Fifty shades of Tessa

My dear friend, the “Sea Princess” Tessa Prieto-Valdes, turned 50 recently and 200 of her closest friends and family trooped to the beautiful island of Balesin in Quezon province for two nights of food and drinks galore. This was a milestone so Tessa wanted to celebrate in a big way and treat her friends to experience the exclusive, private island.

A Fila Amazing Race took place before the dinner, which was participated in by seven teams. The Green Team composed of Jake Letts, Doray Ellis, Leanna Carmona, Raeanna Cranbourne and Mariella Powell was declared the winner of the race.

As her friend, I am personally aware that Tessa knows how to enjoy and party but she is equally responsible for helping others. She loves to organize charitable events and is known to be a very generous philanthropist.

At the party, eight groups of her friends recognized the kindness of her heart and prepared tribute videos to commemorate Tessa’s turning half-a-century-old! The MTV (which stood for her real name, Maria Theresa Valdes) videos were prepared by Assumption Batch ‘81, her Running Gang, her Yoga Plus group, Swatch, Fila and her Cebu Group. The group of Rajo Laurel, Malu Gamboa, Leah Puyat, Keren Pascual and Anton Barretto and the group of Anton San Diego and Arnold Vegafria also did their MTVs for Tessa.

The dinner party, hosted by Teresa Herrera and JM Rodriguez, was sponsored by Fila, Swatch, Johnnie Walker, Timex and Adworks. The generous Tessa was teary-eyed as she gave out several prizes and giveaways by Watsons, Freeway, National Book Store, Zen Zest, Ponds, Goody, G-Star Raw and Travel Club.

Also present in Balesin were Rosan Cruz, Pinky Amador, Stephen Ku, Miguel Realmonte, Sandy and Philip Romualdez, J. and Maja Gamboa, Brian Prieto, Annika Valdes, Lara Parpan, Gem Padilla and Donnie and Crickette Tantoco.

Everyone enjoyed the great party, especially with a host like Tessa whom everyone loves! Happy birthday, Tessa!

Rihanna glitters in Manila

It was the night when Manila shone bright like a diamond!

Grammy award-winning artist Rihanna riled up the crowd as she set the stage on fire, performing signature hits for her fans in the jam-packed Mall of Asia Arena for the Manila leg of her “Diamonds World Tour.”

Singing her new songs Phresh Out The Runway, Birthday Cake and Talk That Talk from her latest album Unapologetic, Rihanna wowed the audience with her electrifying energy and her effortless dance moves.

The massive concert hall instantly turned into a super dance club with laser lights and stage displays as the self-confessed bad girl RiRi performed her world-famous and chart-topping hits including Umbrella, We Found Love, S&M, Don’t Stop the Music and Only Girl (in the World). The international pop star ended the concert on a high note with her songs Stay and Diamonds.  

The red carpet laid out at the entrance was, of course, not only for Rihanna. Stars and fans spotted at the event included Anton San Diego, Ben Chan, Miguel Pastor, Mons Romulo, Daphne Oseña-Paez and husband Patrick, sisters Anne and Jasmine Curtis, Sam Concepcion, Cristalle Belo Henares and Bledes Flores-Legarda.

The Manila leg of the “Diamonds World Tour” was Rihanna’s second concert in the country; the first one was in 2008 with then boyfriend and fellow artist Chris Brown. Rihanna said, “This is my second time here. That was a really long time ago but I did not forget. I could not wait to come back.”

Co-presenting Rihanna’s explosive performance was PLDT Home’s most powerful broadband, Fibr. With its goal of offering only the best in entertainment, Fibr gave its loyal subscribers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the concert diva up-close with front row VIP seats.

Vice president and head of PLDT Home Fibr broadband Gary Dujali said, “With up to 100 mbps of ultra-fast connection, Fibr is Home’s most powerful broadband as it not only delivers a powerful and dedicated connection to your home but also allows our subscribers to enjoy only the best in entertainment. From watching movies on Clickplay.ph to browsing superior quality channels on Cignal Digital TV, Fibr truly empowers. Giving our subscribers VIP access to Rihanna’s concert is a testament to that.”

