3 divas cook up a culinary and musical smorgasbord

VELASQUEZ. Has a knack for making her guests feel at home.

Regine Velasquez’s cooking show, “Sarap Divas,” (Saturday mornings, GMA 7) had a particularly interesting telecast recently, with guests Dulce and Jamie Rivera reminiscing about the time when they were invited to fly to New York City to audition for “Miss Saigon.”

The fact that the three singing divas were good friends made the episode a fun treat, and their occasional musical salvos really made our viewing day.

As a TV show host, Regine has a knack for being herself and making her guests feel at home, and the program’s viewers were entertained by the candid anecdotes the three “bonded” singing stars had to share.

Their recollections about “Miss Saigon” were made topically  interesting again by the fact that the hit musical will be mounted anew  in London next year.

Will the lead role of Kim be sung by a Filipina anew? Some of our homegrown singers have been shortlisted for the plum part, so hopes are high that one or two of them will indeed follow in the footsteps of Lea Salonga, Monique Wilson and Jamie herself, and be tapped to play the starmaking role. (Other Filipinas who have played Kim include Jenine Desiderio, and Joanna Ampil.

‘My Puhunan’

Another recent telecast that hit viewers’ sweet spot was Karen Davila’s “My Puhunan” entrepreneurship show, telecast Wednesday afternoons on ABS-CBN.

What makes the program uniquely useful is the way that it clearly shows viewers how they too can double or triple their income by enhancing skills that they already have.

Its motivational impact is strong because it features successful people who used to be poor, but are now making millions—and enabling their workers to make a good living, as well.

The featured entrepreneur last Sept. 11 was the owner of an enterprise that made curtains and furniture. She was tasked to teach and motivate another sewer who was making only a pittance from sewing retazos into cheap wipes for the kitchen and for jeepney drivers.

With her mentor’s help, the impoverished mother of three quickly made the shift to sewing curtains herself—and, she was on her way!

Karen’s show should motivate many other cash-strapped people to similarly generate more income for themselves and their children. It’s a hands-on tutorial that makes no empty promises and insists on hard work and a focused mind-set—so, its viewer-students can become as successful as their assigned mentors have been.

Why not catch the show yourself, and see how it can help you get out of the financial rut you may be in?