A golden moment
Turning 50 is a golden moment.
When Valerie Mayor Sotto celebrated her 50th birthday at the Conservatory of the Peninsula Manila on Aug. 28, her family and closest friends celebrated with her as they feted her with their heartwarming presence and messages. The party, with Allure assistant editor Büm
Tenorio Jr. hosting the program in his unique and funny way, was made more alive with the performances of 3rd Avenue that made everyone — including Sen. Grace Poe Llamanzares and the members of Assumption Batch ‘76 — stand up and hit the dance floor. And most guests danced to the hits of the ‘70s and ‘80s until way past midnight in the venue elegantly styled by Didit Castro.
But before the dancing, everyone watched an engaging video presentation about Valerie as they enjoyed a sumptuous buffet dinner. There was “laugh-tear” at the Conservatory that night as guests joyfully watched the video prepared by Valerie’s son Miguel Sotto, an award-winning filmmaker who trained at the New York Film Academy.
The video presentation started with the many beautiful faces of Valerie in different magazines. Yes, Valerie, before becoming a businesswoman and a superb baker at Valerie’s Kitchen, was a print model. One day, she was to model for Shell calendar and that was how she and Ping Sotto, a Shell executive, met.
Ping said: “My most favorite memory of Val was when she stepped into my office 29 years ago. That monumental meeting changed the course of my life...The moment I saw her, I said to myself, ‘I just met my (future) wife’.”
“My mom is really the love of my life. She’s the most selfless, loving, caring person that I’ve ever met. She’s my role model,” Trish Sotto said. Trish, by the way, graduated summa cum laude and valedictorian of her batch in UP Diliman’s School of Economics.
For Miguel’s part, he said: “My mom is the kind of person you can’t help but get attached to because you know the love will be reciprocated 100-plus percent. I honestly do not know what to do without her.”
Valerie’s beautiful mother, Sonia Mayor, said: “Val is sweet and loving by nature. She’s always by my side, always holding my hand.”
My beautiful editor, Joanne Rae Ramirez, said: “She’s so unself-conscious of her incredible and rare beauty. She’ll give up her mornings for her kids. She’ll give up her job. She’ll give up her time. If she were the eldest and I were the youngest, she would be my peg.”
Joanne and her cousin Aimee Ferrer recalled a funny instance that happened when Valerie and Aimee were in kindergarten school. The driver who fetched the two from school told their parents, “Kailangan po daw
nilang mag-makeup sa school bukas.” So Aimee and Valerie, with the help of their mothers, wore makeup that day. When they arrived in school, the teacher fell apart seeing the two fully made up. It turned out, the two needed to attend make-up classes because they were absent for a long time — and not put on makeup!
Valerie’s two other sisters who are based in the US also sent their messages for their
bunso. Dr. Geraldine Mayor said, “Val is a beautiful person because she is a peacemaker. Her home is open to visitors and also to animals needing a home.” For her part, Mary
Mae Mayor said, “She likes to mimic other people. She’s loving and caring. That’s why she’s everybody’s favorite.”
“She is a clown with a phenomenal memory. She is our class entrepreneur, we are very proud of her,” said Sen. Grace Poe. “Val’s kindness just really adds up to the total package of the woman she is that I greatly admire and I find very attractive.”
It was heartening to see how Valerie’s family and closest friends celebrated with her. The sum total of their wishes tells of how beautiful Valerie is inside out. And that makes Valerie truly a golden girl!
Happy birthday!