A blast from the past

A blast from the past, dahlings. That was how cutie pie Jose Alfonso Syquia, the first-born of beautiful couple Jose Syquia and Czarina Ablaza-S., celebrated his first birthday party half a full moon ago.

Party invitees came in their grooviest retro outfits. With several disco balls shimmering overhead, that tres popular party venue Dish at the Power Plant Mall in Makati was transformed by the celebrator’s godfather, talented interior designer JunJun Ablaza, into a discotheque reminiscent of the swinging ’70s.

Little Alfonso was a looker in his Elvis Presley costume, made by another ninong, the Dean of Fashion himself, Ben Farrales.

There were loads of games and prizes, plus a magician and an illusionist who wowed the audience. Winners of the best retro costumes were Margo Montelibano who came dressed ala Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Gabriel Ouknine, who came dressed as Elvis Presley.

Not to be outdone by their grandchildren natch(!) were Alfonso’s proud grandparents, Ambassador Enrique Syquia and his wife, top socialite and one of our hostesses with the mostest, Letty S., and the wonderful Ablazas, business tycoon Louie and ultra glam, civic-oriented society lady Mellie, who was dressed in an attire in vogue 30 years ago.

Seen having a great time were Ambassador Theo Arnold of the Netherlands and his exotic wife, eye-catching Kessara A.; super popular Singaporean Ambassador Jacky Foo, his brilliant wife, Dr. Sumian F. and their kids; Mexican Ambassador Enrique Hubbard and his wife Mariana H.; Ulrike da Silva, the wife of Ambassador Joao Caetano da Silva, and her kids; Ambassador Christian Krepela and his wife Irmgard K.; Madame Gul, the wife of the Ambassador of Belgium, and her son; Dr. Camilo Te and his wife, Rosario T.; Dr. Fortune Cruz and his wife Maribel C.; Lou San Diego; lawyer Marius Corpus and his wife Beth C.; Caesar Corpus; great grandma Zosima Romero; Tommy and Beth Syquia and their daughter, Kiara; Marc and Tessa Ablaza and their heirs, Xavi, Rocio and Santi; Martin and Joane Syquia and their kids, Jas, Bea, Lorenzo, Carol and Francis; Joel Syquia and Pia Lacerna; Sito Aldana and his wife Telly A.; Cris Ablaza and her daughters Sarah and Chrissie; ninang Janelle Aldana; ninong Chris Magno and his wife Gel M.; Dr. Joel Aldana; Francis Macatulad and his kids, Miggy and Gabby; J.B. Macatulad; grandmother Pacita Almario and her famille; Louie and Joyce Syquia; Jess and Marissa Viray and their kids, Anna and Jeeca; Rey and Leila Co and their son Thomas.

As the party ended, palanggas, tons of loot bags were given to happy, smiling children. The bags bore a chain with the picture of young Prince for the Day, Alfonso A. thanking the invitees for coming. As always, palanggas, the eye-catching cake was made by Alfonso’s mom, talented, beauty and brains Czarina Ablaza-S., no less.

Chilean National Day

In celebration of Chile’s 192nd Independence Day, the Embassy of Chile hosted a super successful vin d’honneur at the fully-packed Grand Ballroom of the InterContinental Manila, dahlings.

Chile’s well-respected Ambassador, la simpatica Carmen Lynam-Mannakee warmly entertained the invitees who included French Ambassador Renee Veyret; observant Israeli Ambassador Irit Ben Abba; Thai Ambassador Busba Bunnag; Ambassador Hajah Maimunah Dato Haji Elias of Brunei; Ambassador Salem Adam of Libya; another in-demand Singaporean Ambassador Jacky Foo; Ambassador Mohammed Ebrahim Aljowaid of the UAE; Ambassador Navrekha Sharma of India; Venezuelan Ambassador Milena Santana-Ramirez; Indonesian Ambassador Soeratmin; and the host with the most, Portuguese Ambassador Joao Caetano da Silva.

A picturesque country on the southwestern coast of South America, Chile stretches from the dry Atacama Desert in the north, palanggas, to the fertile farms of the Central Valley, to the storm-beaten islands and dense forests of Tierra del Fuego. Its varied climate and terrain have blessed Chile not only with enchanting picture-perfect scenery but also with an equal variety of industries and products–beef and dairy cattle; fish like the in-demand seabass, tuna, salmon; wheat, fruits and vegetables; and the excellent world-renowned Chilean wines.

Making sure everything went smoothly and that the invitees had a great time were gent of all seasons, InterContinental Hotel GM Michael Herrmann; catering manager Irma Javier; and sales and marketing director Carmela Bocanegra.

Also seen enjoying the affair were the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Archbishop Antonio Franco; Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Frank Ebdalin; Peruvian Embassy Second Secretary Wilbert Haya; Argentina’s Charge d’ Affaires Alberto Daniel Kan and his wife Paula K.; business tycoon Raul Concepcion; Philippine Ambassador to Spain Isabel Caro-Wilson; Tessie Luz; lady of taste, simpatica Chona Trinidad; and mi amiga Bambi Harper; plus others like them too chic to mention, dahlings.

It was crystal clear that the delightful dishes served in buffet style for the occasion–traditional Chilean empanadas, beef skewers with garlic and aioli mayonnaise, smoked ham and roasted salmon with lemon butter sauce–had the invitees going back for more and more.

Armani Mania launch

Young achiever DJ Montano’s hip new bar, the hot Acquario Liquid Lounge, dahlings, was transformed into a cool Armani Lounge for the launch of Giorgio Armani’s most luxurious men’s fragrance to date, Armani Mania. Free flowing Armani Citrus Slushes and Mania Martinis were concocted by Acquario using Absolut vodka and served to the trendy invitees as they grooved to the heady percussion beat of the Mystical Musical Merchants.

The hip crowd jammed with the band and some even took to the dance floor, making the atmosphere inside the party hot despite the cold and wet weather outside.

Top host and gorgeous miss with the four B’s Bianca Araneta unveiled the new fragrance which embodies the essence of the Armani, palanggas, by selecting four distinguished gents from the crowd who exude the Armani style–masculine, relaxed chic, magnetic and contemporary: Domini Primero of Events Specialist; resto and bar owner Elbert Cuenca; artist/events producer Miko Valenzuela; and actor/athlete Jimwell Stevens. The gents received complimentary Armani Mania bottles to take home, natch!

All the invitees, palanggas, were gifted with Armani Mania CDs that included hip lounge tunes along with Armani Mania fragrance vials to thank them for making the evening truly exceptional.

You’ll definitely want to be a cool dude with the cool Armani Mania which you can find in two sizes at all leading department stores.

That’s our town, palanggas. What a town, huh? See you.