Philippine Icon on TV Entertainment • Master Showman - Kuya Germs
20 Years • "Walang Tulugan"

Launching of 2nd Avenue Entertainment Border in Rockwell Tent
May 2, 2007 with Special Gues Performers: FOLLIE DE MWAH!

UNILEVER SALES CORPORATION @ HOTEL ASTORIA - April 19, 2007
Special Guest Peformer: FOLLIE DE MWAH!

"BON VOYAGE to French National - MR. EDOUARD CLOS"
The Despidida Party in Club Mwah! was hosted by Mr. Romain Barbenis, Padcal Ramin & Grace Molina.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando & Wife Mayor Marilen Fernando with Follies de Mwah!
"AMAZING! Spectacular performance with full of Passion. Club Mwah is a Great Spot to unwind from the hustle and bustle of work. Be Part of this one of a kind experience!"

August 22, 2006

Dearest Pocholo and Cris,

Thank you so much for making my 50th birthday a success. It feels great to be a STAR for one night.

Nakaka-high pala especially when you receive comments such as ...

... Wow what a night to remember. You were really the STAR. We had so much fun. Ang galing. (Grace Coronel Agbayani)

... Told my mom and sister about your event last night - it was more than a dinner or party. It was a spectacle and celebration. More power to you. (jun Naranjilla)

... Last night was really great. Thanks for sharing your special day with us. You look dazzling sabi nga ng emcee. We should see a different Tina from now on. (Lebby Leagogo)

... You were fabulous last night! Thanks for sharing a great affair. Keep on dancing! Congrats and Bravo! (Amada Tapalla)

... Hi. Last night was great. Life begins at 50. (Ronnie Rivera)

... Thanks for a great party. I am recommending to all my airline and hotel contacts here in San Francisco, USA (Raul Reyes)

Thanks to Grace Coronel Agbayani for bringing me to Club Mwah last June 3, 2005 for her birthday blowout. I was so impressed with your show that when we were passing by Boni Avenue on our way home from a dinner party on June 11. I was excitedly pointing out your place to Frieda, Myrna and Lita. We stopped the car and went down to watch the show. They loved it.

You went after us on our way out and talked about Club Mwah as a Party Place. I could then visualize how the event would look like and I found your price very reasonable. When I finally did decide to hold a big party this year, I went to visit you with a reservation check on hand na.

you delivered what you promised Pocholo and I love you for that. Ang galing galing mo ring emcee!

I really feel good talking and dealing with people who shows a lot of Passion with their work. We move in two different worlds but we have the same PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE in our respective fields of expertise.

The celebration too brough a total donation of P126,000 for the heart surgery of Graciela G. Villarete and P45,300 for the Salesian Society os St John Bosco.

I spent a lot for the video coverage to make it look like a TV show and I appreciate you guys allowing full coverage of the Bedazzled 6. Don't worry, iyan na lang ang memories ko and as you know, I missed a lot of the happening during the affair kasi feeling Follies de Mwah Performer na rin ako. Spent most of my time at the back stage waiting for my queue for SHOWTIME.

be rest assured that the DVDs will be distributed only to very close friends and relatives her and abroad who could not make it to Club Mwah. I will provide you with edited format for your files.

I am also sending you a 22 Kt Gold Coin as a token of my appreciation for making my 50th Birthday the most talked about event of 2006 for all my guests.

Tina R. Legaspi

BW Weekender - Places
October 13-14, 2006

Club Mwah!
3rd Floor, The Venue Tower, Boni Avenue,
Mandaluyong City
Thursdays to Saturdays
Doors open at 8:30pm showtime is 10:10 pm

Now one doesn't have to go to Broadway and Las Vegas to see the shows - just heck out one of Club Mwah!'s flamboyant productions, ranging from high-class impersonations to cultural dance sets, to get a good taste of the real thing.

Nestled along Boni Ave in Mandaluyong, Club Mwah! is a theater bar that stages Broadway and Vegas style performances each production, unique and grandiose in its own right. Ever since the club started two years ago, it has been able to churn out several shows each running about three to four months and composed of about 10 to 15 production numbers each. No two productions are said to have ever been alike, offering audiences and guests different set of performances every show.

When owners pocholo Malilin and Cris Nicolas started Club Mwah! in 2004, they had a vision set in their minds - to establish a theater cum bar that would bring an extravagant fusion of Broadway and Las Vegas performances to Filipinos. They did not want to sacrifice their creativity and artistry in producing their shows so they made sure that they would have enough money to cover all the aspects of their productions - from the elaborate costumes to the dazzling hair and makeup and grand set designs. After being in the business of sending dancers abroad for 25 years, and having been able to travel to different countries in the process, they saved up to start their own business based here in the Philippines.

