Put your hands together for Lea Salonga

The Filipina singer best known internationally for her landmark role as Kim in Miss Saigon is coming to Winnipeg. Tony award winner Lea Salonga will perform at the McPhillips Street Station Casino on September 28 and 29.

Beauty and talent combined, the young actress/vocalist was also the recipient of the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for her starring role in Miss Saigon when she was only 19 years old. People Magazine selected her as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1991. And it is not just her role in Miss Saigon that made her a household name, Lea has starred in many musicals, including Les Misérables, Flower Drum Song, Grease, and many more. She was the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway. She is also the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in the 1992 movie Aladdin; and the voice of Fa Mulan for Mulan (1998) and Mulan II (2004).

Fresh from her six-month Asian tour of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella as the lead, Lea will devote the remaining months of the year to musical concerts, according to GMA TV News.

She will be criss-crossing the North American continent in the next two months.

She kicked off her Inspired Tour on Sept. 12 with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra in Thailand. She will then move on and perform concerts in Vancouver, Washington State, Winnipeg, California, Oregon, New York, Texas, Hawaii, among others.

The last time I saw Lea perform was in Manila when she was still a young girl playing the lead role on Repertory Philippines’ presentation of Annie. That was in the late 1970s. Her rendition of the song I am but a Small Voice (Ako ay Munting Tinig) was also, to me, very memorable.

Lea is now all grown-up, a mom and a wife. Her concert in Winnipeg is one show everyone must see.

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If it’s September, we know that the flu season is just around the corner, and sooner than we can say “H1N1” we will be bombarded by warnings and guidelines to help us avoid not only the seasonal flu but also the dreaded H1N1, or the virus formerly known as “swine.”

And it seems that in addition to preventive guidelines such as washing of our hands more often than before, and coughing on our forearms and sleeves, we, the public, are being asked to forego some of our personal social greetings.

A few days ago, the French Health Ministry recommended to their people to avoid close contact, such as the kiss and even the handshake. To the demonstrative French people, that’s a tall order.

According to news reports, health officials around the globe are also recommending the no-kissing advice. Some schools in the U.S. and Europe have even advised their students and teachers from touching each other. Even the high-fives are now under suspicion as potential transmission points of the H1N1 virus.

Even in the religious world, church authorities in Naples, Italy have disallowed the traditional kissing of a vessel said to contain the dried blood of St. Gennaro for good luck due to H1N1 concerns. Hence, on the saint’s feast day on September 19^th, the faithful can only look at the religious artifact.

What happens now to traditions?

As Filipinos, we grew up with the traditional mano po (kissing of the right hand of our elderly or letting their right hand touch our forehead when we greet them) as a sign of respect. Many of us are also inclined to beso-beso (literally, kiss-kiss) not only our family members but also our good friends when we meet them as a sign of cordial greeting.

I suppose, to be on the safe side, even if I have the antibacterial hand soap at all times, the customary beso-beso will now just be the “air kiss” or cheek-to-cheek gesture with both faces six inches away from each other. Or maybe, it’ll be more fun to just do the fist-bump, if that’s not too dangerous.

Are the health authorities just being praning (paranoid)? Some have even expressed caution on men’s neckties – simply because the necktie is the least washed article of clothing. But then, health authorities know their “numbers.” And the statistics show that the dreaded virus may be a huge monster just lurking around the corner, patiently waiting for us to step into its trap.

It doesn’t hurt to repeat the basic guidelines we heard a year ago when the H1N1 introduced itself to the world: Stay home if you feel ill or start running a fever. Cough or sneeze into your hands or arm to try to keep from spreading the virus. Wash your hands often and avoid touching your nose and mouth. Stay healthy. Drink a lot of water, sleep well and eat the right foods.

In the meantime, I’ll stick with the air kiss and the fist bump, and wait for the announcement for the vaccine.