Rihanna’s music doesn’t have to end with the concert. Have Rihanna’s tunes with you anytime, anywhere. For P10 per track, you can complete your singles collection right in your mobile phone. Simply register and download from the country’s biggest music portal, Smart Music, at www.smart.com.ph/music via web or mobile. Register with your Smart mobile number and your purchase gets charged to your prepaid load or postpaid account. No need for a credit card.

(For more information about PLDT Home Fibr, visit pldthome.com/surf/fibr.)

An early Christmas treat in October

Libera, the chart-topping boys’ choir from London whose members are known all around the world for their angelic voices and beautiful renditions of classical songs, is coming back to Manila this month.

The boys will join the festivities for the Philippine-UK Friendship Week by serenading us once again. Their Manila concert will be on Oct. 29 at the PICC Plenary Hall. They will also perform in Cebu on Oct. 31 as part of the first anniversary celebration of the canonization of the Visayan martyr St. Pedro Calungsod. Their Cebu concert, in partnership with Arts Council Cebu, will happen at the chapel of San Pedro Calungsod located at SM Seaside Complex, Cebu City.

Included in their heart-stopping performances are Bayan Ko, Orinoco Flow, An Angel From On High, Sanctus and Christmas favorites like Carol of the Bells, Silent Night, Joy To The World, In Dulci Jubilo and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

Part of the proceeds from their Manila concert will go to Children’s Hour, the BAA Foundation for Disadvantaged Children and the victims of Typhoon Maring.

This year, there will also be other exciting events for the Philippine-UK Friendship Week, which will include the launch of the UK Book Month on Oct. 21. On Oct. 22, there will be a National Theatre Live performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and a Chevening Scholarship event on Oct. 23. A film premiere of Metro Manila by Sean Ellis was held last Oct. 4.

“Libera, Asia’s Best Loved Boys’ Choir” is a production of Concertus Manila and is presented by SMART, Shell and Philippine Veterans Bank, in partnership with the British Alumni Association, British Chamber of Commerce, British Council, British Embassy and Arts Council Cebu.

Major sponsors in the Manila show are AES Philippines, AIM Conference Center, Stradcom, Alaska, Oishi, Double Dragon Properties Corporation, DBP, Robinson’s Land, IEST, Yuchengco Group of Companies and Beneficial Life Insurance. Cebu concert sponsors are Radisson Blu Cebu, SM City Cebu and SM Seaside City Cebu. Media partners include Crossover FM, Radio High 105.9, Jack TV, ETC, 2nd Avenue and The Philippine Star.

(For tickets, call TicketWorld at 891-9999 or visit www.ticketworld.com.ph.)

‘No perfect lives, only perfect moments’

My good friend Christine Dayrit, who has been writing a travel column for The Philippine STAR for 13 years now, was recently honored at the 23rd SKAL Tourism Personality Awards. She received the National Print Media Personality of the Year award from SKAL International-Makati president Robert Lim Joseph Jr. and chairman Jaime Bautista.

Christine, through her Rendezvous column, has shared with her readers her exotic and beautiful travel experiences in the seven continents of the world. 

“There are no perfect lives, only perfect moments. Most of these unforgettable moments take place when we travel. Explore uncharted ground, tick off those destinations in your bucket list and create the time to travel. At the end of it all, we will be held accountable for the things we did as well as the things we failed to do. Life is short. Travel now,” said Christine, who is also the VP for marketing of the famed Miladay Jewels and chairman of the Cinema Evaluation Board.

At the awarding, Christine was joined by her siblings Jaqui Boncan, Michelle Soliven, Mark Dayrit and Yvonne Romualdez. Her best friend Büm Tenorio Jr. was also present to cheer her on.

Other SKAL Tourism Personality Awardees are Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., PAGCOR chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr., Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, GMA Network chairman and CEO lawyer Felipe Gozon, TV celebrity Kris Aquino (her Kris TV was also awarded as Travel Show of the Year), Baron Travel president and CEO Marilen Yaptangco, La Isla Publishing’s publisher Timmy Tan, STAR columnist Honey Jarque-Loop, Qatar Airways country manager Abdallah Okasha, Bellevue Hotels and Resorts chairman Johnny Chan, Plantation Bay owner Manny Gonzales, Gawad Kalinga’s Tony Meloto, Clark Development Corp. president Arthur Tugade and Bulong Pulungan co-founder Deedee Siytangco. 

SKAL is a professional organization of tourism leaders around the world promoting global tourism and friendship.