Philippine News

LOS ANGELES – Ramona Diaz is a free spirit who is curious, adventurous and daring when it comes to her films. She has done the controversial “Imelda” documentary and is currently working on “The Learning” which is a documentary about the Baltimore school system’s experience with teachers from the Philippines.

The petite producer-writer-director based in Baltmore described herself as a Filipino “in every way possible.”

The big break

She narrated how she got into show business: “During my junior year at Emerson College in Boston, they had this wonderful program where you got to spend the summer in Los Angeles interning for a major production company.

I landed at the now-defunct Mary Tyler Moore (MTM) Productions on the CBS/Studio City lot. These were the years they were producing golden television – Hill St. Blues, St. Elsewhere – groundbreaking shows. Then, of course, there was the fun show, Remington Steele with Pierce Brosnan. This was his breakthrough role. I got to know people working on these shows. A year later, after graduating, I went back to Los Angeles because Remington Steele had an opening for an assistant position. And that’s how I started.”

‘Princess Nice’

“I came here already in my mid-teens after having lived all of my life in Makati and going to school at Assumption. So being from a homogeneous (or so it seemed to me) environment, I did not think of myself as being less entitled, if that makes sense. In fact, for better or for worse, I felt very entitled,” she confessed.

“So when I started working in Los Angeles, I was just me. This meant that there were certain things that had an “ew” factor to me – like getting coffee, or lunch, or their dry cleaning, or taking their car for a carwash (which as you know is big in LA) – that I just made clear I didn’t do. And the other assistants would be like “you said no?” But I think I got away with it because of how I look, I am petite and people do not feel threatened by me. They thought I was ‘cute.’

She continued, “And I got dressed to the nines everyday even though there was no dress code. In retrospect, I think that helped. And I also said no jokingly and in a very Pinoy way – meaning I was still sweet even as I said no – I tell you nothing beats nice.

“So much so that I was teased as the princess from the Philippines. And the executive producer of the show would always come to my defense and would never ask me to do anything that I felt was not my job so that sent a signal to the rest of the producing and writing staff.

The importance of being humble

“Now, of course, the question is, how then would they take me seriously, right? I remember there was this writer on the show who was not a very good grammarian if you can believe that. I would look over his script and actually change stuff to make it grammatically correct and by the time the script was published, it was in correct form.

He knew I was doing it but I did not make it a big deal and advertise it to the world. But he knew and he was grateful and then, of course, we formed some kind of bond and he would start asking me what it was I really wanted to do, what I thought of this movie, this book, etc. And then he would tell others on the staff what I said about this and that. He respected my opinions and vice versa so that’s how I transcended the mire that I might have gotten myself into.”

Among the people who inspired her, she said, was “this woman who worked for human resources at the now-defunct MTM who told me to always make it clear to people I worked with what it was I eventually wanted to do – be it write, produce, direct, edit. Whatever. To speak up, to let your dreams be known. She was also the first one who ever told me that a ‘no’ is never a no, it’s always a maybe.”

Persistence

Ramona admitted that she does not have an ultimate goal in her career. She explained, “It’s all a process for me and truly the journey to get someplace is infinitely more exciting than the arriving. So I would answer this by saying just as long as I can keep making films that are dear to me, that I have a stake in emotionally, I would be very happy.”

Asked if she ever got star-struck, Ramona confessed, “When I met Robert Redford at the Sundance Institute I think I got star-struck.”

She explained, “When I was in 7th grade, I had watched “The Way We Were” a dozen times with my best friend and we had memorized the dialogue to that film. Redford was at the height of his powers then and we would cry every time Barbara Streisand would comb her fingers through Redford’s hair. How corny no? But hey, I was 7th grade. “So when I finally met him, all I could think of was “you’re Hubbell Gardner” (his character’s name in the film). My publicist warned me to act ‘mature’ and that I am now a colleague and not a fan because at that time, I was at the Institute working on ‘Imelda.’

