10 Things You Should Know About Michael V

The funny accidents in the life of Michael V

Michael V: His favorite impersonations? GMA, Ely Buendia and Mahal.

Every single colleague of Michael V’s that I asked described him as “brilliant.” He is not only a leading star and master of disguises, but also the creative director of the longest-running gag show in the country, Bubble Gang. He landed on the cover of Reader’s Digest Asia’s (being only the second Filipino, next to the late President Cory Aquino) “Humor Special” after having won the Best Comedy Performance Award at the Asian Television Awards for three consecutive years. He is a certified household name, endorsing all things wholesome from dishwashing liquid to donuts to milk. Here are 10 things you should know about Michael V. (Or is his name really “Michael V.”?)

1. The name Michael V came from Michael Jackson and Gary V, and his real name is Beethoven.

His father who was working in a construction company saw an album cover in the office that read “Beethoven.” Without realizing it was a surname, he swore that if he had a son, that would be his name. And that son happened to be Michael V. He quips, “I found it weird na pano niya naisip na idikit yung Beethoven sa Bunagan?” Michael V was born Beethoven del Valle Bunagan, and he recalls being called “Beth” as a kid, if not “Bet-ho-ben,” as people pronounced his name. It was in high school when he was given the nickname “Bitoy,” after he kept mimicking the kiddie character Bitoy that the late comedian Bentot played in the sitcom Iskul Bukol. When he entered show business, he and his manager Orly Ilacad had to think of a catchy screen name for his career as a rapper, and back then, Francis M. and Andrew E. were the biggest names. Orly asked him who his favorite artists were, and he answered that, internationally, it was Michael Jackson, and locally it was Gary V. “So they merged that, and I became Michael V.,” he says matter of factly.

2. He accidentally discovered his talent to impersonate people when he first tried using a cassette recorder.

“Na discover nung cousin ko na yung cassette tape niya pala yung pinatungan ko, nagalit siya sa kin,” he fondly recalls. He often watched comedians Gary Bautista and Willie Nepomuceno and was fascinated with how they created and impersonated voices and looks. He discovered the tape recorder, found out he could listen to his voice and keep tweaking it until he got it right. His favorite voice to do was that of an old man. “There was this time in grade school that we had a school play and I was cast as an old man. I did that, and masaya yung mga tao. Na-realize ko na ah, pwede pala ito pagkakitaan eventually.”

He joined many contests like a Boy George sing-alike contest in Student Canteen, a Menudo sing-alike contest on Big Bold Channel, and many other contests, but he says, “laging talo, wala yata akong napanalunan eh!”

3. Ogie Alcasid is one of his best friends, but they first met decades ago when Ogie was a judge in a rap contest who gave contestant Michael V. the lowest score, making him lose.

It was a contest in Eat Bulaga with fellow rapper Lady Dianne that paved the started his career. When they lost the grand finals, he recalls, “Sabi ko I will never rap again!” Lady Dianne was given a contract by Octo Arts despite losing the contest and he wasn’t. However, it was when she heard Maganda ang Piliin (which was Michael V.’s answer to Andrew E.’s Humanap ka ng Pangit) that she asked him for his demo tape, and by lucky accident, it was put into her pile of demo tapes given to Octo Arts. They heard Michael V.’s song, and signed him up shortly after.

Years later, they met again when they had to work together in a movie, and that’s where he reminded Ogie about the contest. They later laughed about it, came to be the best of friends (they’re even godparents to each other’s kids), and are now one of the best comedic tandems in the industry. He shares that “give and take” is the key to their successful partnership. “Kapag hyper siya, ako mababa, at kapag most of the time ako ang hyper, ang galing niya mag-complement.”

4. He was able to avoid being bullied back in school because he was the class clown. And all the bullies wanted to hang out with the funny guy.

“I’ve always been the class clown and parang walang nagto-top sa akin pagdating sa kalokohan,” he shares with a naughty grin as if back in school. He says that it was a good thing because there are many bullies in high school, and since they all liked being entertained, he became a part of their barkada. He attended high school at Manila Science and says that his early years were okay, but his junior year was pasang awa. He went to Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila for college and finished with a degree in mass communications.

5. Michael V. in numbers:

200-plus: Estimated number of characters he has portrayed and impersonated in his career. “I did this show before, Bitoy’s World, wherein I play all the characters. There are times that on one screen I play 13 characters sabay sabay.”

