It’s such a thrill that my new journey with The Philippine STAR coincides with the start of my Diamond Era. As I turned sweet 60 last month, I also celebrated the friendships I’ve made in showbiz. Some of my celebrity friends who partied with me at my fave hangout, Tunnel Bar, were BFF Buboy (Cesar Montano) and his GF, Kat Angeles, Pops Fernandez, Noel Cabangon, Arlene Muhlach, Gino and China Gonzalez, Gladys Reyes, Rio Locsin, Ricky Davao and his GF, Malca, Robert and Isay Seña, Bayani and Len Agbayani, Ronnie Lazaro, Meds Marfil of True Faith and his hubby Mark Angeles, Bo Cerrudo, Marc Leviste and Ces Drilon. I cannot thank them enough for squeezing my party into their frenzied schedule.
The highlight of my nth debut was the mini-concert of my friends. Pops and Ricky sang Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang. After their number, Ricky said “I will sleep soundly tonight because I was able to do a duet with the Concert Queen.”
Before Bayani performed, he brought the house down with his crazy story about me and an ex-BF of mine, who is his friend.
I could not hold back my tears when Bo serenaded me with the song, Wildflower. He said that the lyrics best describe who I really am after all I’ve been through.
To lighten the mood, I told Bo after he sang, “Let’s just focus on the wild part, so I won’t cry anymore.”
BFF Buboy totally cracked everybody up when he said in jest, “Ang tunay na dahilan ng paghiwalay namin ni Sunshine Cruz ay si Dolly. Ako ang tunay na ama ni IC (my gay son).”
Then he kidded IC, “Umayos ka. Pag-aralin kita ng taekwondo kay Monsour del Rosario.”
BFF also chided me, “Si Bayani nagtatampo. Bakit daw sa song ni Bimbo umiyak ka, pero sa kanta nya walang effect sa’yo.”
Noel wowed us all with his soulful rendition of La Vie en Rose and his hit song, Kanlungan. Prior to his number, he said jokingly that I was the one who taught him how to drink and that he does not remember how he got home after our last wine sesh.
I was so touched when Meds gamely sang his band, True Faith’s biggest hit, Perfect, even if he’s still in mourning. My party happened to be on the same day as his dad’s burial.
My heart runneth over because of the kind words they said about me as a friend. Aside from the messages of my close pals who were present, a video presentation of sweet birthday greetings from my other celebrity friends who could not make it to my party was flashed on an LED wall. Friendship is indeed the best kind of love.
As I wrote in my column last week, I have discovered that true friends can be found in the make-believe world of showbiz, après tout.
I relish moments like my fête when celebs let their hair and guard down. It shows me that even sans the trappings of fame, these “superstar” friends of mine are award worthy just being themselves.