A close encounter with the Megastar

There's no bigger star than the Megastar. Or so it seemed to those who watched Sharon Cuneta's sold-out concert last Saturday at Waterfront Lahug. When she sang "Bituing Walang Ningning," I had goose bumps, not so much for the Sharon's rendition, but for the many concertgoers I've seen singing along with her and crying.

To many, she truly has become a larger-than-life personality who brought joy and lessons through her life onscreen and off screen. Even for the presscon organized by Red Tag Events, I've never been to such an intimate entertainment-related affair as Sharon's. She was brimming with stories, told in candid ease and sparkling humor like as if she's in the company of longtime friends. That she's back in school at the UP Open University ("It's never too late!"). That heartbreak (with you-know-who) is a preparation of sorts for eventual bliss (with husband Sen. Kiko, and her three daughters). That Cebu was really the first to embrace her as a young budding singer. Ad infinitum. "Isang tanong, pero ang sagot ko pang-five pages na!" she joked.

Eldest daughter KC is fast following her footsteps as far as celebrity status (and endorsement deals!) are concerned. The proud mother reported that her 21-year-old daughter couldn't make it since she's busy working, and was, in a few days, flying back to Paris, where she'd be soon graduating from university.

When asked what guy would she wanted KC to end up with, Sharon answered lengthily: "She has no boyfriend for 2 years now, and she's choosing... taking her time. Actually, when she breaks up with her boyfriends, I'm the one who gets sad because I had became close to them. Feeling ko nga, I'd become a very likeable mother-in-law. There was only one guy I didn't like and I told her that. There is this one guy who is a family friend and is working abroad whom I like for her, but it's her decision whom to end up with. I just want someone who can take care of her, and who's not after her money, as she's already rich by her own right. Pero bahala na siya kung anong gusto niya kasi 21 na siya, and I trust her judgment. She has after all not given me any headache."

The concert, on the other hand, would definitely defy whoever said that Cebuanos don't get starstruck. When Sharon, even against the wishes of some of her staff, approached the audience, she was stalled for numerous times because everyone wanted to shake her hand, give her a kiss and take her picture. When she was singing her encore, the stage was already swarmed with aggressive fans, who wanted to pull her here and there for more picture-taking. But she maintained her cool and, in between singing, cautioned fans not to push.

Also during the concert, die-hard Sharonians named Baby and her daughter Apple from Carcar (three generations of Sharonians actually, but Baby's mother was bound to a wheelchair and couldn't make it) were also called up the stage. They won a contest sponsored by ABS-CBN Cebu after bringing their impressive Sharon Cuneta memorabilia like posters, LPs and CDs, for which they got concert tickets, a dinner date with Sharon, among others. Baby said their memorabilia were even handled with more care than their appliances when their home was flooded recently. And when Sharon learned that their TV, however, failed to withstand time and bad weather, she gifted the two with a Sony Wega TV because "walang Sharonian ang hindi nakakapanood ng show ko."

In between tears, Baby probably thanked all family members of the Megastar, especially her parents late Pasay City mayor Pablo Cuneta and Elaine Cuneta for allowing Sharon to enter showbiz. She also thanked her own father, who passed away as well, for giving them the budget to indulge their adulation for the Megastar. She finally said: "I've only made a few right decisions in my life. And one of them is having the Megastar as my idol." Even if I could never understand how such adoration could have developed into such proportions, the poignancy of that encounter, however, was not lost on me, nor to the rest of the audience.

Sharon's repertoire consisted of songs popularized by Barbra Streisand and the Carpenters, compositions by Louie Ocampo, who was also her musical director; Ogie Alcasid and the late George Canseco, plus other well-loved theme songs from her over 50 movies. She also had several duets with Christian Bautista.

There are concerts that purely entertained, with the euphoric feeling lasting up till the show's over. But Sharon Cuneta made her concert a lasting encounter-the mega way.