24: Number of years he has been doing gag and variety shows. Six years on Ready Get Set Go, two years on Tropang Trumpo, and 16 years (and counting) on Bubble Gang.

25: Age that he got married to his wife Carol. Michael V. is now 42.

15: Hours on average it takes to tape an episode of Bubble Gang

3,056,150: Number of views of the video Pickup Line Battle at Bubble Gang on YouTube. “Kahit corny yung joke o walang sense, minsan nasa delivery.”

6. On his first date with his wife Carol, he thinks he was able to impress her when he accidentally locked the keys inside his car, and he tinkered around until he managed to open the door.

They met in college through common friends but nothing special happened back then. It was years after when Carol called Michael V. to ask for a number of a certain classmate that they reconnected and hit it off. He says their first date was very memorable because during the previews, he recalls, “Pinakita yung trailer ng Medicine Man, at sabi ni Sean Connery, ‘It’s not as easy as losing your keys inside your car.’” At that moment, he realized his keys weren’t in his pocket and were probably inside the car! Without finishing the movie, they went back to the car, he got a piece of wire from the PVC pipe and skillfully unlocked the door. He also recalls another date at Star City where he invited her to ride the roller coaster, thinking that she’d get scared and hold on to him. “I forgot, flight stewardness nga pala siya,” he laughs.

Carol and Michael V. have four children: Milo, 17, a gadget enthusiast like him; Yani, 14, who is into music; Migo, 8, who is showing comedic tendencies; and May Paul, 3, their little princess.

6. Favorite characters played:

Impersonations:

1. GMA: “She would have to be the most popular.”

2. Ely Buendia: “Pag gumagawa ako ng spoof ng kanta nila, I make sure na pinapaalam muna.”

3. Mahal: “There was so much room for comedy. Yung challenge was paano namin maa-achieve yung look.”

Characters:

1. Junie Lee, the awkward reporter: “Parang siya yung other side of who I am. Kasi hindi ako kagaya ng mga kaibigan ko na sociable or mahilig chumika, pagka celebrity wala na, nahihiya na ako,” he reveals.

2. Mr. Assimo, the sarcastic, irritable man: “Yung punchline niya is ‘Hiyang hiya naman ako sa yo!’”

3. Angelina and Yaya, a bratty kid (played by Ogie) with her Visayan yaya (played by Michael V.): “Awareness lang dapat for the parents, eh nag-hit, tapos nagtuluy-tuloy na, at naging movie.”

7. His performance, he says, come 50 percent from the writers and 50 percent from him. “If you are going to be on cam to say it, might as well be part of it.”

He says that usually, the concept comes from him, and then the writers come in with their own ideas. Unlike other actors who act out the material given to them, he says that in his case, since it’s his concept, it has to be done a certain way. Sometimes he does an adlib while the cameras are rolling, to make the skit work.

When he is having a bad day, he says that if it is a problem concerning the family, he asks to be excused from work. “Siyempre family comes first. Unahin mo muna ayusin yun at pag natapos na yung problema, that’s the time you can work,” he reveals. When it’s a minor problem, he says that he just shrugs it off and “dun pumapasok yung pagiging artista.”

He has been with GMA Network for close to two decades now but has never signed an exclusive contract with them. “Ayoko lang yung pressure of being owned by someone. Over the years I’ve earned their trust and I am dedicated to my work.” He signs a contract per show. He shares that it would be nice to work with Mang Dolphy if given the opportunity, perhaps a movie with Joey de Leon, and says that at this point maybe a project with Vice Ganda. Michael V. looks up to Dolphy, Tito Vic and Joey, and the cast of Bad Bananas as comedians, but says that it’s his kids who make him laugh the most.

8. On what makes a hit: “It’s a certain feel, hindi ko alam paano ie-explain. But something with big potential like the way a person looks or speaks.”

When it comes to mimicking a personality or creating a character, he says that the key lies in the voice, the look, or the things that person does. He shares how they start from an idea, create a look for that certain character, create the voice, then the scene, then a whole sketch. “Pag sinulat mo, alam mo na kung papatok o hindi. And we have our staff and crew, pag natawa sila, alam mo nang maghi-hit.” He says that they try to avoid sensitive issues like politics and religion, and once had a really funny sketch on Bubble Gang that did not air because it was rated “X” by the MTRCB. (It was released on the show’s DVD version though.)

