Every generation has a style icon — and there’s a new one emerging in the person of Elle Kids’ Helena Alunan, the five-year-old budding fashionista, who just happens to be the only daughter of bag designer and fashion school founder Amina Aranaz-Alunan and businessman Rafa Alunan.
Because of her parents, Helena has been exposed early to the world of fashion.
“I really wanted to start her young, to learn what it is to choose your pieces well and appreciate great designs,” Amina says.
Because of Amina’s training, Helena now has a keen eye for what pieces go together and what outfits look good on her even at such an early age.
“I love fashion!” Helena enthuses, her eyes shining. “I love pink dresses and sparkly shoes,” she says of her favorite outfit. On casual summer afternoons, Helena sports laid-back yet girly outfits, such as a white lace dress and pink Mary Janes. For her back-to-school look, Helena chooses to wear her denim vest with a matching denim skirt, and a pair of red strappy sandals and the perfect school bag for her accessories. Helena is certainly on her way to becoming the next fashion It Girl.

Elle Kids Shoes, Apparel and bags are available at all leading department stores nationwide and Elle Kids boutiques: Lucky China Town Mall, Glorietta1, and Shangri-la Mall. Visit the Elle kids facebook page: www.facebook.com/ELLEkidsPh

Marco Polo: An Untold Love Story, The Musical, written and composed by stage actor, singer and director Rogelio Saldo Chua, with a 50-member international cast and artistic team, majority of whom are seasoned Filipino theatre professionals, is now in workshop and moving towards the production stage as the first musical composed by a Filipino for West End in London and Broadway in New York.
“This is a pioneering effort to make Manila a center for developing, workshop-ping and previewing new materials for musical theatres — Manila being unique in the Region not only as a melting pot of both Eastern and Western influences but also abundant with musical theatre talents from actors and dancers to instrumentalists, composers and lyricists,” says Chua, who also serves as artistic director of the musical production.
Launched in New York in June 2012 with bankers and investors in attendance, Marco Polo is set to have its invitational concert version in Manila on Aug. 10, Saturday, at 8 p.m. at the Meralco Theatre. The Manila previews of the full musical theatre version start with the gala night on Feb. 1, 2014, Saturday, 8 p.m. and followed the next day Feb. 2, Sunday, with a 3:30 p.m. matinee. The following weekend will have two more shows on Feb. 8, Saturday, at 8 p.m. and Feb. 9, Sunday, at 3:30 p.m. Its Jan. 31, Friday, 8 p.m. show is reserved exclusively for Meralco executives and employees. The Asian premiere is earmarked for Singapore in the third quarter of 2014, followed by concerts and performances in other major Asian cities to drum up investor interest for the West End production, particularly from China.
The musical is a dramatization of a love story created of Marco Polo and Princess Kogajin, the daughter of Kublai Khan, amidst the historical setting provided by his book The Travels of Marco Polo. Marco Polo was the adventurer from Venice whose travels radically changed the way the West looked at the East.
The new musical’s storyline sweeps the hero and heroine into adventure, power struggle with the rich and mighty, assassination attempts, romance and true love — the medieval times really mirroring the present but without the tabloids. Written in English and consisting of 23 songs and three dance numbers, the two-and-a-half hour theater production combines modern scenography and traditional light, set and sound design. Colorful costumes and props amidst Venetian, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Chinese settings will be extensively used while a 15-instrument orchestra is envisioned to include both Chinese and Western instruments. The new musical was registered under the seal of the copyright office of the United States in March of 2012.
“I was fascinated by the travels of Marco Polo since I saw a movie about him when I was 14 and have been bitten by the travel bug since then, visiting some 35 countries. Then in 2006, the year I retired from international banking, I saw Marco Polo in the cover of Time magazine in its August issue featured as ‘the revolutionary from Venice.’ I took that as a veritable sign that it was time for me to embark on this musical journey. And so here it is, we are on our way to the new musical’s Asian premiere, after six years of artistic and creative endeavor,” narrates Chua.
Belgian executive producer Olivier Leonard, a development banker, says, “I’m confident that our Marco Polo musical with its contemporary themes and great music will appeal to global audiences and be both an artistic and commercial success from here to Broadway.”
To book shows and buy tickets, call telefax 02-811-3514; or text mobile 0908-7714185 and 0908-771-4064; or e-mail ArtistsTheatre@live.com
Its cast and artistic team are composed of theater professionals, workers and aficionados of varied backgrounds consistent with the overarching theme of the new musical: all human beings regardless of origin, race or creed, share the same hopes and dreams, life adventures and love stories, the fascination of the mysterious and the discovery of the unknown. In act 1, scene 1, Marco sings, “What’s there, beyond the silk road story…”

Alexie Santos and Sebastian Mosqueda put on a strong performance to nail two titles each while Cebu’s Hannah Espinosa reigned in the girls’ 18-and-under class in the Palawan Pawnshop age-group tennis circuit presented by Babolat at the Consolacion Tennis Courts in Cebu yesterday.
Santos, one of the rising stars from Palawan, overwhelmed local bet Shyne Villareal, 6-2, 6-1, to cop the girls’ 14-and-U title then stopped Zethley Alferez, 6-4, 6-3, in the 16-and-U finals to complete a golden double.
Santos also foiled Villareal, 6-2, 6-3. in the semis of the 16-and-U while Alferez booted out Toni Rose Raymundo, 6-1, 6-3, to advance to the finals.
Mosqueda, from Cagayan de Oro, matched that two-title feat as he thwarted Cebu’s Jan Godfrey Seno, 6-4, 6-4, to win the boys’ 16-and-U plum before blasting NCR’s Julian Dayrit, 6-2, 6-1, in the 18-and-U finals of the Group 2 tournament.
Meanwhile, the two-leg Cebu swing of the annual nationwide circuit resumes today with action shifting to the Mactan Island Lawn and Airbase Tennis Courts for the boys’ 14-and-U, 10-and-U unisex and girls’ 12-and-U matches.
Espinosa secured the first crown for the home bets as she overpowered Elgy Dasian, 6-1, 6-0, to complete her romp in the premier girls’ 18-and-U whilet hird seed Sebastian Santos, also from Palawan, stunned No. 1 Diego Dayrit, also of NCR, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) to snatch the 10-unisex diadem.
Top seed Arthur Pantino, also of Cebu, scored a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Clyde Laquio to annex the 14-and-U crown, No. 2 Jace Christian Unto stopped Sebastian Santos, 6-1, 7-5, to pocket the 12-and-U title while Aklan’s Averille Sacapano bested Kiana de Asis, 6-3, 6-3, to capture the girls’ 12-and-U plum.