Club Mwah! experienced some difficulty the first six months of operations because Mr. Malilin said, the club was at first seen as only a high-class gay bar. Even the club's name, which means kiss, added to that image. But after having been featured in a number of TV programs and broadsheets, they were able to succeed in showing people that they offered much more. Their shows finally got the attention of their actual target market, which is the class A and B, and eventually, people started pouring in.

Club mwah! matches its flamboyant performances with the club's lavish and over-the-top design, with bright colorful lights, state-of-the-art stage design, and custom-made chairs and tables that the owners themselves designed. The result is a unique blend of comfort and entertainment that appeals to all five senses.

Shows, Shows and More Shows!

In an effort to maintain the quality of their shows, Club Mwah! houses all the makings of the production process under one roof. The building where Club Mwah is based has a tailoring show were the costumes are put together, a salon for the dancers where they get their hair and makeup done, a production area where all the props and sets are created, and a dance studio where the performers rehearse the dances, as choreographed by Mr. Nicolas, who is in charge of the productions. Mr. Malillin on the other hand, is in charge of the administrative side, managing the finances and public relations of the club.

Club Mwah! is now showing Bedazzled 6, which include performances based on the films Moulin Rouge, Goldfinger, and Chicago (the cell block tang), a Miss Saigon sequence complete with flying helicopter, as well as acts with chinese and Thai themes. Dancers use elaborate costumes to achieve flamboyant effect - in the Goldfinger number, the costumes are said to contain about four kilos of rhinestones each, in another number, about one kilo of material is used for ballerina's tutu.

As much as possible, they come up with a different set of costumes every time to keep up the quality of the performances, said Mr. Malillin, very rarely recycling them. He said that whenever they do recycle, they make sure they put add ons so that they would not look the same.

On average, they prepare their shows for at least a month, setting up the set design, props, costumes and choreography separately before integrating everything for the show. The club is open only on Thursdays to Saturdays, and accomodates about 100 guests a night. For Mondays to Wednesdays, they accept invitations to perform outside the club for different kinds of events.

Dancing and Education

Aside from the sets, costumes and props, the dancers - the majority of whom are transvestites - theselves play a vital role on keeping the show up to par.

Reiko, one of the dancers who has been with Club Mwah since it started two years ago, said that it is important to have passion for dancing. Reiko admitted that she loved dancing since she was in elementary school, but she was not able to pursue it until after she graduated from college. Aware of the importance of education as a safety net later in her life, she finsihed her studies first, graduating magna cumlaude from the Central Colleges of the Philippines with an Education degree major in History and Economics. After teaching for one year, she finally decided to go to Japan to pursue a acareer in dancing.

Since then, she has been in various shows and productions as a dancer and impersonator, all the while, helping her younger siblings in financing their own education.

When asked about what she deems difficult in her line of work, Reiko said that their dance rehearsals take a lot of their time, especially for a perfectionist like Mr. Nicolas. But they understand that it is necessary, she said, because that is how they maintain the quality of their performances.

As with any club, it is important to have an edge over other competitors in order to achieve success. But with Club Mwah!, it is also important to have the passion for it and the guts to pursue that passion. Mr. Malillin explained that it takes incredible passion to pursue the quality of their productions, making them as real as grandiose as they possibly can. He added that many have attempted to imitate their productions but did not last very long because most do not have enough passion to go all out in their shows.

"Anybody can join the bandwagon, but they can never beat the passion of a person," he said.

The entrance fee is P500 for the show, excluding food and drinks. For all reservations and other inquiries, call 535-7943 or visit their website at www.clubmwah.com

As a theater-cum-bar, Club Mwah!, nested on the 3rd floor of The Venue Tower, along Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City, has become synonymous with "world class", "opulent", "first rate", and "quality".

One thing nice about Club Mwah is that the owners never scrimp on the budget for sets and costumes for the sake of authenticity and visual delight. This is again evident in their latest presentation of Bedazzled 6. There's no recycling of sets, props and costumes.

"We don't want to shortchange our patrons. We always try our best to give them what they deserve: quality entertainment. It's a committment, and we are not reneging on that!" says Pocholo Malillin, Vice President and Administrator.

Bedazzled 6 presents entirely new numbers except for a reprise of the Cell block Tango dance sequence (lifted from the hit musical "Chicago" starring Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellweger) this time with Club Mwah's President Cris Nicolas doing the dirty dancing gigolo part - the world-class choreographer-director in a fantastic display of passionate dancing, great!

