Roses for Rose Marie

Red roses were what first greeted the eye at the grand birthday celebration of the genuinely admired socialite-philanthropist Rose Marie "Baby" Jimenez-Arenas. Indeed, a profusion of roses was to be expected, the rose being Rose Marie’s favorite flower. As guests entered the Mandarin Oriental ballroom, they saw bunches of red roses adorning the candlelit tables, the flowers presenting a dramatic contrast to the immaculately white tablecloths.

This was the elegant setting for the epicurean menu which consisted of Salmon carpaccio with rocketta leaves, avocado green wasabi dressing and shaved Parmesan Seafood cilantro dumpling with cream of corn/Red-wine braised chicken with mushrooms, steamed rice and ratatouille vegetable/Apple tart with mantecado ice cream and vanilla beans sauce/Coffee or Tea.

Before dinner, the deeply religious Rose Marie asked The Reverend Horacio Rodriguez to deliver an invocation.

Forthwith, the good priest gave thanks "for this beautiful night and for the wonderful people gathered here in a festive mood to celebrate the birthday of someone so dear to us, Rose Marie, who is all that is good, beautiful and true.

"It saddens our hearts to realize that, though You call all men to the banquet of life, there are still so many vacant seats at Your table. We feel so sorry about it for we, ourselves have been unjust and unconcerned. May the Beautiful Rose and the Baby with the Golden Heart that we all admire in Marie Arenas be a model and inspiration for us to be more responsive to the needs of others and share with them our blessings, Your blessings, Dear Lord."

Among those joining the edifying prayer were Vice-President Teofisto Guingona–he had come early and stayed till the end–several ambassadors, high-ranking government officials, business executives, prominent figures from the cultural scene–Baltazar Endriga, sculptor Ramon Orlina, Jaime Laya, portrait photographer Rupert Jacinto and his lovely wife Tina, and other beautiful elegant people, among them Menchu Concepcion, Gina de Venecia, Tingting Cojuangco, Inday del Rosario, Nedy Tantoco, Diana Jean Lopez, Criselda Lontok and Justa Tantoco.

It was truly an evening of wine (Cog au vin) and roses, climaxed with a musical program which featured no less than the 60-member Manila Philharmonic which, under the baton of the remarkably young and talented Rodel Colemar, played Broadway and West End hit tunes and songs from West Side Story. The music was so infectious that guests were either beating time to the rhythms or humming the melodies quietly, thus enlivening the celebration even more.

Violin wizard Jay Cayuca, long-time music scholar and protegé of Rose Marie, dazzled the audience with his virtuosic interpretation of "Czardas"; later, to the considerable delight of everyone, Rose Marie, ravishing in a feathered black gown, sang "An Affair to Remember" and Kahit Na to the exquisite accompaniment of Jay. The celebrant’s performance called to mind the fact that her late mother, Remedios Bosch Jimenez, was arguably the best dramatic soprano this country has produced. Rose Marie’s keen musicianship, her deeply moving expression and clear articulation would have made her mother truly proud of her, particularly as thunderous applause and cries of "Bravo!" ensued after the renditions.

Among Rose Marie’s most avid fans were STAR’s Max and Precious Soliven and the vivacious Gracie Glory Go.

The musicale ended with some movie themes of Henry Mancini, one of which "Day (Night) of Wines and Roses" aptly summed up the memorably marvelous evening only Rose Marie could have hosted.