Missing Pedestal

For some reason, I feel like gloating about this - "A Minor Trail? Not for Filipinos."

I hope this is another reason why Pinoys should not put their beloved artists on pedestals, more so than US artists!




A Minor Trial? Not to Filipinos
A drug possession case features a name that many in her homeland, and among L.A.'s immigrants, adore. She's an actress now in a sobering role.
By Jia-Rui Chong
Times Staff Writer

September 29, 2005

The People vs. Nora Cabaltera Villamayor, a small drug possession case being heard in a branch courthouse near LAX, has received little attention in the U.S. news media.

But in the Philippines, the coverage has been so extensive, and at times breathless, that it rivals the U.S. fixation on Michael Jackson and Martha Stewart.

For her first court date recently, a crowd including journalists from Manila and fans who flew in from across the United States swarmed the petite 53-year-old star of stage and screen. A puzzled Associated Press photographer turned to a Los Angeles correspondent for the Philippine Daily Inquirer covering the arraignment and asked, "Is she as big as Sophia Loren is in Italy?"

"Way bigger," the reporter replied.

Villamayor is anonymous in the United States, except among Filipinos, to whom she is better known by her stage name, Nora Aunor.

On March 30, authorities say, a federal baggage screener at Los Angeles International Airport reached into her black duffel carry-on and pulled out a glass pipe and 6.69 grams of methamphetamine inside a knotted-up baggy concealed in a sock. At the time, authorities didn't know of her celebrity, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Marguerite Rizzo.

But at home, and among Southern California's huge population of Filipino immigrants, Aunor is called simply "the Superstar."

Presidential candidates have been known to call her seeking an endorsement. Former President Joseph Estrada gave her a house in 1998 after she helped him with his campaign. She has been called the Philippines' greatest pop icon.

Aunor's legions of fans — Noranians, they call themselves — compare her as an actress to Meryl Streep. They have flocked to the more than 170 movies in which she has starred. As a Broadway-style belter in the style of Barbra Streisand, she has cut more than 20 albums.

Some in the Filipino press have portrayed Aunor's drug case as if it were one of her screen melodramas.

Her fans are divided over whether to believe the government's case but say they plan to stick by their star.

"We realize that Nora Aunor is no saint," said Epee Rafanan, a 55-year-old San Francisco resident and officer of the International Circle of Online Noranians, a fan club.

Rafanan and seven other fan club members from the Bay Area drove overnight so they could sit in on the arraignment at which Aunor, who is free on bail, pleaded not guilty.

For that first court date, April 21, fans outside shrieked and raised placards reading "Noranians Forever" and "We Love You Ate Guy." (Ate is a respectful term for older sister in the Philippines, and Guy is a nickname from high school that stuck.)

The fans followed her into the courtroom and filled the rows behind her. Some winked or smiled at her from their seats. Others walked over to whisper in her ear or pass her candy.

Erlinda Valderrama, a 57-year-old Baldwin Park resident who saw Aunor in concert recently, called her "a strong woman."

"She's going to get over it. She's been through worse," Valderrama said.

Corabel Ybanez, 55, also considers herself a Noranian but worries that the star has lost her direction.

Ybanez, who lives in New York City and was recently visiting relatives in Carson, thinks most people pity the actress now.

"I'm sad," she said. "She's practically alone, and she spends her time with friends who lead irregular lives."

Aunor has grown so popular with Filipinos because they identify with her rags-to-riches story, said Momar G. Visaya, editor of the Asian Journal, a Los Angeles-based newspaper for Filipinos.

"She's from a really poor, poor family in the Bicol region," he said. "People see her as an inspiration — if she can do it, anybody can."

To earn money as a child, Aunor would sell water at the train station or cooked food throughout town from a woven tray carried on her head.

She became famous at 14, when she won a national singing competition.

Aunor distinguished herself from many stars of the day by acting in an understated style and speaking in Tagalog, not English. She opened the door for a new kind of movie star, Visaya said.

Fans are especially loyal because Aunor goes out of her way to recognize them, Rafanan said.

