Friday, August 29, 2008 Serna: Save Van with your text votes By Roger Serna Sounds and images
TWO days more to go and the so-called “ber season” will come in. I’m not sure if there is a scientific explanation to this but some say it is during this last part of the year, when names of months end in “ber,” that days fly so fast and before we know it, it’s already Christmas time.
Whew! That’s really fast, huh!
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Last Friday, some scribes covering the entertainment beat met ex-Pinoy Dream Academy Season II scholar Apple Abarquez where the beauteous Cebuana narrated her experience inside the Academy.
She was surprised at the low support from televiewers as shown in the text votes that she gathered but said she has no bitterness. She’s sad, though, because she felt she still has so much to learn but then she had to accept the fate.
During the presscon, Apple’s Mama Lita Abarquez said that her daughter’s early exit was a relief for the family. They saw how Apple had sacrificed so much of her private life inside the academy especially with the unfounded issues thrown against the lovely Cebuana warbler.
Apple had a show in Davao last weekend and she’ll do another one in Ayala Center Cebu this weekend.
She had to put her college studies on hold (one year and a half to go) as she waits for her contract to expire. With her talent and good looks, Apple is expected to rise to fame even more than the other co-scholars.
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Another Cebuano PDA scholar, Van Pojas, is in danger of getting expelled from the academy this weekend. This is another challenge for the Cebuanos to prove that our text votes really count and that the so-called Cebuano vote is not a hoax after all.
Van’s manager, Mario Colmenares, when told that there is no reason to feel scared of the possibility of his talent getting expelled. Van is one of the most popular scholars not only because of his talent but also, and more noticeably so, because of his smoldering looks. You can only wish that those loud applauses can be transformed into text votes.
So, Visayans, let’s show our strength. Text PDA VAN to 231 (for Smart, Talk ‘n Text and Addict Mobile subscribers) and 2331 (for Globe, Touch Mobile and Sun Cellular subscribers) and be counted.
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So it’s finally John Lloyd Cruz who’s going to essay the role of Armando in I Love Betty La Fea. It serves as the reunion of the tried and tested love team of the young actor and Bea ‘La Fea’Alonzo.
Undoubtedly, this is good news for fans of the two who had been saddened by the decision of ABS-CBN to give the love team a break after a string of hits so as to avoid overexposure. Before this development, many thought that the John Lloyd-Bea tandem had to take the backseat longer than expected.
Cebuano belter Sheryn Regis is included in the cast. Not many know that while still in Cebu, Sheryn’s “thespic” talent was honed side by side her singing prowess. This was while she was still under the tutelage of award winning playwright-director Alvan Claude Evangelio who chose Sheryn to be in his musical stage plays shown in many parts of the Visayas.
Sheryn was cast as a fairy godmother in an afternoon weekly series not long ago. With this new assignment, she can hopefully display more of her facet as entertainer, that of an actress in addition to her being a sought-after singer.
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I had an enjoyable experience during the appreciation party of TV Patrol Central Visayas last Friday evening. Along with Cris Saavedra, Lahug Brgy. Captain Mary Ann de los Santos, DepEd Director Ricaredo Borgonia, Senior Supt. Carmelo Valmoria, director of Cebu Provincial Police Office, and others, we all had to play the role of News Reporter for a Night.
We were given different news items to read. A TV news broadcast set was put up in one of the corners of the Victoria Hall of Parklane Int’l. Hotel making us look like real news reporters or anchors.
Our images were flashed on the wide screen in another corner. It was nerve-wracking but also enjoyable and challenging.
In the end, Senior Supt. Valmoria bested all of us. He brought home a brand new Nokia cell phone (clam shell type) as prize. Lucky guy!
