Sampaguita's 'Bonggahan' is the Music Video of the Week. The Reyna of Rock and Roll. Lyrics after the jump. Bonggahan
Panahon na para magsaya Forget mo na ang problema Pa-dance dance, para sumigla Rock 'n' roll hanggang umaga Wa ko type ang magpa-cry cry Type ko ay todo bigay Kaya join na lang kayo Let's all have a good time.
Refrain Di ko say na magwala ka Ang say ko lang ay magpabongga ka Stop ka na sa pagdurusa Ride ka lang sa problema.
Di ko trip ang magpasabog Hate na hate ko ang matulog Trip ko lang na umiksena Heto ay sobrang pilya Wag ka say na lang, kumadre Bow ka lang ng bow Pa-sing sing ka lang Para ikaw ay sumaya.
Repeat Refrain & 1st verse
Kaya join na lang kayo Let's all have a good time Kaya join na lang kayo Let's all have a good time.
Nandito Ako(Tagalog of "I Am Here") was the fifth album released byThalía. It was exclusively released in the Philippines, where she became a major superstar because of her telenovelaMarimar. The album composed of 10 cuts included her first singleNandito Ako.Nandito Akowas recorded after her major concert in the Philippines. It also featured the Tagalog version ofMaría La Del Barrio,El VenaoandJuanaand English version of Quiero Hacerte El Amor and Gracias A Dios. She also hade her own version of the songTell MeandHey, It's Me. The album was certified platinum after a week it was released.Enjoy and download this large-sized album cover, and get your copy at all National Bookstores nationwide, where EMI Philippines has re-released her hit album due to the born-again popularity of Marimar! And enjoy this article in the New York Times about the Marimar phenomenon in the Philippines! And of course, enjoy the Thalia in Manila video gallery, scroll down to see all the videos.EMI Philippines Re-Released Thalia Nandito Ako Cover, 2007/2008
August 27, 1996
Mere Soap Opera? It's Mexican Magic (in Tagalog)
By EDWARD A. GARGAN
As the shadows on Honradez Street lengthened, Conrad Alvarez bustled about his open-air corner grocery store making sure all four television sets were on. It was 6:30 in the evening and it was time for ''Mari Mar,'' the country's favorite soap opera -- a blizzard of love, sex and betrayal, poverty and sudden wealth, revenge and triumph. And a talking dog.
But the actors who flutter across the screen are not the usual stable of Philippine stars. Instead, all are Mexican and they have rampaged through the Philippines like a late-summer typhoon.
Especially the actress who plays the heroine for whom the show is named. She goes by the stage name Thalia, and recently, in the midst of a historic peace agreement with Muslim guerrillas and the centennial celebrations of the Philippine Revolution, all was pushed aside as she stormed into town where she was thronged by crowds usually seen only by the Pope.
''She's captivating,'' sighed Mr. Alvarez as he huddled in front a television with his wife Emma. ''She's so sexy. She's romantic.'' Their five children hunkered down around another set, some neighborhood kids drifted in and an hour of romance had begun.
''It's different from our soap operas,'' explained Mrs. Alvarez, settling onto a plastic stool. ''She has the same problems we do. It shows the discrimination against poor people. Her house was burned down when she was poor. They mistreated her. They degraded her. She's almost Filipina.''
But the Thalia phenomenon is not restricted to the Philippines. Televisa, the Mexican network that produces ''Mari Mar'' and is the world's largest producer of entertainment television, markets this and other soap operas in Asia and Russia. Thalia drew similarly enthusiastic crowds last year on a visit to Indonesia.
Since first exploding onto Philippine television sets last March, ''Mari Mar'' has bulldozed the country's prime time television hour, established Mexico in Filipino eyes as the font of what is pure and romantic, and transformed the Philippines, in the words of one commentator, into the ''Republica de Mari Mar.'' Across Manila, at the witching hour, commuters scramble from buses, street basketball players hurry home and bars fall silent as Mari Mar, her Spanish dubbed into Tagalog, begins to talk.
It was people like the Alvarezes, by the thousands, who gathered outside Manila's airport in the predawn darkness to welcome Thalia, whose plane finally touched down at 4:30 A.M. For those who didn't make it to the airport, television carried the event live. From there, it was a week of concerts, interviews and public appearances. Thalia, a 23-year-old who got her start as a pop singer, showered kisses on the crowds like confetti. Tears flowed. Politicians vied for her attention.
In Guimba, a town a couple hours north of here, local officials told the local power company in no uncertain terms that there were to be no power failures during Thalia's visit or during daily broadcasts of her show or concerts.
''Very seldom do we see our people in Guimba preoccupied and mesmerized with such a soap opera, and to deprive them of such enjoyment would be to act like a killjoy,'' declared Benny Rillo, a member of the Guimba city council.
At the head of the list of politicians feting the Mexican star was President Fidel Ramos, who rolled out the red carpet at the Malacanang Palace.
''It's O.K. if I kiss?'' Thalia asked the President's wife, Ming Ramos, before planting a taco-sized buss on the delighted President, a kiss that graced the front-page of virtually every newspaper in the country.
''This is what goes with the office,'' the President beamed, capping off a 45-minute meeting. A dinner drenched in the trappings of a state occasion followed.
The frenzy over Thalia, whose real name is Ariadne Sodi Miranda, stirred bewilderment among commentators more accustomed to dissecting the confabulations of national politics, and resentment among some politicians.
''Not since the days of the galleon trade have Filipinos celebrated with wild abandon the arrival of a ship from Mexico,'' offered Conrado de Quiros, a local columnist. ''She has pretty much stolen the hearts of Filipinos. Filipino soaps are too familiar, American soaps are too alien. 'Mari Mar' is neither.''