Madonna's Vogue is being given a Thai choreography complete with a golden temple as background set and exotic Thai costumes.

"These are all imported from Thailand: the silk cloth, necklace, everything!", says Pocholo.

Everything looks authentically Thai. Malillin confides that the Materials used in the golden costumes and the Bangkok Temple in the background were all imported from Thailand. No wonder! Whatever extravagance there maybe is for the better, and that's that! And the Madonna clone, she's really something. Can you imagine the Material Girl performing for the Thai royalty in Bangkok. Fabulous!

The African tribal dance goes hip and contemporary with a luminous spider web converted into a wall by tumbling, scaling jazz dancers garbed in golden ethnic costumes with matching headdresses and cannibal sticks to boot! Call it novel and highly creative!

Out from the depths of African jungle, the stage is transformed into the meadows with Karma Cavorting with Three colorful Ostriches. Find out the toilet humor which is injected into the scene strictly for laffs. Superb!

Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" wearing gold rhinestone coming out from the hydraulic has a bevy of glamorous damsels in dramatic black gowns gliding on the ramp very much like James Bond's temptresses in the 007 spy movies when Sean Connery was the title roler. What do you say, Ian Fleming?

Madonna's Die another Day another James Bond movie with 8 dazzling performers in gold outfit with huge hair.

The most lavish number in Bedazzled 6 is their vision of "Miss Saigon". Would you believe a helicopter in mid-air and American GI soldiers in regulation military uniforms? And the Vietnamese villagers, all 30 of them, are dresses and made up to look like real Vietcongs down to the last chinky eyeshadow! Kim enters on a boat, paddling onstage turns the scene into a riotous comedy when she shows her exaggerated pregnancy and her ala-Rapunzel long, long hair! And the Mwah!'s Kim, dear, dear Karma, paddling on stage with the mid-protuberance and her ala-Rapunzel hair intended to draw laffs and even more laffs when she barks and impersonates a frightened dog!

The penultimate number billed "I Am What We Are", has the gender-bending dancers in "doble-cara" get-ups. Mind-blogging! Dizzying! Segue to the dazzling curtain call with the performers in all opulence parading down the lightened staircase.

Club Mwah! Continues to live up to its reputation as an upscale entertainment venue dobling as a party place. It has even earned another trademar: favorite launching pad for new products and services. And what do you know; it has lately become a taping, shooting site for TV shows and movies! It has lately been accredited by the Department of Tourism as a must-see tourist stop-over! Lavish costumes and excellent choreography as well as the choice of music set design is well crafted by Club Mwah Artistic Director Cris Nicolas.

Club Mwah's reputation of splendor and grandiosity precedes itself the recipient of 3 International Awards all within its First Year or operation. It doesn't fail to enthrall and captivate Metro Manila's Club Bar going crowd. Even those whoce club-meters are exceptionally high.

Call 532-2826 / 535-7943 for reservations! Visit our website www.clubmwah.com. Free valet parking.

When it comes to first rate entertainment fare, chances are you find it at Club Mwah, located at the third floor of the Venue Tower along Boni Ave. in Mandaluyong City. For instancet, this is where you can find Minnie ripperton's falsetto number "Loving You" transformed into a lullaby, or where a spoof version of London West End's "Miss Saigon" with a Rapunzel-haired Kim and an authentic chopper to boot is seen! Or even Madonna singing the Thai version of "Vogue".

And now, the much raved about bar-theater is staging Bedazzled 6, an entertainment package with lavish production numbers and excerpts from Broadway musical hits guaranteed to quench everyone's thirst for one-of-a-kind and world-class entertainment fare!

What to see in Bedazzled 6 are a blonde-goggledeyed Minnie Ripperton putting to sleep her "Blue Magic" baby to the birit song Loving You, and time-precisioned succession and quick set changes, the Sister Act, the Goldfinger sequence, the Korean Sakura Flower Festival, Mana Moton, and the operatic aria of Pitimini, an African tribal dance actually take-off from All That Jazz and many more.

Due to insistent clamor from Club Mwah's patrons, the Cell Block Tango dance sequence is also being restaged but this time with highly emotionally charged choreography by no less than the place's president, director and chief dance guru Cris Nicolas who's doing the dirty dancing gigolo role. Cris and vice president and partner Pocholo Malillin keep on concocting fabulous production numbers of the viewing delight and visual satisfaction of guests and patrons recently among them the former Fisr Lady Imelda Marcos, showbiz sensations like Sam milby and many others from the showbiz world.