After she regaled the audience with her golden voice at a January concert in Hawaii, she signed autographs for hours.

"People at the venue decided it was taking too long, and they would like to close the gates," Rafanan said. "There was still a long line of people waiting for her signature. Nora said, 'Well, I'm going to continue signing autographs outside.' She didn't stop until the last fan."

At a concert in Reno last spring, Rafanan recalled, Aunor walked to the seat of a 95-year-old woman in the audience and told the crowd that this woman had flown from New York to spend her birthday at the concert.

"These are older people who are saying, 'Oh, I didn't see you in the Philippines, but oh, I see you here. I'm so happy,' " Rafanan said.

Aunor, who was released on bail hours after her arrest, is continuing a U.S. concert tour, which has included recent dates in Glendale and Las Vegas.

This month, she was the guest star of a show at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut. The audience feverishly applauded her versions of "What a Feeling" and "The Impossible Dream."

Waiting backstage in a black and fuchsia ball gown and size-2 heels, Aunor said in halting but clear English that her lawyers had instructed her not to discuss details of the trial other than to say she denied the charges.

But she did say she had reached a state of calm about it. The only time nerves got the better of her, she said, was at her second court date.

"At the preliminary hearing, I was so nervous I cried," she said, clutching a reporter's arm. "But then I realized, when I do nothing, I don't have to be nervous or afraid. I believe in God."

Aunor has been living in the San Francisco area since August 2004, said her business manager, Norie Sayo. She declined to name the city, saying she didn't want fans to mob Aunor's house.

Aunor said she hoped to establish residency in the U.S. because she wanted to live a more anonymous life.

"I don't want to be called 'the Superstar,' " she said. "I was happy before when I was just in the provinces."

In Manila, she said, fans who saw her on the street would pinch her, just to say they had touched the Superstar. She never left her house to go shopping. Boutiques brought the newest fashions to her.

"California is nice," she said. "I can do everything I cannot in Manila. I can shop. I can go walking anywhere."

In the Bay Area, Filipino Americans might spot her at the Target or Radio Shack, but they usually leave her alone.

But she still inspired some hysteria during the Walnut concert. As soon as she stepped outside, a group of about 20 women surrounded Aunor, shouting, "Ate Guy! Ate Guy!"

All tried to hug her. Sayo had to pull Aunor free by the arm so she could sign autographs at a nearby table. As cameras flashed around the star, about 40 more people, looking delighted, waited while she signed programs, CDs and old photographs fans had brought.

Most did not mention the trial, but one fan did offer Aunor a business card. The woman told Aunor in mixed Tagalog and English to call her if she needed help because her husband knew someone in the district attorney's office.

For the trial, Sayo has been trying to downplay Aunor's celebrity status.

"I told the fan clubs, Don't come anymore" to court, she said. "We just want it to come out like a regular case, nothing special."

Aunor faces up to three years in prison and possible deportation if convicted. The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 14, said prosecutor Rizzo.

Rizzo said she hadn't heard of Aunor until after the arraignment, when other lawyers in the office handed her the case and told her Aunor was famous. "She's just a defendant that I'm prosecuting," Rizzo said.

Fund Raising 101

When you're trying to raise money for the less fortunate, why would you target the less fortunate to attend an event or fund raiser? Um...maybe targeting a crowd that has more disposable income might help in the cause? I think this is one of the big things that get to me when I attend "art for art's sake" fund raisers. Most of the time, I see artists and other supporters who don't necessarily have the disposable to allow them to give.

The Youngest Maxim Reader

This boy's a trip. Maddux Paras is one of the chubbiest and cutest babies I know! I could just eat him!

The Soul of a Revolution

I finally had a chance to watch "Diarios de Motocicleta" tonight. I can understand why it was nominated for Academy Awards. It was a beautiful movie which took you through stunning landscapes of Sur America. It was also a wonderful story of how Ernesto "Che" Guevarra and his friend, Alberto Granada, experience the people and the land of which their priveleged lives allowed them to experience.

