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Regine
Plays the Alphabet Game
CONVERSATIONS with Ricky Lo
posted:05.04.03
At thirtysomething (she turned a year wiser last April 22, a
Taurean), Regine Velasquez should be seriously thinking about
settling down, right?
Wrong, exclaimed Regine.
"I don’t even have a boyfriend yet!"
Her father/mentor/protector, Mang Gerry, is worried, eager as he is
to have a grandson from Regine who, friends surmise, might end up,
horrors, a spinster!
"She should have a child to whom she can pass down her talent,"
added Mang Gerry who is the Galatea to Regine’s Pygmalion, the wind
beneath Regine’s wings, the original music man who groomed Regine
from the time she was a toddler to now that she’s a superstar,
Asia’s Songbird no less.
Unperturbed by the apprehension of people close to her about her
lovelife, Regine blithely goes on with what she loves doing most –
singing. She and Martin Nievera have just completed a successful
U.S. concert tour called The 2003 Martin/Regine World Concert Tour
which was staged Friday night at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu and
will be mounted at the Araneta Coliseum on May 9 and 10, Friday and
Saturday (8:30 p.m.) by the Maxi-Media (for inquiries, call 551-7777
or 551-8999).
She has also just launched the soundtrack of her new starrer with
Christopher de Leon, Pangarap Ko ang Ibigin Ka, which is Viva Films’
entry to the Manila Filmfest next month; and she’s looking forward
to more concerts abroad.
"See? How can I have time for love?" said Regine. "God has given me
this gift (of music) so I might as well use it to the fullest."
In answer to insistent request from readers, Conversations is
letting Regine play the "alphabet game." Find out how much more
Regine reveals of her already over-exposed life.
A – Ariel (Rivera, her first "serious" boyfriend), of course! I have
nothing but beautiful memories of him. He was very nice to me, a
perfect gentleman. I’m happy for him. We’re planning to have a
concert together in September. Angels. Yes, I collect angels. My
favorite is Gabriel. I’m convinced that I’ve been saved by an angel
in several instances. I’m accident-prone, you know. People wouldn’t
believe that I would come out of an accident with hardly a scratch,
making them wonder, "Imposible namang hindi ka nasaktan doon!"
B – Boyet (Christopher de Leon), my leading man in my new movie,
(Viva Films’ Manila Filmfest entry) Pangarap Ko ang Ibigin Ka. He
was my very first leading man (in Wanted: Perfect Mother). It’s nice
to work with him again; ang dami kong napupulot na acting tips sa
kanya. Boyet loves to share his "secrets" sa pag-arte. Bags. Besides
angels, I collect bags. I have dozens and dozens of them! I don’t
know kung ano’ng mayroon sa bags kaya karamihan sa mga girls mahilig
sa bags. Louis Vuitton bags are my favorites.
C – Cacai (her sister). No, there’s no sibling rivalry between us.
Both her daughters (with husband Raul Mitra, a musical director),
Hannah and Julia, are my godchildren. Para walang inggitan, di ba?
So that when they grow up, walang magsasabing, "How come Tita Regine
is only my tita and not my ninang?" Cacai is one of my best friends
– the very first friend whom I really, really trusted. Kapatid ko
na, best friend ko pa.
D – Deca (her other sister who’s working with her), also my close
friend. And Diane, another sister of mine.
E – Ecstasy? I haven’t tried it and I don’t think I ever will.
Exercise. I’m looking for a trainer. I’m slim, all right, but I’m
somewhat flabby, so I need to exercise. Marami akong muscles na
hindi nagagamit. The only problem is that I get tired very easily. I
want to try Pilates one of these days.
F – Fears? I don’t have any. Before, takot akong magka-giyera. Now,
there’s war na nga. Losing my voice? No, I don’t have such fear.
Ending up a spinster? Wala rin. My fears revolve around my family,
not myself. If I lose my voice, eh, di huwag nang kumanta! That’s my
attitude. Frustrations? I have some but, as in fears, I don’t dwell
on them.
G – My father, (Mang) Gerry, who else? He’s my security blanket. And
vice-versa. What’s the best lesson that I learned from him? His
music. Galing ’yon sa kanya, eh. He sings, baka hindi n’yo alam!
