Greenbelt 5 was very "alive" last night, March 11, with the presence of celebrities, models, brand and agency people, and a few members of the press and media.
But one lady, clad in white tank top and a pair of jeans, caught our eye. Sans makeup, she was very pretty. We heard some onlookers gush, "Ang ganda ni Cindy Kurleto!!!"
It was not her intent to be noticed. It seemed like she and her companion were only taking a walk around the area, when they spotted the exhibit of Mark Nicdao for Viva mineralized water.
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) grabbed the chance to chat with the model-host-actress who left for Peru in November 2007.
Why did she leave?
In an article posted by Jun Nardo almost 15 months ago, the former VJ bid goodbye to showbiz for her "boyfriend and greener pastures."
But she's currently in town.
In her so-familiar accent, she said: "I'm here on vacation, and I love it very much. I came from a friend's wedding."
She's sporting a tan, and that's because she just arrived from Boracay. She'll be here in Manila until "mid-April."
WHO IS CINDY KURLETO HUSBAND?
Cindy Kurleto husband is named Daniel. He is British-Bajan. They met in Manila, so he is not alien to Pinoy culture, particularly, PInoy dishes. The former actress said he knows adobo, kare-kare, and even patis. When his work required him to relocate to Peru, Cindy decided to join him.
Leaving Manila meant dropping her celebrity status.
She related, "I can sit in the middle of a mall and read a book for half a day and no one would notice."
From her harried life as former co-host of Eat...Bulaga! and a mainstay of the defunct sitcom Dadedidodu, she now has all the time in the world to learn and explore new things and places.
"I cook food. I travel around. It's beautiful, beautiful country. I try to study Spanish. I go to Spanish school everyday, and practically that's it," she said. "It may be boring, but I'm happy."
The Spanish language is her current interest. "I try to stay until I perfect my Spanish, so at least, I take something away from there. I take something with me..."
And in the near future, "family and kids" will be part of her agenda.
Is she more fluent in Spanish than Tagalog?
"I'm sure better in Tagalog than in Spanish right now," was her reply. "But I hope that over the years, I can add Spanish, you know...And there's no better place to study Spanish than in a place where they speak it basically."
MISSING MANILA
"For now, Peru is definitely my base," but the Philippines is her "home."
The Austrian-Filipina actress affirmed, "I love it here. I still have my apartment here. [Click here to view Gallery.] I own a place in Makati, and I'm always gonna come back. More than ever, I know now that Manila is my home. Still, I miss it so much."
Right now, she's visiting old friends and places, but if there's an opportunity to work, albeit for a short period, she's not going to say no.
"I have nothing rolled up, but you know, I miss the experience. I'm so far away...But I do miss Philippines a lot, so whatever comes is fine," she told PEP.
SADDENED BY FRANCIS'S DEATH
We asked her about Francis Magalona, her co-host in GMA-7's noontime show.
Sadly she said, "I was in Boracay when I got the news. Very sad...He's much too young and so many kids, you know.
"It is even hard because entertainment business, and all his very dear colleagues have to go on, show has to go on...I'm sure it's very hard on them because they have to be on TV every day, knowing that one of them is missing beside them. I heard from them that they're having a very hard time. It was one of the hardest shows that they did on the day [Francis's death was announced] itself."
She recalled her few encounters with the Master Rapper. They weren't that close, but she knew about his passion for music.
Cindy said, "I was with him in Eat...Bulaga. I was there for two years, at the same time he was there, and we did share the same love for music—hip hop and rap—and we connected through that."
After Manila, she'll fly to Vienna, Austria, to spend her 31st birthday, which is on April 21, with her dad. From Vienna, she'll head back to Peru.
She may be miles away from here, but she assured her Pinoy fans: "I've never left, and I love Manila, and thank you to all those people who still like me in the Internet and still post messages even though I've been away for so long."
After our quick chat, the camera crews and reporters approached her. Indeed, it's hard to miss Cindy Kurleto.