Casino Español de Cebu held its traditional costume ball which was a splash of color, fine-food galore and ballroom dancing at its most animated. Doors to Salon de España were thrown open at 7 p.m. There was a rush to get a good table, as it was on a first come, first served basis.
In the middle of the hall was a table laden with Spanish appetizers, and at a special carving station a uniformed chef was expertly slicing paper-thin jamon serrano. Delicious!
With a blaring band playing Latin airs, the dancing started early and in earnest. Energies were replaced an hour later when Salon Madrid was opened for a sumptuous dinner buffet. There was a beeline for the perfectly cooked turkey.
Ditto the juicy roast beef, the sashimi being carved out from a huge tuna fish expressly brought from General Santos City, and on the dessert table, the home-made chocolate bonbons.
Casino general manager May Ocaba was duly congratulated for every aspect of the celebration. She had assigned particular waiters to every table, and that made it easy to order one bottle of wine after another. For one thing, every table had a complimentary bottle of Sangre de Toro from Spain.
Casino Español’s Ed Gonzalez came dressed as a Roman centurion while his wife Therese donned a gold flecked toga right out of “Quo Vadis.”
The ladies sported huge flapping wings, and the men had high plumes rising out of their skullcaps. That was the prize-winning ensemble formed by US consular agent John and Maria Domingo, Glenn and Honey Loop, Lisette Garcia and Paquing Serafica.
Most elegant
Betty Young got a prize as Most Elegant for the modern Filipiniana outfit she herself had crafted. She and husband David were, as usual, among the “dancingest” couples.
Jo-En de las Peñas and wife Jill came with all their children, Mary Ellen, Mary Elizabeth, Mary Angeli, and John Edward.
Spain’s Honorary Consul Anton Perdices and his wife Maripaz came with a group that included Sonny and Annabelle Alo, Lynn and Luis Moro III.
Mitos Montilla was a flapper girl from the roaring ’20s with her red tassels and ropes of pearls around her neck. She rushed to greet Merelo and Juanita Aznar when they made a grand entrance near midnight.
How do you do solo line dancing? That’s what Edward Loop did, dressed as a cowboy, lasso on hand, and a huge white hat. He got a prize, and so did Alexander and Jocelyn Ho in their authentic Japanese kimonos.
Coosome twosomes were Edgar and Cely Chiongbian, Ed and Helen Misa, Tintoy and Maricar Perdices, Cheling and Susan Sala, David and Tessie Chan, Vic and Toots Torres, Tony and Lorna Quisumbing, Kiting and Daisy Moro.
Add to them Joe and Rita Suaco whose birthdays are coming up. They have already gifted themselves with a spiffy car—the latest compact from Mercedes-Benz.
Global Star Motors, with general manager Hans Lienaw, will soon open its display at a plush location in Cebu’s Nivel Hills. The good news also is that they’ll have a service center for Mercedes-Benz owners. We’ll tell you more.