One of the most popular segments are the TV commercial spoofs, and advertising agencies consider it something of an honor when their ad is chosen to be parodied. Michael V. and Ogie are creatively behind this cult hit. How can he tell that an ad will make a good parody? “If it’s not being funny, it’s probably spoof-able.”

9. When his best friend Francis Magalona passed away, he got a tattoo. “It worked to my advantage kasi yung pain inside, hindi ko na ma-control.”

When he found out Francis was sick, he jokingly said that should anything bad happen, he would get a tattoo. When Francis passed away, he had a bittersweet dilemma of whether to get a tattoo or not. At the wake, randomly and out of nowhere, a man named Pido introduced himself to Michael V. and said that he was the tattoo artist of Francis. “Sabi ko, aling tattoo? He said, ‘yung three stars and a sun.’ That was it, I took it as a sign,” Michael V. reveals. He had his tattoo done in the Eat Bulaga studio that week itself. “From time to time I would burst into tears. Whenever I saw something that reminded me of Francis, I would lose my mind. Yung pain sa loob, na-transfer on the outside, which really helped a lot.” He says they were similar in so many ways, and he considered him like a brother. “Di ko nga ma-imagine kung anong gagawin ko kung hindi ko naging barkada si Francis. Ang laki ng impact niya in my personal life and career. Kaso wala na eh, everyone has to move on.”

10. For Michael V., a good life boils down to five things:

1. “If you love your God, you’re not gonna do anything stupid na kagagalitan niya.”

2. “If you love your wife, why would you want to hurt her?”

3. “If you love your kids, why would you wanna be someone na kaiinisan nila?”

4. “If you love your career or your job, you wouldn’t wanna mess it up.”

5. “If you love yourself, di mo gustong mag suffer ka eventually.”

On being known as a family man: “I take pride in that. There’s no secret, you just do the right thing. Ganun lang ka-simple.”

I arrive at his home for this interview and find him in his home’s lanai editing a video of him and Ogie on his laptop. In the middle of the interview, we hear a voice shouting, “Oy! Pare ko!” Only to find Ogie himself and friend Dingdong Avanzado walking and waving from the golf course right outside Michael V’s yard. (All that was left was the “Awwww” sound effect and it would’ve been a scene straight out of a sitcom!) Michael V., or Bitoy, or Beethoven, or Beth, or whatever you may want to call him, may not have the grandest, most epic life story to share. He may not have the most tear-jerking struggles to look back on. But he is awesome proof that even without all that drama, you can make a huge impact on other people’s lives. In his case, with comedy. He is a simple man, enjoys simple things, is simple in his wants. He has this great talent to make people laugh, and according to him, as long as the audience wants it, he’ll be around to give it.

http://www.philstar.com/sunday-life/790265/funny-accidents-life-michael-v

10 Things You Should Know About Rio de la Cruz

Rio de la Cruz: Big hair, big goals

On his fiance Nicole: “Na-realize ko na kailangan ko ng isang tao na pwedeng mag-support at makaka-understand sa lahat ng gagawin ko. At siya yun.” Rio popped the question to Nicole on Dec. 22, 2011, and the proposal video currently has 416,525 views on Youtube.

Nobody can miss his trademark Afro hairdo. He has personally trained some of the country’s most admired personalities like Fernando Zobel, Lance Gokongwei, and Piolo Pascual. He is the head organizer of the metro’s biggest races like the Timex Run, Milo Marathon, and Unilab Run. And in the past couple of years, his name has become synonymous with running in the Philippines. Who would’ve thought that a boy who used to run barefoot in Camarines Sur would grow up to ignite Filipinos’ passion for running and be a multi-millionaire?

Here are 10 things you should know about Rio de la Cruz.

1. Rio started running because he wanted to play but couldn’t afford computer games. He couldn’t afford running shoes either, so he ran barefoot.

“Wala akong Gameboy, yun yung uso nun eh. Since wala akong perang pambili ng ganun, yung means of entertainment ko is agawan buko, patintero, taguan,” says coach Rio of how his love for running began. He shares that his opponents back in elementary wore “spiked shoes,” and since he had no means to buy, he preferred to run with no shoes on because it felt lighter. “So mas kumapal yung,” he laughs as he strokes his soles, “yung ano, balat sa ilalim.” He was once given hand-me-downs by his neighbor but it was a size too small so he cut the part of the shoes by the toes just so his feet would fit. Later on, having saved from winning races, the very first pair he bought were Chuck Taylors, thinking that it would last long because the soles were thick. He was in sixth grade at Industrial Valley Elementary School, when his would-be high school coach spotted him and recruited him to Quirino High School, where he eventually finished on a full scholarship.