The sober Daily Inquirer managed to meld sociology with its own long-running series on corruption in Congress. ''You can understand what the Filipinos are trying to escape from,'' the paper wrote. ''They are trying to escape from the ugliness around them. The ugliness of their surroundings, the ugliness of their poverty, the ugliness of their public officials.''
''But you can see Thalia descending,'' the paper raved, ''like an apparition from Mount Olympus, and you can understand what the Filipinos are trying to escape into. They are trying to escape into beauty. The beauty of goodness winning over evil, the beauty of folk rising above adversity.''
Some lawmakers found the adulation for Thalia overwhelming even the celebrations of the Revolution, which, with American help, ended Spanish rule of the Philippines. ''We're becoming a nation of 'Mari Mar' fans,'' moaned Edcel Lagman, who rounded up 100 equally grumpy colleagues from the House of Representatives and filed a motion deploring the transformation of the Revolution into, as he put it, a ''non-event.''
The soap opera mines every cliche and wrings every tear. Mari Mar, brutalized by poverty, is rescued by a weakling rich-boy husband who chucks her out on a trumped-up accusation of theft. Mari Mar returns Eliza Doolittle-like, smart, cultivated and bent on revenge. In moments of despair, her ever-loyal dog Fulgoso lifts her spirits.
Many here believe Thalia's Mari Mar embodies the experience and hopes of Filipinas and Filipinos.
''It's almost the same as the Philippines,'' insisted Mr. Alvarez, as he stacked a few loaves of the bread made in the bakery behind the grocery store. ''We're very romantic, Filipinos. Sometimes when I go to bed I dream of Mari Mar.''
Mrs. Alvarez swatted her husband with a paper. ''He'd better not,'' she laughed. ''But Mari Mar is what we all believe in.''MarimarEduardo Capetillo Thalia Fernando x2, Carrillo, above, and Colunga, bottom
Richard Gutierrez and Marian Rivera new Valentine movie news below, but enjoy this classic Thalia video, "I Found Your Love (Gracias a Dios)" released exclusively for the Philippines from her multi-platinum Filipino-Tagalog album, Nandito Ako, in which she dresses up in a Basic Instinct inspired S&M bondage outfitand ties up a half naked guy upside down, shaves him, rips off his clothes, and then sprays him with a rubber hose, hehe. And then, she lights her breasts on fire! (Watch the video to see how she did that!) Let's see Marian Rivera do something like that! Haha. Video below these images: Thalia - I Found Your Love (Gracias a Dios) I'm not sure if this was actually seen by many Filipinos in the Philippines during those times, because due to the racy content, it probably would've been banned by the MTRCB. Hehe. But they're prudes like that, don't even show your knees on TV, that's too racy for them! Hahaha. You can also see Thalia performing this song live at Araneta stadium in the Thalia in Manila Video Gallery, scroll down to see the video. Also, enjoy these clips of Thalia singing in Tagalog on Don Francisco in Miami, Florida: Chika Lang Mariang Taga Barrio Chika Lang Full Song
The truth about Thalia Conversations with Ricky Lo
Date: 17 Sept 2000 Source: Philippine Star Major Daily Newspaper The truth about Thalia - Conversations with Ricky Lo
The Bright Boys and the Spice Boys of the House of Representatives are scrambling mad over one another for the rare chance to be in the same frame with Fernando Carillo/Jose, male lead of the smash-hit telenovela Rosalinda, who¹s arriving tomorrow for a week-long promo visit for his new soap Siempre te Amare (produced by Viva Television for RPN 9), with a concert at the Araneta Coliseum on Sept. 23 as highlight.
Would you believe the "Young Turks" of Congress, supposedly the "hope of the Fatherland," throwing caution to the wind over a macho showbiz hero, threatening to engage in, heaven forbid, palengkera squabble for the attention of one Fernando Jose!?! What some people will do to the point of brazenly sacrificing their dignity and their own "macho" reputation at the altar of media mileage to get a share of the limelight.Shame, shame, shame!
If the Bright Boys and the Spice Boys would kill one another for Thalia, Fernando Jose¹s sexy and seductive Rosalinda leading lady, it would be understandable and more "heroic," wouldn¹t it be?
In the meantime, while Œem Boys are going gaga over Fernando Jose, let¹s listen to what Thalia has to say about all the rumors spicing up the international media and the Internet concerning her lovelife and her career.
This 30-minute phone Conversation, conducted between thousands of miles (Thalia was in London and I was in Manila), was arranged by EMI-OctoArts Records which is releasing Thalia¹s new album, Arrasando. It was 12 midnight in London and 7 p.m. in Manila, and Thalia was just about to turn in. She said she was talking to Conversations from bed.
As usual, Thalia was sweet as ever, freely talking about her new love, Sony Music boss Tommy Mottola, and new developments in her life and career, wishing to come back for another visit, more memorable perhaps than her twin visits back in 1996.
It¹s okay for the Bright Boys and the Spice Boys to claw their way to the side of Fernando Jose but the rest of the world, I¹m sure, would rather have Thalia.
Hello, Thalia, how are you?
"Good. How are you? I¹m okay. Good, good! Nice to hear you!"
I doubt if you remember but I met you very briefly, from afar at a presscon when you visited Manila a few years ago.
"Oh, yeah! That was a long time ago, huh?"
What are you doing in London? Shooting or what?
"We are doing promotion for my new album, Arrasando (Taken By Storm, released locally by OctoArts-EMI)."
