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Thursday, August 25, 2005
Magsaysay: Spectacular extravaganzas
By Jo Magsaysay
Whatever
It’s so sudden! (Aissa de la Cruz)...It’s a long time coming, five years overdue (Chinggay Utzurrum)...He’s not just rank and file to stay forever; he’s up there, you know? And in this business, a two-year tour duty is max, the limit (Cookie Newman)...
So sad, such a loss! (Elvira Luym)...Irreplaceable! (Marissa Fernan)...I’ve lost my partner, I could cry but look at him, he’s laughing! He’s happy! (Teresin Mendezona)...A tough act to follow (Jaime Picornell)...He never says no; everything is okay with him; always can do, will do (Jude Bacalso)...Such a gentle person, a true gentleman (Myra Sun)...I’ve learned so much from him; no one else except him could have taught me what I know (Jaja Chiongbian)...The time has come for him to be with his widowed mother, his father passed away last year (Nelia Neri).
I’m so impressed! He turned down a million pesos...(Oops! That does not belong here. Joy Onglatco was saying something about a relative in Congress who refused to sign the impeachment manifesto.)
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“He’s a werewolf!” Now, this belongs here to the rest of the off-the-cuff remarks picked at random. Although that observation about being a werewolf comes along with the praise phrases enumerated by GM Tim Wright about Neil Rumbaoa, the Shangri-La director of communications being talented, committed, creative, dedicated, he referred to Neil’s uncanny choice of full moons to stage his spectacular extravaganzas (remember the birth of Venus to launch Cowrie Cove, the undulating “waves” for Tides, the Himalayan panorama for Chi Spa?): That August moon, now an old-gold coin mounted on a silken sky that turned to burnished silver and then to gleaming platinum as evening wore on over the recently completed Ocean Pavilion.
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The high-vaulted roof of the Pavilion, like tapering wings reaching out to the sky, may well be symbolic of the soaring career of Neil who started out as public relations officer five years ago. Can’t hold a good man down and Shangri-La, quick to spot quality, moved him on to director of communications a couple of years ago; and now, moving him up again to Shangri-La Edsa, Manila. A promotion that couldn’t happen to a more deserving person.
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“His shoes will be hard to fill,” Sharon Samarista, the incoming communications director, modestly announced. Those who know Neil are inclined to agree; this soft-spoken, unobtrusive young man who sends out press releases as interesting as they are amusing; who prepares speeches and messages that generally pack a punch; who creates invitations that capture the imagination; who communicates his warmth and sincerity by simple gestures of concern, not just for the media who expect, often demand, to be cosseted and pampered (which he actually does without being obsequious and slavish about it) but also, most specifically, for the ragamuffins and snot-faced children in the streets whom he rounds up or occasionally treats to “eat and such.” Neil is special and all those who know him will miss him.
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All those forlorn faces around, one would think there was a wake going on. Only just momentarily. Soon, wine overflowed as usual, and tables staggered with canapés, superlative as usual. While the fountain gurgled and splashed, orchids and birds of paradise flirted their colors at the center, the mood shifted to the light fantastic, actually tripping, dipping and swaying around the floor with no music but with lots of pizzazz, Jimmy Picornell and Pura Kintanar were dancing! Incredible! Shangri-La stalwarts Daniele Vastolo and Maggie Garcia circulated, mingled and mixed with VIPs Margot Osmeña, Michel and Amparito Lhuillier and the hallowed members of the fourth estate.
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Meanwhile, raptly in a cozy corner, I sat a captive audience of Nelia Neri and her breathless account of her latest trip to Cambodia and Vietnam (She does get around, doesn’t she?) where she had to climb up 72 steps or not get to the bus. But then, let her tell you all about it...of Dr. Nestor Alonso who confessed with shocking honesty that he does not know how to write, that his articles about food are “only pretending.” He says his English grammar and spelling are so horrendous, his computer chokes and gags! That’s okay, Nestor, if the humba you make is as absolutely supreme as you say it is, complete with the dried tentacles of kogita and the secret tableya, you’re forgiven!
(August 25, 2005 issue)
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