And of course, the club's spoof version of Miss Saigon, is something else. And ewe wonder how cameron MacKintosh would react if he were in the audience?

And for a finale, the Follies de Mwah do their version of "I Am What We Are" lifted from musical La Cage Au Follies.

By the way, Club Mwah received recently award from the Asian Gen and Tourism Federation chaired by Ms. Celine F. Clemente for artistic excellence in its tourism-oriented shows.

Club Mwah opens at 8:30pm for dinner, and at 9:30-10:30, guests can go dancing (be sure to bring yur dance partners, Pocholo said) , You can also visit their website at www.clubmwah.com

A few months later, while enjoying a beauty regimen in a salon, I came across a magazine article featuring a birthday bash with photos of some of my favorite actors, actresses and singers in attendance. Again, the state of the art stage, world class show and performers, good food and ambience were mentioned about the party's venue, CLUB MWAH!, located at the Boni Avenue, this time, I really got so interested that I couldn't wait to find out for myself where the exact location of this club is. The next day, on my way home to Pasay from Greenhills, San Juan, I made a right at Boni Avenue from EDSA to look for Club Mwah. Before reaching the Municipal Building of Mandaluyong City, I saw it on the left side of the avenue. I asked for some flyers from the Security Guard and learned that the Club is opened for shows only on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the week.

Recently, classmates of my husband asked my help in the preparation of a get-together to honor classmates who have retired and who are about to retire this year 2006. I though of Club Mwah and went to see the manager to discuss possible booking. There I met a forty-something looking guy who introduced himself to me as Pocholo Malillin. He invited me and hubby to see the show and tour the place so that we can evaluate and formalize booking as early as possible. So, the following Sat., hubby and I went and were truly impresses by the beautiful interiors and cleanliness of the place, the world class entertainment, good food and well mannered staff.

When we got home, hubby commented... "I like the place. I got inside the Club smelling good and I left the place stilll smelling clean even after staying there for hours."

Last Saturday, we had hubby's class get-together. Everyone had a GREAT time. We started out with a thanks giving prayer at 8:00pm. Followed by photo session right on the magnificently lit stage. So much fun, bonding and updating followed while enjoying every dish from the buffet tables exclusively prepared for the group from the piping hot tasty mushroom soup to the refreshingly cold buko pandan ice cream. The buffet spread was maid available for whoever wished to partake of it until 2:00 am. Entertainment, Follies de Mwah, started at around 10:45 with burst of bright colors onstage followed by 1 1/2 hours. Show of clock precision movements of performers and dancers, beautifully crafted costumes in stunning kaleidoscope of colors supported by professional stage crew. We learned that the performers are composed of 25% females and 75% gays and / or trans sexuals. More dancing chatting, bonding, eating and drinking followed after the show. Furthermore, we got to chat with Pocholo and were all taken aback to know that this forty-something looking guy is actually 62 years old! He proudly showed of his smooth, unwrinkled, healthy looking skin and tour muscles of his arms and legs. Prodding him to share with us the secret road to the fountain of youth, he recited his litany as follows:

1. I have always been kind to myself. I never abused my body, I don't smoke, I don't drink and always eat healthy. I take good rest whenever I am tired.

2. I start my day with thanksgiving prayer to my Creator and offer my day to Him, no matter what happens, I end my day with praying the rosary with my family.

3. Offering my day to Him gives me the drive to strive for excellence in whatever I do because He deserves nothing but the BEST. I am ashames to offer anything half-baked, half-cooked (malata) to Him.

4. I enjoy what I do and do my work with passion. When I no longer enjoy what I do, I don't do it all so that I won't be burdened with regret. Regrets make one feel and look old. If I have to do a task, I study how to enjoy doing it first.

5. I don't do well on the negatives and am conscious about being fair and just to people around me most especially thos whom I work with.

Woo!! .... nuggets of wisdom and truth heard in a night spot ...! Where you expecting to read 1-5 when you read the title of this article? Neither did I expect to hear those pointers in a club and refresh my memory with values learned from the nuns from Grade School through College in my Alma Mater. Club Mwah experience was more than lots of fun, fun and more; but goes beyond to touch the heart and spirit as well.

Mwah!
By: Odet Honrado
06/20/06

Hi Pocholo! Again, Thank you so much for the wonderful experience you gave LUXASIA. I am so proud to have made CLUB MWAH our party place this christmas, And because you have become close to my heart. Naiyak nga ako because i saw my co- workers faces while watching follies de mwah. They were in awe. It melted my heart. Salamat po ulit.

Jett- LUXASIA