Twist of fate

Author: Edsel-thadeus O. Lorete
Column: Final Cut

Lance Raymundo has no plans of leaving pop music for acting. The former matinee idol is upbeat and bent on reviving his singing with a little help from his booming acting career. He has the indie film industry to thank for this unexpected twist of fate. Raymundo is no stranger to show business. His brother Rannie and their mother are former showbiz personalities. “If this is where my career is leading me, then why not?” Lance philosophizes. Year 2009 could be seen as Lance’s turn to take over that spotlight, where the singer has been receiving a wave of positive reviews from both mainstream and independent film critics who have seen his works in several alternative movies that included a horror flick by a Singaporean film outfit. These indie roles may be small, but we can agree that they are significant, and could give Lance his international break. Filmmaker Brilliante Mendoza bagged the Cannes Film Festival international jury’s attention this way. Lance’s performance in the surprise indie drama Fidel, one of 80 films featured in this year’s improving 2009 Cinemanila International Film Festival, is simply remarkable. Lance plays an OFW rape victim in Fidel, a daring role that reveals much of Raymundo’s unexploited screen talent — his profound sensitivity to character is simply mesmerizing. His stint with acting, although showbiz is in his blood, was accidental. It surfaced when Lance was soul searching for means to revive a stale singing career two years ago. “I wrote some 200 songs ready for recording. I was away then from showbiz. Acting came in between that point, and this was where I discovered my passion for the craft. I played the male title role in the modern remake of Romeo and Juliet. Good reviews followed it with a series of indie films ranging from action, horror, sci-fi and then drama,” he relates.His first theater exposure was this laidback venture named artists like Piolo Pascual would rather take as a career breather. Lance was neither at the peak of his career to do this stunt, but he was determined to excel and get noticed one way or another. And critics did. “I knew I could do this, but one step at a time. It is now starting to pay off,” he says.Theater offered Lance the ticket back to mainstream audiences. “It (acting) opened doors for me to appear in several television projects under ABS-CBN. I played that kontrabida in the afternoon soap Pieta with Ryan Agoncillo. I loved the role and it honed my acting skill.” The stint was brief, but it was enough for Lance to get seriously noticed, to be offered other serious roles by the network’s producers. The indie projects, despite Lance’s occasional corporate stints that earns most artists their sizeable bread and butter in between film/TV exposures, kept coming as well. “I was always blessed to be considered by indie filmmakers for their projects, something which allowed me to confidently work with other actors active on TV in various genres. It was a matter of choosing which roles to take after Fidel.” Next in line would be Lance’s singing career, which needs full resuscitation now that the actor is back in showbiz. “I realized that acting was one way of slowly reinforcing my singing career. I know now I am good at it, which I enjoy as well as singing live before an audience.” Lance is in the final stages of releasing his first major pop album in nearly five years. “The album’s pop concept is sexy. The edgy theme has been positively tested with fans. The only thing lacking now is a working album title to launch it,” Raymundo confided.Fidel, which just finished screening at the Filipino International Film Festival in Los Angeles, continues to make headlines for Lance. It seems to have paved a stellar year for the returning singer-turned-actor. “I hope to land a major television role, on top of my launching a new album before yearend, for a soap project next year with ABS-CBN. I am ready for it,” Raymundo confidently concluded.Quezon’s BonPen Festival After years of being in the shadow of the Pahiyas Festival, Quezon province’s Bondoc Peninsula, now enjoying the combined support of its 12 municipal towns (Padre Burgos, Agdangan, Unisan, Pitogo, Macalelon, General Luna, Catanauan, Mulanay, San Narciso, San Andres, San Francisco and Buenavista), is stepping up its massive tourism program by launching the province’s first BonPen (short for Bondoc Peninsula) Festival slated for Oct. 28 to 31. The concept for BonPen did not materialize until after the province sanctioned the creation of a local tourism council that would only oversee the 3rd district of Quezon’s cultural and tourism programs. Banking largely on the province’s untouched natural wilderness, white and black sandy beaches, tasty cuisine and local hospitality, Bon Pen is ambitious and aims to showcase not just one but all the 12 participating towns, their various religious festivals, culture, traditions and indigenous products in one big and week-long festivity. This has never been done before, and the province prides itself for being the first to make such a celebration of this kind heard on a national scale. Among the province’s top tourist destinations are the Borawan and Dampalitan Beaches, Hinnguin Falls, Luminous Cross of Grace, St. Paul Parish Church, Unisan’s Spanish houses and Tuhian Beach. These sites are now being groomed to be at par with the top tourist destinations in the Philippines. Highlighted by seasonal trade fairs, concert, beauty pageants, cultural nights, a slogan contest, street dancing competition, float parade and the launching of the province’s tourism magazine, Discover BonPen magazine, the event “will run from morning to night time.” The town of Catanauan will host the event because it is the capital of the third district. A new town will play host every year. “It will have a festival theme, incorporating all the influences and traditions of the towns involved. We will invite everyone who can help us make BonPen a national success,” said the province’s tourism council spokesman Lourdes de Luna-Pasatiempo. Defined as a campaign for development and an annual tourism event, BonPen is intended to create the province’s own unique identity; turn BonPen among the country’s major tourist events; encourage regional competition and create new jobs and business opportunities from within. Part of the fetival’s proceeds will go to the development and improvement of Catanauan’s Tanghal Sining Muse and the preservation and compilation of the historical data and artifacts of the 3rd District of Quezon. For additional information and for package tour reservations, call (+6342) 710-5019, 0922-8105019 or log on to www.bonpen.com or www.discoverbonpen.multiply.com.A look at modern love The latest hit film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, 500 Days of Summer, is not your ordinary boy-meets-girl tale. It is a story taken entirely from the whimsical and angst-driven view of Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who falls in love with his co-worker Summer (Zooey Deschanel). Blue-eyed Deschanel takes on a witty gender reversal of roles in the film as Summer, who refuses to be committed to a guy, whereas Tom still believes in love at first sight. Find out how this modern chemistry works when the film hit commercial theaters this weekend. Must-see!

Source: The Daily Tribune

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