Coach Rio shares that running is what motivated him to finish his studies. “Yung parents ko, separated, at walang pang-support sa akin, so natakot ako baka hanggang high school lang matapos ko,” he recalls. At the time, he learned about students who were scholars through running, and says: “Nagkaroon ako ng idea na pwede pala yun, so I wanted to pursue running para maging stepping stone ko to finish my education.”

2. When he was a competitive runner for the University of the Philippines, he set a separate training schedule for himself where he would sleep wearing his running sando, shorts, and socks, as if ready to go.

“Sa gabi, maliligo na ako. By 8p.m. tulog na ako. 9 p.m. late na yun. Matutulog ako nakabihis na para paggising ko ng 2:50 a.m., toothbrush na lang, sapatos, derecho takbo.” he says 2:50 a.m. because by 3 a.m., he has to be running already. He would then go home by 6 a.m., sleep again, then wake up in time for his 10 a.m. class. It was in the afternoons when he would join the rest of the running team for their easy 5k and 10k runs. He even worked up the confidence to talk to the coach of the National Team back then, to train with them in Baguio. All the hard work paid off because in his freshman year, Rio won Rookie of the Year. In his sophomore year, he won one gold and one silver medal. In his third year, he won gold on all his races, which was a first for UP then.

However, things changed during his senior year. He didn’t place as much in the races, and even failed to finish one. “Mas mabilis at mas bata talaga sila noon, tapos nung time na yun, nahati na talaga yung oras ko sa school at trabaho,” he reveals. Rio shares that in his early college years, his time would be split 50-50 for school and training, but in the later years, it changed to 70-30 since he had to focus more on his grades.

As for his famous hair, he shares that he grew it because of a peso-sized bald spot on the right side of his forehead. Since long hair wasn’t allowed in elementary and high school, he finally got to grow it out in college, and has kept it ever since.

3. Rio has worked hard to give himself a better life, and now, he is helping his family better their lives by teaching them to help themselves.

“Kung baga, teach them how to fish,” says Rio who is the youngest of his siblings but seems to be acting like the eldest. He is the youngest of seven siblings, and he has another seven younger half siblings. He shares that his siblings now take on different roles during the races he organizes, from putting up the banners, to manning registration, and just recently, cooking for the catering of events. “Mahirap yung bibigyan mo lang o aabutan mo lang, gusto ko matutunan nila na bago nila makuha, paghihirapan muna.” His siblings were not able to finish school like he did, and so now, Rio is helping his nephews and nieces so they can finish school. He recalls that when he was a child, his carpenter father took him and his siblings to help out in the construction sites he would be working on, and now, they are all working together again. They all grew up away from each other, and now, his ultimate goal is for them to live in houses right beside each other.

4. Coach Rio in numbers:

10: age he started running

2007: year he put up his company, Run Rio Inc.

32: length in kilometers of the “Afroman distance,” a race distance he created to be the in-between of the 21k half marathon and the 42k full marathon.

50-plus: number of running shoes he has on rotation. “Dati 100, pero hindi ko nagagamit lahat tapos napamigay ko yung iba.”

1,000 to 1,500: pesos estimate cost per runner in the races he organizes.

His personal best times:

5k: 16 minutes, 10 seconds

10k: 29 minutes, 34 seconds

21k: 1 hour, 11 minutes

42k: 2 hours, 31 minutes

5. On his fiance Nicole: “Na-realize ko na kailangan ko ng isang tao na pwedeng mag-support at makaka-understand sa lahat ng gagawin ko. At siya yun.”

They met in 2004, when Rio was lost in the middle of the race, and she was the one who pointed him in the direction of the finish line. He won that race. A week later, he rode the jeep in UP only to find her seated in front of him. They became friends since, but were in touch with each other on and off. “Pag single siya, ako may girlfriend, pag ako single, siya naman may boyfriend,” he recalls. He says that what he learned from his experiences with his exes helped him make this relationship stronger, and in fact, he has been praying for him and Nicole to be together. “Sabi ko, kung hindi kami magkatuluyan, feeling ko wala na. Kaya nung sinagot niya ako nung October, sabi ko, ‘This is it!’”

