Violin virtuoso in soirée for lovers; riotous June birthday get-togethers

Your mantra for the week:

“I now start creating a life that makes a difference in the world.” We were made by God with the power to change and grow, develop and mature—there lies our perfection.

There is love, order and kindness in the world. It is our duty to add to these, so wecan all move to a higher level of experience.

If you, dear reader, are anything like me, who does not always do the intelligent thing, it is all right because that’s just our humanside. It only proves you are alive and capable of being better.

And in being better, we create harmony, justice, peace and abundance in this wonderful planet called Earth.

Love your life. It is God.

Chino Gutierrez performs

Violinist Chino Gutierrez, who continues to flourish under the tutelage of the best virtuosos in Europe, is performing on July 28 at 6 p.m. in a soirée for lovers at the Bayleaf Restaurant in Intramuros, Manila.

Gutierrez promises to play romantic European music to evoke a wide range of emotions, from the nostalgic to the romantic.

He will be accompanied by super pianist Mary Ann Espina.

‘The Merry Widow’ at CCP

At 8 p.m. of the same day, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, you can catch the gala opening of Philippine Ballet Theatre’s “The Merry Widow,” featuring guest ballet star Martin Buczko of the Staatsballett Berlin and Veronica Atienza, the lone Filipino awardee at the Jackson Mississippi Ballet Competition.

The Joy of Joel

What a joy it was to be at the cozy and intimate birthday party of Joy Rustia, painstakingly arranged by her loving husband Joel, who made sure to get in touch with everyone about the details of the celebration, where he also honored two other June celebrators: Rene Puno and Frannie Jacinto.

This warm and close group, when they get together, stays together for six to seven hours of laughter with unending exchanges of stories from up close and personal ones—especially from Noel Oñate who lives a bachelor-like lifestyle, with sons galore and an only daughter—to riotous and extraordinarily humorous encounters.

The Gallery I at the New World Hotel in Makati, with its ownkitchen and cocktail area, will never be quite the same because we not only dismantled its original setup, but also made our own table arrangement.

Most dinners that I have attended prepare long, rectangular tables, so party conversation is limited to the persons near you. The one at Gallery I was truly different—it made sure you were within talking distance from other guests.

Joy’s chosen menu had unlimited cheeses and cold cuts at cocktails and ended with a “gourmicious” six-course dinner, with an extra-large tenderloin steak.

Glenda Barretto of Via Mare and Efren “Boy” Vazquez of Café Juanita and Haru had their own funny gustatory tales to tell, with Ann Puno adding her own anecdotes.

Mario Katigbak, although still jet-lagging from his buying spree for Hermès, had some happy announcements to make.

And then there was DJ Lopez, who always asks the darnedest questions.

Partners in beauty

Another happy gathering was the birthday celebration of interior designer Paolo del Rosario at Bondi & Bourke with 30 close friends in attendance.

He is the grandson of Ernie del Rosario and Baby Aguinaldo, whose brother is Lee Aguinaldo, the painter, and whose father, Dan, was the richest man in the Philippines in the ’60s.

Dan Aguinaldo originally owned Pearl Farm, that now belongs to the Floirendos.

It was such a pleasure to meet Paolo’s uncle, Andrew, who lives in Washington State and runs an orchard of apples and cherries.

I was seated beside Andrew’s love partner, real estate broker Deena Garcia, whose mother is the singer Maricris “Narito Ako” Bermont.

The love story of Andrew and Deena would make one wonderful teleserye with all its twists and turns. I jokingly threatened to sell the idea to either GMA 7 or ABSCBN.

To my right was Baby Baluyot Fricke and Frannie Aguinaldo. Sharing the table with us were Paul Campos, the attractive Monique Teodoro, world traveler Marivic Vazquez, the beautiful Joanna Preysler and Raul Francisco, Lucille Carlos with son Stephan.

Paolo’s life partner, Freemont Base, was busy taking pictures and welcoming guests. Freemont is probably the most popular cosmetic surgeon in Cebu today.

What a nice pair Paolo and Freemont make—one beautifies the interiors while the other prettifies the exteriors.