Christian Bautista the ‘dangerous gentleman’
Cool, suave Christian Bautista blowing his top? You got to be kidding.
But make no mistake about it. The guy is as human as you and me. He loses his cool. The big difference – thank heavens – is he does it away from the public’s prying eyes.
“I have a little temper,” he admits, minutes after he received the award as the epitome of the Modern Filipino Gentleman, a title fans bestowed on him through an online poll sponsored by McJIM Classic Leather.
This comes as a surprise to the many who has never heard Christian utter a single foul word or figure in a scandal. But to those who understand that this singer-actor is an artist, Christian’s admission doesn’t raise eyebrows.
“I expel that temper rather than keep it inside and let it out on a person,” he says.
Yes, he admits breaking a few objects in his path, but Christian swears the thought of hitting the subject of his anger never occurred to him.
Anger management techniques
First, his parents raised him well. Secondly, he applies anger management techniques he learned from an acting workshop.
“I will tell you what helps,” he explains. “Kapag galit na galit ka na at kailangan mong i-release, ang turo sa ‘min is to go to a corner, place a vacant chair in front of you, at sabihin lahat. Ahhh! Magalit ka sa kanya, magdabog ka. Let it all out!”
Christian lets the storm pass before he starts talking to someone.
“Don’t talk when you’re emotional,” he advises. “Kapag level headed ka na, then you’re ready to talk.”
Sometimes, he has no choice but to grin and bear it.
This happened when he was in the middle of a mall show and the sound system conked out. Christian had no time to go backstage and fix things. The show must go on. So he did the next best thing. He approached members of the audience, shook their hands and thanked them for coming to the show.
After the show, he told his management company (Stages) that he’s had it with the sound engineer. It was that simploe -- no shouting matches, no harsh words.
A gentleman, adds Christian, doesn’t have to be a doormat. If you must fight for what is right, go ahead. After all, he doubts if a girl would even respect a guy who cannot and will not defend her.
“I’ve learned to stand for what I believe in.You have to respect yourself. You’ll be lying to others if you follow everything they say. They’ll think there’s no problem when there really is one.”
When danger comes, Christian says a true gentleman must kiss his Mr. Nice Guy self good-bye.
Ready for battle
“He must be ready for battle. A lady wants a dangerous gentleman at this point. And I hope I’m that dangerous gentleman.”
So you see, gentlemen need not mean boring. They could even be sexy, adds Christian, because they care enough for their looks to stay healthy and choose what to wear with utmost care.
“Hindi ka pwedeng maging boring. Kailangan may dating ka talaga.”
Beating the likes of Senator Sonny Angara, Dingdong Dantes, Erwan Heussaff, Xian Lim, Coco Martin, Richard Poon, Piolo Pascual, Derek Ramsay, Jericho Rosales, Chris Tiu and Phil Younghusband for the title of Modern Filipino Gentleman can be overwhelming. But not for Christian. He refuses to be boxed in the boring, very ‘60s image of a bland gentleman who doesn’t have fun and gets a big kick only out of pulling chairs for the ladies out there.
True, the fans voted for him. But Christian will be the first to protest if they start putting him in a straitjacket.
“It’s not like, ‘I can’t move.’ It’s a badge, not a straitjacket.”
Who says gentlemen can’t have as much as the guy next door?
Christian is an example that they can. And he’s mighty proud of it.