Rio popped the question to Nicole on Dec. 22, 2011, and the proposal video currently has 416,525 views on Youtube. (It is a must-see slash tear-jerker, and if you haven’t seen it yet, look up “Tadhana: Coach Rio’s Proposal” online.)

6. When he had difficulty juggling all his priorities at the same time, he asked himself, “Ano ba yung gusto ko? Ano ba yung mas marami ang makikinabang?”

He recalls a time that he had to wake up at 4 a.m., would start coaching students at 5 a.m., finish those sessions by 10 a.m., take a quick break and rest, then go on to attend meetings, then start coaching again at 5 p.m., and would often get home at 11 p.m. or even midnight. “Nagkakasakit na ako, kaya inisip ko kung ano ba talaga ang magiging focus ko,” he recalls. That was when he slowly let go of coaching and put his time into race organizing. Since then he has been training running coaches, and eventually when he could no longer handle his clients, they would go to these coaches. “I’m very happy na merong mga runner na kasamahan ko dati, na nagkaroon ng trabaho na connected pa din sa running,” he happily shares. “Sabi nila, kung di daw dahil sa mga races na ino-organize ko, di sila magkakaroon sila ng job. I felt good, at nag-motivate ito sa akin to think kung ano pang magagawa ko para sa community.”

7. Coach Rio’s tips for beginner runners:

1) Set your goal. “Ito yung magmo-motivate sa iyo to wake up in the morning and ito yung magpu-push sayo para tumakbo.”

2) Make objectives to achieve your goal. “For example, your goal is 3K. Your objective will be gumising ng ganitong oras para tumakbo. Think na regardless kung naglakad ako o tumakbo, I just want to finish the 3k. So jog ka, walk ka. Next, you want to finish 3k without walking, so nag-improve ka. Next, you want to finish 3k in a specific time. Motivate mo yung sarili mo to achieve your goal.”

3) Get the proper equipment. “Meron three types of feet. Flat-footed, high-arched, or neutral. Kung mali yung gamit mong shoes magco-contribute siya to injuries. Yung watch, susunod na lang yun pag may extra ka, kasi dun mo malalaman kung nagi-improve ka.” Coach Rio cites the big number of specialty running stores now, including his very own store Riovana that just opened late last year.

8. It was his foster father “Lolo Boy” who took him into his care during high school and onwards, and now, it is Rio’s turn to take care of him.

Engineer Juan Ramos, who he more fondly calls “Lolo Boy,” met Rio during his high school days when he would run in Marikina Sports Complex. Lolo Boy saw the potential and passion that Rio had, and after some time, he invited Rio to live with him and his family, and offered to support whatever he needed for school. “Hindi ko ine-expect, may sarili akong room, air-conditioned pa, minsan ipapahatid ako sa school, tapos pag may races abroad siya nagsu-support sa akin,” he fondly recalls. In return, Rio focused on improving in running and getting good grades. “Ngayon naman, baliktad na, mag-70 na siya, so kaming mga tinulungan niya dati ang nag-aalaga sa kanya ngayon,” Rio shares. In fact, Rio proudly announces that he will be running the Paris Marathon this April with co-runners and his Lolo Boy. “Yung natutunan ko sa kanya is how to be humble, down to earth, and hindi ka mag-stop na tulungan yung ibang tao na kahit na nahihirapan ka na.”

9. Of all the hardships he experienced in life, the hardest for him was: “Yung hindi mo alam kung kailan yung next meal mo, o kung saan ka matutulog next.”

“I was 11, 12 years old, yung wala kaming makunan o mahingian, so you have to work on your own,” Rio reveals. This, and having grown up in a community where people had all sorts of money-making gimmicks, is what made Rio the 27-year-old entrepreneurial mind that he is. He thought of all kinds of ways to earn money, from competing in Tex and jolens games, to going from door to door to throw people’s trash (from which he would get a peso or two per home), to selling ice (that he would sell as ice water later in the day), to collecting old wires (that he would burn all together) to sell in junk shops.

Today, he organizes a race almost every week for some of the biggest companies in the country, at times to raise funds for a cause, with thousands of health-conscious participants in attendance.

