So much love, so much pain

Yeng Constantino is on her way to singing her next big hit after Hawak Kamay which can very well be a pop anthem for our world that has become irreparably divided. In show business, it is scary to be on top because you know that from there, there’s no other way but down. But it will always be better to have been on top, a place so elusive and fleeting that even the most advanced technology has not invented yet a formula on how to get there. Well, not until we are able to put into bottles “fame elements” like charisma, X-factor, presence and sell them in Puregold supermarkets. But until then, it’s anybody’s game on how to get to the top.

Yeng like other artists don’t know what her next hit is. And this is where the excitement lies. Every new song can be it. It can take a month or years but it will happen, I told Yeng the last time I saw her. I reminded her not to be anxious. Anxiety is worse than fear. It kills creativity and luck. For someone as talented and driven as Yeng, I have no doubt that a string of hit songs is just waiting to be sung.

Besides Yeng has so much love and pain in her young heart which can be a reservoir of the most eloquent love songs of her life and generation.

Dulce marks her 30th anniversary in showbiz in Atlantis Productions’ Tony Award Winning Musical Hairspray opening Nov. 14 at the Star Theatre, CCP Complex.

Dulce sang many movie theme songs including Kung Mahawi man ang Ulap, Pahiram ng Ligaya, Bomba Queen, Kailan Tama ang Mali and many more. She also sang the Song of Kapataru which won the Best Song in the Second ASEAN Pop Music Festival in Bangkok.

Dulce is thrilled to return to the professional stage in Hairspray. She will play the role of Motormouth Maybelle, made famous in the film by Queen Latifah.

In Hairspray, the year is 1962 and Baltimore’s Tracy Turnblad is going to do whatever it takes to dance her way into TV’s most popular show. Can a big girl with big dreams — and even bigger hair — turn the whole town around and still have time to win the boy she loves? Hairspray is the dancing, romancing musical-comedy treat based on John Waters’ 1988 film classic which went on to win eight Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Hairspray is directed by Bobby Garcia, choreography by Cecille Martinez, production design by Gino Gonzales, and lighting design by Shoko Matsumoto.

For details, call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078, 840-1187 or Ticketworld at 891-9999.

Gusi Restaurant is a stone’s throw away from ABS-CBN, almost along Esguerra but not quite along Esguerra St. You get a homey feel the moment you step into the restaurant. It serves excellent Filipino and Asian food.

The other day, I did a segment for Boy & Kris at the restaurant with Bianca Gonzalez. We did baskets, hampers, boxes, mats made of water lilies. You should watch this segment anytime this week. Rep. Cynthia Villar was also present as this water lily project is her brainchild. She wanted to create neighborhood jobs in Las Piñas and along the way discovered that water lilies that clog the Las Piñas River and many rivers around the country can actually be used for hanapbuhay. After the wife has prepared the food for the family and has finished cleaning the house, she can actually have a sideline and join her husband in this venture. I am told that this can earn an extra P600 per day for the family. Ophelia Go taught me and Bianca step by step on how to make water lily baskets.

Back to Gusi Restaurant, it is a nice place for dinner dates with family and friends and lovers. Gusi is a local term for jar. If you visit the place, don’t be surprised if you see celebrities dining. The place is private, homey and not at all jarring.