Kapuso Instadate: Ken Alfonso, Janine Gutierrez and Elmo Magalona

Thursday, February 26, 2015


Here's Part 2 of our Kapuso Instadate Night!

Then this guy came in. Ladies, hold on to your panties for Ken Alfonso.


Kapuso Date Night



He's the new guy in town. He's not just "a pretty boy", but he's a d@mn good singer. Ken Alfonso has been in the industry for just a few years. He's a product of famed beauty queen maker Mercator Artist and Model Management and now co managed by GMA Artist Center. He told me that he used to work for a pharmaceutical company, I uttered Med Rep? He said "Yes" and we laughed because I got that vibe from him. I have a lot of friends who are in the same field, I think they have pretty good looking guys there and I'm not surprised he got discovered. Anyway, I felt at ease talking to Ken.   


Kapuso Date Night

"I started with tons of commercials with Mercator and luckily last year I was offered this last August so I had to quit my old job. I'm a part of the afternoon series "Kailan Ba Tama Ang Mali" (i.e. How can something so wrong be so right?) and it's my second show after Dading (which I now remember he played the man who used to push Bejamin Alves to do a lot of things!) where I played Martin. This time in KBTAM it's going to be different because it's actually not close to my personality. I'm going to be the one to always push Dion Ignacio to do not so good/evil things. So in essence, almost all the conflicts will actually start from me (then he laughs it out). I'm like the fire starter. 

In KBTAM, I want the people to take away that if once in your life, you should try and do something that would ultimately make you happy. Even though we're going to get other people in trouble, or situations, at the end of the day you should do something for yourself and make that decision. Right now, I haven't had the chance to do that. I'm not committed to anyone, I'm very single. I'm glad there are brands who trust me to model for them like Uniqlo, and they sponsored my travel show. I hope my hosting and travel thing goes a long way because I see myself headed there."

Ken Alfonso is pretty new at this but he's making headway with cover songs, new shows and more appearances in events elsewhere. He's doing a good job, but I bet he can do even more. I hope GMA keeps him very busy. He's got the body of a demigod and perhaps, someday he'd be able to use that to his advantage when the right show comes. I hope I get to see him too in the next few months for news of new shows, that'll be a good thing.

Then we went to the sweethearts! Here's Janine Gutierrez first!


Kapuso Date Night



The first time I got in touch with Janine Gutierrez virtually was during the Bench Universe fashion show a couple years back. Like then, I felt she was very kind, very humble and soft spoken. Even on this evening where we were going to talk to these stars, she didn't know I was the one who sent her some runway shots back then, but I told her about it now LOL. Anyway, we've met a couple of times already because of their hit shows and this recent one called More Than Words whom she still is with the love of her life Elmo Magalona. Although very tired, they still had the gusto to attend this Kapuso Datenight with us so I kinda felt so bad they didn't get enough sleep because they ended pretty late the night before (read: Wawa hay!). 

Kapuso Date Night



When I asked about the last taping of More Than Words, Janine says "Actually we have another taping day on Friday because we still have a lot of scenes, they added more I think so there, we had to do more. I'm super sepanx in general. I learned so much from the show, everything was so unexpected. I thought we were going to be on preprime but it turns out we were at the primetime slot. Aside from that, the look of Ikaw wasn't really planned to be like that. We just taped one day and I looked very ordinary, but they said we had to re-shoot, and do it again. They changed my look, they changed everything. This show was like random things that just came together in a way. I believe that everything happens for a reason and it's just so fun to note that it all worked out quite beautifully in the end. 

We also super appreciate the efforts of our fans. They really let us know that they like the show, and really that's where we wanted to be... to know that our effort get appreciated by other people who watch it, where they also take away something good from it.

When asked about what she learned from the character of Ikay, she said "You should be confident, you should stand for your principles. Ikay is a very strong person, whilst I'm shy and non confrontational. So now, I kinda realize that it's okay to fight for things as long as you're not stepping on someone else's toes, and as long as you're not hurting anyone in the process." and I totally agree with her!


Then here's the guy she (and everyone else) adores! Elmo Magalona!