10. Coach Rio now realizes that his main purpose in life is to inspire people to live a healthier lifestyle.

He cannot answer for sure which achievement he is most proud of, because he says the fulfillment comes on different levels. As an athlete, it’s very fulfilling to stand on a podium and receive an award. As a coach, it is very rewarding to see your student transform physically and live a balanced, healthy life. As an event organizer, he is motivated by people who are inspired by his story and those who keep coming back to the races that he organizes. “Siyempre natatakot ako na bumalik kung saan ako before. Although I’m ready kung mangyari man yun kasi sanay ako sa wala, hindi ko naman papayagang mapunta sa ganun,” coach Rio shares. “Very thankful ako na kahit papano na yung mga dreams ko lang before, nandito na ngayon, at yung makita ko yung ibang tao na nag-iimprove din yung life nila.”

* * *

Just like his system in training runners, his life goals and achievements also seem to go from small to big, and even to biggest. In every interview of his that we read, his dreams seem to get bigger and bigger, and though he very often uses the phrase “di ko ine-expect,” we who watch his life can’t help but expect and claim only greater things to happen in Coach Rio’s life. He met people in his life that helped him become the success he is today, and he is now giving back by doing exactly the same thing for many other people.

Rags to riches stories do exist, and coach Rio’s is one we can all learn from, running enthusiast or not. “Palagi natin naririnig na hindi hadlang ang kahirapan sa tagumpay, at napatunayan ko sa sarili ko na hindi talaga ito hadlang.”

http://www.philstar.com/sunday-life/785568/rio-de-la-cruz-big-hair-big-goals

10 Things You Should Know About Inno Sotto

Inno Sotto on fashion, love, life and what matters most

Manila’s Prince of Fashion says: “Every woman must own a white shirt, a black dress, a nice handsome bag, a mannish watch and pearl earrings.”

 Every Filipino in the fashion industry respects and looks up to he who is called Manila’s Prince of Fashion. Models consider themselves to have “made it” when they are chosen to walk the ramp for his shows. His name has been immortalized in a classic hit from the Eraserheads with a line that goes, “Rumarampa sa entablado, damit mo’y gawa ni Sotto.” His long, black hair, crisp white shirts, and perfect-fitting pants have become his trademark look, eliciting both inspiration and intimidation. Here are 10 things you should know about legendary fashion designer Inno Sotto.

1. Inno originally wanted to take up architecture, and it was only when he took on a summer job to do drawings for designer Christian Espiritu that his interest in fashion started.

He shares that he’s always been fascinated by forms and shapes, and how certain homes are designed based on the lifestyle of the person or the place or point in time. “If I have to go to a department store, the first I go to is the home section, then the fragrances; for some reason fashion is always the last,” Inno reveals. He was living most of his life in the US, and during one particular vacation to Manila, his sister referred him to Christian Espiritu who was then in need of an assistant to draw for him. “Christian was very kind, generous and patient with me. And at that time, he was dressing the most fashionable women in the country.” Upon returning to the US, after a liberal arts course in the University of San Francisco, Inno moved on to the San Francisco School of Fashion and Design, then eventually to Parsons in New York.

The very first dress he made was during his third year in design, and it was for his sister’s wedding. “It was a morning wedding and I did a heavy piqué fabric, I did the pattern and then somebody helped me put it together,” Inno recalls. He admits to being bad with machines, gadgets, or anything too technical. He reveals that he is not too much into brands, and prefers the most sensible, basic things. “Believe it or not, I’m a Gap and Muji person.”

2. In his opinion, designers and stylists should be reminded to not constantly go over the top, and models are really getting too thin.

On the issue of models today getting thinner and thinner, Inno says, “No question about it, they’re easier to fit, but they’re too thin now.” He thinks “fashionistas are overkill” and shares his list of muses (as told to Bea Ledesma in a 2010 STAR article) including women from different fields and with varied personalities such as Imelda Cojuangco, Bea Valdes, Heart Evangelista, Tessie Sy-Coson and Gretchen Barretto.

We talk about how nowadays, it’s much easier to be a designer, stylist, actor, singer, writer and, actually, anything. Inno declares: “There are certain people who have to be custodians, not to tell people what to do, but to sort and be very conscious about constantly raising the bar.” There are some who tend to go over the top, or some who just want to do one better over another, and to this Inno says, “Hindi naman pwede lahat ng damit na gagawin mo ay obra maestra, at the expense of the woman wearing it.” He shares that this is what Fashion Watch, a bi-annual showcase of designers he runs along with the Council of Fashion Designers of the Philippines, is all about. He says he does not claim to be the champion of anything, but when the time comes that he does decide to retire, “I will leave a profession that I highly respect, because the practicing members of that community are real designers. Rather than to actually retire and leave when the rest of the people there don’t really count. That’s what matters to me.”

