Pocholo Malillin: Kissing CLUB MWAH!

"In anything I do, I give my best. In anything I do, I do it with love, kindness, understanding and of course, passion."

Pocholo Malillin hates the word Japayuki. Due to how the local media painted them, Japayukis are now deemed as live entertainers who go to Japan to become prostitutes. People believe what they want, no matter how misinformed they are. Yet despite how much Pocholo depises this prevalent notion, this does not deter him from training world-class performers and setting them out on a life-changing journey to the Land of the Rising Sun.

"Cris' obsession has always been to have a dance school," confides Pocholo, referring to Cris Nicolas, his business and life partner for more than twenty years.

"At Dance Diva, we enhance and uplift youths, who, due to poverty, find dancing as their only option. Because if you are well-to-do, you wouldn't go out to become a dancer, right? But we never abuse the fact that these kids would do nearly everything just to help their families bring food on the table. We believe in filling up whatever they lack. Here at our studio, we not only train them physically, but also spiritually and emotionally as well. Moreover, we also let their parents know about and get involved in what we are doing. In the end, we want these kids to go out into the world confident, knowing that their lives have value and purpose."

There is a strange phenomenon that occurs when people give out of love. They tend to receive so much more in return.

"We cannot believe that thirty years ago, Cris and I started out with a small apartment. Now, we have this huge building - Venue Tower - to our name."

If the owners themselves barely believe their accomplishment, who would readily belive that from such humble beginnings, they would be able to put up Club Mwah, an expansive Studio-54-meets-Caesar's Palace club and theater in Mandaluyong City?

And that according to Yahoo.com, their website - www.clubmwah.com - would become the number one viewed club website in the world? Maybe the small chapel within Venue Tower holds the secret to their success.

"In business, you need total focus and dedication to what you are doing. But this does not mean that we forget to thank God for all that He has given us. In the end, we do what we do here at Dance Diva and Club Mwah not because we want to gain approval from others for being gay. We are doing all of this because we have an obligation to God."

Everyone at the Tower always stops at six o'clock pm everyday to pray the rosary. The building is open all week except Sunday, "the day for God and family," Pocholo adds.

"Whenever I come home from the work that I love and see Cris there, waiting for me, I remember the time when we presented each other to our respective families. I remember the time when we got married in las Vegas more than twenty years ago. And whenever I see Reinhart, our adopted son, my heart fills up and overflows with joy. I am always able to say that wala na akong hahanapin pang iba. Thanks to God, I can't ask for anything more."

"Principles and respect are values that must be paramount to a gay man. He should be decisive and firm, not going around doing things out of whim, only to turn away from his word."

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