Backroom talents in ABS-CBN’s ‘Pasion de Amor’

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ABS-CBN’s new show Pasion de Amor features two new faces: former varsity athlete turned aspiring actor and model Benj Bolivar, and Century Tuna Superbods grand winner Mauro ‘Maui’ Lumba, who join the cast of the sizzling primetime drama that airs right before TV Patrol.

Pasion de Amor, which is directed by Eric Quizon and premiered last June 1 on the Kapamilya network,is the story of love and revenge between two sets of siblings, the Samonte brothers (played by Joseph Marco, Ejay Falcon and Jake Cuenca) and the Elizondo sisters (Ellen Adarna, Arci Munoz and Coleen Garcia).

The original was first aired in 2007 and featured Mexican superstar Mario Cimarro in the lead role. In this currently-airing ‘Filipinized’ version, Benj plays the best friend and co-worker of Joseph Marco’s character.

Benj Bolivar

“The story is, I met him at this bar called Armada na owned by the family ng mga Elizondo sisters. Si Joseph, nag-applydoon. Ako ang naging best friend niya. Matagal na ako dun sa bar, kaya marami akong alam na family secrets ng magkakapatid.”

The show is Benj’s first acting assignment since Moon of Desire, which was almost a year ago. Benj was surprised when he got the callback from the show’s staff.

“Nag-audition ako, nu’ng nagpa-go-see sila ilang months ago,” he says. “Di ko nga inexpect ang callback,hanggang tinawagan nila ako at sinabing na-shortlist daw ako.”

He’s been learning a lot from his co-stars, especially Joseph Marco who, like him started out modeling until he got his big break in showbiz. He’s been advising Benj to be patient with the pace of his career.

“Ine-encourage niya ako lagi, 'wag daw ako maiinip, and to just take it one day at a time daw.” - says Benj.

But Benj’s bigger goal is to eventually make his mark as an indie film actor. He dreams of doing gritty character roles like the one done by his idol, Hollywood actor Michael McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club, the Oscar-nominated film about a Texas electrician who suffers from AIDS.

According to Benj, he’d be willing to do any role or character—he’s even open to gay roles or play a serial killer—as long as what he’s asked to do is essential to the story.

“Okay lang naman sa akin, lalo kung kinakailangan talaga.”

Meanwhile, Century Tuna Superbod winner Mauro ‘Maui’ Lumba also wants to try doing character roles, and he finally gets his chance with his role in Pasion de Amor, where he plays akontrabida-type role as one of several ‘goons’ employed by the Samonte brothers as they exact revenge for the death of their sister. It might not be a major role or guarantee a lot of screen exposure, but as far as Maui is concerned, it’s a step in the right direction, acting-wise. It’s what every beginner or newbie like him dreams of.

Of course, there are still many things he longs to do to prove that there is room for him in this business. 

“Mahilig talaga ako sa mga action films and roles, actually, ang dream ko, maging action star. Gusto ko sana buhayin ‘yung action genre ulit” - says Maui, who longs to prove that there’s more to him than just his good looks and hunky body. 

Maui’s goal—aside from being an ambassador for health and wellness—is to prove that he is different and has the potential to stand out from among all the newcomers now angling for a spot in showbiz. Says Maui:

“I just want to be different just by being consistent, but ‘yung roles sana, iba-iba and not always the same. I want to be challenged in different ways. Gusto ko din na ‘yung look ko, maiba sa ibang mga artista.”

Like Benj, he’s willing to go out on a limb and take a risk with his roles and assignments. He’s excited to see what the future holds. 

“I really want to be an actor,” says Maui.

He feels that all the guidance he’s received, the workshops and training he’s attended will really help him achieve his goal.

 “Kailangan lang siyempre, tiyaga, and to be patient and believe in yourself, things will happen at the right time,” - he says philosphically.

Pasion De Amor, which premiered last June 1 before TV Patrol, is the fourth telenovela locally adapted by ABS-CBN following the successful remakes of Rubi and popular Thalia-seryes Maria La Del Barrioand Maria Mercedes. It also stars Aubrey Miles, Michelle Madrigal, Ahron Villena, Daria Ramirez, Alex Castro, AJ Dee, Ron Morales, Zeppi Borromeo, Ashley Rivera, Benj Bolivar, Nathaniel Britt, Mauro Lumba and June Macasaet.

The Nest Dining in the Sky June Specials

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Give yourself a different kind of treat as you spoil yourself at The Nest Dining in the Sky, an al fresco dining perched at the 31st floor of Vivere Hotel & Resorts, as it offers two (2) special items for the month of June.