For those who want to break into Hollywood, Ramona advised, “First of all, know what it is you want to do in Hollywood. You cannot just say break into Hollywood, you have to define for yourself that what that means. Do you want to act, direct, write, sing – what?

And once you have done that you have to move either to Los Angeles or to New York. I think there is a lot of work to be had in New York for aspiring actors especially. And once you are at these cities, go out and meet people. Attend film festivals, go to panels, and put yourself out there. And always be you in all ways – in attitude and in look. Do not try to look like what you think is the look of the moment.”

“I remember reading an interview with Ang Lee and he was asked what he told his casting director when he was casting the female lead for ‘Lust, Caution’ and he said that he told her that he wanted the woman no one else wanted – meaning the woman who didn’t look like everyone else. And I would add the same thing that that woman at MTM who told me eons ago – never take no at face value, always just think of it as maybe. Be persistent and your own best advocate, no one else will be.”

Philippine News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A very young and Internet savvy Filipino American, Jose Antonio Vargas has at 27, won the Pulitzer Prize in the breaking news category. He shares this award with other Washington Post reporters for a package of nine stories, two of which he wrote. His feet hardly touched the ground as he was interviewed at the Washington Post a couple of hours after the awards were announced in this U.S. capital Monday.

An elated Vargas said, “This is great!” and “This is a happy day!” He was also happy for the paper, saying the ‘Post’ “won six Pulitzers, the most it has won in one year.” Vargas wrote two front page stories on the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.
“I was lucky to get an interview with one of the eyewitnesses,” he recalled. “I found this eyewitness on facebook.com. I got him on the phone, we talked for about 25 minutes, and he was the only eyewitness we had on the story, so it was a critical part of it.”
Another story he wore was on how the Virginia Tech students were using the Internet “to let each other know what was going on, because it was chaotic” at that time. He said he got the news over the phone Sunday from his editor, but he was not supposed to tell anybody at that point.

Vargas joined the Post in 2004, two days after graduating from the San Francisco State University in California. He had interned at the paper in 2003 while still a student. He was asked to write for the Style Section at first, and he wrote about Cristeta Comerford, the first woman and first FilAm White House executive chef.

He said he was proud he won the Pulitzer as part of the team from ‘Post,’ the paper that “had toppled a president.”
“This is a paper that has always been about reporting and writing, and letting reporters be who they are” and allowing reporters to follow their interests. “I’ve been here three years, and I’ve written about video games, HIV needs in Washington, and now, political reporting.”

He turned very emotional when he talked about relatives who raised him. He thanked his Lola Leoning, Leonila Salinas, who brought him up in Mountain View, California, together with her husband Ted, and his Uncle Roland. Vargas, born in Antipolo, came to the U.S. when he was 12.

When his grandpa died, he said his Lola Leoning was very worried about him, and wanted him only the best for him.
“I love her very, very, very much,” he said of his grandma. ‘ I wish she could understand what this means. She wanted me to be an accountant, an engineer or a doctor, something like that.”

“Now that I’m covering the presidential campaign, and appearing on CNN and MSNBC, she thinks I’m a real reporter,” he added.
He also cited the principal and superintendent at Mountain View High School, “who were like second parents to me.” They helped him get a scholarship from a venture capitalist who financed his college studies.

He said nobody wins an award by himself, and also credited his mentors, including Leslie Guevarra at San Francisco Chronicle, where he also worked after writing for the ‘Mountain View Voice.’ Vargas, stood behind the mural that showed photos of the team that toppled President Richard Nixon over Watergate – the legendary editor Ben Bradlee and reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.

Families of winners were seen going to the party upstairs. Vargas is single, and still only 27. Community leader Maurese Owens said, when told of the news during an event here the same day: “Now that he has won the Pulitzer, I wonder how it’s going to be for him.”

Vargas will always have a reason for getting up in the morning, gobbling breakfast and bolting excitedly the door. “This has always been a passion of mine, since I started writing at 17,” he said, beaming.

