Senator Mar Roxas was among three presidentiables (the two others being Senators Loren Legarda and Manny Villar) who graced the official opening of the annual Panaad Festival in Bacolod last Saturday (April 18). Ms. Korina Sanchez, who has been with the senator in important Roxas-Araneta family events and reunions was also there, boosting speculations that they really are headed for the altar very soon.

When she and her “Rated K” staff came to Manila Bulletin recently to tape their story on Liwayway magazine (sister publication of Manila Bulletin), Korina Sanchez told us, “We’ll get together very soon. Will call you about it.”

We did not know if she was referring to her reported forthcoming wedding to Senator Mar Roxas, her boyfriend of several years now. It is recalled that it was Senator Mar who was first to signify his intention to run for the presidency in the 2010 national elections. Of course, it would help a lot if he has a “first lady” waiting in the wings to help him set up a family in Malacañang, if ever.

Anyway, in a recent episode of “Showbiz News Ngayon (SNN),” Boy Abunda and Kris Aquino featured Mar and Korina in their much-needed sojourn in Tagaytay last Holy Week. They were shown enjoying their vacation with relaxing activities like horseback-riding. It was soon after that Senator Mar proposed marriage to Korina. Which to most of us, has long been in coming.

At the thanksgiving party of Senator Mar and family for the entertainment press at Bahay na Puti late last year, the charismatic lawmaker referred to Korina as “ang mahal ko sa buhay,” a romantic phrase which titillated most of us.

Now, they’re officially engaged, and what we will brace ourselves with next is the announcement of the date of their wedding.

Edu-Pinky, Ryan-Juday nuptials expected to be held this year too

Two other popular couples are also planning (reportedly) to tie the knot soon. They are Optical Media Board Chairman and TV host Edu Manzano and his “Umagang Kay Ganda” co-host Pinky Webb; and Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos.

But of course, we all know that Edu was previously married to Maricel Soriano and that their union hasn’t been annulled yet. Maricel jokingly said that this marriage has already “expired” and so she and Edu are free to remarry. Maricel also said that on her part, she has had enough of it, that she doesn’t intend to get married again.

As to Edu, he said marriage being a sacred institution has to be done with someone you really love. He is elusive as to what their plans are, but the rumor that they’ve married in a civil rite persist.
Anyway, as to Ryan and Juday, they are not hiding the fact that they are now preparing for the big day. In fact, they are only finishing the house that they’ll move to after their wedding.

Cecile G. Alvarez: Most awarded personality in culture and the arts

Perhaps the most awarded personality in the fields of arts and culture is Ms. Cecile Guidote Alvarez, the executive director of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA). She has also been the most passionate when it comes to environmental and minority and ethnic concerns. Cecile has been a TV actress (“Santa Zita” and in Family Theatre productions) and stage actress too, having been with the Paulinian Players Guild, Arena Theatre Guild, Ateneo Drama Guild and other school and community theatre groups.

One of Cecil’s most significant contributions to the arts is the Philippine Educational Theatre Association (PETA), a national theater movement with regional chapters involving Children’s Theatre, Metropolitan Children’s Theatre, College Theatre, community theatre and traditional arts. Cecile founded it in 1967 and until 1972, she was the artistic director of the PETA Kalinangan Ensemble and the Central Institute of Theatre Arts in the Philippines (CITAP), eventually linking with Southeast Asia. She was also the producer of the drama anthology “Balintataw,” shown on Channel 5 and for which she won as Best Drama Series Organizer in the 1st ITI Third World Theatre Festival Conference on National Identity and Development held in Manila.

In 1973, Cecile became UNESCO Int’l Theatre Institute (ITI) consultant tasked to evaluate minority programs in the US through the American Int’l Theatre Institute. Also in l973, she was founding director of the Alliance of Concerned Artists for Human Rights and Peace, co-organized the Third World Festival in Shiraz, Iran, and presented ethnic minority causes in the UNESCO ITI Congress in Moscow.

From 1974 to the present, she is also founding chairperson of the International League of Folk Arts. As an authority in arts and culture, Cecile found herself a sought-after speaker and delegate to related conferences and conventions all over the world. In 1997, she spoke on Environmental Communications on Climate Change at the UN Session on Conference of Parties on Climate Change in Kyoto, Japan; and the following year, she was speaker at the UN World Youth Festival/UN Year of the Ocean in Portugal.

In 2007, Cecile conceived and directed the ASEAN Performance and Media Workshop from Ancestral Roots to New Artistic Routes of Expression for the 40th year of ASEAN.

Now, her awards: In 1972, she received the Ramon Magsaysay Outstanding Asian Award for Public Service through the Arts, the only Filipina artist and the youngest Filipina to receive such honor. The City of Manila also gave her the Patnubay ng Kalinangan Award that year.

Cecile was a TOWNS (Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service) awardee in l989 and in l999, she received the International Earth Day Award for outstanding contribution to environmental consciousness and community action. In between 1989 and l999, she received various citations and awards and represented the country in several international events. In 2003, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Aliw Foundation and the UNESCO Artists for Peace Award at the UNESCO General Conference.

Cecile is married to former Senator Heherson T. Alvarez with whom she has two children Hexilon and Herxilia. She earned her Associate in Arts diploma (with Highest Distinction) from St. Paul’s College of Manila, and her Bachelor of Arts (BA, Summa Cum Laude), also from St. Paul’s Manila. She was also a Summa Cum Laude when she finished her Bachelor of Science in Education degree. She took up studies in Theatre and Communication Arts under a Fulbright Hays scholarship at the University of New York in Albany. Under a John D. Rockefeller 111 Fund Scholarship, Cecile earned her Master of Arts at the Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas; Repertory Theatre Studies at Dallas Theatre Center.

Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, April 22, go to Asia’s Songbird Ms. Regine Velasquez, Leonor Caparas, Regina Patricia “China” Cojuangco, Vicky Lapena, Randy Padiernos, Freddie Mañalac, April Rose Lina, Aiah Soliman, Marc Hanzel Dionela PANEHAI President Engr. Alex P. Coronacion and Linda Tan…