Throughout the journey, we see the two move out of their comfort zones and begin to see the inequalities and divisions that exist in their society. We see how they are affected by it and what they choose to do about their feelings and their passion to create change in their society. It's an inspirational story that not only makes you want to travel the world but learn from the people who keep this world turning - working families.

I've never examined any of Che's writings or philosophy. Time to put another one on my list.

By the way, get your dvd copies now!

Santa Barbara Camping

All we did was eat, sleep, eat, sleep and drink.


Noel apparently was the pro at all this camping stuff.



The boys came up with a super smart game...who could throw a rock the farthest into the ocean.


And for the "wiener," Noel got to wear these stylin' glasses...er goggles?


We went wine tasting afterwards. Don't let these pictures fool you. The first winery we went to had wines stored in metal barrels...yech! We could taste the metal in the wine. How 'bout using glass barrels?


It was back to LA after traipsing through Santa Barbara County, particularly in Solvang. We were done after the hunt for THE Cheese store was over. Tons of wine on a hot day is not always a great idea.

Next year...Yosemite!

"Filipinotown Searching for Its Center"

I've heard so many damn comments about this freakin' LA Times article in the past few days. I guess it was expected since I do work in Historic Filipinotown with one of the largest community organizations there.

I don't quite understand what the purpose was of the article? From what I heard when people were being interviewed for this article, it sounded like the writing was going to be a bit more extensive than what appeared in the paper. For those folks who were "misquoted" how 'bout writing into the opinion section of the LA Times and setting it straight. If you don't make any noise, who's going to hear you? Besides, whatever you write will most likely make the paper since it's in direct response to a previous article and it looks like The Times wants to give more focus to the other brown folks in this city. It's about freakin' time, no?

So what about the people who know nothing about Historic Filipinotown. Let's hope this article drives them to find out more. It's great publicity for SIPA, I can tell you that!

The question remains, is an economic center for Historic Filipinotown the right direction to go when the majority of the Filipino American community has yet to figure out how to work together? Is an economic center something that we, as a community really need? Maybe this area needs to grow as naturally as other Pilipino-centric areas have such as Panorama City, West Covina, Carson City and National City. How are you going to participate in the change? Talk is cheap.

Restless

What to do, what to do...I'm supposed to get motivated and start exercising again...tomorrow? I guess it would be a good thing if I actually disciplined myself more...tomorrow?

Sweeet, Apple!

The company is blasting the electronic music industry out of the water. It has cornered 82% of the market. To many, Steve Jobs is God! To me, he's a freakin' genius. The leadership he has given to Apple is incomparable. So what do you do when you've determined your largest market share? Create more developments so you make more money in that market!

Some new developments -
1. New version of Itunes w/functions that allow users to make it more convenient for users to listen to the music THE WAY THEY WANT
2. The exclusive acquisition of all of Madonna's albums
3. The exclusive acquisition of all of the audio books of Harry Potter
4. An exclusive partnership with Motorola to provide an Itunes phone through Cingular's network - gives access to music anywhere in the world through the network combined with the phone features....the ads for this are fuckin' AWESOME...ok, some are corny but they get the message across and Apple, Cingular and Motorola will be reaping the rewards from this for quite some time
5. more deals have been made with Honda, Acura, Audi and Volkswagen to offer ipod connectivity in their cars - by 2006, 30% of all cars in the US will offer this option
6. Ipod Mini be gone! - they've introduce the Ipod Nano that's as small as the coin pocket in traditional jeans. It carries 1,000 songs and is in color! Feast your eyes....kids, this is smaller than the stupid Razr phone that I've been lusting about since it came out. The smallest will have 2 gigs and holds 500 songs. It's selling for $199. It's just $70 more than the Shuffle. Which one would you get? Keep in mind the Shuffle has no display screen.



So is this whole entry an Apple ad? OF COURSE! Simply because they rock! Until the next big company comes along, my statement stays! I've worked on their systems since I was in 4th grade and I'm not backing out anytime soon.

Go Steve Jobs and your peeps! Thanks for my super cute Powerbook, too!