Como estas, Thalia? "Muy bien, gracias? Kumusta, too?" Oh, you still speak Tagalog!
"Yeah. Salamat po!" Do you know that Fernando Carillo/Jose is coming to Manila?
"Oh, good for him! I wish I could be with him in Manila. It¹s amazing!"
When are you coming back? We¹re missing you already.
"I¹m really looking forward to coming back there; I wish I could show Fernando Carillo a little bit of what I knew... the people that I¹ve met there... the places that I¹ve visited there... all the things that I¹ve seen while I was there. I miss Manila very much... really, really miss Manila."
That was about four years ago.
"I miss all the people there who always, always give me the opportunity to be somebody over there."
But you¹re a somebody not only over here but everywhere! All over the world! "Am I?"
What are your fond memories of Manila?
"The people are very kind, very sweet, very friendly. I made many, many friends over there. I also remember so much the music; I remember also the food. I remember everything!"
What food did you like most?
"Oh, my God, everything! Everything was amazing! Especially the breakfast. Never in my whole life have I tasted a breakfast so amazing!"
What kind of breakfast was that?
"It was meat with a sweet juice; it was with eggs, too, and with bacon, and with fried rice, and with potato, and everything! I get hungry just thinking of that breakfast."
Do you know that your telenovela Rosalinda is a big, big hit in the Philippines, like Marimar?
"Yeah. Thanks to God and thanks to all the people of the Philippines. I want to thank the people there for allowing me to be part of their homes (During telecast of Rosalinda and her other telenovela Quinceanera. RFL)."
When did you shoot Rosalinda?
"We did it like approximately two and a half years ago."
Was it after Marimar?
"No, no, no. Not after Marimar. After Marimar came Maria la del Barrio."
How long did you shoot Rosalinda (now being replayed on ABS-CBN, Monday through Friday, 10 to 10:30 p.m.)?
"Approximately one year... about 10 months."
All over Mexico?
"Just in Mexico City."
How did you find your role as Rosalinda (the poor girl who triumphs in the end)?
"Oh, I always love the Cinderella story. It¹s the kind of story that everyone in the family can watch the grandfather, the grandmother, the father, the mother, the children. In my soap operas, there¹s no nudity. It¹s like Cinderella¹s story. Very wholesome. It¹s like a dream. It¹s a story that people like and that gets people involved."
Do you identify yourself with that kind of role?
"My emotions are kind of like Rosalinda. I mean, she¹s such a dreamer; she¹s a romantic; she fights for the future, she fights for love, so I identify so much with her. Rosalinda is one of my favorite roles ever; that one and Marimar."
Speaking of love scenes and kissing scenes... Now that you¹re doing movies in Hollywood (her starrer, Mambo Cafe, is showing soon in Manila), what would you do if you¹re offered a movie that requires a kissing scene or a love scene? Would you accept it?
"You know what... I don¹t like colds. I¹m freezing all the time! I really cannot accept that kind of role. Let me tell you something... I have the approval of many audiences around the world, in different languages, different cultures, without taking off my clothes and just with my performance in the soap operas, and just with my music. So basically, I don¹t need roles like that (with kissing and/or love scenes). I¹ve been doing this since I was 9 and I never took my clothes off, not even a blouse; I never took it off. So I¹ll never gonna do it."
How nice of you! We love you as you are with your clothes on.
"You know, in the future, in the long term I really want to have a family; I¹m really looking forward to that. I can¹t imagine one of my children will come to me and tell me, ŒHey, Mommy, my friend in school showed me this magazine and you¹re naked.¹ You know. I don¹t want my children to suffer."
Is it because of your Catholic upbringing that you don¹t like sexy roles?
"It¹s not because of that; it¹s because of ethics. You know, my family tells me, ŒDo whatever your heart tells you.¹ My heart tells me not to take off my clothes so I¹m not gonna do it. Anyway, Thalia plays two roles; one is the actress and the other is the singer. The actress is more conservative while the singer can be more sexy."
How was it working with Fernando Carillo/Jose? Did you know him before Rosalinda?
"No, never; never before Rosalinda. I just knew him because of his work. The experience of working with him is just amazing. He¹s such a good guy; very, very nice person. We worked together very good. He¹s great. His brothers are amazing, too. Yeah, he¹s such an amazing guy. I¹m sure that we have the best chemistry ever in television. He¹s my best co-star."
Is he romantic also just like you?
"I don¹t know. The only thing I can tell you is that on the set, we laughed all the time. There were occasions when we couldn¹t work because we were just laughing and laughing, playing and playing, jumping all over the set. We were just like two kids playing."
There was a report that Fernando Carillo/Jose courted you during the shooting of Rosalinda. Was it true?
"No, no! You know what, he¹s like that with all the women. Cariñoso. I¹m telling you now... If I am in the Philippines, I should tell the women to be prepared."
Why?
"Because he¹s very sweet with all the girls! But he¹s respectful, too. We talked since the beginning of (Rosalinda) and we told each other, ŒYou know what, let¹s just be friends. Let¹s just be the best friends we can ever be.¹ Even after Rosalinda we¹re still talking; we¹re still in contact with each other."
He¹s still a bachelor, isn¹t he? He¹s still single, isn¹t he?
"Bachelor? Single? I really don¹t know."
There was also a rumor that you¹ve found a new love, none other than Sony Music boss Tommy Mottola. True or not?
"Well, that¹s one of the reasons why Fernando and I didn¹t have any relationship because when I started Rosalinda, I already had a boyfriend. Yes, Tommy!"
Congratulations!
"Thank you! You know, Fernando respects me and he understands that. I¹m happy and I¹m very pleased (with my boyfriend)."
