Marivic rufino biography of albert

Business leaders are also front and center in PeopleAsia’s list. They are rising scion Kend- rick Tan, executive director and research and development manager of Emperador Distillers Inc.; lawyer Albert Arcilla, the driving force behind Swedish car brand Volvo and American carmaker Chevrolet in the Philippines; Ton Concepcion, who has run in 15 marathons, while running the business of Italian home brand Smeg and homegrown Condura, among others; Grant Lim, founder and CEO of local furniture and design store Home Studio Inc., and Bruce Winton, cluster manager of Marriott in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the creative elds are well represented by sculptor Daniel de la Cruz, veteran TV host and actor Ryan Agoncillo and fashion designer and educator Jojie Lloren, who believesthat “teaching is one form of self-gratification.”

Special Guest of Honor during the awards was Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, who delivered the opening remarks for the evening. The awards were also handed out by notable personalities in Philippine business and media, such as The Philippine STAR Chairman Atty. Ray Espinosa, PeopleAsia editor-in-chief Joanne Rae Ramirez, and former awardees, Sen. Sonny Angara, Penshoppe’s Bernie Liu, The Philippine STAR’s Lucien Dy Tioco, and Henann Resorts’ Karl Chusuey, as well as Lexus’ Raymond Rodriguez, to name a few.

PeopleAsia’s “Men Who Matter” 2018 Awards Night was presented in partnership with the New World Makati Hotel, and was sponsored by Lexus Manila, Tygie, Megaworld Corp., Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corp., Qualibet, BPI, Gan Advanced Oseeointegracion Center, Fundador, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., The Belo Medical Group, Unilab Inc. and The Philippine STAR.

Fila luminaries Butch and Cris Albert have a flair for reinventing themselves, as they go about their worthy pursuits with élan and style. At this early time of the year, the bon vivant couple had already realized two splendid events.

With a penchant for nature, the innovative Alberts drew family and friends to an ultimate escape – the Shangri-La Boracay Resort & Spa to renew their marriage vows. It was an ideal, idyllic setting, decorated with tropical flowers strewn all around.  The intimate wedding ceremony and after-party celebration was held at the private beach of the luxurious Villa 13.  Butch was a picture of contentment and Cris looked beach–star radiant, as the two enjoyed the merriment and blissful moments, while sipping, their favorite Moet et Chandon Rose’ amidst the gentle waves.

A month later, the Manila Polo Club was the scene of the Albert’s 2012 Fila Polo Cup, which was timed with the launching of “Skele-Toes: ‘what-the-heck-is-that’ campaign. Skele-Toes is what one’s outfit can use, for added cheer and punk attitude. The Fila Cup is known to mix fun with social responsibility, and the beneficiary of the event was the iSport Life Ministries. FILA President, Butch Albert had asked for the support of his project “500 For 500” by Operation Compassion. From the sale of Skele-Toes, 500 pesos goes to the 500 families affected by Typhoon Sendong. Cheers! Cris and Butch! (Do visit my website:  www.tinajacinto.com and Facebook – The Lady HB).

It was an ordinary Thursday afternoon in his atelier in Pasay when fashion designer Jojie Lloren exchanged pleasant banter with his neighbor and gallerist Albert Avellana over uraro

“We laughed so hard,” recalls Jojie. The designer was stepping out on errands and Albert, whose gallery was beside the atelier, asked him to buy siopao. The following day, he dropped off the siopao in the gallery, unaware of what had occurred.

Albert was supposed to have a morning meeting at the Avellana Art Gallery in Pasay City on Friday, Sept. 16. He told his staff to prepare breakfast for 7:30 am. He didn’t show up.

“They found it strange because he would normally call or text. They became worried,” says Jojie. The wife of Albert’s staff, who cleaned his Makati home, was called to check on him. She and Albert’s niece and nephew went to the bedroom and found his lifeless body. According to the medical report, he died of a longtime ailment, congestive heart disease. He was 59.

Beyond being a gallerist and arbiter of taste, Albert was a creative genius who pushed  boundaries. To me, he was like Karl Lagerfeld, the polymath.

“He was always 10 steps ahead of everybody,” says leading artist Ivi Avellana-Cosio. When National Artist Arturo Luz closed down his namesake gallery in the ’90s, he gave his blessing to Albert, saying, “You will be my successor.”

“Albert’s vision ran along the same lines as Arturo’s,” says Ivi. He eschewed social realism and representational art.

Way before other galleries took to the post-modern style of exhibits which encompassed non-traditional genres, Albert was already merging the differ