Seriously now, John Lapus

On The Buz or in Arriba, Arriba! or onstage here and abroad or wherever he is for that matter, John "Sweet" Lapus is a livewire, a restless bundle of talent who can’t stay put (I suspect he’s "performing" even when he’s fast asleep – performing what!?!).

That’s why many people (this one included) wonder what the real John Lapus is, what is beneath that happy-go-lucky front (if it is all a "front," that is).

On Nov. 16 (Saturday, starting at 8 p.m.), John will mount a concert called Dis Is It! (D’Universal Sweet Event) at the Folk Arts Theater (Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas), his first time to perform in a solo major concert in such a frightening venue. His array of guests includes Ai-Ai delas Alas, Dessa, Bing Loyzaga, Rufa Mae Quinto, The Company, Christian Vasquez and Jessa Zaragoza, with Floy Quintos as stage director, Ricky Lopez as writer and Jacob Fernandez (of JFL Organization, Inc.) as producer.

Before you rush to the FAT (too early), let’s put John under the magnifying glass and dissect him:

Are you really very funny?

"Yes, all the time. Even if I have problems, nagpapatawa pa rin ako."

Don’t you have serious moments?

"I do have pero kokonting tao lang ang nakakakita."

Do you ever cry?

"Of course, I do. I cry over (especially sad) movies. Sometimes, I even cry over cartoons. Ang tanga ko, ’no! I feel comfortable crying in the darkness of a moviehouse. Doon ko nairi-release."

When did you cry really hard?

"Recently."

Over what?

"Pressures. Malapit na ang show ko… And I realized that I’m 29, I’m beautiful and yet I don’t have a lover."

Haven’t you ever had any (lover)?

"So far, I have fallen in love three times, but all of them were not reciprocated. Hindi alam n’ung guys. I don’t have a lovelife, all right, but I do have a sex life. Kawawa naman ako kung loveless na wala pang sex life, di ba?"

Do you cry over a broken heart?

"The three guys whom I just mentioned, oo naman, iniyakan ko sila, one by one."

Did you break up with (each of) them? Or iniwanan ka nila?

"I wasn’t their type. It was a simple as that. I never had any relationship with any of them; na-in-love lang ako sa kanila."

Was it a one-way affair?

"Yeah. One way. All they wanted was friendship. I told them, ‘But I have many friends already!’ They didn’t want to be my lover(s)."

Would you die (or kill yourself) for a man?

"Oh, my God, sana hindi! According to my friends, matindi daw ako magmahal."

All or nothing at all? Are you the "all mine to give" type?

"You know those three guys, they never recriprocated maski give ako nang give sa kanila."

Financial?

"At that time, I didn’t have money yet."

Do you try giving your body to them?

"I did, pero ayaw nilang tanggapin."

Are you the type who harbors ill feelings?

"No. I forgive easily but I don’t forget easily."

Are you and your father (scriptwriter Jojo Lapus) okay already?

"Yeah. Okay na."

Give us a brief background of your misunderstanding with your father.

"I grew up without seeing him at all. If I did, very rarely. In short, hindi sila okay ng Nanay ko."

But you’ve already reconciled, haven’t you?

"Early this year lang. His relatives called us up, kasi nga he was serious daw, he was very sick. We went to the San Juan Hospital but he looked okay naman. I felt for my mother. For the first time in 18 years, nagkita sila ng Tatay ko."

Has your Nanay forgiven your Tatay?

"Yes, she has. Ever since naman, Nanay has been telling my sister and me to forgive na our Tatay. Sabi niya, ‘Maybe it wasn’t all his fault; maybe, maryoon din akong faults.’ Very forgiving ang babaing ’yan."

What was your childhood like?

"Hirap kami, medyo traumatic. My mother is a teacher. Can you imagine how much the salary of a teacher is? And yet, ang Nanay ko ang nagpaaral sa akin from grade school to college. Can you imagine? I have a sister – mas maganda ako sa kanya di hamak! – and she was forced to work kaagad. She had no choice."