3. Inno represented Filipino design in several international shows throughout his career. He got a standing ovation at his Paris show and a rave review by Suzy Menkes for his Singapore show.

When I asked which of all his international shows was most memorable, he said it would have to be his Paris show, simply “because it was in Paris!” He did a Filipinized collection and flew an entire 80-piece collection, a few Filipina models (whom he required to have 24-inch waistlines, and so “most girls just ate a banana and that was it for the day”) and his set design from Manila to Paris. He worked with composer Louie Ocampo on music, photographer Neal Oshima on collaterals, and celebrated French lighting director Thierry Dreyfus (who also did shows for Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano) to complete the mood of his show. But beyond all that, Inno fondly recalls, “I think the more important thing was the standing ovation accorded to me after the show that was good.”

Another highlight in Inno’s career was being the Philippine representative in a big show in Singapore along with other Asian designers. Famous fashion critic Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune was invited to watch, and it was an important event because then, it was only Hong Kong, Japan, and India that she had been to and this was her first time to be exposed to more Asian designers in this part of the world. At the open forum before the show, Inno, who was then teaching introduction to fashion design at Benilde, asked her what she expected to see. She answered: “I have no idea, but I am hoping to get a whiff of what Asian fashion is all about.” A few days after the show, on Sept. 23, 1997, Menkes’ review came out. She described Inno as “a Philippine designer whose subtly draped clothes in silky jersey, accessorized with metal bands like curved blades, caught the perfume of Asia in a contemporary way.” Inno shares, “The review was very, very encouraging for me.”

4. Inno Sotto in numbers:

30 to 45: Approximate number of days it takes to make a gown. “It depends on the amount of handwork that goes into it.”

80: Most number of staff members he employed at one point.

8: Siblings in his family. “That’s a brother, sister, myself, another brother, twin sisters, my sister who passed away, then the youngest is a girl.”

3: Scents in a fragrance line he released in 2006, Inno Sotto Mondo: Huite, Miro, and Deauville.

27: Gala shows he’s done in his 32-year career

5. Looking back to when he was 20, he would’ve loved to have apprenticed with a designer abroad.

After the longest pause of this interview, he says that having gone through the last “800 years” (a phrase he often uses to describe his career thus far) has been very rewarding. Knowing what it is all about now, he says that he would’ve loved to work for an international designer in his younger years. He reminds designers today: “Before the dress, the most important thing is the woman you are dressing up.” He goes on to say how some garments tend to “wear the woman,” instead of it being the other way around. “I just want to make women beautiful, I don’t want to throw my fantasy on them. That doesn’t work for me.”

6. He is beyond fascinated with women. “It is amazing what they have to go through,” he says of women as opposed to men.

He has this very interesting observation: “He meets her and they get to know each other. When they get engaged, they assume roles. When they’re married, it’s her world that changes more than his. She is given the role to handle the house, him, the kids, while he continues with his life. And she’s not just dealing with that, she’s dealing with herself, because she’s no longer who she was. She’s the one constantly changing. He doesn’t change much. The woman physically and psychologically changes, and I see that, and I can understand.” He goes on to say that whatever he does with his life, it will always have something to do with women.

7. According to Inno, every woman must own these five items:

1) A white shirt

2) A black dress

3) A nice, handsome bag (“Not a bag that’s only for that season.”)

4) A mannish-looking watch for day

5) Pearl earrings

8. His take on malicious rumors spread about him: “When people make up stories, it strikes me as vicious.”

One of the most hurtful rumors he encountered was that his partner allegedly hit him. This spread years ago when Inno attended an event with a bruised arm, which he got from having slipped and hit a table corner. “It didn’t bother me, but when it got to family abroad and it bothered them, I didn’t like that.” There was another rumor that his long-time client and good friend, the late jeweler Fe Panlilio, allegedly asked him to return jewels that he was holding. He says “The whole scenario was just so strange,” sharing that he and the Panlilios remain close and in fact he just did a wedding within their family recently. “As far as I’m concerned they can tell me, ‘You know, Inno your dress really sucks,’ you know, I don’t care. I really don’t care,” Inno declares. But when it has to do with more personal issues other than the label, that’s when it affects him.