Kapuso Date Night


If there's a word I can genuinely describe Elmo, it's super mabait! (good mannered). The English translation wouldn't even suffice. I know I've only seen Elmo only a few times but when we talk, I get the vibe that he's very sincere in everything he says, the way he looks at you actually speaks, and you could continue talking and get lost because it's like he's looking at your soul. I might be getting ahead of myself here but that's what I felt at this time. Poor Elmo didn't get enough sleep after his taping (4 hours or less) and he was apologizing if he looks a little bit tired (because he was) but he knows they're almost at the end of the show in a couple of days, and that was the sad reality too.  


Kapuso Date Night


When asked how he was "I'm good, I'm good, kinda tired because we came from taping and finished late, so my day is just starting. I got to sleep maybe...5 hours, so it's like my day is starting pa lang."

I asked "How do you think has the whole show impacted everybody?", he said "Of course it's big because this is in prime time. The pressure was also big because it was our first time here. We learned a lot though because there are tons of veteran actors also in the show. We just took our time to learn a lot from them. My character is kinda bipolar, he's kinda sensitive but he never thinks about the other persons feelings too. He met his ex accidentally but he didn't really know what happened in the first place. Later he learned, it was the heart condition. Then she went off again without explaining things so that's one of my characters frustrations. It feels like he's oversensitive, but he's also warm hearted when it comes to the person he loves. Story wise, I learned that if you get this kind of amnesia, even if you don't remember who they are or what they do, when you see them, when you look into their eyes, they're kinda familiar to you. It's possible to say that even if the mind forgets, the heart will never do." insert "nganga" action here LOL!

I couldn't even fathom how deep these guys are. For what it's worth, I like Elmo for who he is and how he's still so kind - and got his feet on the ground after all these years. He's still the same boy you knew for years now, with some improvements of course. I bet he's not just being admired by his fans for his looks, I think it's more of because he's the kind guy who connects with you, and you can't teach that in any school.  

Thank you so much to Relik Tapas Bar in the Fort for having us. Thank you also to GMA Social Media team for making a very fun event so we can tell how human these stars are to ordinary people like us. I almost felt like spending a few hours with them was fun, I wonder how their own loved ones must have enjoyed being with them their whole life. I hope I was able to tell this story with justice, just like the rest of my entries. I also hope readers get to at least enjoy the tell all, straight from the artists' mouth! :)



 
COW

For more information about their artists:
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Kapuso Instadate: Enzo Pineda, Stephanie Sol, Juancho Trivino and Ashley Ortega




If you had the chance to date a GMA star during Valentines day, who would it be and why? What would you ask them? How would you feel if they were right in front of you? Well, we just got the answers to those questions when the GMA Social Media Team arranged these gorgeous hunks and ladies an intimate night with us bloggers. It was really fun to get to sit down and talk with them after all the shows they've done in the Kapuso network. I'd really want to get to know them behind these glamorous facade. Well okay, this isn't really a romantic date. We're starting with one of GMA's good looking guys Enzo Pineda.

Kapuso Date Night

 I've interviewed Enzo in the past and I can say he's a good friend. It was kind of easy to talk with him since he's very open and doesn't make a fuzz about him being a celebrity and all, he's really humble.

Kapuso Date Night


When I sat down with him, he was in character. He made me comfortable by getting Nate into the picture. It's his character in More Than Words which is ending this week. During this week, his character is going back to the picture and he'll be with Ikay again as he got drunk during some scenes. He'll be shocked about the change of Ikay and it's a very funny scene. He says "It's something hard and emotional for Nate. He's a type of guy who would give everything for Ikay. You've seen how his love developed for her and there's like a 180' turn into someone that's loving and caring, but still maintains that attractive bad boy look that everybody loves with his character. Nate is someone who has a hard exterior, but has a soft heart. I did have a phase when I was the bad guy but I like that. There's a transformation of the character and I like it because the viewers react on my character, it makes them think.

I do have movies that are coming up, definitely indie but it's more of an acting piece. I'll be going around the Philippines again so I have tons of regional shows starting next week, please don't forget also that I have another Bench campaign that will come out pretty soon. After More Than Words, I'll be training again for my first Triathlon, hopefully summer I'd be able to compete. I've done Aquathlons, a couple runs, I hope I'd be able to that in the next few months. I want to do that race on my birthday, I want a marathon, it's good that I keep myself very occupied when I'm taking a break from work. That feeling is good, it's that feeling of constantly achieving something.