How long have you and Tommy been going steady?
"Oh, well, almost three years and a half. Oh, I think more than two years and a half."
How do you find Tommy?
"I find him amazing. I don¹t really want to go into my personal life. But the only thing I can tell you is that I¹m very happy and I¹m so in love; I¹ve found a soulmate. He¹s a person who really takes care of my soul, of my dreams. HeŒs such a good, good, good person; an amazing person!"
Do you think you¹ll end up at the altar?
"Let¹s wait for the next episode. Let¹s follow the soap opera. Let me tell you... This is the best soap opera that I can ever do in my whole life! A real soap opera."
Do you have new telenovela coming up, aside from Rosalinda and Quinceneara (now being shown on RPN 9)?
"Quinceneara was my first hit soap opera; I did two before that. It was the one that really gave me the opportunity. Right now, I¹m reading several (scripts) but it¹s basically the same story all the time. I really prefer to wait until I find a really amazing project, a great idea and a great story. I¹m willing to wait a little bit."
What role would you like to play next time?
"I¹m telling you... I like the Cinderella story. I really would like to still do that but with a new concept, new setting, new pattern."
Which of your telenovelas is your favorite (also including La Pobre Señorita Limantour and Luz y Sombra)?
"My favorite? Marimar! Why? Because I identified completely with the little, little girl who lives in the beach. Free and wild with her dog. Just running in the beach, just enjoying life. I identified with Marimar when she was a little girl; I felt just like her. I also felt very close to Rosalinda because she was completely romantic and completely, you know, her mind was focused all the time."
You have a movie called Mambo Cafe. Could you tell us more about it?
"Mambo Cafe is such a funny project. I play a completely different character, a new character for me. She¹s arrogant, you know, pretentious; different from my soap opera characters."
Is this your first Hollywood movie?
"Yeah. It¹s more like an independent film; it¹s not like the most amazing production, you know. But the script is so good; it will make the audience laugh too much. It¹s about a Latin family living in New York City and the funny stuff that happens to the family. I had fun making that movie and I hope to do another movie soon."
It¹s showing in Manila very soon.
"Oh, yeah? I wish I was there to promote it."
We wish the same thing, too.
"You know what... I talked with my record company over there and we¹re putting something together, something that will bring me back to Manila with my family. I¹m eager to see how things are over there. I¹m praying that I can go back to the Philippines."
Could you tell us more about Arrasando, your album?
"Arrasando is an album full of life, full of happiness. You listen to the songs of the album and you start to get up from your seat and you start dancing, you start moving your feet and tapping your fingers, you start to forget about all your problems."
How different is it from your other albums, such as Amor a la Mexicana and En Extasis?
"Amor Mexicana reflects more of the Latin rhythm while Arrasando is more of pop music with the flavor of the Latin rhythm."
What¹s your favorite song from Arrasando?
"Oh, I like the title song, Arrasando, definitely. And the romantic song that is named Why Do I Cry. It¹s so beautiful and so tender. I¹m gonna record that in English. I also like Reincarnation. And Rosalinda, of course, which is included in the Arrasando album."
You once recorded a Tagalog song, Nandito Ako. Remember?
(Proceeds to sing) "Mayroon akong gustong malaman... Oh, you know what, I¹ve seen that your (Filipinos¹) side of romanticism is so big. Nandito Ako was the first song that I heard when I arrived in Manila and I fell in love with it. I said, ŒGuys, I don¹t know what you¹re gonna do but I¹m gonna record this song!¹ And I did. It¹s one of my favorite songs ever."
What do you enjoy more, singing or acting?
"Both. I love both, but if you really, really want to know... I prefer the stage. Because in the stage, as a singer, you can also act, you can perform a song, you can act a song. You can be an actress and a singer at the same time."
Do you have any favorite singer?
"I love Celine Dion. I love her voice. Very simple and very dramatic. I love her!"
Any favorite song?
"I have so many, especially also the songs of Tina Turner and Elton John."
So you¹re now in London for your album promo. Where else are you going?
"From here, we¹re going to Budapest, Hungary, Greece, Miami to work again, to New York for more work, and then I¹ll be back in London."
Where are you based?
"I live between Florida and Mexico. My family is now moving to Florida. My Dad is dead. I only have my Mom, Yolanda. We¹re five sisters; some of them are divorced."
When you get married, how many children do you want to have?
"Oh, only three."
What are your immediate plans?
"If I find a new story for a telenovela, I¹ll start work on it as soon as possible." What about for yourself, as a private person? Do you have time to enjoy yourself? You¹re always working.
"Yeah, definitely! I have time to be with my family, with my friends, with my boyfriend. I have time to enjoy life, go out for dinner, go to the movies and live a normal life."
So you still have a normal life in spite of your popularity?
"You know, first, I¹m a person; and second, I¹m an artist. Most of the people in this business want to be the artist first and then the person after. In my case, I prefer to live and enjoy life. After that, I work."
If you had three wishes, what would they be?
"First, eradicate the pain and hunger in the world. Second, find the right government for my country and make my country improve and make my country so beautiful. Third, happiness for everybody, with the blessing of God."
Anything to say to your fans over here?
"Salamat po. Maraming salamat po. I love you all."
In her first appearance on American television, 15 year-old Charice Pempengco from the Philippines performs an incredible version of, “And I Am Telling You.” It is one of the most incredible performances I've ever seen.
Young Filipino Diva Arrives for US Debut on Ellen Show Asian Journal
LOS ANGELES -- It's fitting that the first song that 15-year-old Filipina diva Charice Pempengco sang when she got off of the airplane in Los Angeles International Airport was Whitney Houston's One Moment In Time.
