A peek at local celebrity homes

(Third of a series)

Local showbiz is a matriarchal society and there are at least two famous people we call mother: Mother Lily Monteverde and Mother Ricky Reyes. Below, I’m writing about their respective homes in my continuing series on celebrity houses.

Mother Ricky’s near palatial home

Ricky Reyes used to live in Green Meadows — on 123 Swallow and he and neighbor Joey de Leon had a naughty joke about that address.

I’ve been to 123 Swallow (all the streets there are named after birds) and I’d like to think I saved that house from fire one time: During one of the parties there, a bamboo torch in the garden leaned over (apparently it wasn’t planted firmly on the ground) and the leaves of one of the palm trees caught fire. I happened to be passing by and called the attention of the wait staff who lost no time extinguishing the flames. No one bothered to tell the master of the house anymore because — what for? We just went on with the merriment as if nothing happened. I’m sure there wouldn’t have been any major incident because somebody else, if not me, would have noticed the burning leaves of the palm tree. But I shudder to think what would have happened if that house was consumed by fire.

That Green Meadows residence of Ricky Reyes is fabulous, but not ostentatious. My favorite place of the house is the dining area because when you look up the ceiling there are yards and yards of fabric that make it look like the ceiling of a maharaja’s tent in the middle of a dessert.

From Green Meadows, he tried condo living and got a huge unit in one of those buildings along Annapolis in Greenhills. I never got to see that place because that was the period I was being anti-social — until I eventually moved to the US.

When I returned to Manila, however, Mother Ricky had moved to his present home in Valle Verde VI. This house — featured in practically every lifestyle magazine — is as grand as grand can be. It’s like one of those palaces in Europe — a mini Versailles — with very high ceilings, huge crystal chandeliers, princess phones and majestic floor lamps. Outside, there is a huge swimming pool and a gazebo.

While the house may scream opulence, some of the materials used in building the house are not as expensive as they seem — and I’m saying this as a compliment to the house owner, who obviously has the eye for what is beautiful, but not necessarily costly. The lovely floor tiles in the dining room, for instance, have very attractive patterns, but those were actually from Wilcon where the prices are quite reasonable.

In the beginning, some people thought there was some tackiness to the house because everything looked extravagant. But now that the house already looks lived in (it had been almost a decade since Mother Ricky moved in), it has began to develop character. It already looks like a home rather than some showcase palace.

As dinner guests, we now enjoy our get-together there even more since the place already feels a lot comfortable because of the homey and relaxed feel to it. And then there is also the hospitality of our host, Ricky Reyes, who — in whatever environ — is always at his most gracious.

A three-year house renovation for Mother Lily

Like Doña Sisang, the grand matriarch of LVN Pictures, Lily Monteverde of Regal Films also has other businesses aside from the movies. Mother Lily is actually also into real estate and in the last year or so I had been running to her for consultations (make that free consultations — and she even treats me to dinner).

Whenever we are together, we discuss not only movies, but also real estate (no, I’m not into it and I don’t have the capital for it —not even for starter funds). I’m just curious which areas in Metro Manila will be developed and where new condominium buildings will be built next.

In the past few years, she had also been telling me about her house renovation in Northeast Greenhills that had served as home (and for a while even her office) since 1973 when she and husband Remy Monteverde purchased the property.

I’ve been to that house early in my career — a long time ago — but I don’t remember much of it, except that there were a lot of people. Oh, that house holds a lot of memories — plus a lot of funny anecdotes. One was when Inday Badiday mistook then reigning sexpot Claudia Zobel for a helper there (“‘Day, pahingi naman ng tubig”). It was an honest mistake on Inday Badiday’s part. Today, the two women — now both deceased — must still be settling this issue in heaven.   

I can imagine how sanity was finally restored in that house when the Regal office moved out and transferred to its present site in Valencia. The structure used to be Nora Aunor’s house, but was eventually bought by Mother Lily from the superstar.

Of course, Mrs. Monteverde also brought the colorful cast of Regal characters there: Her directors, line producers, publicists and contract stars. I remember how some Regal employees would refer to a group of convent-bred staffers as the English Department because the former colegialas would speak in the King’s language among themselves in the office (they’re now all with Star Cinema).  

All these years that Regal had been holding office there, I must have visited the place maybe just a dozen times — or even less. I would go there for the Manunuri viewings come awards season because it was more convenient for Regal to herd us there in their private projection room than to send out their films to another venue. Sometimes, I would get invited to a party there (like the mooncake festival) hosted by Mother Lily.

One time, she gave me a tour of the place and brought me to a section that I understand is off-limits to other people. This was where she kept her santos — plus her other collections like huge jars and vases. While showing me around, she told me that she couldn’t wait for the renovation of her Northeast Greenhills t home o be finished. By then it had already been almost three years. How she and the other occupants survived the daily presence of carpenters, masons and other construction workers for three years (they didn’t move out) still puzzles me. Maybe even with all that pounding and grinding, it was still more quiet compared to all those years that Regal was holding office there — what with the regular presence there of Lolit Solis, Alfie Lorenzo and the late Babette Villaruel. 

Early this year, Mother Lily proudly announced that her house was finally finished and she threw a post-New Year’s Day party for her friends. In spite of the fact that there was a sumptuous spread on the buffet table, the piece de resistance was still the house tour, which Mother Lily conducted herself in groups. Since she refers to me as her little boy, I got a one-on-one tour.

The property sits on an 845-square meter lot. Mother Lily said she is tired of maintaining a garden so she used up practically the entire lot for the structure. She needed all that space because she had to put up 14 rooms since she wants all of her children and their children to live with her and her husband.

There is so much modernity to the design and the kitchen is state-of-the-art. In spite of her image as a successful businesswoman, Lily Monteverde is first and foremost a devoted wife to her husband and nurturing mother to her kids more than anything else. The kitchen to her therefore is very important.

Upstairs, I saw some of the santos and jars she kept in Valencia installed in their new place in the family room. Then she showed me the masters’ bedroom and to my embarrassment, Father Remy was already there about to call it a day. Mother Lily let out a chuckle and told her husband that she was just showing me the room and that we won’t be long,

The matrimonial bed is quite huge — although the size of the master bedroom isn’t really all that big by Greenhills standards. But the bathroom was his and hers (he has his own washstand and she has hers) — the key to a successful marriage, I guess.

On our way out, Mother Lily had a brief private moment with Father Remy and I could sense how she was giving him the respect he deserves as her husband. From where they stood, I could also see how sweet they were to each other still. How I wish my parents were still that way to each other.

I’m sure Mother Lily is now very happy in her newly-renovated house with her beloved husband, children and grandchildren. This private residence that for a while served as a crazy movie factory is now once more a peaceful and happy home for the Monteverdes.

(To be continued)