'She's 93 years young!'

She's elegant, gracious and still charming as ever. Gloria Esteban is a true-blue lady of Negros, whose accomplishments are a source of admiration and wonder to those who know her. There was a huge crowd of family, friends and admirers who attended her grand 93rd birthday celebration which was held recently. The guest list read like a who's who with her old allies from politics, civic clubs, religious and charitable organizations, etc, who came dressed to the nines for their beloved Gloria. The afternoon rains had stopped and a cool breeze fanned the guests who opted to enjoy the evening al fresco in the sprawling garden under the stars.

Inside the mansion, Gloria, looking glamorous as ever in her fiery red gown and glittering diamonds and pearls, was greeted by everyone with beso-beso y abrazo. On hand to help her welcome her well-wishers were her children and grandchildren. During the mass, Fr. Greg Patino, gave a very inspiring homily extolling the virtues of the birthday celebrator, who is known to be a philanthropist and a dynamic civic leader. He led the crowd in singing a rousing, "Happy Birthday" amidst cheers and applause.

There were two long buffet tables (indoor and outdoor), loaded with scrumptious delights that had guests coming back for more. A triple-tiered red cake (from her kids) and a double-tiered pink cake (from her admirers) drew everyone's attention. The DMI (Daughters of Mary Immaculate) group performed a special dance number, "Pinoy Ako Pinoy", which brought the house down. When the live band began their numbers, guests enjoyed ballroom dancing until the wee hours. The celebrator had a rollicking time watching her friends display their terpsichorean skills on the dance floor (was she wishing she could dance along with them?). Anyway, a good time was had by all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR
DEAR GLORIA ESTEBAN!

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This week, I had a ball watching the fantastic movies showing in town. My good friend Perla Kuhn had given me the book which I thoroughly enjoyed. The movie brought it all to life - the scenery, the costumes and the characters in living color! My friends have fallen in love with Ken Watanabe, who was great in "The Last Samurai", but is absolutely incredible in Memoirs (sigh! sigh!).

Another thought-provoking movie is "Brokeback Mountain", which is now the talk of the Hollywood scene. Director Ang Lee certainly deserves to win the Oscar Award as best director. The love scenes between the two male leads simply leave you gasping for breath!*