmates, and I hope they realize it before it’s too late."

For now, full-time mom Torres is staying at their Long Island home with Cristian while Anthony is on an 11-week tour that started July 6. "I don’t know what will happen," says Anthony’s longtime pal, actress Patricia Velasquez (The Mummy). "I just want them both to be happy."

A poem for Art

The following poem should have come out two weeks ago on the 40th day after the death of STAR columnist Art Borjal. But better late than never. It’s entitled Thy Will Be Done, written by Art’s sister Lilia Borjal-dela Peña (regional director of the National Telecommunications Commission) last April 21, six weeks before Art died.

Thy Will Be Done

4/21/2002-10:00 p.m.

Perhaps if I were still younger/

My mind will again start to wonder/

Why in heaven’s name it has to be the good ones/

Who will suffer under this circumstance.

Lord, I have no reason to question/

What You know is the best solution/

For my brother’s condition/

And the fulfillment of his mission.

My strong faith in You keeps me hoping/

As I share in the pains my brother is undergoing/

That somehow a miracle will happen/

To vanish all ailments upon him has befallen

Many a time he feels like quitting/

When his medications seem not to be working/

He asserts that anytime You call he is ready/

But Lord we implore for your mercy.

My brother is a great help to people who are troubled/

More so to those like him who are physically disabled/

People from all walks of life approach him for assistance/

And to their plight he gives some importance.

Forgive me Lord for all these things I am now raising/

I know that You know everything that I’m saying/

But I beg of You dear Lord to listen to my prayer/

I have so much faith in You as the Divine Healer

Lord You are our refuge, our strength and consolation/

Humbly I appeal for Your charity and compassion./

Make a miracle Lord and let my brother survive/

Thy will be done but have mercy on us keep him alive.

Lord, You alone know what is best/

And there is no reason for me to contest/

But PLEASE give us BONUS on this one/

Lord, Thy will be done.