Sexy Talk with Gary V.

Sexy talk with Gary Valenciano? Why not? After all, as he admitted once in a Funfare interview, “I’m not a saint,” even if he might be in the eyes of his fans who expect him to add inspirational Christian songs to his repertoire in his every concert.

But before going sexy, let’s ask Gary about his career plan — you know, after doing concerts here and abroad (with another series opening tonight at the Music Museum, titled Gary V: Soul in Motion), the “ultimate” having been with perceived arch rival Martin Nievera called As1 (taken, I presume, from the John Lennon classic Imagine: You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one), what’s left for Mr. Pure Energy to do?

“I want to get into movies, not exactly acting but more like scoring,” said Gary who was last seen acting in Hataw Na (in the mid-‘90s, with Dayanara Torres) and guesting in an indie film shown in Cinemalaya a few years back. “I’ve been getting offers as an actor but nothing concrete has come out. I want to do something different naman.”

That “something different” includes the Y Power speaking engagements he conducted in various schools two years ago.

“What a wonderful experience it was because it was interactive. I was speaking to a new generation and I’m sure my listeners, although they knew Gary Valenciano, never really knew him in a personal way. Most of them saw me only on TV but this time I was there, in front of them, interacting with them. I would sing a few songs but the talking occupied most of the time. I spoke at the University of Makati, St. Paul’s Manila, UPIS, etc. I realized that the young today think differently from the young, say, 20 or 30 years ago.”

 Now that his sons, Gabriel and Paolo, are grown and, eventually, taking over, would Gary willingly relinquish the limelight to them?

“Oh yes, I would. But the thing is, I’m not sure lang if they want to follow in the same exact footsteps that I had. Gabriel came to me one time and said, ‘You know, Dad, all this dancing…it’s just a stage. After that, wala na. You look for something else.’ Paolo never wanted to be in the limelight. He turned down an offer to be Heart Evangelista’s leading man in a soap.”

At 46 (Martin is two years older), Gary said that it won’t take long before he hangs his dancing shoes.

“They asked me to dance with young dancers on A.S.A.P. and I said, ‘Are you sure you want me to dance with them?’ Mga ganoong feeling.” 

Reacting to an observation that he’s more of a performer and Martin is more of the singer, Gary explained, “This is gonna sound weird. I do perform, I do sing. But when I’m onstage, what you see is not really an entertainer or a singer but somebody expressing himself in the best way he can, and it just happens to be in the form of dancing. When people tell me, ‘You are really a good dancer,’ I say, ‘Hold on. I move a lot but I will not consider myself a dancer.’ Do you know who the real dancer is? Gabriel. I move a lot onstage because ‘yung mga kanta ko mabiblis, but I’m not as good a dancer as Gabriel is.”

But whether Gary likes it or not, whether he agrees or not, people consider him not only a dancer but also a sex symbol whose onstage gyration spells S-E-X.

And that’s when we segue to a “sexy talk.”

What is sexy to you?

“It’s beyond the physical. For example, in A.S.A.P., there are lots of pretty faces but then you see some who have that X-factor, which is the sex appeal, without them even flaunting it. That’s what sexy is to me.”

Okay, name three women that you find sexy.

“I’d rather not. If I mention just one name, people will say, ‘Oh, Gary Valenciano finds her sexy.’ Society today puts very little difference between what is sexy and what is sensual.”

Don’t “sensual” and “sexy” go together?

“Not necessarily. Somebody asked me once, ‘Do you find Sarah Geronimo sexy?’ I said, ‘Yes, she is.’ She’s not showing anything but she has ‘it;’ it’s in the way she moves and acts. She probably knows that she can give more but she’s not.”

What makes you feel sexy?

“Music can do that. A certain passage from a song can do that.”

When did you lose your innocence?

“When I was young. I was about 16 or 17. I’m a late-bloomer.”

To an older woman or a younger woman?

“Basta!”

Were you drunk?

“No, I was not. I was sober.”

What qualities do you want in a woman?

“Sincerity in everything that she says or does. The ability to make an intense person like me loosen up and laugh. Caring. Nurturing.”

Sexiest musical instrument?

“An alto-soprano saxophone. It can make you cry, it can make you feel so many things.”

Sexiest song?

“I can’t name just one. There are many. Sa intro pa lang, sexy na ang dating.”

Sexiest book.

“I don’t read books like that.”

Yes, of course, you read only The Bible which has some sexy chapters.

“Yes, like The Songs of Solomon. But you look at it from a different perspective.”

Sexiest food.

