Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office. She led the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines. She was named "Woman of the Year" in 1986 by Time Magazine.
A self-proclaimed "plain housewife", Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., the staunchest critic of then President Ferdinand Marcos. Senator Aquino was assassinated on August 21, 1983 upon returning to the Philippines after three years in exile in the United States. After her husband's assassination, Corazon Aquino emerged as the leader of the opposition against the Marcos administration. In late 1985, when President Marcos called for a snap election, Aquino ran for president with former senator Salvador Laurel as her vice-presidential running mate. After the elections were held on February 7, 1986, and the Batasang Pambansa proclaimed Marcos the winner in the elections, she called for massive civil disobedience protests, declaring herself as having been cheated and as the real winner in the elections. Filipinos enthusiastically heeded her call and rallied behind her. These events eventually led to the ousting of Marcos and the installation of Aquino as President of the Philippines on February 25, 1986 through the "People Power Revolution".
Aquino is a town and comune in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of Italy, 12 km northwest of Cassino.
The ancient Aquinum was a municipium in the time of Cicero, and made a colony by the Triumviri. It was crossed by the Via Latina.
Aquinum is thought to be the birthplace of the poet Juvenal, and was that of the emperor Pescennius Niger.
The earliest recorded Catholic Bishop of Aquino was Bishop Giovino in 593AD.
Aquino's patron saint is San Costanzo, or St. Constantius (different from St. Constantius of Perugia).
St. Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225 in the castle of Roccasecca, 8 kilometres northwards.
One of the gates through which the Via Latina passed, now called Porta S. Lorenzo, is still well preserved, and there are remains within the walls (portions of which, built of large blocks of limestone, still remain) of two (so called) temples, a basilica and an amphitheatre.
Outside, on the south is a well-preserved triumphal arch with composite capitals, and close to it the basilica of Santa Maria Libera, a 9th century building in the Romanesque style erected over the remains of an ancient temple of Hercules Liberator, now roofless. Several Roman inscriptions are built into it, and many others that have been found indicate the ancient importance of the place, which, though it does not appear in early history, is vouched for by Cicero and Strabo.
Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (born February 14, 1971), commonly known as Kris Aquino, is a Filipino television and movie personality who gained prominence from her talk shows, game shows, and numerous endorsements. Known as the Queen of All Media, and Philippines' Queen of Talk, she is the youngest daughter of former Philippine senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. and Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, who served as the 11th President of the Philippines, and sister of Benigno S. Aquino, III, the current President of the Philippines.
Her first movie was Pido Dida, Sabay Tayo, which earned her a Box-office Queen title. Her 2004 films such as Feng Shui and So... Happy Together also gave her the Box-office Queen title again.[citation needed] In 2006, she regained the same Box Office title for her movie Sukob, which is the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time. She is also the Executive Editor of her own bi-monthly magazine called K! The Kris Aquino Magazine. In December 2009, Aquino showcased her own Home Collection called K Everyday. In partnership with ABS-CBN Licensing, K Everyday features cooking collection, kitchen collection, plastic collection, and stationery collection.
Lea Salonga-Chien (born February 22, 1971) is a mezzo-soprano singer, actress, and Disney Legend from the Philippines well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards.
She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and Fantine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway. She also provided the singing voice of two official Disney Princesses: Jasmine in Aladdin (1992), and Fa Mulan in Mulan (1998) and Mulan II (2004). Salonga was named a Disney Legend in 2011 for her work with the company.
Salonga made her professional debut in 1978 at the age of seven in the musical The King and I by Repertory Philippines. She became the lead star of Annie and joined other productions such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rose Tattoo, The Sound of Music, The Goodbye Girl, Paper Moon and The Fantasticks.
She began her recording career at the age of ten with her first album, Small Voice, which received a gold certification. A song on the album, the duet "Happiness", marked her first recording collaboration with her younger brother Gerard Salonga, who would, years later, work with her as musical director or creative director in her concerts and recordings. Her second album, Lea, was released in 1988.
Eugenio "Boy" Romerica Abunda, Jr. (born 29 October 1955) is a Filipino television host, publicist, talent manager and celebrity endorser. He is dubbed as the "King of Talk" in local show business.
Boy Abunda was born in Borongan City, Eastern Samar. He left college after his father's death and worked in odd jobs to support himself.
He later worked as an assistant stage manager in the Metropolitan Theater. Eventually, he became the assistant of Conchita "Tita Conching" Sunico, who was the administrator of the theater at that time. She taught him about public relations and within a couple of years, he started Backroom, Inc., a public relations firm. He was working as a public relations consultant for the GMA Network when Bobby Barreiro, a network executive, suggested to him to try hosting a television show.
Abunda became a host of Show and Tell, a late night variety talk show with Gretchen Barretto, and Startalk, an entertainment talk show. In 1999, he moved to GMA Network's competitor ABS-CBN where he hosted The Buzz, Private Conversations, Home Boy and Kontrobersyal. Currently, he hosts The Bottomline with Boy Abunda, a talk show interview and SNN: Showbiz News Ngayon.