Savor the incredible flavor of The Nest’s “BBQ Beef Rib Fingers”. Immersed in a special sweet & spicy barbecue sauce for a rich, hearty flavor, grilled to perfection, served with classic twice baked potato and homemade coleslaw for Php715/nett. 

Feed your inner child with their very own kind of “Flourless Chocolate Cake,” a luscious, fudgy, gluten-free chocolate cake baked to perfection, coupled with a sweet symphony of homemade cheesecake ice cream. Taste this confectionary masterpiece for Php275/nett.

Vivere Hotel & Resorts is located at 5102 Bridgeway Avenue, Filinvest Ciy, Alabang Muntinlupa City 1781 Philippines. Log on to www.viverehotel.com.ph or call 771-7777, for inquiries and reservations; Like and Follow @thenestalabang for regular updates.

Fruit refreshments this summer and with sexy ingredients all in one juice

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A refreshing drink is all we need to keep us cool, calm and collected the rest of the season especially this summer. It is even better if it comes with health-related benefits like energy boosting, anti-aging, whitening, and losing excess weight.

One Juice has three kinds of refreshments that not only offer a cool respite from this oppressing summer heat but also a healthy alternative to sodas and other sugary drinks. It depends on what you need.

One Juice aims to provide consumers with options wherein they will embrace a healthy, sexy lifestyle without having to go under the knife.

One Juice Guava Tea has ingredients that help keep your skin youthful and glowing.

Guava is known to help improve skin texture and elasticity. Glutathione is believed to help promote skin whitening. Collagen can help delay the signs of aging. Black tea, which is rich in anti-oxidants, helps increase your energy and metabolism. It contains stevia as well which is known to be an organic sugar substitute with zero calories.

One Juice Guyabano boasts of a unique blend of fruits and organic ingredients that will help you lose weight while staying healthy. Guyabano is said to aid the body in losing weight and increasing energy level. Mangosteen is another popular ingredient that helps you lose weight and reduce cholesterol. Wheat grass helps suppress appetite and improve digestion. Barley grass is believed to help boost immune system and balance the body's acid level. Spirulina is a dietary supplement that helps in weight loss.

One Juice Green Tea helps promote weight loss and boost energy with ingredients like green tea, a known antioxidant that helps you lose weight and reduce your risk to cancer; garcinia cambogia, which is said to be a fat blocker and appetite suppressant; and L-Carnitine, which can help increase metabolism, boost energy and lose weight.

Exclusively distributed by One Lightning Corporation. For more information, call +632 226 4111.

Tesoros promotes aspiring and inspiring local artisans through “Disenyo at Talento” series at Casa San Pablo Clay Storytellers

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Tesoros brings out the best that the Filipino can do as Tesoro's helped in the evolution of our nation’s identity, our sense of nationhood for in our stores are the products of our people.

Tesoro’s has helped preserve our country's indigenous art-forms, as we learned new skills from our colonizers and made it our own. Tesoro showcase these crafts of embroidery, fiber and woodworks, features in Tesoro's stores are the images that resonate with “Filipino-ness.”

Casa San Pablo Clay Storytellers featured during initial salvo 

The arts have been known as the greatest representations of society’s culture and traditions – from traditional to the contemporary; not just the heritage but also the modern. Showcasing aspiring and inspiring craftsmen who reflect the fine Hispano-Asian legacy of the Philippines through various works of art, Tesoro’s, the provider of quality local treasures, has launched the event series “Disenyo At Talento.”

“Our country is blessed with so many great artists,” pronounced the Group CEO of Tesoro’s, Maria Isabel “Beng” Tesoro. “Being one of the leading promoters of our local talents, we thought to launch ‘Disenyo at Talento’ to shed light on both Filipino craftsmanship and the constantly thriving art scene in the country,” she added.

For the first salvo, the store has featured the Casa San Pablo Clay Storytellers, crafted by former corporate publishing executive-turned-clay artisan An Mercado Alcantara. To formalize the start of the series, a ribbon-cutting has been conducted by Department of Tourism Regional Director Rebecca Labit and President of Philippine Tour Operators Association Cesar Cruz. 

“My creations are mostly inspired by the culture and the people of my husband’s birthplace San Pablo, Laguna – a place I have fallen in love with,” shared An. Her favorite subjects include the Virgin Mary in several incarnations, including Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Lipa, and Our Lady of Sorrows of Turumba. She surrounds these main subjects with storytellers and tablets featuring festive processions and villagers.

An’s friends and growing number of clients admire the positivity that Casa San Pablo dolls have always radiated. Asked about the secret behind the beauty and expressiveness of her storyteller dolls, An said, “My hands are my main tools. Although I have clay shapers and precision dentist’s tools – I asked a dentist friend to buy me a set – there’s nothing like our palms and fingers to get the shape we want.” 

