Councilor Winnie Castelo and wife Precious Hipolito-Castelo

Quezon City Councilor Winnie Castelo has recently filed a city council resolution calling for the renaming of San Francisco Del Monte Ave. in Quezon City as Fernando Poe, Jr. Ave. in memory of the undisputed King of Philippine Movies whose 5th death anniversary falls on Dec. 14.

Councilor Castelo’s wife Precious Hipolito-Castelo is IBC 13 newscaster and former Famas Best Child Actress winner. Both Winnie and Precious said they are lifelong admirers of FPJ not only as outstanding movie star, director and producer, but also as a humble and honorable civic leader who for many years assisted numerous people without announcing his donations and help. The main office of his former FPJ Productions is located along Del Monte Avenue and has already been a longtime landmark and attraction in the area.

Winnie and Precious Castelo have for years undertaken numerous socio-civic, cultural, livelihood, medical and educational projects to improve the quality of life in Quezon City. Last Nov. 16 in Congress, Precious organized an art exhibit of 100 paintings by top Filipino artists to raise funds for constructing a day-care center for the poor children of Payatas, Quezon City. Precious is the executive director of the Helping Hands Foundation, which organized the event. The Castelos are committed to help promote the social, cultural, moral and economic development of Quezon City.

The couple also want to support the continued development of Quezon City as “City of the Stars” and the Philippines’ entertainment hub, being host city to all major TV stations from GMA-7, ABS-CBN 2, TV 5, IBC 13, RPN 9, NBN 4 and others. The major movie producers are also based in Quezon City.

Councilor Castelo said: “The entertainment industry is not only an important part of the business sector and a source of enjoyment for the public, but the creation of more good movies, TV shows, music and other entertainment can contribute so much to the socio-economic progress of the Philippines.”

Ayen wins Awit Award Best Actress for ‘Atang’

Singer, actress Ayen Munji-Laurel believes that winning Best Actress at the recent Aliw Awards is God’s affirmation that she is on the right path. “There are so many things we want to do in life but rarely do we know for sure which one has God’s go-signal. This award is Him giving me the thumbs up. I feel so blessed,” says she.

Ayen won the Aliw trophy for playing the character Guia Almonte in Floy Quintos’ “Atang,” a Dulaang UP production. She also takes pride over the fact that her husband, Franco Laurel clinched the same Best Actor award for his role in “Isang Panaginip na Fili” where he, in turn, played the role of Jose Rizal. Guia in “Atang” is an actress who seeks out National Artist Atang de la Rama in Tondo to get her approval to have her life story played out on the big screen. Before consenting, Atang stripped bare Guia both as an artist and as a person; a process which Ayen said challenged her in a way that no role she had taken on had ever done.

“It was like a movie in a play… and like portraying dual roles because my character underwent so many transitions not only physically but through several emotional planes. Andyan yung umiiyak ako habang kumakanta, then I have to be elated naman the next moment, then I have to play a young Atang… it really was a role of a lifetime,” Ayen shares.

She admits balking at accepting the role when it was first offered to her. “I told Floy, ‘Are you sure you want me to do it?’ But looking back, I think I was actually addressing the question to myself. ‘Ayen, do you want to do this? Can you do this?’ Atang, being the first superstar that the country has had, and who eventually became a National Artist, is a person that every Filipino is protective of. I knew I had to study and research on her life story studiously in order to do the job well. And yet even if I do my homework – even if I give it my all – there would always be that question, ‘Was it enough?’ Because it’s Atang here that we are talking about. The Atang de la Rama.”

More than enough, judging by the Aliw Award trophy and audience reception. The play that ran from October 2008 to July 2009 was a runaway hit. That if some people doubted Ayen’s acting abilities before, then clearly, they had made a huge mistake.

Ayen says that the music in “Atang” was a highlight in itself. “Even though I had training in singing, having studied Voice in UST and then Theater Arts in UP, I still had to take refresher courses in voice. Ayokong mapahiya. I haven’t been doing classical singing when I accepted the role. Pop, Broadway, ballads, sure, I sing those regularly. But Kundiman requires a different kind of placement. Malayo.”

It came to the point when Ayen was taking advanced voice lessons while rehearsing for the show. “And I thought, ‘Pano kung magkasakit ako?’ No, I can’t afford that. I really had to build my stamina – or fail,” says she.

It was exhausting, indeed, singing songs such as “Bituing Marikit,” “Nabasag Ang Banga” and “Nasan Ka Irog;” more so because the spare accompaniment of violin, a cello and a piano will have exposed any vocal shortcoming but in the end, Ayen’s hard work paid off. “There was such a demand for ‘Atang’ that we kept on extending the run. Floy couldn’t believe it and neither did I. ‘Atang’ for me wasn’t just a job or a success. It was an experience.”

The musical’s run is over but Ayen says she will bring ‘Atang’ with her forever. “I learned a lot from Atang’s life. I could relate to her. I know what it means to want approval. To be in that place when you must choose what’s really important to you. To fall and have the courage to stand up and brush aside your failures so you could meet life head on from a stronger, wiser place.”

That’s why Ayen means every word when she says she invested “blood, sweat and tears” in fleshing out “Atang.” Because she did. She really did. And somewhere out there, a Filipino National Artist looks down and nods her head in approval and respect.

Imelda Papin and Melissa Manchester at the PICC on Dec. 19

Two great voices from my youthful past will make a comeback on the concert scene as the country’s jukebox queen Imelda Papin and her foreign counterpart Melissa Manchester mounts a back-to-back concert at the PICC on Dec. 19.

The idea came about after the tandem first hit it off in a show in Las Vegas recently. Melissa is known for her hits “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” “Looking Through The Eyes of Love,” “The Promise,” “I’ll Never Say Goodbye,” “Come In From The Rain,” “Whenever I Call You Friend,” “You Should Hear How She Talks About You,” and “Midnight Blue.”

Tickets to the show are available at all SM Ticketnet and Ticketworld and Viva Concerts and Events at www.viva.com.ph.