The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Come to think of it, show business is equally distributed with representations from the many diverse regions in the country—from north to south, from east to west, from Aparri to Jolo, from Babuyan Islands to Basilan to probably West Philippine Sea (because Dennis Roldan and Isabel Rivas and the Gumabaos—Paolo, Matco or even Michelle are Zambales Province) overlooking Masinloc Island.
Indeed, showbiz is a melting pot of all kinds of creatures from all directions, cultures and subcultures etc. coming together to partake in a colorful reel and real-life tableau.
From Panay Islands alone, there are not a few celebrities who originated from these West Visayan parts of the nation.
Consider these Ilonggo names—balladeer Aristeo Demavivas, the hitmaker of the song “So Lucky in my Life” and other adapted and original songs; TV and movie actor Edu Manzano, singer Jed Madela, Channel 4 newscaster Audrey Gorriceta, the Barretto sisters Gretchen, Marjorie and Claudine with their second generation of stars, Julia and Nicole Barretto.
Aristeo is a native is Pototan, Iloilo.
Edu, according to writer Cheryl Luis, widow of the late specialized reporter George Nava True, is from Passi town.
Jed is from Iloilo City and the Barretto sisters are from Jaro while Audrey is from Pavia town.
A lot more Ilonggo celebs are in the forefront of the discussion but I would like to limit it to the general tone (not necessarily their accent), of the Ilonggos in Iloilo—most of them friendly and accommodating.
I’ve proven them in my more than a month stay in Iloilo.
In this span of time, I have acquired a lot of impressions, insights, realizations and even predilections about Iloilo and its people.
The moment I stepped down from the plane thirty-six days ago or so (at the time of beating this deadline), I could already feel the warmth of Iloilo through the driver who picked us up at the airport.
Angel, although a Pangasinense, who is married to an Ilongga, was very friendly, he said he became friendlier when he migrated down south with his wife.
The more congenial atmosphere was felt when we arrived at Gateway Hotel and Suites which I learned a day after that it’s located in Barangay Mali-ao in Pavia town of Iloilo.
We were (together with my talent, the Amazing Diva Armida Zuniega) met at the lobby by singer and hotelier Aristeo Demavivas, the General Manager of the hotel.
Aristeo, an Ilonggo, who is also known as Aris Demavivas, has been with the hotel management industry for decades after he studied the field in the US.
He has not set aside singing, though, as he sings occasionally especially on requests.
Being an entertainment journalist myself, I have written quite a number of stories about Aris, the romantic balladeer who popularized in the country the hit song “So Lucky in my Life,” a music project produced by Zodiac Recording.
It is on this merit that we became friends especially in the advent of social media.
Aris was not only hospitable he was also amiable.
He made sure we ate our late dinner upon arrival and later, asked assistance from his staff about carrying our luggage into the room.
Before we settled and called it a night, he engaged us in a conversation by catching up about showbiz, especially to know more about Armida who would later stage a nightly show for more than a month at the Bridges Bistro of the hotel.
Except for two other top executives, most of the hotel staff were Ilonggos who were courteous and respectful.
Honestly, there were touching scenes that struck me in my many gallivants around Iloilo.
One was the fine manners of the pedestrians anywhere I went.
Every time I boarded jeepneys going anywhere, the passengers were all disciplined, no jostling even on rush hours or bad weather when rides were hard to get by.
Although they weren’t smiling at all times, I could glean over their affection and kindliness.
But this one striking scenario really made me realize the humanity of these people.
I just ate in an eatery inside Pavia Market when I got a P450.00 change for my merienda of suman (sticky rice cake). I went around the market to buy Perla soap for bath and laundry and after that, window shopped for Iloilo native stuff and then went to a computer shop to write and download a file.
When I was about to pay the internet’s hourly fee, I was surprised the P450.00 was missing so I looked around and hoped I could still recover it although I was resigned for whatever outcome of my search .
I went back to the places I had been until I got to the retail sari-sari store.
After a series of verifications, the woman seller asked how much money I lost and forked out the amount from a pouch.
“Napulot ng mga estudyante. Hindi ko rin napansin, nahulig sa semento (Local high school students picked it up. I also didn’t notice),” quipped the man of the store.
What honesty and chivalry.
Even Armida experienced the same gallantry from young and old folks.
“Naligaw ako. Nagtanung-tanong. Tapos, ‘yong mga bagets at isang matandang babae, pinasakay ako sa jeep, at sabi sa drayber. Ihatid n’yo siya, hindi siya tagarito (I got lost. I asked around. Then, these young boys and an old woman led me to a ride and instructed the driver to send me to my destination,” narrated Zuniega.