In the corner wing of the Tom Bradley International Airport arrival center, the brown-haired, light-skinned, and petite Pempengco sang the song with much gusto, causing passersby to watch in admiration as she belted out the chorus in front of the Asian Journal and a small ABS-CBN television crew.
This is Pempengco’s moment to shine.
“I chose this song because it really fits me,” she said before she burst into song.
The talented Filipino singer wunderkind from Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines is the latest YouTube sensation. Her video performance clip of Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You when she was 12-years-old on ABS-CBN’s Little Big Star has garnered more than 700,000 page views and counting.
Pempengco arrived from the Philippines on Thursday on a special invitation. Last month, television host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres featured Pempengco on her network daytime show (also seen on YouTube). After viewing a video clip of Pempengco singing, the crowd clapped in ovation while Degeneres said in front of the camera, “You [Charice] come here too. Yeah. You!”
Pempengco took up the offer and a few weeks later, she’s in the United States for the first time. It has been reported but not confirmed that she will be on the Ellen DeGeneres Show next Tuesday.
“I’m a little bit nervous but excited,” said Pempengco, who was escorted by Millie Gurfinkel. “This is my first time [here] and I’m going to meet Ellen DeGeneres.”
The Asian Journal tried to get in contact with Ellen DeGeneres but the e-mail was not returned as of press time.
Youtube
Pempengco credits much of her success to YouTube, a video sharing website where users can upload, view and share [legal] video clips.
Charice became a singing sensation at the age of 12, when she appeared on the Philippine show Little Big Star.
She placed third on the competition but her career took a turn for the better when people began to watch videos of her performances posted on the popular website, YouTube.
DeGeneres, one of hundreds of thousands of viewers, saw the clips and demanded her to be on the show.
According to Pempengco, DeGeneres’ people discovered her after watching the videos.
“After talking to an [Ellen DeGeneres show] producer, Ellen DeGeneres called me,” Pempengco recalled. “And then she said, that she’s my No. 1 fan. I’m really really shocked that she said that.”
“I’m so excited. I can’t explain [it],” she added.
This is not the first time that Pempengco was discovered on YouTube. A record producer in Sweden discovered her after watching her YouTube performance.
Pempengco said she recorded six songs in Sweden earlier this year.
She then made an appearance on a South Korean TV variety show Star King and sang And I am telling you I’m not going from Dreamgirls last October.
Pempengco said she wants to be the next Filipino international superstar. But first things first, she said that since she’s in Los Angeles, she just wants to visit all the tourist destinations.
“I want to visit Disneyland, Hollywood, the Walk of Fame,” she said.
Special thanks
Pempengco is taking her recent success in stride.
She knows she wouldn’t be successful if it weren’t for all the fans that continue to watch her sing and perform.
“I want to thank you for all of your support and I hope that you will still support me,” she said. “Now that I’m in the United States, just pray for me. All my dreams are dedicated to all of you.”
As for her appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show next week, she’s keeping her performance a secret.
“Of course I’m going to sing in the show,” she said. “[But] it’s a secret. It’ll be a surprise.”
And just like the song, One Moment In Time, this is Pempengco’s moment on US national network television. Let’s hope this moment lasts for eternity. (AJ)
Brazilian model and cast member of Eat Bulaga Ariani Nogueira and Filipina actress Dawn Zuleta, newly skinny after her recent preganancy, on the covers of FHM and Good Housekeeping. On sale now at all National Bookstores nationwide!
The legendary Ms. Pilita Corrales sings in Spanish, Tagalog, and English and shows off her sexy legs all in one song: her duet with Janno Gibbs. Don't we all just love her? She's our bellisima reina de canciones, and still amazingly beautiful at the age of whatever her age is right now, which is ageless, hehe.
I was really happy because I remember that during the Latin American parade last September here in Los Angeles, Philippines was part of it, and it was televised nationally in the US, Latin America, and Spain on the Spanish language TV network Univision, which most Filipinos think, ah it's a Spanish language network, it's not important, actually it is, because regardless of it being in Spanish, it gets higher ratings than most of the major English language networks, last year it was the 3rd highest ranking network in the United States, #1 is ABC, #2 NBC, #3 Univision, and Fox, the CW, and MyTV are #4-6, so a lot of people were watching when the song during the part where Philippines was walking down the parade was a Pilita Corrales song, and the announcer said, "What a beautiful dance the Filipinos have, tan cariñosa, and what a beautiful song." I'm sure Ms. Corrales would be so happy to hear the influence she's still having on the world today. Special thanks to Mr. Francis Magalona for the nice digital photo on the left (you rock Francis as always, you the man, compadre, keep up the great work on your music and your comedy stylings on Eat Bulaga!), which I photoshopped with an old album cover of Ms. Corrales on the right in which she looks amazingly beautiful, as always.
Filipino singer-actor Junior (AMB or Antonio Morales Barreto) serenades Vilma Santos in Good Morning Sunshine (1980) with his hit song that he wrote and produced, Yakap.
Junior is the father of current hitmaker Shaila Durcal. Junior is 64 years old now and the oldest of 5 siblings and the Barreto sisters are 28 to circa-40 years old now (yes, they are, money does wonderful things in keeping you young looking and beautiful), and Filipino families are big so it's not uncommon to have cousins and immediate relatives that are twenty even thirty years older than you. But I don't have to tell you that, you probably already do.
