greatest hits at the launch on Monday of The Estate Makati, a high-end condominium dubbed
“the crown jewel of Ayala Avenue.” Industry and high society’swho’swho couldn’t get enough
of the songs that took them back to their youth. —EARVIN PERIAS
MANILA, Philippines — The band was playing a note-for-note cover of the Fab Four’s “Twist and Shout” when a voice thundered “Let’s go!”
The voice turned out to be that of a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who took a female companion by the hand and started dancing.
A virtual who’s who from business, high society and the arts soon followed the couple’s lead, filling the dance floor with senior citizens swinging and swaying like high school students on prom night.
Crown jewel of Ayala Avenue
The occasion was the launch of The Estate Makati, a soon-to-rise, high-end condominium project of SM Development Corp. and Federal Land Inc.
Held on Monday night at the grand ballroom of Grand Hyatt Manila in Taguig, the event was dubbed a thanksgiving party to celebrate what the developers envision as “the crown jewel of Ayala Avenue.”
The guests — described by Federal Land chair Alfred Ty as future neighbors at The Estate Makati — were enamored with the music performed live by the stars of “Let It Be: A Celebration of the Music of The Beatles.”
Many of them sang along to the songs that took them back to their youth. The all-Beatles repertoire included “I Saw Her Standing There,” “She Loves You,” “Please Please Me,” “All My Loving,” I Wanna Be Your Man,” “Yesterday,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Hard Day’s Night,” “Help,” “I Feel Fine” — and on and on for 45 minutes, with the crowd shouting for more.
The performers — Michael Gagliano as John Lennon, Neil Candelora as Paul McCartney, John Brosnan as George Harrison and Chris Mcburney as Ringo Starr — looked and sounded almost like the world’s most popular band, down to the suits and mop tops at the height of Beatlemania in the early to mid-1960s.
At one point, Gagliano repeated Lennon’s famous spiel during the Beatles’ 1963 appearance in the Queen’s Royal Variety Performance at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre: “For our next number, I’d like to ask your help. Those in the back seats, clap your hands. And those in the front seats, just rattle your jewelry.”
Prospective clients
The joke captured the elite status of VIP guests, all prospective clients of The Estate Makati.
Situated between the Ritz Towers and Discovery Primea, the building will rise on a 3,500-square-meter lot — described as “the last parcel of land available for development in the upscale area of Apartment Ridge.”