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www.philtimes.com.au the philippine times JANUARY 2016
Filos take centre stage
Continued from page 1
Showbiz shining stars
The Living Room would not
have been complete without
its guest Kate Ceberano.
Kate, who has appeared in
various films and television
shows, has been making
waves as far back as the '80s
as a soul and jazz singer in
Australia. Born to a FilipinoAmerican father and an Australian mother, she has made
her way up the ladder as a
back-up singer, eventually
winning Best Female Vocalist at the 1986 Countdown
Awards. Since then she has
been a staple voice in Australian mainstream and was
dubbed Queen of Moomba
in 2013. Aside from her brief
stint in The Living Room,
she also sang the Australian
anthem at the AFL Grand
Final last 3 October.
APO Hiking Society’s Jim
Paredes had his share of
screen time as well. Appearing on StarFlix’s mobile
series Must Date the Playboy under Star Cinema, he
starred alongside Xian Lim,
Kim Chiu and Jesse Mendiola. Playing Xian Lim’s father,
Paredes and the other cast
members serve as the romcom fix for the telenovela
cravings of the FilipinoAustralian community. A
full-length movie based on
the series was released on
23 October.
24 Oras’ Chika Minute
has welcomed a new host:
Sydney-raised Iya Villania.
Iya, born to both Filipino
parents but who grew up in
Australia, is the new face of
the news program’s showbiz
segment. She even went as
far as taking in the role of
Iyadora in her recaps of the
phenomenal AlDub Kalyeserye.
Ylona Garcia is surely
‘winging’ it on her new teleserye On the Wings of Love
(OTWOL), which started
airing last November. After
placing first runner-up in
Pinoy Big Brother (PBB):
737, she has been out and
about as Star Music’s newest
recording artist and #SpotifySpotlight 2016 representative. Born to medical practitioner parents, she started
singing as front act to touring
artists in Australia such as
Martin Nievera and Sarah
Geronimo. She has released
two songs on Spotify after
her PBB win, one of which
is her original composition
titled ‘Win the Fight’.
Of course, it has to be said
that OTWOL’s lead, James
Reid has become one of the
Philippines’ hottest stars,
with a regular TV show,
movies, recording deals,
concert and commercial endorsements tucked under his
belt. Like Ylona, James first
rose to fame after his PBB
Teen edition win in 2010.
Since then, there’s no stopping this Filipino-Australian
from dominating Philippine
showbiz and the hearts of
throngs of fans.
James Reid
Marlisa Punzalan
Iya Villania
Filipino versatility on the
world map
And who would forget the
Filipino chef who put our
dishes on the gastronomic
map? John Carasig not only
dreams of serving Filipino
traditional cuisine to the
global community but also
of marrying his dancer beau
Dave Evangelio. Making it
to Maste rchef’s Top 12 has
brought Filipino dishes and
desserts such as adobo and
halo-halo to the Australian
audience and to the judges
who were all praises for
the food’s novelty. He has
started an online-based food
venture, Adobo Kitchen,
which recreates many Filipino favourites to be served
to Australians and hopefully
to a bigger and more global
community in the future.
And the biggest feat of all
for the year 2015 is Cyrus
Villanueva who brought
the house down with his
X Factor win. In a two-peat
win following last year’s
Marlisa Punzalan, the community has once again
proven the vocal prowess
Kate Ceberano
Cyrus Villanueva
Arianne Caoili
of the Filipinos. On the 24th
of November, all eyes were
glued to the TV as the 19year old from Wollonggong
broke down after being announced as the new X Factor
winner.
Being the humble Filipino
that he is, he thanked all his
supporters including his
mentor Chris Isaak. Nothing
shows best the Filipino’s
love for music than the
back-to-back win of the two
contestants. Cyrus’ selftitled album was released
on the 9th of December under
Sony Music Australia, and
we couldn’t wait for what
this year has in store.
There’s talk that these
Filipinos who bring us a
sense of pride are important
in keeping our Filipino iden-
tity. There’s no denying that
Pia Wurtzbach’s win in the
Miss Universe 2015 pageant
did unify us Filipinos, from
the parloristas back home to
the OFWs the world over—
all glued to the mishap that
happens to be her winning
announcement. And for the
hardworking Filipinos in
Australia, the Australians
with a Filipino heart, the
Ylona Garcia
disunited communities of
Filipinos, and the Filipinos
who are missing home, we
all know how these people
on our list gave us the much
needed push to keep us going through the year that
was. So by this year, we’re
keeping our fingers crossed
for a longer list and wishing
everyone a more unified
2016!
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