The church that Danny Dolor built
Now we know why Danny Dolor (banker/art-lover/ philanthropist/The STAR’s Remember When columnist) has been making frequent trips to Lipa City, Batangas, where he has a vacation house sprawled on a 12-hectare lot.
Sunday (Sept. 28) last week, the barkada paid Danny a “surprise†visit at his paradise-like hideaway and we learned that he is building a church on the 1.5 hectares that he has donated for the parish, which will be the Shrine of Our Lady of Mediatrix. The church is located a few blocks away from the Mt. Carmel Convent where the miraculous image of The Mediatrix is enshrined on the exact spot where in the ‘40s and early ‘50s roses showered the place virtually from nowhere, believed by devotees to be from heaven. Now famously known as the “miracle of the roses,†it was at first dismissed as a hoax until it was proven to be of divine origin. The visionary was Teresing Castillo, a young nun.
It turned out that Danny got wind of the barkada’s post-birthday “surprise†for him (his birthday was on Sept. 26) and it was he who actually surprised the group by laying out a buffet of native Batangas goodies like sinaing na tulingan at tambacol, dinuguan with puto, sotanghon, binagoongan, caldereta, ginataang manok and an array of desserts like tamales, suman, panotsa, halu-halo, lanzones and other fruits in season, all of which were wiped out as the barkada’s take-home.
As usual, everybody was accounted for (except Girlie Rodis. Lawrence Tan and Sen. Grace Poe-Llamanzares who were abroad): Susan Roces, Marichu “Manay Ichu†Maceda and sister Betchay, Ronald Constantino, Veanna Fores, Shirley Kuan, Dolor Guevarra (with daughters JP and Anes) and sister Emma (with daughter Reina Agatha), June Torrejon-Rufino, Maricel Soriano, Malou Choa-Fagar, Ethel Ramos, Pat-P Daza and Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde, plus Lipa native Nestor Cuartero and Aster Amoyo (who has her own vacation house in the outskirts of the city). Also present was Lipa Parish priest Fr. Wilfredo “Dong†Rosales.
While swapping juicy showbiz morsels (the barkada’s usual “pampaganaâ€), all off-the-record, Danny’s well-wishers gobbled up the handa like starved wolves to the strains of the string quartet specially hired by Danny for the occasion.
Burping, the barkada was led by Danny on a quick tour of his mansion (as Ronald called it) which is the dream set of movie/TV producers to whose requests Danny would always politely say no, except once when he couldn’t refuse a dear friend. Danny has built an annex (where the sumptuous lunch was held) which will eventually be a venue for birthdays and some such social events, including weddings at the nearby church. Danny is having stone steps built from the annex to the church. A gaily-trimmed kalesa will transport the newly-wed from the church to the reception hall.
Hanging on the walls along the corridors are artists Adler Llagas’ paintings (of Mt. Malarayat and Batangas’ scenics spots), more than 17 so far (with more coming), the biggest of which covers the wall facing the entrance. That served as the backdrop of the barkada’s SOP “family picture.†Click!!!
The “surprise†visit was capped by a 4 o’clock Mass at Danny’s church.
Ronald, Aster and I prayed at the Mt. Carmel convent’s church before we went back to Manila, stuffed full with take-home from Danny’s heaving buffet table.
(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)
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