Some Filipinos were comparing Claudine Barreto to Shaila Durcal, measuring their beauty against one another as if they were competing celebrities, but they're family by blood, Jesus Christ. But I guess it's normal since Filipinos always compare the beauty of Filipino actors/actresses with their sons/daughters or siblings, speaking of which, in my humble opinion, Gretchen is much more beautiful than her sisters, hehehe. I didn't like it before, but anyway I guess it's all fun, what fun is it having celebs if besides idolizing them, we can't also evaluate their beauty and compare them with each other, hehe. Thanks to VSTProductions for sharing this great clip with Filipinos!
So I'm finally talking about Junior, and this was my latest edit on Junior's article from that "encyclopedia" and I'm very happy about it, I added a lot of parts, a lot a lot of parts, including his Filipino movies and the tri-lingual part just because some Pinoys have this presumption that some Filipinos who have Spanish blood lived in an enclave amongst themselves in the Philippines where they only speak Spanish and drink wine and lounge at the pool, it's the image burned into their brains from the stereotypes from Filipino movies, ridiculous because Junior is as Pinoy as any other Filipino out there, and he wrote his songs in Tagalog, and speaks in Tagalog as well, and both of his parents are Filipino, it's just that his father just happens to be of Spanish descent, but he was born and raised in the Philippines making him a Filipino. It's really funny how Filipinos viewed Junior as a "Spaniard foreigner visiting the Philippines" during his popularity and didn't even realize that he's Filipino and still to this day sometimes until I posted this video of his song Yakap on Youtube, and Spaniards view him as a Filipino. It's because some Pinoys don't understand that's why, that the Spanish-speaking world is different from the English-speaking world in that their cultures and history are very, very different, so the Spanish-speaking world today doesn't really focus on race and racial fractions and quantities of a person, it's the country you were born in and your culture that determines who you are. Even though many Latin Americans and Filipinos have Spanish blood, they're not identified as Spanish when they go to Spain, they identify with the country that's close to their heart, the country they were born in. And for Junior, that's our Philippines, always. We'll post more pictures later, I'm trying to keep the posts short, which is impossible because I'm a writer and writing has always come naturally for me so I embellish a lot in what I write about, which is I guess good for a blog format, since that's what it's all about. Junior with daughter, singer Shaila Durcal: (their family is fond of stage names since "Junior", "Shaila Durcal", and "Rocio Durcal" are all artistic names, but not their real names, I guess it's a good way to keep your showbiz life separate from your family life)
Claudine Barreto and her sisters are his family by blood because his mother is a Barreto, and there's only one Barreto clan in the Philippines, and if you like San Miguel Beer, be grateful to their ancestors as San Miguel Corporation, Southeast Asia’s first brewery was established on Oct. 4, 1890 by Enrique Maria Barreto de Ycaza. A few of them have done business with and are friends of my cousin who works in Advertising and Public Relations for TV and print media, no he's not just a Kapuso or Kapamilya, that's ridiculous, and it's also a very successful marketing plan from the TV networks to draw in viewers from the C-D classes by making them feel like "family" (Kapamilya) and drawing in their "heart" (Kapuso), it's a great marketing plan for both networks, since it's obviously working considering the passionate online debates I've seen that Kapusos have versus Kapamilyas, that stuff is hilarious, anyway business is business and he works for both and has worked for both TV networks doing all that kind of stuff that he does, I don't care, hehe, anyway, the Barretos are from Manila and they own a bunch of companies, and Junior's from that one. And Junior was born in Manila. If you're confused about why his mother is a Barreto but his name is Antonio Morales Barreto, a lot of Filipinos were when I posted the video, it's because in Spanish naming conventions, the father's surname goes before the mother's. I believe that the way Filipinos do it now, where the middle name became the place to put the mother's surname, was just a clever adaptation our ancestors made to keep part of their heritage alive when they were told by the new colonizers after 1898 that you could only have one surname. So they found the loophole, "since there's no more space for our mother's surname, we'll put that in place of the middle name." And I theorize that that's how it came about. I can't be sure, because Filipino historians are so, like they don't care sometimes about researching these important things, so there's a lot of holes to fill in for us Filipinos about our history, but think about it, what other logical explanation is there for it? Putting your mother's surname as your middle name is certainly not a British or American tradition, in their middle names, they put names that are similiar to first names, but never the mother's surname because it's not the cultural tradition.
I'd also just like to say that I was really happy about what Aga Muhlach said about how the tv networks should just combine and find a way to work together, because that's what I always thought. Filipinos are always competing with other Filipinos, and we're always divided. But there's strength to be found in unity. Junior (born Antonio Morales Barreto on May 10, 1943 in Manila, Philippines) is a Filipino singer and actor. He is the oldest of 5 sons. He was 15 years old when his family settled in Barcelona, Spain then in Madrid. He is tri-lingual and speaks Spanish, English, and Tagalog.
In 1957, he became part of the group Jump, a pioneering Spanish electric guitar group. In the group’s popularity, he was included in the movie Me Enveneno De Azules in 1969. His unstaked first themes Todo Porque Te Quiero (It’s All Because I Love You) in 1969 and Perdóname with English theme The Snake in 1973.
He became part of the group Los Brincos with Juan Pardo. His brothers Miguel and Ricky Morales were invited to join the group. Later, he and Juan Pardo left their group as Juan y Júnior. One of their songs include Spanish version of “Fool On The Hill” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney from LP titled Júnior in 1976.
In 1979, he stopped his career to manage career of his wife late Rocío Dúrcal whom he has 3 children, including singer Shaila Dúrcal who is dedicated not only to her mother but also to her mother’s namesake Rocío Jurado and Colombian diva Soraya who have been cancer victims.