“Japanese food.”

Sexiest car.

“Probably, the new Benz model which has doors that open like wings.”

Part of his body that he finds sexiest.

“I’m not supposed to say that. It should come from somebody else.”

Part of a woman’s body that he finds sexiest.

“It’s not any part of her body but her aura.”

Sexiest TV show.

“Oh gosh, I don’t watch shows like that!”

Sexiest movie.

“Can’t think of any.”

Sexiest scene he has ever done.

“Would you say that the scene showing me and Vilma (Santos) supposedly after doing it was sexy? That was in Ibulong Mo Sa Diyos.”

Sexiest billboard.

“The one of Angel Locsin. And the one of Toni Gonzaga and her sister Alex. That’s what I mean when I said that you can be sexy without showing anything.”

Sexiest fantasy.

“Do I ever fantasize? Suffice it to say I’m a man. There are things that I might find sexy but many others won’t. Such as when I skydive, if I just jump up there, for some reason that would be one of my fantasies.”

Sexiest clothes.

“I like the one that I’m wearing now. Tight. Hapit na hapit.”

Sexiest perfume.

“I like the one that I’m wearing now. Versace The Dreamer.” (Note: What he’s also wearing now and, in fact, all the time, is an insulin-monitor attached to his tummy, that automatically injects the diabetic Gary with insulin when his body needs it.)

Sexiest time of day.

“Mid-afternoon.”

Oh, afternoon delight?

“Basta, mid-afternoon.”

Sexiest part of the house.

“My bedroom.” 

Sexiest thing he has done to himself.

“I did a pictorial with Russell Wong in which I wore a wet white shirt, bare from the waist up. He poured water on me so everything was bakat. Russell has photographed the likes of Zhang Ziyi; he has put Donita Rose on Time magazine. He became a friend of ours because he used to watch my concert in Singapore in the early ‘80s. The photos were never published. Russell took them for his own file.”

Sexiest thing he has ever done to a woman.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

(Note: Gary V: Soul in Motion, with Philippine STAR as one of the sponsors, will have more playdates on Sept. 17, 22, 23, 29 and 30, same venue, with Jericho Rosales as guest on the 16th and 17th, and Duncan Ramos on all shows. For tickets, call Music Museum at 721-6726 or TicketWorld at 891-9999.)

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Raffy: Running after istambay, not for any crime- connected issues but this time to provide them jobs

Good news for followers of Raffy Tulfo (photo): Starting last Sunday, Raffy has returned to television where he should belong (and not only on radio where he hosts with Nina Taduran, a hard-hitting, no-holds-barred and no-punches-spared program on dzXL, 2 to 4 p.m. Monday thru Friday).

Raffy’s new show is called Oplan Zero Tambay aired Sundays at 10 p.m. on TV5 where he’ll also anchor with Ameline Veloso a daily newscast called Balitang Tapat, Monday thru Friday from 12 noon to 1 p.m.

“God is good,” said Raffy who, like his brothers Ramon and Erwin, had rough sailing during the Arroyo Administration after they got the ire of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. The brothers’ shows were summarily terminated but they never allowed themselves to be silenced. “There’s justice after all.”

There’s a touch of irony in Raffy’s having a show on TV5. A few years ago, he filed a case for breach of contract against the network when it was still being run by a Malaysian group. Raffy has since withdrawn his case.

TV is not an alien territory to Raffy. He hosted a show called Philippines’ Most Wanted on PTV NBN4 for five years, and then Task Force Siyasat, Kamao, Problema Mo Sagot Ko on the old Channel 5.

The new one is inspired by the hit US show The Apprentice in reverse.

“We recruit bystanders (istambay). We go to the slum areas and pick out jobless istambay, grill them and, if they qualify, we subject them to a make-over. Then, we feature their stories. There’s a touch of drama, kaya some of the episodes will make you cry. They are put to several ‘challenges’ and if they win, we give them VIP treatment in a spa, treat them in an eat-all-you-can restaurant and other amenities.”

TV5 management didn’t want the format of Raffy’s show to be the same as that of Erwin who hosts Tutok Tulfo aside from the daily early-morning show Sapul! (with Martin Andanar and Lourd de Veyra).

“My show is not about fighting crime but more of public service,” said Raffy. “We provide jobs for the istambay. It was Luchi (Cruz-Valdez, head of TV5’s News and Public Affairs) who thought of the format.”

Do tune in to Oplan Zero Tambay Sundays and enjoy the other (non-crime-fighting) side of Raffy Tulfo.

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