HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING, SHARON?
by Ricky Lo, People Asia, October 2002
Sharon Cuneta will mark her 25th year in showbusiness in January. In this intimate portrait of her by Ricky Lo, Sharon shares why her life, indeed, has a silver lining.
"Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas" is, according to Sharon
Cuneta, "the song of my life." An apt choice, indeed!
First week of January next year, Sharon The Megastar will celebrate her 25th year in showbiz, a long drawn event kicked off last Aug. 11 with a two day SRO concert billed as The Mega Event at the Araneta Coliseum, complete with film clips tracing Sharon's rise from a pre-teener singing "Mr. DJ" to a lovestruck singer actress to a separada, to a woman on her own, to a fulfilled wife and mother (to KC and Frankie). It has been a mega journey through life with no end in sight, as in "Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas."
If she were to live her life all over again, according to Sharon, she'd live it exactly the same way, probably making the same mistakes and learning from them, except that she would have loved to tuck up a college degree.
"In school," she recalled, "my favorite subjects were English, Filipino, Spanish and History."
She has amply compensated for that frustration (not finishing school) by stocking up her library with books, books, books! She is such a bookworm that Sharon has developed a love for writing, once sharing with readers of The Philippine STAR her and husband Sen. Kiko Pangilinan's life in Boston (with daughter KC), under her byline.
"What would I omit if and when I write my autobiography? My mistakes, maybe? But then, as I've said I've learned from my mistakes and maybe the readers will learn from them, too."
Now, did she consider her marriage to Gabby Concepcion (father of KC) a "mistake?"
"I wouldn't say so because I have KC from that marriage."
They say that the measure of a successful person is the ability and the humility to forgive, not really forget.
"I have no emotional baggage," says Sharon. "I believe that you if have a blessed life, it's a big sin to hold a grudge against other people. Negative feelings can cause illnesses, so why store them up? Magsi-save na lang ako ng pera, better pa."
What's the best lesson she has learned from her experiences?
"To forgive. Life is much too short for you to harbor bitterness and resentment. The sudden death of Rico Yan really hit me hard. Look, Rico just slept and he never woke up. You can plan alright, but you never know if tomorrow you'll wake up to make these plans come true. So I simply live each day as happily as I can with people I really love."
In the next breath, Sharon admitted that the best decision she ever made was to marry Kiko (Frankie's dad).
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Through the years, Sharon has been vocal about her deep admiration for her dad, whom she called "my idol." So devoted is hse to her dad that, she confessed during an interview with this writer, "I believe in him so much that if he asked me to jump from a building, the first question I'll ask him is, 'from what floor?' Ganyan ako kabilib sa kanya."
Her heart still bleeds when she recalls how she broke her dad's heart by marrying early, only a few months after her debut on Jan 6, 1984.
"My dad wanted a most memorable debut for me so he said 'the sky's the limit.' He invited all of his political friends to the Manila Hotel and they mixed with showbiz people. Eight months later, I got married na. My dad was hurt that he actually refused to eat. Nag-fasting siya. Nag-Mahatma Gandhi siya!"
Today, everytime Sharon hold a successful concert, whether in Hong Kong (early this year) or at the Big Dome (The Mega Event), she always sheds a tear for her dad, saying, "If Dad were only here, he would be very proud of me!"
On second thought, Sharon says that she should also give her mom, Elaine Gamboa-Cuneta, credit, feeling somewhat "guilty" that all these years, it has always been dad, dad, dad!
"When it comes to girl talk, my mom is always there for me. She has been supportive. Now more than ever, I appreciate a million times more how much my mom means to me. She stays in the sidelines, the wind beneath my wings."
Brought up in an over protective environment, Sharon as a mother is a bit more lax, giving friendly reminders to KC who is now attracting admirers, not so much suitors yet.
"I always tease KC, 'Oh, you better make sure of yourself who among them.' With me kasi, I befriend KC's admirers. As soon as I get to know them, there goes KC, may mga bagong admirers na naman."
She and KC are more like friends than mother and daughter, sharing secrets and confidences.
Having made her first million at 16 (with KC making hers also at 16 and Frankie at such a very young age, from commercials... KC for Bench's Human and Frankie for Hi-Nulac), a promise she made to her dad. Sharon knows how to handle money, something she said she learned from her dad, investing it in real estate and other businesses.
As an actress and a singer, she has accomplished far more than what she has dreamed of, with acting awards to boot (one of them a "grand slam" for the film Madrasta) and "gold" records. But for Sharon, the happiness of her family is first and foremost.
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So she has put God in the center of their lives.
"I can't imagine a person going through life without believing in God." She prays all the time, thanking God for all the blessings and asking Him to please keep her family intact, happy together.
But contrary to what the "Song of my life" says, Sharon's mega showbiz trip will end somehow, somewhere. Twenty or so years from now, she and Kiko will be grandparents, watching their grandchildren making beautiful memories of their own, probably sitting side by side on rocking chairs inside a modest but beautiful house, in the middle of a farm, surrounded by patches of green and birds chirping.
"That's the kind of life that I want Kiko and myself to have when all of this is over," says Sharon.
Meanwhile. let the song play on and on and on....