In 1980, he starred in the Filipino movies Good Morning Sunshine with Vilma Santos, Bongga ka Day, and Disco Madhouse and released an album in Tagalog for the Philippines. One of his most popular songs that he wrote and produced was "Yakap". [1]
Julio Iglesias Jr. attends the America's Cup Match Party at Antigua Tabacalera in Valencia, Spain.
So, according to many Filipino newsgroups on the internet like soc.culture.filipino, Julio Iglesias Jr. is not really Filipino, and neither is his mother, Isabel Preysler. Really?
Occupation: charmer - singer Julio Iglesias, Jr Interview Magazine Helen Eisenbach
Julio Iglesias, Jr., has the looks and charisma of his debonair easy-listening superstar dad and a voice of his own. But what else has he got? Interview went to his hotel room to find out
Some musicians have an ambivalent relationship to their stardom. Performing as if compelled by nameless inner demons, they can seem indifferent, even hostile, their audience irrelevant to private scenes they're enacting in their own heads. Then there are those performers who live only to seduce, as if their relationship with their audience were a love match somehow predestined from birth. Any guess as to which kind Julio Iglesias, Jr., is?
Made late by his Interview photo shoot, Iglesias stands in the lobby of his hotel talking happily with two women. I've been waiting for some time, but Iglesias is cheerfully oblivious, kissing me on both cheeks when I'm brought to him and then returning to his conversation in animated Spanish. Once he's forcibly extracted - more kisses for the women - we head for his room, which can be politely described as untidy.
For the past week he's been in New York City to put the finishing touches on his debut album, Under My Eyes, a collection of breathy, easy-on-the-ears pop songs mostly written by himself, with a little help from Junior Vasquez and others. Probably more famous in his native Spain, he has started to provoke a reaction here; after a recent Ricky Martin concert fans ignored the headliner to inundate Iglesias with demands he autograph their Ricky Martin posters. If his music is, in his own words, "completely different from my father's," it doesn't take more than two minutes in the son's company to notice the traits he shares with Papa. Boyishly good-looking with a smooth yet puppylike charm, Julio II is poised to bring family tradition into the 2000s.
HELEN EISENBACH: Did you enjoy being photographed?
JULIO IGLESIAS, JR.: [buttoning his fly] I did.
HE: So I see. [JI looks up and laughs] You grew up in Madrid?
JI: Until I was ten years old; then I moved to Miami, where my father was living. Mom still lives in Spain.
HE: Did you have any nicknames when you were young?
JI: Always Julio, Little Julio. My mom used to call me Kung Fu. [mimes a kung fu move] She's from the Philippines - I'm more Filipino than my whole family. I used to walk around with a bandanna - woo!
HE: And how old are you now?
JI: How old do you think I look?
HE: I have no idea. You're ageless.
JI: I'm twenty-six. I was born on February 25, 1973.
HE: You grew up with your father?
JI: Pretty much. My father was always [sings] "on the road again. . ."
HE: Did he take you with him?
JI: Sometimes. I've been all over Europe with him.
HE: Did he ever bring you out onstage with him?
JI: Yes. I used to hate it! It used to embarrass me.
HE: Did you cry? Did you smack him?
JI: I did! I was so young, you know, I was a little afraid - so many people! And the lights.
HE: Did you ever imagine you'd be doing it yourself someday?
JI: I didn't realize until I was twelve or thirteen that I wanted to be in the entertainment industry. First I wanted to be a fireman. Then I wanted to be a football player, get myself a cheerleader. But I didn't become strong enough.
HE: And you figured out how to get the cheerleaders anyway. How did your show business career begin?
JI: With a little bit of modeling. It was fun; it paid my phone bill.
HE: How did that come about?
JI: I met the photographer Bruce Weber and did a shoot for him, for Versace. Then I hosted my own show on Latin American TV called Mosaico. We used to travel around South America and just show the nice places. It was cool, but music is what I really want to do.
HE: When you were growing up did your father give you any advice: Do this, don't do that? Stay out of the business?
JI: My father has always been very frank with us. If we want to do something, he's always very helpful. He's happy I'm doing well - he loves the music.
HE: Would he tell you if he didn't?
JI: Oh, hell yeah!
HE: Is that tough? A high standard to live up to?
JI: Yeah. I do my best, you know, and if people like it, I'm happy. And if they don't like it [whispers] f--- them.
HE: Who has influenced you musically?
JI: Sting, Bryan Adams, Michael Jackson.
HE: Your songs remind me a little of George Michael.
JI: My goodness, so many people tell me that!
HE: It's because you're all breathy. I've heard four of the songs.
JI: When the CD comes out, we'll send you a full one, OK? Some love songs in there for you, baby.
HE: With a big nude photo?
JI: Nude?! That's later on in life. [laughs] First I need to do a little weight-lifting.
HE: What was the first song you wrote?
JI: I don't even remember, it's been so long. I started writing in high school. I wrote nine songs for this first album. Some dance songs, some a little more mid-tempo, and then ballads. I like everything. Sometimes I get in the mood to listen to opera, you know? I can be in the mood to listen to rap, R&B, pop music.
HE: Are you ready to play big venues?
JI: That comes a little bit later, after the second album. You have to have enough songs. I want to play Madison square Garden, baby!
HE: You're not too shy?
JI: Me? No. You start working in TV, in front of the camera every day, and you get used to it. Sometimes you just go like this [snaps] and you change.
HE: Where do you see yourself three years from now?
JI: Hopefully, very successful.
HE: All work and no play?
JI: I go to both extremes. I like to have a lot of people around me or I don't like anybody around me.
