Being a Muslim, Ruffa Gutierrez's husband, Yilmaz Bektas, has never celebrated Christmas—until now. The Turkish businessman came to the country in December to join Ruffa and their children Lorin and Venice, who had arrived earlier.
During Ruffa's gift-giving activity at the White Cross Orphanage in San Juan last January 5, Ruffa recounted for PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) the moments which made her husband's first Christmas a memorable one.
Recalled Ruffa, "Nung Christmas Eve, nasa bahay lang kami. Sama-samang pamilya. Nagpakain din kami sa mga mahihirap. Nagpa-staff party din kami. Nagbigay kami ng raffle prizes.
"Pagpasok pa lang niya sa bahay namin sa White Plains, na-shock na siya talaga. Nagpa-catering kami. Yung kinakain namin tsaka yung kinakain ng staff namin, pare-pareho. Lahat kami nag-games, nagpa-prizes. Namigay kami ng TV, appliances, gift baskets. Gusto talaga niyang maiyak."
She continued: "Sinulatan pa nga niya daddy ko. Sinabi niya, 'Daddy, thank you for welcoming me to your family.' First time daw niyang talagang ma-feel yung warmth ng pagmamahalan ng isang pamilya."
A majority of the Turkish population is Muslim, according to the online encyclopedia www.wikipedia.org. Muslims do not celebrate Christmas.
"It's the first time that he celebrated Christmas in his life kaya medyo na-shock-shock siya. He's Muslim. Alam nyo naman sa abroad, they celebrate Christmas, wala lang. Sa Turkey nga they don't even know what's Christmas. Touched na touched siya sa celebrations natin."
The bubbly Ruffa added, "Ako naman, I wanna celebrate all holidays—both Christian and Muslim. Gusto ko mga anak ko lumaki sila knowing all holidays."
Asked where her family spent the recent holiday, Ruffa said, "We went to Baguio on the 26th. After Baguio, nag-celebrate naman kami ng New Year sa Makati Shangri-la. We watched Pops [Fernandez] live in concert. This Christmas is more special because buo yung pamilya namin. Nagsama-sama kami despite our busy schedules."
Ruffa met Yilmaz, a Turkish businessman, during the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. The two tied the knot on March 25, 2003, in Manila. Since then, Ruffa's showbiz career has taken a back seat to her role as wife and mother. She accepts only offers that fit into her plans and schedules with them.
NEW HOME IN MADRID. For a long time, Ruffa and Yilmaz have called Istanbul and Manila home. Now the couple are adding Madrid to the places they call home.
"We've already found a place in Madrid, we're gonna be spending more time in Madrid and Barcelona. Excited na kami. He made me choose what country. I chose Spain because the Spanish and the Pinoys, they're kinda like the same, di ba? Pati yung language nila, yung pakikitungo nila. Excited na rin ako to polish my Spanish!" Ruffa gushed.
She believes that her family will be able to transfer to Spain by April this year. "We have three settings—Manila, Istanbul, and Barcelona. We'll keep on going back and forth naman. Oo nga, nakakaloka. Sanay na rin yung mga bagets [Lorin and Venice]. Biyahe sila nang biyahe."
PEP asked Ruffa what plans she has for the period she will live in Spain. She said, "Siguro, stay muna in Barcelona and figure out what I want to do. I want to concentrate on my skin-care line that I want to launch. Yun ang gagawin ko, tsaka yung baby line of fragrances. Itutuloy ko na yun, which is good because Spain has the best colognes. So, I can get the colognes there and distribute here in the Philippines. I'm still gonna be dealing with fashion."