Enjoying outside mainstream entertainment

Once in a while, we look for entertainment other than television, and recently found it in a male fashion search called Ginoong Bellissimo Pilipinas; a discourse on the experimental play of FEU students billed Unlike; and the Power of Two of Aiza Seguerra and Charice coming to the Araneta Coliseum.

With dentist friend Dr. Malony Santos, we entered the Amoranto Stadium ready for a beauty pageant of gays modeling formal gowns to bathing suits ala Club Mwah. What was shown to us was the exact opposite and we were not at all disappointed.

We spoke with organizer Rex Payongayong, everyone calls Lord Rex who dreamed up the competition in 2011. We asked him the composition of contestants. Without batting an eyelash he answered bi-sexuals. No straight guys? No married gays? None, he insisted. The categories were Festival Costume, ’80s look, Barong Tagalog, Question and Answer portion and special awards. There were sponsors like Doc Malone who presented his “Beautiful Smile” award of free laser teeth whitening, and twice yearly oral cleaning. There was also Evelyn Viñas of Ever Bilena who distributed free products; and Regina Lucas, operations manager of Hidden Sanctuary resort in Marilao, Bulacan.

The goal was clear — Kultura at Istilo from the gay community. They were clearly out to prove that gays could excel in all fields and did not necessarily need to be dressed as screaming fagots. Our only complaint was the show started at 11:30 p.m., and ended at 3 a.m.

The play from FEU masscom students billed Unlike wasn’t as long as Bellissimo but was still too long for normal viewing. Written and directed by Dudz Terana, and also the artistic director of the FEU Theater Guild, it showed through words and movement how we can lose our privacy through Facebook and how we can be victimized. From the actors, we found reactions. Elpril Anne Burce noted, “Pain always makes us think that there is something inside us that demands attention.” Edward Vitangcol said, “Yung mga lantarang nakikipag landian sa FB! Mga ahas! Mga mang-aagaw!”

This reminds us of an article where parents were at rage over their children’s practice of Selfie, taking pictures of themselves in seductive poses and posting these on Facebook.

We found the play violent, very physical with scenes showing a lot of sex and skin. We felt we were somewhere else, not in FEU. But of course, we understand the director and participants only wanted to stress on the dangers of Facebook. We asked Martin Lopez, executive director of President’s Committee on Culture at FEU, if he had met resistance in showing the play. He said he only allowed senior high school students apart from those in college to watch.

Our last out-of-the box experience we expect in the Power of Two concert at the Araneta coming next week. There may be those who will protest that the Aiza-Charice concert is not outside mainstream. We still think it is, however, since the two artists can be expected to come up with something novel. We have long been a follower of Aiza and would watch her shows wherever she would be. She has performed at the Music Museum, in Dubai, Meralco, Greenbelt 1, Cebu and Singapore but prefers a smaller venue. She has appeared in more than 30 movies, released Pagdating ng Panahon at 17 which went platinum five times. She has also done theater like Rock of Ages with MiGs Ayesa. Her 25th anniversary concert at the Araneta was a huge success.

Now, Aiza joins Charice in the same venue for the first time. We welcome this show since it will bring together two fantastic singers. But other than their singing prowess, and the fact that they are openly gay, they are so different from one another. Aiza is much older than Charice, more private in her relationships.They are as different as apples and oranges, and that perhaps will make the partnering more interesting.

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