HE: What's the worst thing you do?
JI: I don't do anything bad. Honestly, I'm such a good boy. Can't you tell?
HE: Were you ever not a good boy?
JI: No. My mother and father have always been very strict. Our manners. . . everything had to be perfect.
HE: Were you ever mad because they were so strict?
JI: Of course I was! We used to have a baby-sitter and the day she had off, oh, it was like heaven! Party time!
HE: Do we have any home movies of that?
JI: We probably do.
HE: Do you like New York?
JI: I've been back and forth to New York since I was little, and for work I've been coming for the last year and a half. I like New York, but I also like a little green, you know? It's hard for me to breathe here sometimes.
HE: Would you come just for fun?
JI: Why not? For three, four hours - then I'd get back on a plane. [smirks]
HE: Look at you smirking.
JI: I've heard that word like ten times this week! What does it mean? Yesterday in the photo shoot, I heard "smirk"; today I heard, "Give me a little smirk." What the hell is "smirk"? [sings] "I came to New York and everyone was smirking . . . ."
HE: What's the first thing you're going to do when you get home tonight?
JI: McDonald's. I eat McDonald's or Burger King every day. I know it sounds gross but I just do, every single day. Lately, it's the first time in my life I'm gaining a little weight. I weigh 165 pounds.
HE: I'm sorry to hear that.
JI: Sports help me out a lot. I love surfing, windsurfing, jet skiing, waterskiing. I'm a water person. I'm a Pisces.
HE: What qualities are Pisces supposed to have?
JI: Romantic, sensitive, pure people.
HE: And are any of those true about you?
JI: All of them. One of the bad things is that Pisces people are perfectionists.
HE: Mean to everyone around them?
JI: No! We're not mean. We're hard to get. [slams hand on table for emphasis] Yes, we are!
HE: Do you like staying in hotels?
JI: Yes, because I don't have to pick up after myself. I'm such a neat person when I'm not in a hotel. In my house, oh, my God, everything has to be perfect. You know me.
HE: I don't, really.
JI: [low-voiced] Nobody knows me. It's a lonely life. I'm so lonely.
HE: Are you a tease?
JI: You think so?
HE: Not you.
JI: Me? Nooooooo. But I think everybody is a little, you know?
COPYRIGHT 1999 Brant Publications, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
Photographing around with Filipino actors Kristine Hermosa and Jericho Rosales in Manila and the Filipino Hamptons, meaning the Bundok hehe. Above, Kristine es hermosa, and ready for her photo shoot. Below, Jericho is happy about his crying ad.
Whaaa?Jericho Rosales purchasing his balls. Fishballs.Do I look handsome? I'm a hunk you know... THE Hunk
GMA7 still triumphantly holds the top spots in the TV ratings for both daytime shows and primetime shows for the week of October 8, 2007. 27 years later, the country's three favorite funny guys, brothers Mr. Vic and Tito Sotto and Mr. de Leon, are still on top with their hit show Eat Bulaga!, the longest running TV show in Philippine history. And Zorro comes slashing his way to the Philippines.
Top 10 programs in daytime and primetime TV for the week of October 8, 2007:
Daytime: 1. Whammy! Push Your Luck (GMA-7) - 23.5% 2. Eat Bulaga! (GMA-7) - 21.9% 3. Kung Mahawi Man ang Ulap (GMA-7) - 19.8% 4. Wowowee (ABS-CBN) - 19.3% 5. Daisy Siete (GMA-7) - 18.8% 6. Kapamilya Deal or No Deal (ABS-CBN) - 18.6% 7. Pasan Ko ang Daigdig (GMA-7) - 18.5% 8. Prinsesa ng Banyera (ABS-CBN) - 16.8% 9. Pilipinas Game KNB? (ABS-CBN) - 16.7% 10. Takeshi's Castle (GMA-7) - 16.3%
Primetime: 1. Marimar (GMA-7) - 36.6% 2. 24 Oras (GMA-7) - 36.2% 3. Zaido (GMA-7) - 34.9% 4. Lastikman (ABS-CBN) / Hwang Ji Ni (GMA-7) - 26.1% 5. Kokey (ABS-CBN) - 24.8% 6. TV Patrol World (ABS-CBN) - 24.3% 7. Jumong (GMA-7) - 24% 8. Pangarap na Bituin (ABS-CBN) - 22.7% 9. Ysabella (ABS-CBN) - 19.8% 10. Natutulog Ba ang Diyos (ABS-CBN) - 15.6%
Source: AGB Nielsen Philippines
Meanwhile, we're really glad that Zorro: La Espada y La Rosa is showing in the Philippines and that the Filipinos can have a chance to enjoy this great telenovela via ABS-CBN, which is more like watching (and living in) a cinematic movie every day spread out for an entire year. Zorro is a historic novela, because it is the most expensive telenovela in history as it is a co-production of Telemundo with RTI and Sony Pictures Television International, and it is also the first telenovela in history to be shot entirely in widescreen HDTV (like a movie or the mainstream shows in the United States), which made it fantastic for us to watch it here in Los Angeles on a widescreen plasma TV. I recorded the entire series DVD-quality via my TiVo, which took up multiple hard drives that I had to buy just to accomodate it along with all the other shows I record. I don't think it's being shown in HDTV in the Philippines because the transition to digital television has just begun there, but the production values of this telenovela are so high, it is indeed like watching a really good movie everyday. Filipinos also get the chance to watch their favorite Gata Salvaje again as Marlene Favela enchants their screens with her beauty everyday.
Sampaguita's 'Bonggahan' is the Music Video of the Week. The Reyna of Rock and Roll.
