Dinner with Eddie Garcia

Am I dreaming?

The Eddie Garcia, best actor of the 55th Asia Pacific Festival and the only hall-of-fame Famas awardee for three categories, materialized in front of me, spoke in basso profundo, and we would have dinner together.

It was for real. 

He was actually one of the few invited guests to a Christmas dinner (the first we attended this year) that my friend ALB hosted in her spectacular home. A more apt description of that structure with luxurious interior in an inclusive enclave in Makati is: royal palace. 

Through the years, miles and miles of news have been written about Eddie Garcia (now in his 80s), he who has won more awards than any other Filipino actor, and whose name is synonymous to great character acting—all of them well deserved.
So aside from gushing like a loony fan, what does one do when she meets a legend for the first time? Create a photo op. 

He obliges like a true gentleman—in demeanor, manner, and language.

In person, Eddie Garcia shows his age: his face is lined with wisdom and he moves with measured gaits in slow, deliberate cadence, marked with a stoop. On camera, he shows only vibrancy and energy. A talented actor indeed.

After dinner, he and his lady love, Olive, rushed to another awarding ceremony, where he was honored for the umpteenth time.  

P.S. The royal palace where we dined—Amorsolos, BenCabs and Monets hang just a few yards apart—deserves as much description as Eddie Garcia. But  photos, like grace, speak so much louder than a thousand adjectives. So here they are . . .

(Note: At the end of every year, my family and I honor Philippine movies by watching a film or two during the Metro Manila Film Festival held from December 25 until the first week of January. During the festival, no foreign films are shown in theaters to showcase locally produced films. Excuse me while I go and watch Bwakaw, which stars Eddie Garcia, to cap the year 2012.)