Maxi’s mother, Marives Ortiz (second from right) and her dad, broadcaster Alex Bolongaita (back in white polo) together with their relatives and friends view Maxi’s remains for the last time before her cremation at the St. Peter Funeral Homes, yesterday.
CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA
Inside the mortuary, it was an afternoon of celebration.
Laughter, songs and poems filled the air in a three-hour tribute for Marie Alexi “Maxi” Bolongaita, the 29-year-old Cebu disc jockey whose life was cut short last week by a violent crime.
The tribute at St. Peter Chapels-Imus was held while Maxi’s body was being cremated. A Holy Mass was celebrated before the cremation.
Instead of mourning her passing, Maxi’s family members, relatives, childhood friends and theater co-actors chose to celebrate her life well lived.
Sharing personal anecdotes of their encounters and experiences with Maxi, almost everyone described her as a “true warrior.”
“Today is about celebration. I know that today is hard for us especially under the circumstance but let’s try,” said Maxi’s friend and theater batchmate Charlene Virlouvet as she prodded others to join the tribute and reunite with friends “whom you haven’t talked with for a while.”
Virlouvet said she met Maxi 15 years ago in a summer theater workshop and immediately developed a close friendship with the talented actress.
The tribute revealed Maxi’s love for the performing arts, her contagious humor, her zest for life.
Having grown up with her mother, Marives Ortiz, who was also active in the social and theater scene, it seemed natural for Maxi to follow into her footsteps. Her father, Alex Bolongaita, is a media personality.
In 2014, Maxi became part of the play “Emotional Creature.”
Her big break happened when she was tapped to perform in the Cebu run of “The Vagina Monologues” in 2015, an episodic play aimed to empower women.
Sarah Mae Enclona-Henderson, the play’s artistic director, remembers Maxi as someone who “can’t keep it serious during rehearsals.”
“But during performance, I was in awe (of her). She definitely nailed it!” said Enclona-Henderson.
Tears were shed as a compilation of videos were shown of Maxi’s cheerful and bubbly personality which many revealed was the reason why it was very easy to love her.
Cebuano artist Cattski Espina dedicated a song entitled “See You” to Maxi, whom she fondly remembers as a homegrown music supporter.
Chai Fonacier, Visayan artist and “Patay na si Hesus” actress, performed a spoken poetry piece entitled “Artist Lagi Ka,” which Fonacier said was Maxi’s favorite.
Maxi, she said, would always volunteer for impromptu stand-up comedy gigs and was never afraid to make fun of herself to make the audience laugh.
Marives joined the tribute for her daughter by reading an excerpt from “The Vagina Monologues.”
From the way she interacted with Maxi’s friends, Marives’ closeness with her only daughter’s peers was evident.
From St. Peter’s Chapels, Maxi’s ashes were brought to the Sanctuary of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on D. Jakosalem Street.
On Friday, a Holy Mass will be celebrated at the Divine Mercy Chapel of the same parish.
After which, some of her ashes will be brought to the family’s ancestral home in Sibonga, southern Cebu, where a tree will be planted in an area where her ashes will be scattered based on Maxi’s wishes.