Just their luck

Lorenzo Custodio, 54, didn’t know the origins of the Loy Krathong festival, so he decided to do a little research. When he went to the Embassy of Thailand to read up on the country’s festivities, he not only got his answer but ended up making the acquaintance of the ambassador. Not bad for a route agent for a local train company.

When the Philippine STAR published a contest that centered on the origins of Asian celebrations, more than 15,000 people sent in their responses. Lorenzo, who had a habit of reading the paper every day during long train jaunts from Legaspi to Manila, was one of those people. "I saw the contest," explained Lorenzo, "and wondered, ‘Why not?‘" So he and his wife, Lourdes, 55, pored over the questions. "We already knew the answer to some of them," he said. "Like the cherry blossom festival," Lourdes piped up, "I know that happens in Japan." But there were a couple other questions that left the Custodios scratching their heads.

"I decided to head over to a couple of embassies and do a little research during my spare time," said the Naga City native. As route agent for Philippine National Railways, Lorenzo handles cargo being shipped between Manila and Legaspi City. During his days in Manila, waiting for the next trip out, he would pass the time by visiting malls and lounging about. "What was the harm," he said in Tagalog, "in reading up on Thailand?"

He ended up meeting the ambassador – who, to his surprise, spoke fluent Tagalog – and discovering the answer to his question. Soon, they shipped their entry via messenger service, and hoped for the best. The date of publication of the five contest winners arrived and the Custodios were overjoyed to find that they had been selected to win, among five winners, P10,000 in gift certificates and a VIP tour of SM Mall of Asia.

"We didn’t know what to expect when we got here," said Lourdes. "All we knew was that it would be big."

"It’s the biggest mall in southeast Asia," remarked Lorenzo authoritatively.

The Custodios brought along their two daughters, Angel Joy, 6, and Joy, 26, along with their nephew, Manuel Ching. It was the first time Angel had seen a skating rink, and she looked on in rapture at the ice stadium, with a huge backdrop featuring a snowcapped mountain, and the skaters who moved fluidly on the ice.

When they went shopping, Angel immediately zeroed in on the colorful luggage for school at the department store. "My daughter always wants the best, the most expensive," her father said proudly.

But it was IMAX, the mammoth eight-storey cinema, that left them speechless. "I felt like we were in it!" said Lourdes laughingly of the 3D film NASCAR they had just previewed. "When the car came barreling towards us, I screamed and took off my glasses!"

Jon Jon Arradaza, 29, a security guard, was equally dumbstruck. "You read in the paper that IMAX is eight storeys high and you can’t help but not believe it at first," he said. "I thought, maybe it’s just seven storeys. But you get there and then… they weren’t lying," he finished with a grin.

Jon Jon has a fondness for sports, which is why the STAR’s sports section is what has him riveted most days. While flipping through the Lifestyle section, he read about the contest, which immediately piqued his interest. Jon Jon has a history with contests, joining Game Ka Na Ba?, the gameshow hosted by Kris Aquino, and Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?, the now defunct show helmed by a then stern-faced Christopher de Leon. Both times, he failed miserably. "I was so close to winning on Game Ka Na Ba?," he confessed, "but the other guy hit his buzzer a millisecond ahead of me."

For the first time, Jon Jon’s luck didn’t fail him and when he won, he quickly called his cousins and friends to join him and the other winners for the Mall of Asia tour. And while IMAX had left him stunned, it was lunch at Italianni’s that made the experience all the more unforgettable.

"I come from humble roots," he said. Most of his meals consist of galunggong or dried fish and rice. "This is the second time in my entire life I’ve ever eaten in a fine restaurant," he said of the American franchise. Chicken parmegiana, spaghetti Bolognese, Caesar’s salad – all this was an eye-opener for the self-confessed gourmet neophyte. "Life is hard for poor people like me," he commented. "It was great – no, amazing – to be able to experience something like this."

The same goes for Joseph Ramos, a media relations officer in a PR agency, who spent most of his time toiling behind the scenes and working with the media. He was in Cebu, hard at work on an event, when the winning entries were published. When the call came in, informing him he had won, he couldn’t believe it. "I asked the person, ‘Are you sure? Did I really win?’" As soon as he got home, he went through back issues of the STAR to make sure and found his name in print – for the first time. His wife was rather blasé about the win, giving a wry, "Oh, something for groceries," when he informed her.

His children were another story. Aizzah Carisse, 10, decided she wanted an attaché case for school. Ainah Camille, 11, wanted a guitar. And his youngest, Aikah Carille, 2, well, she was content to slurp on one of her mom’s whipped cream-covered chocolate sticks during a coffee break at UCC.

Anastacia Co’s children were equally excited about the free shopping – well, one child in particular. Lance, 11, her youngest son, was the catalyst behind the entire experience. "He told me about the contest," she said with a smile, "so we sent in our answers." Anastacia, 37, a homemaker, was vacationing in Hong Kong with her family when the news came via her sister that she had been chosen. "My husband didn’t even know I’d joined," she said. "When he found out I won, he just said I was lucky."

Lucky is right. Compared to Joseph Ramos, who had sent in 20 entries, she had sent in only one. Nanette Baguio, another winner, dropped off only two entries. During one of her breaks, she sauntered over to the STAR, located only a few blocks away from her office, and dropped off her entries.

Perhaps it was luck that drew all five winners and their friends and families together, a random group of people that otherwise never would’ve met and never would’ve spent a whole day in the country’s largest mall luxuriating in the bliss of a free shopping spree. Well, maybe luck and a little geographic know-how.