Naging napakasaya ng pagdiriwang ng ika-42nd anniversary ng Viva na nagsimula bilang isang maliit na film production company na lumago into a multi-million pesos, multi-media entertainment conglemorate na may malaking bahagi sa kulturang Pinoy.
Ginanap ang pagdiriwang sa Metrotent events place in Pasig City last Friday, November 10, na dinaluhan ng mga on-cam personalities and off-cam employees of Viva.
Present s'yempre ang mga Viva bosses led by its founder and CEO, Boss Vic del Rosario, si Ma'am Tess Cruz who heads the Finance department, at ang del Rosario kids (and grandkids) Veronique (head of the Viva Artists Agency), Valerie (who heads film and TV production), and VR (who handles Viva Food). Wala si Viva President and COO Vincent del Rosario dahil may mahalaga itong trip abroad.
Bumaha ng food and drinks mula sa iba't ibang sangay ng Viva Foods at bumaha rin ng mga pa-premyo sa raffle at sa taunang group talent competition, kung saan anim na grupo—mula sa iba't isang departamento at kumpanya ng Viva—ang naglaban-laban sa "Magpasikat" version ng Viva.
Ang mga directors na sina Roman Perez, Jr, Joanne Laygo, JP Laxamana, at Irene Villamor ang tumayong judges with singer and Viva artist Mark Bautista serving as head. Sina Marissa Sanchez, TJ Valderama, at Chad Kinis naman ang mga naging k'welang hosts ng kabuuang programa; habang raffle host naman ang singer-host na si Jean Kiley.
Tumataginting na P100K ang naiuwi ng nanalong grupo, ang film and TV production group (Studio Viva, Viva One, Viva TV, Sari-Sari, etc), na siya ring nag-grand champion noong nagdaang taon.
Hindi makukumpleto ang gabi kung walang mga pang-global stage performances ng ilan sa mga Viva/Vicor artists sa pangunguna ni Martin Nievera, Katrina Velarde, Ronnie Liang, young hitmaker Rob Deniel, Wilbert Ross, and grupong VMX Bellas and VMX V, ang at kapapanalo lang sa Awit Awards na Alamat.
Nagpa-unlak din ng impromptu song number si Anne Curtis, who coudn't say no to the people who once believed she could fill up the Araneta Coliseum as a concert performer. She did thrice, remember?
As mentioned, bukod sa libo-libong empleyado ng Viva, nagsidatingan din para makisaya ang ilan sa mga artistang binigyang pangalan ng Viva. Stars spotted that night include Andrew Muhlach, Katya Santos, Ryza Cenon, Kylie Versoza, Pops Fernandez; Vivamax stars Sunshine Guimary, Angelica Cervantes, Denise Esteban, Christine Bermas, Nico Locco, Quinn Carillo, Hershie de Leon, Marco Gomez, Sean de Guzman, at Angeli Khang; couple Ella Cruz and Julian Trono, and Marven tandem nina Marco Gallo at Heaven Peralejo, ang SSA HiYa tandem nina Jerome Ponce at Krissha Viaje, at marami pang iba.
Pero mas naging makulay at nostalgic ang gabi para sa lahat ng taga-Viva sa pagdating ng mga OG Viva stars na sina Senator Robin Padilla at Megastar Sharon Cuneta, na halos hindi maka-upo sa kakayakap sa mga taong na-miss niya.
S'yempe, nahingan din ng impomptu song number sina Megastar at Binoe at s'yempre, "Maging Sino Ka Man" ni Rey Valera ang inawit nila dahil ito ang theme song ng ultra-hit 90s movie nila of the same title na mas nagpatatag sa Viva bilang film company.
Napuno ng tilian ang venue lalo na sa tuwing tila kinikilig na nagpapa-kwela si Robin sa stage.
Bago natapos ang mga pagtatanghal, nagbigay ng maikling pahayag ang Viva topman na si Boss Vic habang katabi ang mga anak na katuwang n'ya sa pagpapalago ng Viva.
"Congratulations and happy anniversary sa mga kasama natin sa Viva especially the stars of Viva na pinagmamalaki natin palakpakan natin sila," engganyo niya.
Then, he went nostalgic: "I remember when we started in November 11, 1981 with the first movie. Naalala ko noon, kasama ko si Tess, my sister and the mother of my kids si Mina Aragon del Rosario- Salvador. And of course, ang kasama ko noon ay si Mayor Pablo Cuneta na ama ni Sharon Cuneta..."
Sa puntong ito ay inimbitahan niya si Megastar na samahan siya sa stage.
"I’d like to call Miss Sharon Cuneta here on stage so we can reminisce the old good days 42 years ago."
"Kasi po I was a Vicor Corporation recording artist," panimula naman ni Sharon. "I started with 'Tawag ng Pag-ibig' and then 'Mr. DJ,' 'Kahit Maputi Na ang Buhok Ko' and on and on and on. I was with Boss Vic na po after I was discovered by Senator Tito Sotto, my second father.
"And then Sining Silangan produced my first movie ever with Gabby Concepcion called Dear Heart. But Sining Silangan couldn’t follow up right away. So, my father, who’s also a businessman...tinawagan po n'ya si Boss Vic, sabi n'ya, 'Vic, gawa tayo ng pelikula. Mag-produce tayo.'
"So, from that very faithful phone call na ito, 42 years na po tayo. So, if Viva...many used to say I made Viva, but Viva made me. I will always be part of the Viva Family no matter what. Always, always..."
"Hindi p'wedeng kalimutan 'yong simula," salong muli ni Boss Vic. "Kung wala 'yon, wala tayo dito. Maraming salamat kay Miss Sharon Cuneta na up to now Viva star."
"Thank you. I love you, Veronique, Vincent, tita Tess, and my baby sister [Val], and my baby brother [VR], my inaanak sa binyag, inaanak sa kasal and everything...hahaha! This is my del Rosario family and thank you Viva for giving me the very best experiences, [best] movies of my life, and in my career. Not just my career but my life... and the best experiences of my love life. Hahaha!”
Bago tuluyang ibaba ang mikropono, nag-drop ng happy bomb si Boss Vic.
"I’d like to announce that Sharon and Robin, the senator has agreed to do a Maging Sino Ka Man Part 2. Hopefully, ma-shoot natin 'yong pelikula next year and also Sharon and Anne [Curtis] with Pops [Fernandez] together in one movie."
"Congrats and happy anniversary! Let's party.
And party—hard—they did with the electrifying and indefatigable Tirso Cruz IV band.
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