Holiday Cheer: Maria Isabel Lopez, Actress

Maria Isabel Lopez

I set up the Christmas tree this time around. I put the star on top, too. Our tree is decades old, but I spruced it up with gold lace.

The ornaments are from several special people in my life. The mistletoe and porcelain angels are from my mother; the skull Christmas balls from Mexico and peppercorns, from my boyfriend Jon’s farmhouse in Sonoma (California).

My kids Mara and Ken found the pine cones in snow-covered Lake Tahoe when they were younger. The beads are my own creation. The tree is tall and slim, just like me!

Our noche buena this year featured Mediterranean cuisine. We had grass-fed organic lamb, which Jon hand-carried all the way from California. We also made Tzatziki salad with feta cheese, motabal dip (eggplant with tahini sauce) and whole wheat pita bread.

Our tradition every year is to hear Midnight Mass and then eat puto bumbong and exchange gifts after.

My boyfriend is Jewish, but he has learned to celebrate the [Christmas] holidays. too. I think it’s because Filipinos eat, drink and party like there is no tomorrow. Rich or poor, Filipino Christmases are all about love.

Jon spoils me with gifts: trips to Laos and Thailand and opal necklace and earrings that he designed.

I cut down on gift-giving this year and opted to share my time with the female political prisoners in Camp Bagong Diwa. I was amazed to discover that the warden had opened an elementary and secondary school in prison, which recently produced a graduate who could now go to college.

From left: Dulce, Jemimah, Abigail and Bernard

For the New Year, I did some spring cleaning and threw away junk. I also plan to digitize old movies on VHS and Betamax tapes and magazine covers, put up a website and create more paintings for my next exhibit. Bayani San Diego Jr.

Dulce, Singer

Every Christmas, after noche buena, it has become a family tradition for our youngest daughter Abigail to put the star on top of the tree.

I don’t buy new décor, I just recycle old ones. This year, I added ornaments that would represent each of my five children since I wasn’t going to see all of them.

I put my eldest son Daniel’s photo (as a 10-year-old) in a small round frame on the tree. Daniel, who is in the Navy, is based in the United States. A red, hand-crafted flower was my second son David’s art project when he was in grade school. David has grown up to become a singer.

A small cat figurine was a gift from my daughter Deborah, who is now a flight attendant with Philippine Airlines. A wooden doll is a gift from my daughter Jemimah’s grandfather. I also put my youngest daughter Abigail’s white satin booties (which she wore as an infant) on the tree.

For noche buena, we had chicken galantina, lengua estofada and pata tim from Ha Yuan—The Kitchen. On Christmas day we had lunch at home and, at night, we drove along Ayala Avenue to enjoy the lights show before having dinner at Manila Peninsula.

New Year is usually spent at home, to avoid the smoke and noise of firecrackers. We had a simple media noche, with my husband Bernard’s special buko salad as highlight. I had a New Year countdown show, so my husband and two young daughters tagged along to the event.

The birth of Christ is the reason for the season, Filipinos are very spiritual and Christmases in the Philippines are among most vibrant, beautiful and colorful celebrations in the world. Since we value our families, our Christmases are always more meaningful and heartwarming. Bayani San Diego Jr.