At what age did you realize that you were, well, different?

"Na bading ako? Ay, very early! I was only five years old. Ever since, malambot na ako kumilos. I wanted to wear girls’ clothes."

Did you start looking at guys also at that early age?

"Secretly, baka magalit ang Nanay ko. Sa kanya, masama ang bakla. Bawal. In her mind, if you’re a bading, you’d only end up as a parlorista. Hanggang beautician ka lang, ganoon. It was only when I was in college did I change my mother’s attitude towards badings. I proved to her that not all bading end up working in a beauty parlor."

Bud did you ever dream of putting up a beauty parlor?

"Utang na loob!?!"

Oo nga pala. Showbiz is in your blood. (Tino Lapuz of TV’s Eskuwelahang Munti fame was his grandfather; while Romy Lapus is his uncle.)

"Showbiz talaga ako inside-out."

By the way, whatever happened to your Tito Romy (Lapus)?

"You know, last year, I did a show in Davao. I heard that he’s there. Somebody approached me, a security guard, handing a letter to me. Galing daw sa tiyuhin ko. They didn’t let him in dahil gusgusin daw ang suot. Naging addict na siya! I heard na itinakwil na siya ng mga kapatid niya. We didn’t see each other during that trip to Davao. He has been in and out of rehab centers. His brothers have given up on him because he keeps on going back to drugs."

What’s your philosophy in life?

"Believe in yourself. I always do. Otherwise, if you don’t believe in yourself nobody else will. So I always believe in myself, in everything in me – my talent, my beauty, lahat! That’s my best weapon – self-confidence. I use it against gay discrimination and whatever."

Any frustration?

"That there’s still gay discrimination."

Aside from that?

"Frustrated ako that I never had a boyfriend. Before, I thought that kapag nag-artista ako madali akong makakakuha ng men. Hindi pala. Now, the men who approach me either want to be actors o kaya gustong magpabili ng cellphone. O, frustrating, di ba? Sandali lang, ano, teka muna..."

If you were a girl, who would you be?

"A combination of Kris Aquino and Maricel Soriano. They’re both strong women. Like Kris, I’m kikay, pareho kaming critic at pintasera. Like Maricel, I can also be mataray."

If you were a real man naman, who would you be?

"I would love to be Richard Gomez. I like Richard Gomez – physically, very matalino, maganda ang career plan."

Is any part of your body surgically enhanced?

"None. Original ang beauty ko. When I was thinner, I must admit kabayotic ang beauty ko. Nag-improved naman when I gained weight."

They say that you look like Anna Dizon. Okay lang sa’yo?

"Oo naman! Kapag naka-mujer ako, we really look alike. By the way, maganda naman si Anna Dizon, di ba? Si Jett Pangan, kamukha ko rin, di ba? Pero ngayon, may color-coding na. If my hair is long, si Anna Dizon ’yon; if my hair is black, si Jett Pangan ’yon; but if my hair is violet, ako na talaga ’yon."

What is your most precious possession?

"My X-Men comic books. When I was a kid, we were poor and we never had toys. But I was fascinated by my neighbor’s X-Men comic books, so when I started earning bumili ako nang bumili ng maraming-maraming X-Men comic books."

Vina’s triumph

Like John Lapus, Vina Morales has finally fulfilled her dream of mounting a concert (her first major solo gig) at the Folk Arts Theater. You know, if you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere.

And that’s just what Vina did – make it at the FAT.

In her "long overdue" concert recently, Vina showed a capacity crowd the stuff she’s made of, singing and dancing at the same time, an act not many singer can do with aplomb.

Among the show’s highlights were Vina’s duet with Concert King himself, Martin Nievera, in a medley of ’70s hits (Disco Inferno, If I Can Have You, Hotstuff, Far From Over, etc.) and with Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano (Gusto Kita).

Congrats to Vina and may you have many more such hit concerts to come.

Meanwhile, can John "Sweet" Lapus duplicate Vina’s feat at the FAT?

Let’s find out come Nov. 16.