These hand-pinched and hand-painted terracotta dolls are regularly available at Casa San Pablo,a bed and breakfast in a still genteel family compound in San Pablo City run by An and her husband, art collector and hobby enthusiast Boots Alcantara. Casa San Pablo is also known a creativity hub, where people can come to re-charge and rekindle their imagination.

Part of the total sales from Casa San Pablo Clay Story Tellers at the “Disenyo At Talento” event series will be donated to San Francisco Terraces Orphanage, one of two orphanages under the auspices of the San Pablo City government's DSWD office. “We chose this organization because our clay works celebrate the special bond between storytellers and children. We hope to help feed their bodies and their minds with food and stories that will, hopefully, help them experience a better world,” shared An.

The institution houses 32 orphans, at least 5 of whom are mentally challenged. Many of these children are survivors of abuse, parental neglect or family abandonment. 

All of the orphans share only 2 rooms and 2 toilets in a house that is in dire need of repair. The government’s financial monthly subsidy for the institution is currently not enough to cover the subsistence of these children.

From Tesoro’s Makati branch, the Casa San Pablo Clay Storytellers will be available across all Tesoro’s outlets nationwide starting June 2015. 

“By including the works of the chosen local artists in our stores, we hope that more and more people can appreciate the genuine creativity of Filipinos. 

It is also rewarding that this event allows us and the artists to reach out to our friends in need through art for a cause,” said Beng Tesoro.

For more details about the event, visit http://tesoros.ph/ or Tesoro’s official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tesoroshandicrafts?fref=ts. 

Tesoros Philippine Handicraft Concept Stores

Makati: 1016 A. Arnaiz Avenue 887-6285, 887-6997

Photos: Arts & Travel Magazine

With Concepcion Midea’s French Door refrigerator, less trips to the grocery

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As we call Midea French door refrigerator the “Party” Refrigerator as it is built to store a huge amount of food and drinks fit to throw a big party to celebrate and entertain in our homes.

Concepcion Midea, Inc. had this in mind when it designed its French Door refrigerator, a roomy piece of appliance with enough space to store all your groceries.

But you cannot be too sure about the quality of food on warm sunny days. In homes with small fridges, this means shopping for groceries often to ensure the freshness of produce. Rather than spending quality time to bond with your family, you find yourself burdened with the task of shopping for food regularly.

The French Door is a modern piece of equipment that would transform any kitchen. Its energy-saving features make it a smart choice for newlyweds and young professionals who are just starting on their own.

“This refrigerator has a no-frost feature that makes it easy to maintain and hassle-free of operate. Rather than spend your weekend defrosting your fridge just to keep it in tip-top condition, it stays clean and free from frost for its lifetime,” Philip Trapaga, Midea ‘s General Manager, explains.

Likewise, maintaining a cool dry environment in your fridge is important to keep food fresh. Its high moisture retention technology ensures an optimal level of humidity inside the fridge keeping food fresh for longer periods of time.

This refrigerator has a four-door design, making it one of the roomiest in the market. You can easily keep fruits and vegetables separate from the chiller and freezer compartment for optimum taste and freshness. Stored items are within easy reach with its wide door-shelf feature. The temperature of each compartment is independently controlled in order to achieve optimum freshness of the food.

This unit comes with a number of energy-efficient features to ensure that it is always at optimum performance. “The dual-cycle and dual air-cooled refrigeration system allows cool air to circulate freely within the unit, reaching food items stored at the back of the ref,” Philip adds.

It also has an electronic LED/LCD display that lets you monitor and control the temperature inside.

With Midea French Door’s silver-ion de-germing feature called the Photosynthetic Preservation Technology, to prevent food rot while the fresh ultraviolet light from the Photocatalytic degradation kills bacteria that might find its way into your fridge.

On top of all these, it also has a 3D stereo LED light to illuminate all parts of the refrigerator mimicking the sun’s rays thus keeping the vegetables and fruits fresh. As well as an automatic icemaker that removes the chore of always putting water in the ice cube trays of your freezer.

With all these space-saving and energy-efficient features, Midea’sFrench Door refrigerator lets you experience the same quality of high-end refrigerators but at a reasonable price.

Indeed, live different, choose different.

About Midea

Midea is one of the world's largest producers of consumer appliances. Established in 1968, Midea has consistently strived to make the lives of its consumers easier with their line of innovative products. On 2014, Midea Global partnered with Concepcion Industrial Corporation to bring the brand closer to Filipinos. For more information on Midea, please call +632-850-9888 or visit www.midea.com.ph