One had to ‘dance or pay’ at this NYE party
New Year’s Eve started with a bang at the Manila Polo Club and what was most noticeable was the multigenerational crowd in attendance, from boogieing grandparents to little kiddies swaying to the beat. The Main Lounge was dressed to look like one had stepped into a three-ring circus and early comers were greeted by acrobats, clowns and jugglers.
The “dancing-est family” would have been an appropriate title for the Zaragozas, headed by 92-years-young matriarch Pilar Zaragoza. Her clan occupied several tables and once the music of Ramon “RJ” Jacinto started, they were on the floor, paving the way for others to follow suit with dancing that lasted till the club’s fireworks announced the start of 2016.
It was amusing how the charming Tita Pilar found the perfect formula to make her familia groove to the music: dance, or else pay for your own ticket.
Dating back over a hundred years ago, the Manila Polo Club started in the early 1900s when we were a colony of the United States of America, and with the arrival of William Cameron Forbes. He brought with him not only a love for polo but also the establishment of a club that would foster the “king of sports.” Forbes eventually became our US Governor General but for the younger generation, he will be better known for the prestigious Forbes Park Village that is named in his honor.
The club has been a favorite of its members and their families, providing a beautiful sanctuary in the midst of bustling Makati with vast polo fields as its centerpiece.
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