Ruffa now ‘safe and secure’ in Istanbul

Curtain-raisers:

• A certain bold star should learn from Rosanna Roces. You see, being an unwed mother, the boldie is fiercely protective about her child, so she hides the kid like anybody would their love handles. She should remember that no amount of success and/or popularity can compensate for the hurt feelings of a child who might grow up believing that her mother is too ashamed to acknowledge her. In Rosanna’s case, she realized before it was too late that it didn’t pay to bury her children in piles of pillows inside the car everytime they went out or to shoo them into their "hiding places" at home when visitors came. The truth has set Rosanna free. The boldie should learn from Rosanna’s example and make a clean breast of her true "status." Yeah, tell the whole world: "I’m a mom and I’m proud of my daughter!"

• Did you know why Jose Mari Chan cried when he watched Lea Salonga’s Songs From Home (with an all-OPM repertoire) last week at the PICC? It wasn’t because Lea sang some of Joe Mari’s English compositions (Can We Just Stop and Talk Awhile, Afraid For Love to Fade and I Remember the Boy). Rather, when Lea sang his Tagalog composition (sung by Anthony Castelo) Hahanapin Ko, Joe Mari lost control of himself and cried unabashedly. "Jimmy Santiago wrote the lyrics of that song," Joe Mari told Funfare. "That song lost in the Metropop several years ago but when Lea sang it that night, it sounded like a grand-prize winner. Gerard (Salonga’s) magnificent arrangement gave it a fresh character that brought home its theme – a Pinoy living abroad who immensely loves and misses his country."

• Meanwhile, congratulations to the Loboc (Bohol) Children’s Choir for winning the gold (first prize) at the just-concluded festival in Barcelona, Spain. Trained by Lutgardo Labad, the choir also won the "gold cup" for obtaining the highest points (97 percent) among the 13 participating choirs in the entire festival.

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Annabelle Rama and Eddie Gutierrez flew back home a few days ago from a month-long stay in Istanbul.

Is that news?

Well, not (it seems) until you learn that they left behind their daughter Ruffa (who now goes by her Muslim name Yasmeen) to finally settle down – and live there happily ever after – in that Turkish city with husband Yilmaz Bektas and their month-old daughter Lorin Gabriella.

It proves beyond reasonable doubt that Ruffa is safe and secure in Istanbul, contrary to what many people think, and she’s happy and comfortable with her in-laws (especially Yilmaz’s mom, Nurhan Celik). Nobody has – so far, knock on wood! – come out to harass Ruffa and make her life miserable.

Until now, according to Lola Annabelle, Ruffa is breastfeeding Lorin who has her mom’s eyes and nose, her dad’s hair and eyebrows/eyelashes, her Lolo Eddie’s chin and her Lola Annabelle’s voice. "Mukhang mataray," laughed Lolo Eddie, "like Annabelle." Lorin’s toes and thumbs are big. "Like those of the Ramas and Gutierrezes," said Lola Annabelle.

The Bektases are encouraging Ruffa to breastfeed Lorin for as long as necessary, believing (like most everybody) that mother’s milk is the healthiest baby food there is. Lola Annabelle revealed that Yilmaz had a sibling who died in infancy because it was fed with a canned milk that caused it to develop an intestinal ailment (uncontrolled diarrhea, etc.). Yilmaz’s mom believed that if the baby was breastfed, it would have survived.

"Lorin is super-takaw," added Lola Annabelle who gave Ruffa a long list of do’s and don’t’s before she left Istanbul.

This early, Lola Annabelle predicts that Lorin will grow up to be a linguist.

"Ruffa speaks to her in English. Yilmaz speaks to her in Turkish. Eddie speaks to her in Spanish. And I speak to her in Bisaya."

Ruffa has been learning to speak Turkish and she can now manage – tolerably – with the language, thank you!

Incidentally, did you know that there was a "little incident" about Lorin’s umbilical cord shortly after she was delivered by Ruffa last Aug. 3 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles? Somebody threw the thing into the trash can and Yilmaz got mad when he learned about the "missing" pusod. When it was retrieved, Yilmaz was relieved. He brought it with him to Istanbul where it was buried at a palace ground. Muslim tradition daw, e.

Rustom doing well in L.A. So whatever has happened to Rustom Padilla who left more than two years ago to kind of "turn over a new leaf" after his traumatic break-up with ex-wife Carmina Villarroel? Is he staying in L.A. for good? Has he totally turned his back on (local) showbiz?

Guess again.

My L.A. DPA reported that Rustom is leading a relatively quiet life, determined to finish a two-year course in film-directing at an L.A. university. He has stopped working as a bartender but the DPA forgot to say what Rustom’s source of income is now.

"What I know is that his derma clinic in Parañaque, now run by his siblings, is making some derma products which they’re selling in the US."

Rustom is wearing his hair long (the better to look, ehem, "incognito"?) and he’s slimmer than he was when he left the Philippines.

"Just wait and see," the DPA said. "Give him a little more time and Rustom will come home ready to direct his first movie."

Good luck, Rustom!

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