Philippine News

NEW YORK — At 23, Kay Trinidad is at the season where life seems auspiciously uncomplicated and everything glides smoothly like walking on heelys.The New York-born Filipina last year made her Broadway debut in “Little Mermaid,” hoping to one day follow the trail of “idol” Lea Salonga. In the Disney production, currently showing at Lunt-Fontanne, Kay is part of the song-and-dance featured ensemble, her name several lines below the stars’ and many fonts tinier. But on stage, her presence is equally commanding and hypnotic. The fact that she is the only Asian, effortlessly warbling and dancing, makes her stand out even more.

“Such a big dream. I always knew I could do it,” she told Philippine News expressing elation.From NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she majored in Drama, Kay’s road to Broadway had been paved with nothing but good luck and good vibes.
There was a case of bad cold and fever for her “Little Mermaid” audition. She was on a theater tour in Indiana when told by her agent she had to fly to New York right away for the audition.

“I was sick on the plane,” she recalled. “When I got to the audition, I sang my song and then two more right after. After that they asked me to dance, they gave some more musical sides to sing, more dancing on heelys.” In between downing orange juice, blowing her nose and popping lozenges, she endured about five hours of audition. She was one of five talents who made the grade that day.

Two weeks later, her prayers were answered; Kay couldn’t be more ecstatic: “I screamed!”From that time on, it was a blurry succession of rehearsals, photo shoots, costume fittings, media interviews and whatever else it took to promote the musical.
There was talk of a union strike, but little did Kay know it would erupt on her first day on the Broadway stage.
“It was nerve-wracking,” she continued. “We didn’t know if we were performing or not.”

This sense of tentativeness went on for three weeks, with Kay and other “Mermaid” cast members spending time on the picket line in solidarity with fellow equity members.“We carried placards and stayed there, just in case (the strike is settled and we had to get on stage),” she said. “It’s a privilege. The unions are the people that protect you.”
On January 10, 2007, Kay officially graced the Great White Way.

No Marcos connection

With her name, Kathleen Imelda Trinidad, you would think Kay was named after the Marcos women. No way, she shrieked in a voice dripping with disgust. She was named after her mother Imee, and no, her mother, a lab technician, was not named after the former First Daughter. Luis, her father, is an electrical engineer. If being good children is the workmanship of good parents, then Kay and her two sisters are fine products. Oldest sister owns a retail business, and the youngest is studying to be a doctor and a violist in equal measures of seriousness.

“My parents always believed in me. They said I could do anything. They were so excited,” Kay described her folks, who raised her and her sisters on traditional Philippine values and respect for religion.Kay was drawn to performing as a child, but made her first professional appearance in high school as Alice in Texas’ Casa Manana production of “Bye, Bye Birdie.” She would never forget the first time she performed before a real live audience not limited to her immediate family.

Although the Trinidads first lived in Long Island in New York, the girls were raised in California and Texas or wherever the father’s job took them. Kay went back to New York for college while another family move to Arizona was made.In Broadway, Kay belongs to a tight-knit community of Asian actors, writers, directors, dancers, stagehands, whom she sees occasionally during auditions, but especially on ethnic calls.

“It’s very small. We say ‘hi’ to each other. There are some Filipinos; we don’t hang out, but being around each other brings a sense of home. There’s that connection and closeness, even if you just met,” she said. “We’re very supportive of each other.”
While playing the lead Ariel in “Little Mermaid” is something to aspire for, Kay believes that may take some doing, and breaking the glass ceiling has nothing to do with.

“Vocally, I could definitely do it and I’d love to do it. But the reality right now is that children are used to seeing Ariel as this red-haired, white girl…,” she theorized, although she noted that Toni Braxton had portrayed Belle in “Beauty and the Beast.”
With her looks – more North Asian than Malay – Kay has taken on many different ethnic roles including a Chinese girl, a Korean and also a Spanish.

