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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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“Greed is good”, says Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 film ‘Wall Street’, which became the quintessential yuppie movie of the 80’s – a decade when it was cool to be greedy, and alright to be voracious.
With slap-back hair, and tailored suites, the 80’s yuppies drove themselves into the pursuit of wealth, regardless of whom they trod upon in attaining their dollar-coated glory. But, as I said, it was all right then.
Recently, not only it was branded with a stigma fit for a demon, it has been re-assured its place in the roster of the 7 deadly sins being celebrated in the 7 circles of Dante’s hell.
In the dawn of the 21st century, it’s not cool to be greedy anymore; unless you want sensors on your ankles like Martha Stewart, or end up in the slammer like the bigwigs of ENRON.
Although I must admit, there is covetousness in all of us. Yes, there’s still that eternal love story between man and the word ‘more’. Yes, there’s still that innate longing to get more than enough of what we really need.
But I will maintain that this covetousness in all of us is not greed per se. It is called, desire.
Desire fuels ambition, which in turn, gives birth to purpose, and eventually, harvests perseverance, which brings in success.
It is this ‘natural desire of man, which made a lot of dreams come true.
But for desire to cross the river Styx en route to hell, it must be paired with another player – Envy.
The unquenchable thirst for more, the insatiable desire for eternal gold, and might, regardless of whom they step upon, is the kind of wanting born out of the marriage between envy and desire. It is called, Avarice or in layman’s terms – Greed.
So evil this union is, you could smell the charred sulfur even from miles away.
Greed tramples friendships, ruins families, causes murder, and sadly in our case, destroys music scenes.
It is so sad to note that when 2005 started, the Fil-Am music scene here in New York and New Jersey was full of promise.
Old bands from days past resurfaced armed with new music, newly formed bands emerged with fresh and exciting new sounds; publications came out with the sole purpose of covering the renaissance of the Fil-Am music scene, radio stations and online broadcasts continued to play earth-shaking Fil-Am music, and promoters invested their time and strength to pull together gigs for this great rebirth.
Now, merely 7 months after such promising activities, the scene is as ravaged as Iraq, and as divided as Israel and Palestine.
The much-anticipated flight of the Fil-Am music scene here has crashed even before its takeoff - All due to speeding accusations of Greed.
The publications have shut down, bands have disbanded, radio stations stopped promoting Fil-Am music, and promoters made enemies out of their talents.
Tragically, the scene is bleeding to death, and still no tourniquet in sight.
I understand that all of us have the genuine “desire’ to fulfill the promise of a successful Fil-Am music scene, the kind of desire, which, as I wrote, fuels ambitions and make winners out of dreamers. But, once Envy comes in to play, then it’s all over.
We can all revert back to the old days, and see for ourselves; how far down we have reached in the palace of Hades.
We can see how pure all our intentions were, compared to how grubby our motives are now.
We can see how powerful we could have become, instead of lamenting how hard we have fallen.
It’s time to change, forget, and move on. Avarice has to stop.
And as the great MJ puts it, “It’s starting with the man in the mirror.”
Ted Reyes is a journalist, composer, musician and record producer based in NY. For comments about this column or submissions for music or film review etc. you can email him at tedreyes@mac.com or visit his website at http://www.tedreyes.com.
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MANILA --- With his size and height, it is not surprising that Mura never dreamed of being in showbiz. To be an attraction in a carnival was already a bonus for him, as far as a career in entertainment was concerned. With his earnings in the carnival, he was able to help in his familyís daily needs.
“Ako lang sa amin ang ganito,” he said. “Ganunpaman, my family never treated me differently. Kaya I was assigned the same tasks as my brothers and sisters, Nag-tatrabaho ako sa bukid at nagbebenta ng kung anumang inaani namin sa bukid.”
The public is aware of how Mura started his showbiz career. It was Willie Revillame, then a host of “Magandang Tanghali, Bayan,” who christened him Mura. “Pantapat daw kay Mahal who is mahal nga daw,” Mura related with a guffaw.
From the start, Mura saw the opportunity showbiz was offering him and his family. And he did not take that for granted.
Mura may not be doing any TV show at the moment, but he has just wrapped work for “DíAnothers,” which also stars Vhong Navarro, Toni Gonzaga, Joross Gamboo, Roxanne Guinoo, Pokwang and John Prats, among others.
“Excited po ako sa pelikula kong ito. Sana, ito rin ang nararamdaman ng viewing public,” Mura said. (MNS)
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MANILA --- Aga Muhlach, fresh from the successful London shows he did two weeks ago along with other ABS-CBN stars, denied rumors that they “desecrated the national anthem” during a program that they did for the more than 40,000 Filipinos in that city.
Reacting to rumors that their group earned the ire of London-based Filipinos there because in the two TFC shows they did there, “they reportedly changed to disco beat, the arrangement of the last part of the national anthem,” Aga said, “we didn’t even sing the national anthem in our shows there. Not once,” he said being seconded by Rica Peralejo, who was with Aga in the said show, along with Agot Isidro and Edu Manzano.
“Hindi namin alam kung saan galing yang news na yan. Walang ganon,” he dismissed the issue saying they wouldn’t do anything like that at all.
A true blue patriot, Aga lamented the fact that the Philippines finds itself in the midst of a political turmoil. He said, “I’m not against the government. I want peace in our country. I will not even add up to the problems that we’re facing right now. I’m against heavy politicking. That’s what I don’t like,” he said.
Aga said this brand of politicking we have in the country is the very reason why we have this crisis. “This problem has been happening eversince. For many years, ganyan ang situation. Sinisira lang nila ang bansa natin and its really so sad,” he added.
