lani is back but not for good

FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo
The Philippine Star 05/13/2006

After conquering The Strip in Las Vegas with an extended series of shows at Ballys Hotel, with the Society of Seven (SOS) as co-performer, Lani Misalucha flew back home early yesterday morning on a PAL flight. She has been away for two years.

Is she back for good?

Unfortunately, not. She'll be here not for a vacation but for specialshows at the Ayala Malls, on May 19, 5 p.m. at the Ayala Center Cebu;May 20, 6 p.m. at the Alabang Town Center; and on May 21, 6 p.m. at Glorietta. And then, she'll fly to Hong Kong for a corporate show andback to the US on May 26.

The original plan was for her to have a concert at the Araneta Coliseum which was scrapped in favor of the Ayala Malls and Hong Kong shows. The Big Dome show is tentatively scheduled March next year.When Sergio Mendes came for a concert several weeks ago, Lani was
reported to be a special guest, but it turned out to be the result of miscommunication.

"But I'll be back in July, this time for a vacation," assured Lani who came alone. Her husband, Noli Misalucha, didn't come with Lani because their two children, Louven (15) and Lian (12), still have classes."Next time, they'll come with me. It will be our first family vacation in two years," added Lani in an exclusive interview with Funfare yesterday noon.
According to Rowena Tomeldan, vice president and deputy head of theAyala Groups, "Ayala Malls prides itself in giving its shoppers world-class entertainment that's why we are very excited to have Lani in her public concert in the country. This is our way of thanking our shoppers for their continued patronage of Ayala Malls and we take this on as our challenge to always give them a memorable experience."

Lani and her family left in May 2004 amidst rumors that she was giving in to the offer for her to move from GMA (she was a regular on thestation's Sunday show S.O.P.) to ABS-CBN. Lani now debunked that rumor, saying her contract with GMA is, in fact, technically still good until middle of this year."

There's no truth to the rumor that when I come back," clarified Lani,"nasa ibang network na ako. Our decision to migrate to the US was for the family, not a career move." (Lani holds an extraordinary ability visa).

A star in her own right in Las Vegas, Lani agreed that competition"out there" is madugo, really tough.

"There," she said, "there's a show in every corner. You can stay there for one year and still not be able to watch all the shows. Marami talaga. In one hotel alone, there are three to five shows every night."Her success in Las Vegas is nothing short of phenomenal because she made a name and created her own following (both fellow Pinoys and foreigners) in so short a time.

Early this year, tragedy struck when Gary Bautista, an SOS member, suffered a fatal stroke during a show with Lani and Martin Nievera at a wedding-anniversary event in Los Angeles.

"But the show had to go on," said Lani. "A week after Gary died, we had to go on a concert series around the US, so a former SOS member, Bert Maligmat, was invited back to take Gary's place."

They'll be back in Las Vegas in August, this time at Flamenco.

Asked if she didn't regret having migrated to the US at the peak of her career here, Lani said, "Nakakalungkot. But as I said, Noli and I did it for our children. It wasn't a matter of moving into a greener pasture career-wise. So far, we are okay in Las Vegas."

From Las Vegas, what? An international recording career, perhaps?

"There are proposals but we just don't want to jump into anything,"said Lani. "We're weighing and studying things very carefully. We are relatively new there and we don't really know yet the kalakaran there."

:P