Quinito Henson: Sports-chasing, music-loving & forever green

Twenty-four-hour days are not enough for Joaquin Henson. The man is simply in perpetual motion.

He writes the column Sporting Chance for the Philippine STAR five days a week.  He has a huge following, making him one of the most respected sports writers of his generation.

He chases after subjects to interview not just around the country but overseas as well for up-to-the-minute sports news articles and incisive features. He covers all major basketball games and boxing matches. A veteran NBA chronicler, he is present at the most momentous tournaments and touches base with iconic players.

He is a familiar face at ringside in PBA games and in all the world championship fights of Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire and Brian Veloria, where listeners and televiewers wait for his meticulous analysis of every round.

And when most people are ready to call it a day, have dinner with family and relax with friends, Joaquin’s day is far from over. He takes in a concert or frequents the theater and eventually heads for home — but not to bed. In the dead of night, he can still be found tapping away on his computer, churning out the columns and feature articles to the STAR Lifestyle and Entertainment sections.

This dizzying activity would faze even the most driven, high-achieving corporate executive, but Joaquin, fondly called Quinito by people close to him, is not slowing down one bit. He defies common notions of halftime or mid-life and remains at full throttle. 

But Quinito actually has a life apart from that of a journalist. For almost three decades now he has been the managing director of Kaunlaran sa Kabuhayan Microcredit Corporation, a microfinance company. He has gladly shared his experiences with peers abroad, recounting how the company has used the microcredit financing model in the Third World to improve the lives of over 10,000 beneficiaries in seven North Luzon and Central Luzon provinces.

At the Eduardo Cojuangco Foundation (ECF) where he also serves as managing director, Quinito has, among many other projects, spearheaded Flagships to Reach Educational Excellence or Project Free in partnership with the University of De La Salle Bacolod and the Tarlac State University which grants master’s and doctorate scholarships to over 2,000 Tarlac public school teachers. This will soon be replicated later in Pangasinan and other parts of the country. It has also established socialized drugstores all over Tarlac.

So what is the secret behind this dynamo’s staying power?

He takes time to go on extended holidays with his family where he reconnects with friends and lets loose his inner shopper, hitting his favorite bookstores and music stores. With his wife, the former Carmencita Genato, fondly called Menchu, he indulges his love for music. Together they watch concerts, plays and musicals. 

Quinito is a voracious reader who visits his favorite bookstores, among them Barnes and Noble, the largest book retailer in the US; Waterstones in the heart of London’s West End with 150,000 titles in stock; and Dymocks in Sydney, the oldest Australian-owned bookstore with a wide range of titles on the arts and entertainment.   

He is a serious collector of video music from the ‘50s onwards, videos of westerns and of great moments in sports. He has copies of all the early TV programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show. They’re not just trophies on his shelves shelves; he actually watches all of them regularly and has committed many of them to memory.

Devout Catholics, when in Italy, the Hensons go out of their way to visit the shrine of their favorite saint, Padre Pio.

He is devoted to three women — his wife Menchu, daughter Cristina, and his 98-year-old mother Marina.

Quinito credits his vim, vigor and vitality to a healthy regimen and the loving care of Menchu, his squash partner (and so much more) for over 30 years. “Aside from this, we do one-hour walks together, we watch games. When I get home from covering a basketball game or a fight, we talk endlessly about the events. I don’t overindulge. I don’t smoke or drink. If I spend late nights, it is because of writing and tweeting. I think this is the secret to staying energetic and relatively fit at my age,” he says.

PHILIPPINE STAR: What do you remember most of your first trip abroad?

JOAQUIN HENSON: The year: 1968. The destination: Hong Kong. It was a high school graduation gift, a prize from my parents for my graduating as class salutatorian. During the holiday, I shared the room with my two classmates — Jay del Prado and James O’Leary — and we stayed at the Ambassador Hotel on Nathan Road in Kowloon. Somehow, overnight, our bedroom got flooded. Don’t ask us how. We were surprised ourselves. So we ended up at Golden Gate Hotel down the road. Best way to describe the transferred-to hotel — escaparate!

What won’t you leave home without?

My present rosary — totally colored green — with its silver case that I got on a visit to the shrine of Padre Pio. We have a strong devotion to him so we went to the monastery where he once lived in Pietrelcina, a religious town in Italy, where feast days of saints are celebrated throughout the year. Baptized Francisco Forgione, he was given the name Pio — Italian for “pious” — on his ordination as a Catholic Capuchin priest. Later on he became famous for bearing the stigmata of Christ and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

Who is your ideal traveling companion?