That’s how he and my mother met. Yes, it’s true that when I was a
kid, my father would give me training in voice on the beach. Doon
ako nagvo-vocalize. At that time, I didn’t even know na
training-training na ’yon. We were just swimming (in Leyte where her
mother came from) at pakanta-kanta kaming dalawa. Training na pala
’yon! What many people don’t know is that my father and I argue a
lot. In our family, we are encouraged to speak up but we do it still
with respect for our parents. God. I have a healthy relationship
with God; I talk to Him everywhere I go – talk as in talk, just like
in a conversation. Gossip. How do I deal with gossip? I let it into
one ear and let it out of the other ear. What’s the worst gossip
ever spread about me? That I’m an adopted daughter? No, not that;
it’s not true. It’s not gossip but unfair criticism of my
performance. You know, ’yon bang critics who are only out to
fault-find, ’yung nang-o-okray lang talaga. If the criticism is
okay, written by somebody na talagang marunong, it’s all okay with
me.
H – Heartbreak. How do I deal with heartbreak? I cry and cry and
then I’m all right again. Then, I move on. I don’t run away from a
heartbreak or from a problem – I confront it. I don’t want to get
stuck; I move on. Hero-worship? I don’t. I develop a crush on this
or that actor but that’s the farthest it goes. Crush-crush lang. I
worship only one Being...God. As far as I’m concerned, nobody is
worthy of being worshipped or being put up as a hero or an idol but
God.
I – What is my inspiration? A lot of things inspire me. When I hear
a song over the radio, I get inspired and I call up Ogie (Alcasid),
"Please, gawan mo ako ng ganitong kanta!" When I watch a beautiful
movie, I also get inspired. I am inspired by my mom, my dad, my
sisters, my brother and my fans. I may be too busy but I always have
time to read fan mails, although I must admit that I don’t have
enough time to answer all of them. Nakakatuwa ang mga letters nila!
Am I impulsive? No, I’m not. I’m a thinker. I think 10 times before
I take action. Even when I feel bad about somebody, I think long and
hard before I say anything about him. Niri-rehearse ko pa ang
sasabihin ko. I believe that words are very powerful. They can break
a person’s heart or they can inspire somebody. Once spoken, a
hurting word lingers forever. I’m not perfect but as much as
possible, as long as I can help it, I want to use words properly and
carefully. Ideal man. I must admit that I’m choosy; pihikan ako.
Kasi naman, I always compare every guy to my father. You asked me
before what my ideal man is and I told you that he must have the
sense of humor of Martin Nievera, the face and body of Richard Gomez
and the personality of Ogie Alcasid. Mayroon bang ganoong guy? Kaya
nga ideal, eh!
J – Janno (Gibbs)? Honestly? I miss him. I hope that he’d come back
to S.O.P. soon (After a recent incident where Janno’s wife, Bing
Loyzaga, bumped heads with Regine and other S.O.P. hosts – RFL). Was
there ever anything romantic between Janno and me? Nothing. We’re
just the best of friends. (Asked what she had to say about Bing,
Regine simply said, "No comment!" – RFL).
K – What’s the key to my heart? Simple: Talk to me. I don’t know why
most of the guys refuse to talk to me; they don’t even want to come
near me! Are they intimidated? Why naman? I don’t bite. I guess they
are intimidated because they don’t really know me. The truth is that
I’m very cheap – I mean, mababaw ang kaligayahan ko. I’m easy to
please. But beware, complicated ang personality ko. I’m very
complex. I’m not easy to read; hindi ako madaling basahin. But once
you "read" me right, okey na tayo.
L – Love, of course! I hope to find love soon. Maybe it’s just
around the corner. Yes, I once said that sex without love is just
lust. I’ll never do "it" without love. Anything naman that you do
without love is boring, 'di ba?
M – My Mother (Teresita). She’s funny ... she’s so funny! May
kuwento ako sa’yo. One morning I woke up to my mother’s yelling
downstairs. She was screaming I thought at somebody. Nagmumura ang
Nanay ko; may Ariel na pinagmumura. At that time, Ariel and I had
just broken up. My mother was shouting, "Layas, Ariel, layas!
Lumabas ka dito, lumabas ka dito!" I was scared. I thought Ariel
dropped by and my mother was driving him away. I went downstairs and
guess who my mother was driving away – our pet pig. ’Yung baboy
namin. Ariel ang tawag niya sa baboy namin. O, 'di ba funny ang
Nanay ko? (Her mother has several other pet pigs but not one of them
is named Gelli. – RFL). One time naman, my mother talked to me as
soon as I woke up, "’te, kailangan bumili tayo ng intercon." I said,
"Ha!?! Are they now selling the Intercon?" Sabi niya, "Yes, we have
to buy an intercon!" Laging excited ’yon, eh. So I asked again,
"Bakit, Ma, kaya na ba natin bumili ngayon ng hotel?" And she said,
"Hindi! ’Yung ganoon – hello-hello!" She meant, of course, intercom.