I asked if that means he now just lets false rumors pass, he says, “Always.”

9. His partner of 24 years, Richard Tann, passed away seven years ago on the eve of Inno’s birthday. The flowers Richard intended to give Inno for his birthday ended up as the flowers on Richard’s casket.

It was one afternoon in 2005 when Inno got a call from Richard’s staff saying he wasn’t feeling so well. Richard refused to go to the hospital, went on to attend an event, and it was when Inno rushed to him right on time that they were able to bring him to the hospital. “They were waiting for him to stabilize before they could do a quintuple bypass, but he never did,” Inno recalls. The reality and gravity of the situation hit him when the doctors told him that they could do the operation, but the chances of survival were slim. Later that night, Richard went through another attack, and while everyone was saying “Richard, hang on,” Inno saw what he was going through and said, “Richard, you let go, you just let go, it’s okay, I’ll be okay here...”

Richard passed away the morning of the next day.

That morning, Inno had to attend to all the arrangements for the funeral. “I called Antonio (Garcia) and said I needed flowers for Richard’s casket. I said whatever it is you have, I just want it to be special,” Inno recalls. Inno had no idea that the morning prior, Richard was the one who called Antonio to say that he wanted to order very, very special flowers for Inno’s birthday. What was supposed to be a gift for Inno ended up as an offering for Richard. “Just like a movie, right?” Inno says. The wake was very difficult for Inno, but he recalls a special moment. “I wrote my entire eulogy in English and I asked somebody to write my letter for Richard phonetically in Mandarin. I don’t know how but I literally memorized it phonetically in Mandarin. How I did it I’ll never know,” Inno reveals. “I realized when you want to do something for someone you truly, truly love, you do it, and I did it.”

Inno and Richard started out as friends, then became best friends, then partners, then business partners. “When he passed away, I realized not so much that there was no one to help me with things, it was more… If I came home late, his was the last face I’d see. If I woke up early, his was the first face I’d see. And when you have a partner, you just fall into place. It makes sense. It’s that. You lose that,” Inno reveals. He shares that what he misses most about him is his voice (“Strangely enough, Richard was a singer and did demos, and so I compiled them”), his nearness (“Sometimes we’re in a room and he’s doing things and I’m doing things, we’re not talking, but we’re literally good”) and how “when I wanna watch a movie, or when there’s this new place for dinner,” Richard was the first person always.

10. The main man in Inno’s life right now is a three-year-old boy, his son Joseph Marco.

Joseph Marco is the biological grandson of Julie, Inno’s yaya for most of his life. “In the ups and downs of my life, the deadlines, the most relaxed phases, when I met Richard, when he passed, she was there,” he says of Julie. When Julie’s daughter gave birth, Inno offered to have the baby live with them, so that Julie could take care of the baby. When the 10-week-old baby came to their home, things changed. Julie was to be called “Nana,” meaning grandmother, and Inno was to be called “Ahia” meaning older brother, and everyone was to do things and chores on their own. “I didn’t want him to grow up thinking his grandmother was my yaya, or that it’s one particular kind of class that’s supposed to serve,” Inno explains.

Inno shares he just wants Joseph Marco to grow up to be respectful and kind, and that hopefully he will never have to go through any kind of injustice or discrimination. “I’m gay. This was not his choice, this was my choice, hopefully to make his life better, that’s what I hope for him,” he shares. Inno shares his realization that with having a lover, you expect things, and that comes with disappointments. In his relationship with his son, there are no expectations. With a certain lightness and peace, Inno says, “I’m so contented. You deal less with your own vanities, and all of a sudden all you are concerned about is ‘What do I want for him?’”

* * *

I asked Inno how he has kept himself so relevant all these years. “I’m just naturally curious, not just about my work but about people in general,” he shares. It’s actually quite fitting that Inno never refers to age. How he chooses not to recall at what age he did a certain show, at what age he reached a certain point in his career, or even what his age is now. He just answers with a default, “Age is so difficult, like I said, I’m 800 years old!” Inno Sotto is ageless and timeless, significant decades ago as he is today, relevant today as he was decades ago. Curious today just as much as he was curious 30 years ago, interested not just in design but in everything, interesting not just as a designer but as a human being.

http://www.philstar.com/sunday-life/783249/inno-sotto-fashion-love-life-and-what-matters-most