Without a doubt, my wife Menchu. I’ve known her for over four decades and we’ve been married for 37 years, we share the same interests and likes. On trips where I travel alone, I always wish she were around. Would you believe, I still do get excited to see her even after a day’s separation due to work.

What is the first thing you do upon checking in at a hotel or at a resort?

I immediately draw the drapes, look out the window and enjoy the view. When an entire trip will still take us to various destinations, from city to city, for coverage of a series of games, then I unpack only what is needed for the particular stopover. However, when we’re on family holidays, with extended stays, we, or rather Menchu, completely unpacks and everything ends in their respective places — drawers and closets, on top of tables and in the bathroom. She spoils me. (Smiles)

What would you consider a must-do activity in every foreign city that you visit?

I must declare, I’m a shopper. My favorites are music stores for recordings from the ‘50s and onwards and Western videos plus bookstores for anything printed on sports. You should see my library. Oh, I admit I’m a genuine sucker for all things green  — whatever they may be — green shoes, green shirts, green watches, green… (Laughs)

Describe your most memorable trip.

It has to be the recent London Summer Olympics. In my capacity as a sports columnist and contributor to the Sports section of the STAR, I am blessed to be delegated by the newspaper to cover the world’s greatest sporting events and I owe it to the Philippine Olympic Committee for the much-coveted press accreditation. This was the daily schedule: I would have an early start, say 7 a.m. and take the train to the different venues where our athletes would compete. If time permitted, I would visit other sites to gather additional interesting info and share with the readers back home. With my adrenaline pumping away, I dropped by the Olympic Village and had chats with larger-than-life athletes such as Pau Gasol, the Spanish basketball star who raised funds for the victims of our recent calamities. In the evenings, Menchu and I would do plays, concerts or shows. It seemed that the entire entertainment world descended upon London. After the rather brief R&R, I would do my “Sporting Chance” column and write my many stories throughout the night. I was absolutely inspired. Imagine witnessing the competitions and then reporting on them; it couldn’t get any grander, any higher. This was the ultimate.

Menchu and I had previous private plans to stay on, but her dad suffered a heart attack. So we just hurriedly packed up and rushed home.

What is the strangest thing you have done on a trip?

After being the only Asian speaker in a United Nation’s Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting attended by diplomatic, international investors, global bankers, government officials and leading journalists from over 100 countries on the economic and social impact of microfinance on global poverty at the Palais de Nations in Geneva and a visit to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, we found time to drive in the middle of the night to the little town of Celigny, Switzerland. Our destination was the Vieux Cemetery where, while in the dark, we searched for the final resting place of the great thespian and movie actor Richard Burton where we prayed and gave thanks for his many memorable plays and films.

Let’s talk favorites now. Name your favorite city abroad.

London. This is the city where we have several friends who we religiously make it a point to touch base with and catch up on what’s new with their lives. It’s always a joy to be with them. This is where we go from one play to another, enjoy one musical, two musicals, three musicals or even more in just one holiday. This is where we watched Michael Crawford in The Phantom of the Opera and Michael Ball in Les Miserables. But how can I forget Aspects of Love? Until today, we have no idea how it ended. Towards the latter part of the show, the leading lady suddenly screamed. The leading man came and swooped her away. We all thought it was part of the story — only to find out through an announcement that she had badly broken her ankle and was totally out of commission. To make matters worse, she had no understudy on standby. The curtains dropped and that was that.

Name your favorite spot in the Philippines.

Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas. This is the very place where I plan to retire.

Favorite airline?

Philippine Airlines. I obviously can relate to the Filipino crew. Either they know me or I know them. We chat and at most times take photos. It’s A-1 service all the way and I have never had a bad experience with them.

Favorite museum?

Though I love the British Museum, the Louvre and the Prado, the Newseum in Washington, DC tops them all. It is very relevant for someone who is in tri-media.  For starters, it traces the evolution of communication and the history of media. It even exhibits the first newspaper ever printed. It showcases various newspaper accounts of 9/11, the horrors of that terrorist attack. It also includes a listing —more like a chart — of journalists slain through the years. Sad to say, when we were there, the Philippines was number one. It was more than just embarrassing. How could I forget the interesting up-to-date monitor that highlighted the front pages of over 30 leading newspapers worldwide?

Here is where they set up a popular location and you pretend to be the interviewer reporting from the scene. They will shoot that entire portion and you may purchase the finished film clip. It’s that interactive. I spent some time there but I’m certain I may have missed several details, so I really hope to revisit someday.

