Friday, April 18, 2008 Serna: Gretchen, open to sexy scenes By Roger Serna: Sounds and images
WHEN I wrote about my recent trip to Calubian, Leyte, with the pilgrim statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Fatima from Brazil and mentioned some friends who were on that trip, some people reacted how come I missed the Balingit couple (former PBA player Bonel and his wife Diosy) despite the player’s size.
I apologize for that oversight. My excuse was: just saving the “biggest” for last. Was that acceptable? Ha-ha!
Anyway, the couple was also with the group during the Holy Week. Bonel narrated the reflection piece for the third message in the Last Words of the Savior. His act gave me enough guts to accept the challenge posed before me by St. Therese of the Child Jesus’ shrine founding chairman Rey Martinez to be one of the commentators-narrators next year.
Confident that April 7 was proclaimed as holiday in lieu of April 9’s celebration of Araw ng Kagitingan, Bonel, Diosy, Rech Dechosa, Mario Malacat and I accepted the invitation of Sarua Records’ Rene and Dr. Lucille Mercado for an overnight stay at their farmhouse in Barangay Agsungot, Cebu City. That was right after we arrived from Leyte.
I’ve been in the farm before but not for an overnight stay, so the prospect gave enough excitement. The view from up there was fantastic with all the man-made and natural lights in front of us (a shooting star showed up that night).
After a filling dinner topped by a mouthwatering Mongolian barbecue dish done by Dave Mercado, Mario did the drink himself, mixing of what we termed as Kahlua Bangladeshi (yes, Ehda Dagooc and Divine S. Ngujo of The Freeman, a lot have learned to love the concoction) that kept us warm till dawn.
Funny, but we only started the videoke session when it was nearly 3 a.m. when our voices had started to get hoarse because of the drink, the cold atmosphere, and the non-stop banter.
We thought it was brunch that was served at past 10 a.m. shortly after we woke up, but realized it was really breakfast as lunch was served near mid-afternoon.
Aside from watching the animals (horses, goats, dogs and a funny chicken called “Chicken Dog”), we also watched videos, listened to music or merely watched nature at its freshest best.
We had to thank Rene and Dockie Lucille through the guestbook for that “slice of the good life” that we experienced. Ahhh, so that’s how it feels!
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Though she appears like a prima donna from a distance, come-backing (and reinvented) Gretchen Barretto was nice to talk with, especially with her witty answers to our questions and hearty laughter every now and then.
She came to Cebu to promote her album Unexpected which, to date, has already reached gold status. She admitted having to travel around the country to achieve a platinum mark.
Gretchen described her chosen songs as those that inspire her but not necessarily those that describe her person. She’s about to make a movie, it is hoped, with her preferred leading man, Piolo Pascual.
She’s open to sexy scenes and even kissing scenes if the script so requires.
She attributes her being warmly received by the public despite her being embroiled in controversies in the past and her being transparent — by telling the truth and standing by her mistakes.
She stays fit by watching her diet (she takes sweets, though, for energy before a performance), and by engaging in boxing and Muay Thai. She admits being born here in Cebu (his dad once worked here), but does not remember anymore where they lived.
It has been her long dream to record an album but only recently did she have the courage to stand up onstage. She has been undergoing voice lessons for more than a decade and now her effort has paid off with the album from Star Records.
I still have to hear her songs, though.
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Congratulations to Edgeworth Review and Educational Center for its recent opening along Urgello St. (walking distance from Osmeńa Blvd.). It’s one of the many branches nationwide with its main office in Manila.
The center’s founder is topnotch nurse Jerome Mansibang and its Cebu branch head is Brent Ngoboc. It will soon have its own dormitory and boasts of being the first review center to have its own building.
