Had the good fortune to have been part of the Philippine Ad Congress opening presentation held at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu last November 17. Was all decked out in a full-blown Maria Clara costume, which I loved and didn't want to take off, ever. . .

The star performers were, of course, none other than Lea Salonga and Mig Ayesa. To those who have been living under a rock all this time (like me!), Mig Ayesa was that Philippine-born Aussie contender in the reality show Rockstar INXS. He placed third overall, but was definitely a hands-down winner in his Pinoy fans' hearts. Well, folks, truth to tell, I had never heard of the man until our fateful (not!) first meeting during band rehearsal in Manila, under the able baton of Gerard Salonga himself. Tito Freddie introduced us, and though Mig had to get to work right away, he said we'd have more time to interact once we got to Cebu. Well, thems waren't empty words, pardner. . .with my trusty camera/video cellphone in hand, I gave in to my two, insistent -- nay, rabid -- fan girl friends' (Me-an and Peachy) demands and started clicking away almost the whole time we spent around Mig in Cebu. Got pics and videos galore and learned what it's like to be Penny Lane from "Almost Famous". Let me share some pics from our trip . . .

Oops. . .totally forgot to take photos of Lea! I have videos, though. She sang this beautiful, disney-esque song called "No Sky Too High", which happened to be written by Tito Freddie. It's the theme song from an animated film called "Tugger", about a jeepney that wants to fly. This is not just any animated film, mind you. . .it's the first all-Pinoy made animated feature to be released in Hollywood. Apparently all those ex-Disney Pinoy animators realized it was about time they show the world what they can do on their own.