| A
Club like no other
by
Odet Honrado It
was always been my habit to have my car radio on whenever I drive myself around.
One morning, on my way to meet an appointment, there was this morning talk show
host who sounded bubbly happy about an experience she had in one nightspot along
boni Ave. in Mandaluyong City, the name of which I failed to catch. 
The
host talked about the club;s state-of-the-art theater stage and other facilties,
the world-class show and performers, superb ambiance and good food. Being a performer
resident of the area who has spent 27 years of my life in Mandaluyong, I wondered
to myself, isn't this anchorwoman being mistaken about the location of such a
structure? Where in Boni Ave. could this club be? 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 signers in attendance. Again, the state-of-the-art stage,
world-class show and performers, good food and ambiance were mentioned about the
party's venue, Club Mwah! this time, I really got so interested that I couldn't
wait to find out for myself where this Club Mwah was located. When I got in the
place, 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. I thought
of Club Mwah and went to see the manager to discuss a possible booking. There
I met a guy who introduced himself to me as Pocholo Malilin. He invited me and
hubby to watch the show and tour the place so that we can evaluate and formalize
a booking. The following Saturday, hubby and I went to the club and we were truly
impressed by everything, especially their entertainment fare. 
Needless
to say, we made a booking for hubby's class get-together, and everyone had a great
time. After a sumptuous dinner and photo ops, we watched "Follies de Mwah"
which took more than an hour. We were impressed by the clock precision movements
of the performers and dancers (25% females and 75% gays and/or transsexuals),
beautifully crafted costumes in stunning kaleidoscope of colors supported by a
professional stage crew. We
also got to chat with the manager, Mr. Malillin, who we thought was only 40-something
years old but were amazed to know he's already 62! His
secret: "I've been always been kind to my body, I never abuse it. I don't
smoke, I don't drink; I always eat healthy food. And I take a good rest whenever
I am tired. I start my day with thanksgiving prayers to my creator, and offer
my day to Him. I enjoy what I do and do my work with passion. If I jave to do
a task, I study how to enjoy doing it first." These are nuggets of wisdom
and truth I also learned from. Pocholo
informed us that his partner Cris Nicolas is one of the performers, and together
they've conceptualized all their dazzling shows at Club Mwah. They not only attempted
to create a combined New York Broadway/Las Vegas-inspired show, but revolutionized
the Philippines live entertainment scene and invested heavily in the creative
ingenuity and artistic talent of their performers. By
the way, the next fabulous show, Bedazzled 7, will have its grand opening the
first week of December. This will have a touch of the holiday season, Pocholo
and Cris told us with pride. •
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