“That’s fine with me, I’m not offended. I get more work that way,” she said, brushing aside reservations raised by purists that Filipino actors should play ethnic roles they represent.She would like to play Kim in “Miss Saigon,” if the opportunity presented itself. She is looking to do some commercials and television.

“I would love to see myself performing in principal roles. I can see that happening sooner than later,” she said confidently.
Performing is an “amazing” way to earn a living, said Kay, declaring that in the next 10 years “I see myself married – with family – and still performing.”

Philippine News

LAS VEGAS — They call her Blade. She does not just strike at her opponents, she cuts them open – exposing and shattering their armor into broken, scattered dices of submission and defeat. An intensely cerebral strategist, she carefully sizes up the adversary, then – like a fierce amazon – finishes them off. Blade is not a vigilante heroine seeking justice for the weak or a warrior fighting for territorial supremacy. Blade is Christine Toledo, a shy Filipino American and fearless Muay Thai champion. She is ranked number one in the U.S. and third in the world in the super-flyweight (112-118 lbs) division by the Women’s International Kickboxing Association. (Wikba is the sister organization of the Women’s International Boxing Association or Wiba.) Her fight record: 11 wins, 2 losses.

Literally meaning “Thai boxing,” Muay Thai is a form of hard martial art practiced in several Southeast Asian countries, especially Thailand where it originated. Known as “The Science of Eight Limbs,” it slightly differs with the more popular Thai kickboxing because the hands, shins, elbows, and knees – not just the feet – are all used extensively in this ancient fight discipline. A master practitioner thus has the ability to execute strikes using eight “points of contact,” as opposed to “two points” (fists) in Western boxing and “four points” (fists, feet) used in the primarily sport-oriented forms of martial arts.

Muay Thai was introduced to the Virginia (Norfolk)-born, San Diego-raised martial artist seven years ago. At that time Christine’s concentration was all school (taking Business Administration at the San Francisco State University).
“After school, I made it a point to go to a gym and work out and keep in shape, until it became boring,” she told Philippine News. “I wanted to do something different, so when someone at the gym mentioned about Muay Thai, I gave it a try. I advanced pretty quickly. Then my instructor asked me if I wanted to fight. I wasn’t hesitant about saying yes or no – I said, I’ll try it.”

She began her disciplinary training in San Francisco during her last year of college. Under the instruction of Kru Sam Phimsoutham and Anthony Badua at Team USA in San Francisco, she began fighting competitively in Muay Thai that year.
In 2003, Christine relocated in Nevada and trained at Master Toddy’s. Here, she was given the opportunity to fight top ranked opponents, as well as travel to other countries and appear in several film productions.

In 2006, Toledo was cast in “Fight Girls,” aired at Oxygen Network. The reality TV-format show revolves around seven female fighters from all over the U.S. who were chosen to come to Las Vegas and train in the ancient art of Thai boxing with Muay Thai guru Master Toddy – with the ultimate goal of traveling to Thailand to fight for the world championship. “The story is simple, but touching. We don’t play any roles, we are ourselves and we are really training,” she said. “We were fortunate to train at the camps in Bangkok and in Chiang Mai, completely different atmosphere from training in the US. Raw, intense, authentic… Stories were told, sad and happy – experiences good and bad. It was real training and real fighting, real blood. Real stuff!”

The TV series, plus a spot in a Muay Thai documentary featuring women in the sport, gave the 30-year old Filipina celebrity exposure. Her exotic allure and bashful smile made her a media favorite. But it’s not all sweet and sundry. Although a number of women fighters – to name a few, Lucia Rijker, Laila Ali, Bonnie Canino, Regina Halmich, and Christy Martin – climbed up the ring and won accolades and respect all over the world, Muay Thai is not a Broadway gig or a glitter foray at The Strip.

“Much more disciplinary commitment and focus is needed and training can become very intense,” she said. “By the time (some fighters in Thailand) reach their twenties, they will have over 200 fights. At that point, their bodies have gone through a substantial amount of wear and tear, and it’s likely they are to retire at a young age.” Muay Thai fighters in Thailand sometimes start training as early as 4 years old.