O, 'di ba funny ang Nanay ko? Money? No, it’s not the be-all and
end-all. You should enjoy your money. The reason why I went into
showbiz was to make money so I’d be able to send my siblings to
school and I was able to do that. Now, money for me is, ano lang,
something to be enjoyed. Of course, you save some. I don’t let money
rule my life.
N – Nothing. I would be happy to just do nothing. That would be
nice. If I had one whole day just to do nothing, I would spend it
reading, preferably a book of poems by Pablo Neruda, my favorite
poet. No, I don’t write poems; I just love to read them. I find
Neruda’s poems very touching, talagang naiiyak ako! I would also
probably study painting. I could spend the day doing a lot of things
if I were given one day to do nothing - I mean, no work.
O – Obsessed . . . Yes, I’m obsessed with my skin. I have very
sensitive skin. Ma-rub lang ng konti sa rough surface dumudugo
kaagad ’yan. But I do scrub myself once a week. I should go to a spa
for it but I don’t have the time. So I do it myself at home.
P – Painting. I really want to go back to school to study painting.
And, yes, Paris, my favorite city. If ever, I want to study painting
in Paris which was where I did an album with Michel Legrand (With
whom she did a concert last February at the PICC. – RFL). I’m just
saving for a property that I want to buy. After that, I’ll save
again and study painting in Paris even for only six months.
Q – Q is for Queen. Regine means queen (Her real name is Chona. –
RFL). Feeling ko talaga royal blood ako, eh! (Adding,
tongue-in-cheek) Box-office queen, remember? Questions. There are
many questions in my life that I haven’t found the answers to. But
you know what I do? It’s like a game for me. When a question pops in
my mind, I try my best to find the answer to it. I don’t want to
leave it a question forever. I have to find an answer. But then, not
every question has an answer, 'di ba?
R – Recreation . . . Sex? Oops! I’m sorry! Mali yata ang takbo ng
utak ko ngayon. Recreation pala ’yon. For relaxation, I watch DVDs
and, every now and then, watch movies in the moviehouse. I listen to
music – a lot!
S – Sex? I have no idea about that . . . none at all! So how do I
portray sex in my movies? Luckily, I don’t have to do it – not even
a simulated sex act – but only tender kissing and some hugging. Yes,
I believe in the existence of the soul. Otherwise, life loses its
meaning. It’s the essence of everything, isn’t it? The soul, the
life hereafter. Even our faith in God has something to do with the
soul - you know, when you die, you hope and pray that your soul will
go to heaven. If you don’t believe in the soul, doesn’t it mean that
you don’t believe in God? Now, what’s my idea of heaven? It’s
everything that’s wonderful - gold and diamonds, and sweets you can
eat to your heart’s content without gaining weight . . .being
forever beautiful and smart and funny. That‘s heaven for me. Ang
babaw, ’no? Now, what is the Song of My Life? Butterfly (by Mariah
Carey). It‘s not really about my life; I like it because it‘s about
letting go. One line goes: Spread your wings and prepare to fly, for
you have become a butterfly.
T – Truth? I want to believe in the truth but in this kind of
business you rarely hear the truth. Do I always tell the truth? Not
all the time. At least, I’m truthful, sinasabi ko ang totoo na
nagsisinungaling din ako kung minsan.
U – "Untrusting." I must admit that I am not the trusting type; I
don’t easily trust a person, it takes time for me to trust a person.
But once you have my trust, nandiyan na ’yan forever - unless you
betray me.
V – Values. Those are the most valuable things that I’ve learned
from my parents – values. My mom is conservative while my dad is
open-minded, very liberal; I’m a cross between them. Tamang-tama ang
mixture. In our family, we children are encouraged to speak up,
without naman sounding disrespectful. When my mom or my dad feels
bad about me, he/she tells me - and vice-versa. Vain? No, I’m not
vain at all, although I pamper myself by scrubbing my body and
applying all sorts of lotions. That’s not being vain, is it?
W – War. As I was saying, in war nobody emerges a winner; everybody
is a loser. Winner? Yes, I feel like a winner all the way, even if
my lovelife is zero. Naman! Ang dami-dami kong blessings para
mag-complain dahil lang wala akong lovelife. Wisdom. It comes with
age, doesn‘t it? When I was younger, I realized that I had more
insecurities. Ngayon, no more. I’m more confident with myself.
X – Mayroon akong isang "X" – you know who! X-rated films? No, I
don’t watch them.
Y – Youth. Like everybody else, I’m a bit afraid but not really
worried about losing it. Everybody grows old anyway, so why worry?
Why be afraid?
Z – Zoo, what else? I want to go to the zoo one of these days. I
haven’t been there for a long, long time. Is the zebra still there?
Source:Philstar.com
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