Favorite hotel?

The Hotel Athenaeum on Piccadilly facing Green Park. The rooms are spacious with well-appointed amenities, have a collection of eye-catching, intriguing art pieces in its public areas with vertical gardens everywhere and a bowl of my favorite jelly candies slightly powdered with sugar at the reception desk. The imposing 6’5” doorman complete with coattails and top hat has since become a friend. All these and lots, lots more. It’s in the details, as the saying goes. It surely makes all the difference.

Favorite landmark?

“The Broken Chair,” a monumental sculpture of wood by the Swiss artist Daniel Berset across the street from the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Constructed out of 5.5 tons of wood and 12 meters high, it depicts a giant chair with a broken leg and symbolizes opposition to land mines and cluster bombs.

Favorite monument?

The Michael Jordan statue officially called “The Spirit” in front of the United Center in Chicago. The 12-foot bronze sculpture stands atop a five-foot granite base and was commissioned following the multi-awarded player’s initial retirement after leading the Chicago Bulls in three consecutive championships in the 1991, ‘92 and ‘93 NBA Finals. I covered the NBA finals in 1997 and 1998, when the Chicago Bulls won over Utah Jazz.

Favorite building?

St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, the world’s largest church. I admire it for its awesome architecture and many priceless works of art, among them Michelangelo’s “Pieta.” From the dome, one gets an unparalleled panoramic view of the entire city of Rome. Of particular interest are a painting of San Lorenzo Ruiz at the left side of the Basilica’s main altar and a mosaic of San Pedro Calungsod enthroned on a crypt beneath the main altar.

Favorite park?

The Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. This famous amusement park and pleasure garden is the second oldest and the most frequented theme park in Scandinavia. It has everything the visitor can wish for: buildings in the exotic style of an imaginary Orient, a theater, band stands, restaurants, cafes, flower gardens, mechanical rides and even a primitive scenic railway. After dark, colored lamps illuminate the gardens and on certain evenings there are fireworks beautifully reflected in its lake.

Favorite musical or play?

Les Miserables. I saw the original in London and caught it while it played in Manila. I must admit I cry every time I watch it.

Favorite mall?

The Mall of Asia. It has absolutely everything you need from popular retail outlets to high-end brands. Think about it! Another favorite would be Westfields in London, the largest commercial center in the UK that features some 255 stores including Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Marks & Spencer, Oakley, Topshop and a high-end retail area called The Village that includes Burberry, De Beers, Dior, Gucci and Louie Vuitton.

Favorite restaurant?

Norton’s in Hong Kong at the Sheraton Hotel on Nathan Road with the fabulous view of the spectacular harbor. We have celebrated several milestones —Valentine’s Day included — at this steak house where food is excellent and the service — mostly Filipino staff and waiters — is unparalleled.

Name an event anywhere in the world you would like to participate in?

I have been lucky to have visited the city of San Antonio in Texas several times to cover boxing events and basketball games. I’ve learned that every year they hold a reenactment of the Siege of the Alamo which was fortified by a small force of Texans and Tejanos, led by Colonel William Barrett Travis, James Bowie and Davy Crockett who fought against the Mexican troops under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. All of the defenders of the Alamo were killed. I wish to experience this annual event, which serves as a memorial to the brave fighters for freedom.

What are your favorite pasalubongs — inbound and outbound?

Outbound: Dried mangoes covered with Belgian chocolates.

Inbound: Magazines that are not available here, books of crossword puzzles and See’s chocolate mocha slotted marshmallows.

What is the worst souvenir you have ever brought back from a trip?

A green watch purchased for 10 euros somewhere in France. In no time at all, it got busted and refused to work. You guessed it, I’ve decided to keep it simply because it is green. (Laughs)

Aside from unpacking your suitcase, what is the first thing you do upon returning home?

I immediately call my mom, who at 98 years of age, is still active and working at that.

Name a city you have never visited but would like to someday?

I have never been to South America. Rio de Janeiro would be a great starting point. And the bonus would be the forthcoming Summer Olympics in 2016. I would also like to visit South Africa and go on some cruises.

Name a country you wish to explore?

More of the United Kingdom as we are truly convinced that the more we visit the area, there is much more to see.

What would you say is the worst part of travel?

The ever-present hazards of travel such as encountering swindlers and thieves and missing a flight because of a storm. Any unpleasant incident creates a snowball effect — things that need to be attended to immediately, interrupting plans and altering itineraries.

If you could reside anywhere in the world aside from the Philippines, where would it be?

London.