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Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Serna: No truth to Vina’s P700,000 ‘entourage’ fee
By Roger Serna
Sounds & Images
If you did not miss this column last Thursday, you must have learned that Sheryn Regis will finally make good the plan to hold her first major concert in Cebu on May 13.
Meanwhile, another Cebuana, who is also making it big in the national capital and even abroad (she just had a series of shows in the US with Star in A Million champ Erik Santos), is scheduled to hold a big show right in her hometown in Bogo on time for the northern town’s annual fiesta.
Vina Morales (Sharon Magdayao in real life, in case some chips in your memory need tune-up, he-he!) will stage her own concert on May 28. This is a fund-raiser, to repair and renovate the church of neighboring town San Remegio where Vina’s acknowledged discoverer-mentor, Father Fritz Malinao, sits as parish priest.
Because of that objective, Vina is waiving her talent fee as a gesture of paying back whatever she now enjoys to the person whose composition, Kabataan... Paglaum (a grand prize winner in one of Cebu Popular Music Festival’s outings), paved the way for the beautiful Cebuana’s climb to stardom.
On his part, Iking Magdayao, Vina’s dad, also helps in making the show not only enjoyable for the ticket buyers but also giving them the chance to bring home valuable items at the end of the show.
Sir Iking has solicited from Lito Gillamac, of SirLitz Enterprises, motorcycles, television sets, DVD players and other items as raffle prizes. In our talk over long distance telephone last week, he intimated that these items are in Father Fritz’s position this early.
A cousin of Magdayao, who is part of the organizing group, has also divulged that while in the US to escort Vina in her concert tour, Sir Iking also sold tickets to close friends who readily shelled out their hard-earned dollars, despite the fact that they could not watch the show, just to be a part of the noble intention to help repair a church.
Despite all these, rumors arose that the show might not push through because Vina’s group has charged as high as P700,000 for the “entourage” which includes the band that will accompany Vina, make-up artists, production assistants and others.
Sir Iking felt downhearted, to say the least, when he heard these talks and said that it was Vina who volunteered her services for free and yet her group would charge that much? Where’s the logic?
He added that if they want to earn, they can look for income elsewhere. He admits that there are, indeed, inevitable incidental expenses (as in any other undertaking), such as talent fees for the band they’ll be bringing in from Manila and the dancers (they’ve opted for Cebuanos to cut down on cost), for the sound and light equipment, fare, accommodation and the like, but this will be much lower than the mentioned amount.
Sir Iking hopes that these rumors will not reach Vina’s attention as this will surely break her heart. Indeed, for making such a generous gesture, Vina deserves all the support she deserves, instead of baseless insinuations and brickbats.
And that not only applies to the would-be beneficiaries but also to all well-meaning churchgoers and concert lovers.
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In her birthday celebration, Rosemarie Gaisano announced excitedly that she has already a line-up of celebrities going up north to grace special events in Gaisano Bogo, especially with the fast-coming fiesta celebration of the northern town.
A fashion show of summer get-ups, fun outfits and swimwear scheduled within this month will be highlighted by the performance of today’s hottest young stars, among others.
This early, Ma’am Rose has already extended an invitation to this columnist and other friends from the media to be with the entourage (that word again!) in a special show that her group has designed to enliven some more the fiesta atmosphere of Bogo.
Of course, our response was in the affirmative. Who does not want to be part of something fun-filled and exciting?
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The city of Mandaue is gearing up for its own annual fiesta celebration early next month. The Mantawi Festival, which was transferred from its original schedule to take place during the city’s charter day to its annual fiesta, was launched last Friday at the city hall plaza.
More activities are slated for launching thereafter. Just keep posted for developments and updates.
(April 5, 2005 issue)
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