Discounting the possibility of future plans to migrate to another country, Aga said, “sometimes it’s nice to think that that is an option especially when I think of the kids. But then again, I have no plans. Why should I? This is my country. Okay naman ako. If ever I’ll migrate, I’ll do that in the province.”
Aga also flatly negated any chance that he be involved in politics in the future. “Wala yan sa plano ko,” he said. It will be recalled that Aga’s name cropped up during the last local elections as a possible candidate in the mayoralty seat of Muntinlupa. The handsome actor just smiled the observation off.
Waxing even more patriotic, Aga, who will turn 36 on Aug. 12 said, “I was just thinking, what I read one time, written by a foreign journalist is right. This is about the projects of government officials, road construction, schools, hospitals, buildings, and they conveniently stamp their names on these by saying, “project of Congressman so and so and Mayor so and so. The writer said, these politicians claim it is their project. But in reality, it is the project of the people. It is the taxpayers’ money that finances all these,” he ended thoughtfully.
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MANILA --- Actress and beauty queen Alice Dixon, who is now based in Canada, is back in town for a series of promotions.
Dixon came home to promote the film “Kumain Ka Na Ba?” for the Makati Cinemanila International Film Festival in August. She will also tour the malls as part of her endorsement stint for hair-dye brand Bigen Speedy, and fulfill obligations for her other endorsements with Cosmetiderm and Sarangani.
Apart from these tasks, the actress will attend the pre-production stage of an independent flick, which is slated to film in December. She is working on her schedule for TV guestings on the side as she coordinates activities for her family’s month-long reunion to the Philippines.
“Some of my relatives have never been here. I will try to make it a memorable visit for them, despite our dismal political scene. After all,” she points out, “no matter where I go, I will always call the Philippines home.”
Dixon has not exactly been idle since she left Manila to settle in Canada a few years back.
In February, she became the first Filipino-American to be accepted into the Union of British Columbia Performers and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists based solely on her foreign credentials.
Dixon said she applied under the union’s Professional Reputation guidelines, submitted her portfolio and after a few months received an invitation for membership. “I am very excited, as these organizations are the equivalent of the Screen Actors Guild in the United States!” she gushes.
With a new talent manager, Dixon said she would soon try her luck in Vancouver. “I have no illusions of grandeur,” she quickly notes. “I know it is a tougher market. But I love acting and if I can continue it on the side, then lucky me.”
The former beauty titlist, who has appeared in such Filipino films as “Dyesebel” and the TV sitcom “Okay Ka, Fairy Ko,” has landed an internship in March for The Vic ky Gaberaeau Show. This is a Canadian talk show counterpart of the popular Oprah Winfrey Show.
“I went to CTV-9 Studios downtown, applied and weeks later got a call from the production manager to report for taping,” Alice shares. There, she was able to work with and meet local Canadian celebrities like singer Michael Bublé, David Usher, Jan Arden, Elvis Costello and jazz diva Diana Krall. She adds: “I never knew that a lot of the popular US mainstream actors and artists are Canadian!”
In the short time that she worked in the show, the now married actress said she gained valuable experience and realized how much “I can truly enjoy the creative side of television production.”
Dixon admits she is studying part-time and is busy being a full-time wife to businessman Ronnie Miranda. The couple has no plans yet to have a baby, but in the next breath, the actress goes on to say: “I really want an Italian Greyhound puppy!” (MNS)
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MANILA --- Actress Claudine Barreto has filed an P8 million suit against the publisher of Yes and High magazines for the unauthorized publication of her pictures.
Barreto was accompanied by her boyfriend Raymart Santiago while filing her case against publisher Joan Maglipon at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
Barreto said the magazine published pictures of her while she was changing into her costume during a shooting of her show “Marina” and pictures of her daughter Sabrina. She also accused the magazine of printing a “one-sided” news story regarding the death of her former boyfriend Rico Yan.
Barreto said Maglipon is legally culpable for the publication of the pictures since it was done without her consent.
She also asked the court to bar Maglipon and her staff from getting near her, and her immediate family and places of residence.
Of the P8 million, Barreto said that P5 million will be for moral damages, P2 million for exemplary damages and P1 million for litigation. (MNS)
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MANILA --- Edu Manzano didn’t come home with Aga Muhlach and the other members of the group of “Ok Fine To Ang Gusto Níyo” who went to London to perform for the TFC (The Filipino Channel) subscribers. Over 30,000 fans, mostly Filipinos, reportedly watched the show, which is part of the ABS-CBN Kapamilya Caravan abroad.
Edu, according to his talent manager June Torrejon, decided to proceed to the US to visit his siblings who reside there. For those who don’t know, Edu was born in America and has a twin brother.
Aga, on the other hand, had to rush home as he needs to resume his shooting for his movie, “Dubai” with Claudine Barreto and John Lloyd Cruz. The film will be released on Sept. 28. Likewise, it will premiere in Dubai also in September. Other key cities in Asia and the US hope to see the premiere of “Dubai.”
The producer and staff of “Ok Fine ” also plan to hold a birthday special for Aga in one episode in the sitcom.
Aga turns a year older on Aug. 12.
Is it true that Pinky Webb, reportedly the current love of Edu’s life, is abroad, too? No wonder that she is not seen in her supposed shows on ABS-CBN and ANC. Neither do we hear her in her radio show with Edu on DZMM.
Many of Edu’s friends think he finally has found his “perfect match” in Pinky. Both are good-looking and share the same wave length. (MNS)
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