An Italian birthday bash for Cristie

ONE of my dearest friends, the beauteous Cristie Montilla, after much ado about the picking of a suitable venue for her birthday bash with another dear friend Maite Elordi, decided on Italia.

Italia is that cozy restaurant beside Riverside Hospital, as we all know it, or now called the Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital. Italia is owned by the young Luzuriaga couple, and aside from featuring good wine and pastas and other Italian cuisine, Italia has also endeavored to showcase various artists. The more recent should be Rodney Martinez.

Hosting a party in Italia is like having it in your own home. Its atmosphere is homey and personalized. Not like having it in a hotel where it really looks like everyone is boxed in. There are fabulous paintings on the walls which are not painted pristine white. There is a candidness and a delightful easiness in the ambience of the place.

Cristie, however, went beyond what the restaurant offers. She brought many aperitifs and added her owned cooked specialties into the menu of the evening. There was food galore and wine was abundant. Siempre, with Italian comes the vino!

Let’s talk more about the June 23 birthday girl. Cristie is of German lineage, (her Mom is an Oppen) so she’s fair skinned and mestiza. Her father is a Montilla, thus Castilian, and the beautiful blend with some Filipino blood mixed into the heritage has made her features quite chiseled but not too pronounced or sharp to appear stern. Softly blended, she is quite a stunner. Coupled with the lovely face is her innate charm. Cristie has a ready smile which radiates from within. Statuesque, she definitely makes heads turn.

I remember stories when I was still in my teens that the boys would say “when you are in Bacolod, never miss to meet one of the prettiest ladies, Cristie Montilla.”

But Cristie is more than just a pretty face. She has a golden heart. She is a devoted daughter who takes care of her 102 year old mother, Tita Hani. Cristie sacrifices outings, travels and even simple lunches and dinners with friends when it comes to the care of her Mom.

Cristie, though to the manor born, has no airs and frills. She has her two feet on the ground and carries on her work with the farm and running her home with pleasantries despite the worries that haunt hacienderos and running a household with an ailing mother. She appears cool even when the challenges come. She hardly gets hysterical; even when ventilating her angst, she has no vile words!

As a dear friend, Cristie is loyal that is why she has many circles of varied friends of different ages and interests. She is sincere and a joy to be with. I had other engagements for the night but I couldn’t pass an invitation from Cristie being such a sweet person.

But Cristie surpasses herself when it comes to family. She is an attentive sister to Hanelli and brother Pidong and most importantly, she is a great mother to her 4 children: 3 sons, Ricky, Dave and Bryan and daughter Cricri.

Close family and friends were all present during Cristie’s Italian bash. Many happy returns Cristie, and may the GOOD LORD bless you with more good years!