It’s a double crossroads, in a lot of ways, mainly because as she bravely embarks on a solo career, she is also taking the big plunge in her love life. It is quite a huge leap for the footloose performer and it’s not without its fair share of separation anxiety. Reluctantly, she bids farewell to her band, Gladys and the Boxers With K (GBWK).
"It has only been two weeks since I last went onstage with them and I miss them already," Gladys shares candidly. "I miss the friendship. The whole barkada. When we’re together, we’re inseparable. Even after a gig, we’re still together."
How she pines for the late-night gimiks, the raucous repartee with her GBWK gang mates, Kakai Brosas, Daniel Lardizabal, and Cris Samonte.
"When we’re together, Kakai and I are so jologs onstage," she relishes the memory.
To make the transition period a bit more bearable, Gladys is not completely turning her back on the band.
"If there are special shows, if the clients request for it, I’d still perform with them," Gladys points out. "We have lots of special corporate shows and concerts lined up."
GBWK’s sophomore outing, under Viva Records, is also in the works. Currently getting good airplay is the carrier single off the new CD, Sasakyan Kita, another potential chart buster from Mr. Otso-Otso and Spageti himself, Lito Camo.
"When we promote the song, we always tell the audience that all of Lito’s previous songs were hits and we can only hope his winning streak wouldn’t end with us," she says. She describes the new CD as "fun, very GBWK." "It’s as if all the songs were written with our personalities in mind," she explains. "May character. Novelty. In our first album, we tried including two serious songs, but they didn’t work. I don’t think people are ready to take us seriously."
Also included in the new compilation is another unique ditty, Ngumingiti-ngiti by Manuel Mallillin, an entry in the first-ever Levi Pop Song Writing Festival, spearheaded by the Viva Foundation.
Also ongoing is her TV work on two GMA 7 shows, the noontime top-rater Eat Bulaga and the weekly sitcom Lagot Ka, Isusumbong Kita. Tapings for the sitcom are always a blast, she remarks. "A riot," she guffaws. "The four guys in the cast (Richard Gomez, Joey Marquez, Benjie Paras and Raymart Santiago) are crazy.
Also doing well is her hosting stint on Eat Bulaga. "It’s really a family," she divulges the secret of the show’s success. "It’s very simple. They’re original. For me, the hosts who will replace Vic Sotto and Joey De Leon haven’t been born yet."
She has imbibed a lot from Vic and Joey, simply by watching the two comic masters in action. And she has learned from the best, so to speak. "As they say, you can only become a true comedian if you can make other comedians laugh," Gladys attests.
Gladys couldn’t ask for anything more, career-wise. That’s why when she was blessed with pure, unadulterated bliss in her personal life, she was just as pleasantly surprised and thankful. "People say it’s hard to combine professional and personal happiness," she acknowledges. "But in my case, both are doing great."
It helps that she has found a supportive and understanding partner in Dr. Tedgie Agtay. "Despite his very busy schedule, he still finds the time to accompany me and watch my gigs after his clinic hours," she beams. "And he really takes good care of me. He even got me my own driver because he didn’t want me to drive myself home late at night after my shows. It’s like I have a personal doctor." As bonus, she has known him since they were kids. "Our families know each other. He was ahead of me in school, but he was my cousin’s classmate in elementary."
"We know each other," she professes. "We never had to impress each other." More importantly, Dr. Tedgie gets along famously with her GBWK buddies. "He has also become the personal doctor of Kakai, Daniel, and Cris," Gladys quips. "He gives them free consultation!"
Dr. Tedgie was even the one who called her up the first time Sasakyan Kita was played on the radio. "I was on my way to a mall and he was on his way to the hospital and he called me up on my cell just to tell me our song was being played on 90.7," she relates. "He’s so sweet."
Just like her character Annie in her first big movie last year, Pangarap Ko Ang Ibigin Ka, Gladys is in the throes of settling down, on the threshold of domesticity. "Good thing I love cooking," she affirms. "My specialties are Italian, Singaporean, and Thai dishes! And I also love keeping house, arranging the furniture, the decor."
She sees herself as a caring, groovy mother in the near future. "My ultimate dream is to be a mom my kids will be proud of," she intones. She waxes philosophically: "Fame is fleeting, but family is forever. Someday, I hope my husband would show my children a scrapbook of pictures of my past performances with the band or videos of Eat Bulaga or my old CDs and my kids will tell me just how happy and proud they are of my achievements."
Indeed, Gladys, the enfant terrible of the live concert circuit, has grown up–and with style!