It was almost a surprise for Ali

I got the unexpected call from Lyn Ynchausti-Cruz practically mid-afternoon of May 28. I knew right away why she was calling. The following day, May 29, was Ali Sotto’s birthday and I was very sure they were planning a party for her and I was right. Ali’s diplomat husband Omar Bsaeis was planning a surprise birthday dinner for her at the Tivoli of the Mandarin Hotel and asked for Lyn’s help in calling up people (given such short notice, she was understandably frantic).

Two weeks earlier, however, I already called up Ali to ask her if she was having a party for herself on her birthday because if she was, I wasn’t going to commit myself to the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) screening scheduled on that day. CEB chair Christine Dayrit was also going away (presumably for one of her travel pieces for this paper) and she had designated me acting chair in her absence.

But during my talk with Ali, she told me she was bent on celebrating her birthday quietly with husband Omar. And so I confirmed with CEB that I would be at the screening.

And then the call from Lyn Cruz came. But I couldn’t back out of CEB anymore. Other invited guests had the same problem. (Even Lyn and husband Tirso Cruz III had a dinner appointment that night, except that they were able to move it to lunch.) Since plans for the party were firmed up only a day before the actual event, it was difficult to get out of previous commitments. However, I saw the wisdom in sending out invitations only the day before the party. It was going to be a surprise for Ali and in the industry where she works, word would have easily leaked out and reached her had invitations been sent out early.

True enough, Omar’s plan to surprise Ali worked. She was clueless. As they say: The wife is always the last to know. Fortunately, the ugly connotation of that phrase doesn’t apply here because Omar wishes only happiness for Ali — on her birthday and every day of the year.

Hours before the dinner, I called up Ali to greet her happy birthday and asked her what her plans were. (It was a great acting job from my end that could have won me an Urian.) She said that she was having a quiet dinner with Omar at the Tivoli that evening and was, in fact, at the beauty parlor. At the back of my head, I kept saying: Go ahead, beautify yourself because there will be an entire party to appreciate that later. Of course, I kept my mouth shut and simply greeted her happy birthday again.

Later that evening, as she and Omar entered the lobby of Mandarin Hotel, one of the employees there told Ali: “Ma’am, the gift from Atty. Aga Arellano is already in Tivoli.”

She wondered in her head why Atty. Aga would send her gift there. Then at the lobby, she saw one of the kids of Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez (he stood as principal sponsor at their wedding), who told her that the congressman was already upstairs. It was at this point that she asked Omar what was going on and the look on his face gave it all away. It was a good thing that they were only a few steps away from the party and that didn’t spoil the surprise at all.

On this page are pictures (courtesy of Ali’s brother, AJ Carag) of some of the happy moments that took place that evening. It was a fun evening — Ali said so herself. And I had to miss that because of my undying dedication to the advancement of local cinema (naks!) through the Cinema Evaluation Board. But from the deepest chambers of my heart (I can imagine Ali already throwing up at this point), Happy Birthday, friend!