You can’t help feeling…sanctified?...when you’re talking to Kuh Ledesma and her daughter Isabella Gonzalez.
Next Tuesday, Feb. 13, mother and daughter are having a Valentine show at the ABS-CBN Vertis Tent (“My first time to hold a show in Quezon City,” noted Kuh) with Kris Lawrence and Gabby Concepcion. Yes, Gabby Concepcion!
In case you didn’t know, Gabby is also a good singer besides being a good actor (torn between two women, Sunshine Dizon and Ryza Cenon, in the hit GMA soap Ika-6 Na Utos, thanks to the brilliant direction of Laurice Guillen the series has been going on and on with all the twists and turn, keeping viewers in suspense on an extended run until end of March).
During his extended stay in the US, Gabby earned his keep by engaging in real estate and, on the side, making extra dollars by, that’s it, having concerts. He actually took voice lessons under US-based Jam Morales and he already has a second album, Unforgettable, to his name.
We arrived early at Japan Town @ Vertis Ginza (which opened at the fourth level of Ayala Malls Vertis North only in December last year), so we had some time for an easy-breezy chat with Kuh and Isabella (Gabby begged off from the presscon because he was stuck on the set of Ika-6 Na Utos while Kris was on his way).
The title of their show is Love Matters. Naturally, the topic revolved around love. When you talk to Kuh (and Isabella), love means love of and for The Lord. A few days prior, mother and daughter were at the Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF) to listen to Josh McDowell, a Christian apologist, evangelist and writer (of more than 150 books, according to Kuh).
Asked if love still mattered (after a failed marriage), Kuh said, “Yes, of course, love still matters especially now that I have a relationship with Our Savior, Jesus Christ.” And she proceeded to share with us gains of wisdom from McDowell’s talk. “He said that it’s not good when parents only tell their children, ‘You have to love this, you have to love that,’ without explaining what love is and how to really love.”
We presumed that Kuh didn’t have anything to explain to Isabella who shares her mom’s beliefs and (Christian) outlook in life. “When you love someone,” said Isabella, “you pledge to serve and to protect…” Oops, she corrected herself, “That’s the motto of the police pala. I mean, you have to ‘cherish and protect’ that someone and keep him away from harm. You have to provide each other an environment where you both can flourish and bring out the best in each other.”
Saying that she never felt more loved than she did right now…in all senses, “mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically”…Isabella confessed that she hadn’t had a boyfriend since birth (as in “NBSB”).
“I tell The Lord, ‘I don’t want many boyfriends; I need only one’,” explained Isabella who, at 14, received The Lord as her Savior. “When it comes to my heart, I hold it in the highest standard. Do not awaken love until the time is right.”
The free-wheeling chat turned to romantic love.
Asked what was the craziest thing she had done for love, Kuh replied, “Get married,” and then laughed. “That was when I didn’t understand what marriage was all about.”
Now that she knows better, will she say yes if love comes knocking the second time around?
“Bakit, may asim pa ba ako?” she joked. “If the person who knocks is the right one, why not?”
At this point, Kris arrived limping a bit. It’s his second time to perform with Kuh; the first was three years ago.
“I’m honored. At home (in the US), my mom loves to listen to Kuh’s songs and that’s how I got to know Kuh. I love her songs as much as my mom loves them.”
Kris related why he was limping. He and Katrence Lawrence (Katie for short), his five-year-old daughter with ex-girlfriend Katrina Halili, checked into Solaire.
Kris and Katrence Lawrence (Katie for short), his five-year-old daughter with ex-girlfriend Katrina Halili
— from Kris Instagram
“As soon as we entered the room,” recalled Kris, “Katie started running around and I ran after her. She jumped onto the bed and I caught her, and we began jumping together while carrying her. Bigat pala niya! I ended up with a pinched nerve, naipit ang ugat ko.”
Asked the same question (about the craziest thing he had done for love), Kris said, “Honestly? A lot! One time, I flew back to the US to visit my girlfriend whom I was missing a lot. That was 10 years ago and three other girls have come into my life since then.”
That is, including Katrina with whom Kris now enjoys a happy, healthy relationship as friends.
“We are over the awkward moment. Now we can talk, usually about life. I like the way things are between us now. I don’t want it to change.”
Like Katrina, Kris is fancy-free. Any chance for reconciliation?
“As I just said, we are okay as it is…good friends. But then,” he added, “hindi ko hawak ang future.”
(Love Matters is a production of ALV Talent Circuit in partnership with ABS-CBN Vertis Tent. For tickets, call Ticketworld at 891-9999, Ayala Malls concierge areas at Trinoma at 901-5700, UP Town Center at 621-3275 or Vertis North at 718-5000 local 6366.)
(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)