Sept 22-28

I grew up with the music of Martin Nievera. His songs are part of my life, a musical journey filled with joy, pathos and sweet remembrances. I was witness to history as Martin gave an unforgettable rendition of Erik Santos' This Is The Moment during the ASAP grand celebration of his 30th year in showbiz last July 29, 2012 on ABS-CBN. The Martin-songs production numbers, introduced by Robbie Domingo, opened with an electrifying version of You're On The Right Track with international star Billy Crawford and pop-rock icon Juan Miguel Salvador. Then Pain with The Dawn frontman Jet Pangan and Nikki Gil. Next was Huggybear's favorite Martin song, You Are To Me, with Gino Padilla and Toni Gonzaga. Martin came on stage next, singing You Are My Song, joined by Verni Varga and Rachel Alejandro. There was also Bamboo and Yeng Constantino singing a rock version of No Way To Treat A Heart

In the next production, Martin was alternating with Kuh Ledesma and Pop Fernandez singing Ikaw Ang Aking Pangarap; then with Ariel Rivera and idol Gary Valenciano as they sang Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin. Next was picture perfect: Martin and Pops alone on stage, singing Maybe by George Benson and Roberta Flack. Then their kids Robin and Ram joined them, singing the Martin classic I'll Be There For You. Martin was crying. We all mistakes, we learn and we move on, he said. Martin Nievera, the one and only Concert King, said that, in his 30 years in showbiz, his greatest achievement is right on that stage with him -- his family

See Huggybear's Favorite Martin Nievera Songs

If I could, then I would watch the afternoon soap Angelito: Ang Bagong Yugto. I've only seen part of the Aug.16 episode. Apparently there was a bar gig the night before. Angelito (JM De Guzman) and his wife, Rosalie (Charee Pineda), who just came out of the shower, are very sweet. "Give me a kiss, baby!" She says she's happy because she and her mother had settled their misunderstanding. He tells her that he saw his ex-girlfriend, Jenny (Kaye Abad), at the bar. Jenny's fiancee, Paeng (John Pratts), told her that somebody saw her and Angelito together last night leaving the club. Angelito's wife's sister, Rona, who was also at the bar, implies to her that there's a lot she doesn't know about Angelito. Paeng confronts Jenny in their garden. In the teaser for the next episode, the engagement has been called off. "Do you still love him?" he asks under the trellis. "Do you still love Angelito?"

Paeng and Kay gets to marry, after all, and the Aug. 31 episode is the reception. "I'm sorry if I assumed that your child is mine,"Angelito tells Kay. She doesn't know how to react; there is obviously something she wants to tell him but she cannot. All she can do is to beg him to think, from now on, that Paeng is the real father. For the sake of everyone's peace of mind, Angelito agrees to close that chapter in their lives. The next day, he is overjoyed to know that his wife Rosalie is pregnant again. 

Flashback to the party: Angelito's sister, Tere (Devon Seron), breaks up with her boyfriend Migoy (Sam Concepcion) because he wants to have sex and she didn't. "You did the right thing," her grandma (Elizabeth Oropesa tells her. At the same time, she says, a relationship should be open for second chances to make it work. What she is most proud about, as she tells her granddaughter, is that, "You have proven that I raised you well!" 

(See also Huggybear's story on Elizabeth Oropesa)

Americans invaded the hometown of Simeon (Orlando Pabotoy) in Ilocos and executed his father, a rebel leader. Simeon went to the United States, and there he found racism and a white girlfriend, Patrice. Her brother Claude cuts off her feet so she won't run away with the guy who has "inferior" Asian genes. Written and directed by Chris Millado, peregrinasyon (Wandering Nation) was staged by Ma-YiTheater Ensemble, the Fil-Am drama group based in New York. Ma-Yi (pre-Hispanic name of the Philippines) has another triumph: the 1996 Off-Broadway hit Flipzoids, written and directed by Ralph Peña. Ching Valdes-Aran, in this "witty, touching play," about three modern-day Filipino-Americans struggling with identity crisis, won the highly-coveted Obie Award for best actress. There's a scene where she dunks her face in the Pacific to remind her of Ilocos. "At a Ma-Yi performance," says Ricardo Saludo in his 1998 Asiaweek story, "one gets the same drenched awakening to the Asian inside the American."

Max's father, Charlie, had left him even before he was born, 11 years ago. He knows his father wants to sign him away, giving full legal custody to his aunt and her rich husband. "You sold me!" he accuses his father. "I want half!" Here's the catch: father and son gets to spend that summer together while his new foster parents goes to Italy. Charlie makes a living with his fighting-robots; but they were all destroyed, and he's up in his neck in debt. One rainy night, Max and Charlie sneaks into a junkyard, looking for robot parts to build one. Max falls into a cliff, sliding down the muddy embankment. He is saved when his jacket gets tangled in a piece of metal, which turns out to be a half-buried sparring robot. The bot, Atom, has a shadowing function, able to imitate the movement of its controller. One of my favorite movie scenes, ever, is little boy Max and giant robot Atom dancing, in perfect sync, in the parking lot

Sooner than expected, it's already time to return the boy. Max refuses, begging his father not to give him away yet, wanting to be there when Atom fights with Zeus, the world's most powerful robot. "What do you from me?!" shouted Charlie. "I want you to fight for me!" said Max, crying. "It's all I ever wanted..."