Christine’s childhood was expectedly nurtured beyond kickboxing, or any endeavors that may seem un-girly. “It’s typical of Filipino parents to want their kids to be what they want them to be,” she said. “My Mom always wanted me to be very girly – singing and dancing, from Hawaiian dancing to playing the piano. She also wanted me to go into to arts, but no – I wanted to be in martial arts. Ever since I was a little girl, I was a little aggressive.”

Toledo recalls how her mother Adelina, a nurse, kept on reminding her that, “I am a girl so I need to do things that girls do, stay away from getting injured because I have a future and I need to go to school and get a good job. Ironically, I turned to be what my Mom never wanted. But that was then – my Mom is my biggest supporter now.”
It is a different story though with her Dad Oscar, a retired Navy man.“My Dad supports me but he never agreed with the idea in the end. He told me that I should stop, and I should focus on my education.” Christine is the middle child of three kids – the two others are boys.

Today, Christine plans to continue fighting at a professional level. Her next fight, though unconfirmed, is on April 26 at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood. Then, there’s the Asian Street Fair in Frisco on May 17. On June 12, she will be flying home to Manila to show off her Muay Thai prowess, and reconnect with her roots. What’s more meaningful is that Christine Toledo could show her people and the world that a Filipino woman is not all sweetness and serenity – she can also be sound, sharp and sure. Like The Blade.

Philippine News

LOS ANGELES — Charice Pempengco, the 15-year-old singing sensation who recently wowed audiences at the Ellen DeGeneres’ TV show, is reportedly in talks with no less than the legendary music producer Clive Davis. Philippine News learned that Pempengco arrived in New York recently and is waxing a recording deal with Davis, the record producer who is behind the careers of Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake just to name a few.

“I am so proud to be behind the launching of the musical career of Charice,” TV host Ellen DeGeneres told us after we bumped into her during a Golden Globes screening of “Juno” and afterparty with Fox co-chair Tom Rothman and his wife, Jessica.

DeGeneres also told us that she is planning to invite Pempengco again on the show. “I definitely want to see her again perform on the show,” she said. In last month’s show, Pempengco garnered two standing ovations from the Ellen DeGeneres TV audiences after she performed “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from the Broadway musical sensation “Dreamgirls” and Whitney Houston’s hit, “I Will Always Love You.” DeGeneres, who discovered Pempengco after watching a video clip of her in YouTube after FalseVoice channel posted Pempengco’s Little Big Star performance of Whitney Houston’s hit, “I Will Always Love You.”

The petite teenager’s unbelievable booming vocals and very professional showmanship impressed the TV host so much that after showing it on her show, she publicly invited Pempengco to come to the U.S. and guest on her show.

Pempengco controlled the stage like a pro, even throwing the mike in mid air like professional juggler, and singing her lungs out just like her favorite singers Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Beyonce and Mariah Carey. Dressed in a black long-sleeved top, black mini skirt with black tights and a G clef silver necklace, Pempengco was a sight to behold. The charming YouTube sensation from Cabuyao, Laguna, who has been joining singing contests since she was 7, arrived in the U.S. for the first time to appear on DeGeneres’ show. During the show, Pempengco admitted that she was both nervous and excited to be in the U.S. for the first time and to meet Ellen DeGeneres. When the two met, DeGeneres could not contain her excitement as well to have the singing sensation from the Philippines in her show that she reportedly did not stay in her dressing room during rehearsals that she usually does but watched Pempengco practice.

When DeGeneres learned that Pempengco lost her Ipod during her 13-hour trip to Los Angeles from the Philippines, DeGeneres immediately gifted her with a new one to which a surprised, teary-eyed but very grateful Pempengco accepted the gift graciously as she covered her face in disbelief, jumped up and down, became speechless and finally repeatedly hugged and kissed DeGeneres.

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