adventures in neverland

Men of Manila, which debuted in the country's music and concert scene in July last year, has finally released the much-awaited music video of their first original song in Filipino aptly titled "Gwapo Lang Naman Ako." The song is about a young man's plea to the young woman he loves, who seems unreachable because of her beauty that could easily win for her a Ms. Universe crown. Award-winning composer Joven Tan penned the lyrics and the music of the easy-on-the-ears mellow love song. "Gwapo Lang Naman Ako" pays homage to the Filipino tradition of the bygone years when a man courts the woman he loves by singing songs that profess her undying love beside the window of the maiden's house, preferably under the moon light, accompanied and supported by his friends. The tradition, which has sadly disappeared from the modern man's dictionary, is called "Harana." The love song also pays tribute to the joys of the "Kundi...

for four months now, i have been helping a friend in doing publicity for a boy band, a surprising turn in my unpredictable life. while i have always loved reading about the scandalous lives of celebrities (confession: the first thing i read in a newspaper is the entertainment page), i never imagined that one day, i would be involved in writing prs and doing publicity for a boy band. a boy band? i would have screamed in my past life. frankly, i was never a fan of boy bands. especially the boyzone, backstreetboys and westlife variety. i am not being snobbish, but i simply found their music sappy, their lyrics shallow, their dance moves silly. although admittedly most of them were cute in the teendom kind of way: think the boys of teevee's beverly hills ninety-two-ten (so throwback!). so when a friend called asking if i was interested in helping him spread the good news about a fledging boy band that he fondly called men of manila , i had second thoughts. i mean, i had turned d...

mahatma gandah has always admired the prose of the doyenne of philippine fashion journalism -- ms. charliz e. she has a way with words. she strings together, short, simple and easy to comprehend words and sentences flawlessly like a master seamstress and the result is simply divine -- an understated elegance much like a chanel or a valentino. nothing flamboyant, nothing excessive, only fabulousness. when she brought up the idea of doing a foto shoot with the new boy band of manille -- the men of manila -- mahatma gandah agreed right away. who would not take the chance to work with ms. charlize and be featured in her widely read column on the  business mirror ( the country's top business paper) that has become the bible of those who matter in the fashion industry both here and abroad? surely, not mahatma gandah. so one smoldering sunday morning, ms. charlize was surrounded by the eager boys of men of manila not only to sit in front of her and be interviewed, but also to get...

wanting to escape all the hassles of her mundane, boring and uneventful life, mahatma gandah gave in to a friend's persistent invitation to drop by the place, a two-storey apartment complex in far away quezon city, and witness the rehearsals, voice and acting lessons of the newest and soon hottest boy band in the philippines -- the  men of manila  -- composed of a dozen gorgeous young men all eager to share their talents in exchange for fame and fortune. and so, with passport, visa and other traveling documents necessary inside her prada messenger bag, mahatma gandah flew all the way to midtown or the so-called city of the stars to be with imm, arcel, yano, jester, kurt, nelson, paolo, reggie, xen and soon to be a member ryan (a professional model with a talent for entertaining), spending an exciting afternoon punctuated by jokes, laughers and lots of fun. (seventeen year old and current junior tourism student ryan. will he be the new boy in the ba...

Seventeen-year old Redjie Relucio is hesitant if he would let the public know that he is the first cousin of famous international sensation Charice Pempengco, the petite (5’1”) young Filipina with a huge singing talent who captured the hearts and admiration of such international celebrities as Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and David Foster. Rightly so, he is concerned that being known as related to Charice would raise the expectations of the public. Some sectors may even say he is just riding on the popularity of his cousin. On the other hand, being linked to Charice this early will help propel him into the consciousness of the public, and in a way, also help Men of Manila win fans in and out of the country. “I want to explore my full potential as a singer and an actor,” says the 17-year old man who is a first year college student taking up information technology at the Asia Technological Institute in Laguna.  “I hope the public will not label me as ...

He could have been a character in the world-acclaimed musical Ms. Saigon -- an engineer who sings and dances. A role famously played by Filipino actor Leo Valdez. Paolo Sta. Maria is the dancer in the group and wants to follow the footsteps of Gab Valenciano, son of famous Filipino singer Gary, and who is known more for his dancing skills than anything else. But Paolo knows how to sing. After a year of taking up voice lessons with the rest of the Men of Manila, his singing has improved. This will be Paolo’s edge in the group. He can be the Ricky Martin of the Philippines (the former member of the dismantled boy band from Puerto Rico called Menudo and has embarked on a solo career), who can sing well and dance even better. “I am a fast learner,” says Paolo. “My edge is dancing. Now, I am developing my singing talent. In the near future, I can do both very, very well.” But Paolo isn’t just another performer. He is a graduate of ECE, batch 2013, at the U...