Willie with Pokwang, Mariel, and the dancers

SEATTLE – Another very successful “Wowowillie” show was staged on Sept. 13 by Willie Revillame and his group, this time at the Tacoma Dome in this city where the various cities in Canada and California, despite a rumor saying that some quarters were boycotting the show because many Filipinos in Seattle are pro-Aquino and not happy over Willie’s reported “sin of disrespect” during Pres. Cory Aquino’s funeral march when he stopped the footage from being aired on “Wowowee.”

But they came anyway and the Tacoma Dome was almost filled with wildly cheering and placard-bearing “Wowowee” fans and supporters. One placard that caught our attention and fancy was one that read “Willie, marry me parang awa mo na.” All throughout the lady did not put it down. Too bad she was a wee far away from Willie’s range of eyesight.

Willie and his group of co-hosts and performers – including Pokwang, Mariel Rodriguez, Anne Curtis, Owen and Bentong, Lito Camo, and creative director Edgar Mortiz, and of course the producers, Ms. Reynald Tapia and company – were so happy and delighted at the big turnout of spectators, all eager to be chosen participants in the “Bigatin” and “Willie of Fortune” segments. You should see how the ladies of all ages danced heartily to the tune of “Giling-Giling” just to attract Willie’s attention.

Local artists as curtain-raisers

The show started with performances by local artists: The Massive Monkeys, Ryan Cabigting with the Contagious dance group, Agnes Angara, the Kent Meridian High School group and Lugere Rington.

Then there was a dance intro by Lovely, Jen, Cha and Hope, followed by a dance showdown between Saicy and Luningning, and between them, the equally sexy and talented local dancers.

After the dance showdown, Willie, all in red, made his entrance to a rapturous welcome by the audience. He sang “Handa Na Ba Kayo?,” “Buksan Mo,” “Aalog-Alog,” “Dododo,” “Sayaw Darling,” “Rock N Rollin” and “Giling-Giling,” all compositions of Lito Camo, who also rendered several of his compositions, to the delight of the audience.

As always, Pokwang and Mariel’s “Hep Hep Hurray” portion was fun with 20 participants (including five American males married to Pinays). In the “Willie of Fortune” segment, a Visayan senior citizen received a free round-trip ticket to the Philippines, and an elderly lady who is without job at the moment also got a free trip to Guam, a gift from Willie, to visit her mother.

Pokwang’s comedy spot was always riotous, sending the audience rolling down the aisle so to speak. Her “Mommy Dionisia” act wherein she impersonated Manny Pacquiao’s beloved mother, was a big hit. It was preceded by the “Pasalog” segment of Willie, Luningning and Saicy.

Then it was Anne Curtis’ turn to do her “Lady GaGa medley” with the ASF, after which she and Willie did a duet of “Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang.”

Charice’s turn followed and she sang “Tayong Dalawa,” the theme song of “Kambal sa Uma,” and “Note to God,” her single in the US. The applause, expectedly, was thunderous.

In the last part of the show, Willie sang “Unang Pasko” and a few love songs with the audience. Closing numbers were “Cholesterol,” “Boom Tarat Tarat” and “Wowowee.”

A highlight of the show was the raffling off of a brand-new car, courtesy of Globe.

The day after the show, we proceeded to New York to visit family and relatives, while Willie went to San Francisco where most of his 36-entourage will catch their flight back to Manila (via Philippine Airlines). Willie was to stay behind for an interview with popular Canadian singer-composer David Foster who’s slated to do a US concert tour together with Charice Pempengco.

Willie will sing during his interview with David Foster and this will be shown in a forthcoming episode of “Wowowee.” He also intended to discuss with David the possibility of a back-to-back “Wowowee and David Foster” show in Los Angeles, CA next year. They hope to be able to get as special guests Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban among other guest performers of course. Willie will also be in Las Vegas in November and he might just have another show there, which will be his third in that entertainment capital of the world.

A prayer session before a show

One impressive practice of Willie is leading his group to a prayer session before every show, that even the young, award-winning actress Anne Curtis started doing also.

At their production meetings, Willie also imparted advices to his entourage, especially his staff and crew, for them to be prudent in spending their money. If they couldn’t avoid shopping, they should buy only the essentials, otherwise you might as well bring home your income for your family back home, he told them. Before they left for San Francisco en route to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Willie has given them their salaries so they could leave something behind for their families.

An hour tour of Seattle

Though we had a very limited time in Seattle, we (Aida Espiritu and me) had a wonderful experience, thanks to the Tabanda family (Fernin, Siony and their multi-talented daughter Tracy) who’re originally from San Vicente, Ilocos Sur and Macalong, Asingan, Pangasinan. The Tabanda couple are into the medical field by professions, but Fermin preferred to be in business and turned out to be a big success in it. In their garage we counted about eight cars, including a Jaguar, a Corvette and a vintage jeepney.

Tracy, on the other hand, although she is taking up a medical course called Health Information Technology, has been very much into the performing arts ever since she was four when she started playing the piano. In fact, she has joined competitions in London and Dublin, Ireland among other countries.

Tracy has also put up her own production company bearing her name and the last time, she produced Nora Aunor’s show in Seattle. It was successful enough she said. She plans to produce other shows for Filipino talents.

Anyway, Tracy toured us around the city for about an hour prior to lunch, a very sumptuous one, in the house of her aunt Marina and husband George. All the Palma siblings (also including Juanita, Dory, Priscilla and their only brother Boy) were there to welcome us.

It’s a good thing D’Platinum Productions booked us, the “Wowowillie” entourage at the Renaissance Hotel in the heart of Seattle where we were neighbors with the very impressive Seattle Public Library, an all-glass edifice. Tracy, in her bright red Corvette, drove around the Seattle Center where we got a good view of the Space Needle, Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum, Pacific Science Center, the Children’s Museum, the Seattle Opera, the International Fountain, and many more places of attraction. We also drove by the Waterfront, Seattle’s version of the Fisherman’s Warf in San Francisco.

To sum it up, we had a wonderful albeit short stay in Seattle.

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Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings on Sept. 18 go to Dr. Elizabeth Pizarro-Serrano, Eugene Allen Ocampo, Marites Y. Martinez-Lopez, Tessie Velasco Y. Guanzon, Nana de Rios, Tom Portillo, Cecille Cheng, Erika Markham, Janet Magistrado, Candy Alison, Joi Samal, Ma. Raufelle Reyes-Valles, Catherine Lara Victoriano, Richmond Francis Malvar, Marvin P. Serrano, Lourdes Choa, Valerie Honeylet Clariño, Mimi Jorge, Benjie Sese, MB’s Marita S. Gozum and entertainment writer/columnist Dondon Sermino… Belated b-day greetings to RJ Jimenez and Lucida Centeno Teodoro of Mariddon Connecticut, USA (Sept. 17). Happy wedding anniversary to New York-based Christopher and Geraldine Silan.