"GO south young man." Then American Governor-General Dwight Davis exhorted many Filipinos to settle in the vast untapped lands of Mindanao.
More than eight decades later the call still rings true to many young Filipinos, who have settled on the island not just in search for greener pasture but also to escape the stress and chaos of urban Manila.
One of them is former television and movie actor Kristopher Peralta, who is now actively engaging in several businesses in Davao City, which he now considers as home.
"It was in November 2012 when we settled here in Davao. But as far as 2003 when I was still active in motorcross I kept coming back here," Kristopher said.
He said he fell in love with Davao and would love to settle in the land, then he met Carla Angkee who would later become his wife. By chance Carla hails from Davao del Norte.
The young couple established a ready-to-wear business where they sell export over-runs in Greenhills.
"Carla wanted to stay in Manila but I said why don't we try Davao," Kris recalled the eventual decision to settle in the city.
"Manila is very stressful, traffic, marami problema, While Davao is very laidback, I really like it here," Kris said, citing the main reason for going south.
At age 13, Kristopher Peralta entered showbusiness via the hit afternoon television show Ang TV which launched a new generation of showbusiness personalities like Jolina Magdangal, Claudine Barretto, and Patrick Garcia among many others.
His going into showbusiness was inspired by his brother erstwhile actor Kenneth Peralta. Kris' uncle ABS-CBN senior vice-president Rolly Cruz and Kenneth's friend Johnny Manahan helped pave the way for his entry into showbiz.
He was cast among popular ABS-CBN shows like Gimik, Tabing Ilog and Love Ko Si Babes.
He appeared in movies such as "Mystrio (Uno... dos... tres pilyos!)", Ang TV Movie, Asero, Nagbibinata and Now That I Found You.
Kris spent 15 years in showbusiness until he quit in 2007.
"I wanted to try other businesses, I wanted to grow," Kris said. He grew tired of showbiz killer schedules. "Malaki kita, pero nakakapagod," he said.
However, even before he quit showbusinesses he has engaged in several businesses one of which was the City Jam Bar on Katipunan in Quezon City and a billiard hall and restaurant in Cabanatuan. He also went into business dealing with 4x4 spare parts.
"When I was a kid, I'd really love to do business." Kris said as to why he went into numerous business ventures.
One of his newest ventures is into farming. He recently bought a farm in Kapalong, Davao del Norte where he plans to raise livestock and organic poultry.
"Davao has lots of room for development and opportunities," he said.
One of their other ventures is a partnership with young Davao entrepreneurs, a one-stop bazaar where one can find delicious food, shopping finds and great entertainment.
He said they were originally approached by the group to ask for advice having had experience as regular exhibitors in Greenhills and WorldBex. From consultants, they later partnered with the group.
A former 5,500 square meters parking lot at Juna subd. was transformed into a food and entertainment destination.
"It's a family-oriented place where you can bring your family here," Kris' wife Carla said.
Among the plans is to put playground for children and also a space for furniture exhibitors. Also, they have just set-up space where one can order fresh seafood similar to Dampa in Paranaque.
Kris said the place is aimed to help start-up entrepreneurs with affordable stalls that can help market their products. He said there were former concessionaires who were able to establish stores because of their exposure at Tienda.
"We have a research team who looks for home-made delicacies and hopes to discover budding entrepreneurs," Carla said.
Many of the concessionaires in Tienda are food gourmet stalls that are only found in the bazaar and which makes it a top culinary destination in the city.
Kris said they are trying to establish Tienda del Mercado as a brand and the group is currently studying the proposal of branching out to Tagum and Cagayan de Oro.
Aside from their Kapalong farm and Tienda del Mercado, Kris is also a board of director in the Filipino Inventors Society Producers Cooperative. He is active in pitching local inventions to local government units. He said their group had supplied dried fish solar driers for Governor Rodolfo del Rosario in Davao del Norte.
When not busy with their work they go to malls or hop in for a trip on Samal Island or in Buda or just chill at Forth and Tay in Damosa. Most often they spend time with friends trying out the numerous delicacies at Tienda del Mercado.
"Madali lang ako naka-adapt dito (I easily adapted here)," said Kris, citing his many Dabawenyo friends.
As for a return to showbiz, Kris said it's a possibility, as he still receives offers to guest in TV shows and in movies. He said he was supposed to be in the KC Concepcion-Sam Milby movie (Forever And A Day) few years back but a problem in a business in Japan set him back.