Kapuso Date Night


When asked about his girlfriend and how I see them so happy on Instagram, he says "Ever since, I've been very serious with girl friends. I like taking relationships seriously. I'm really happy and I'm so lucky to really have someone like her." now isn't he sweet?! Awww Nate, oh Enzo, you are awesome!

Next one's the beautiful Stephanie Sol.

Kapuso Date Night



Steph is such a sweetheart. Whenever we meet on events, she never fails to say hi and acknowledge me when she can. She's also in several shows on GMA but when I asked about it, she was a little sepanx about it, of course it's More Than Words. "Last taping day was yesterday, so it was like two scenes for me. It was fast but it was very emotional. We had all the units together, we had the cast together, we prayed and said our good byes during the company call. It was a sad day for me, but I know all good things must come to an end. We do seldom meet but the production and cast is like family, we have dinner together, we watch films together, we even have a Viber group and we're very close. I don't know how we'll still keep in touch but I'm sure we're all going to have that in the back of our minds. We might have different schedules, so that's hard. They haven't told me yet what plans they have for me but after the show, I'll get their feedback and wait for meetings. I hope I did get to impress them with what I had to offer during this show.


Kapuso Date Night



I'm co managed by Artist Center and Ms. Becky Aguila. We haven't really have spoken about it but she really takes care of me. She's very hands on, spot on because she watches us. I want Belle to be remembered in the show as "Rebellious for a Reason", and hope that with her in the show people would still appreciate her." Steph adds. For what it's worth, I think Steph is a diamond in the rough. She's a very promising actress and she's just starting. I hope GMA continues to give her more breaks especially this 2015. A change of character? Perhaps real soon, but for now we're happy about what she's doing. I hope she also finds a pairing with someone too.


Then we got to the table of Juancho Trivino.


Kapuso Date Night



Ladies love him. I'm not surprised. Juancho Trivino is around 6'1, well built, a bit moreno and everything that a person who would categorize a perfect guy with "Tall, Dark, and Handsome". I bet underneath all that is a chiseled german physique and a soft heart somewhere. He's got a very positive demeanor but he could switch into a tough guy if he wanted to in seconds. That I think is what would make him a good actor. Am I too assuming? No, I don't think so. I just felt it that evening when I got to talk with him a little better.


Kapuso Date Night



"I'm still in Bubble Gang, and yes I was surprised they let me sing in that show (I saw him in Istambay). The feedback was great but now, I'm going to do a new youth oriented show that will be called InstaDAD. It's going to show on Sundays and will be something like Teen Gen. I'm going to be here with Ashley (whom I'll be featuring in a little bit) and this is a new pairing. Ashley is really nice, we've got so many things in common and I find her really really pretty. We've known each other even before the show. I didn't hesitate accepting this show, I'll be here with Gabbi Eigenmann and he'll be the Dad of three girls. In the social media age, this show will be part of that enlightenment of reality. It'll be like a modern day Dad. I want to be an example on this show, that even if I'd end up doing something really bad in the show, I'll be showing how to be a good son, a good brother too. It's going to start with Ashley and me having a relationship. So people really should watch out how things happen, as I'm really excited about it!" he says.


Then we got to talk to Ashley Ortega.

Kapuso Date Night



Well this is officially the first time I'm seeing Ashley Ortega. I thought I've seen her before but I realized just now that it was only for a former series Dormitoryo. She was with other GMA stars and I learned that night that this is their first official pairing.


Kapuso Date Night


I got her to introduce herself so we get on to what they're doing. At first glance, I thought she was a bit older but heck I was surprised that this girl, is only 16 years old! "I started showbiz 2 years ago. I started in Philippine Fashion Week and that's where they basically discovered me. I was younger back then and walked for SM Kids two years ago. I wore clothes for tweens, auditioned and got in regularly through that. I'm currently managed by ICONS, Bebong Munoz and Artist Center. Right now, I'm in KBNTAM or "Kailan Ba Naging Tama ang Mali" playing the sister of Max. I didn't know it was going to be this big and felt it was only going to be on the sidelines, but when I read the script, I had so many lines and so much exposure, which was nice! So I'm so happy. 


Then I got to InstaDad also, which is a youth oriented show. There's a lot of twists here and there plus they got us to play something like rich kids (that you may consider a little spoiled!) of Beverly Hills. We have tons of hashtags in regular conversations so it's really going to be fun, and a lot of people would really be able to relate especially the teens. We even have our own instagram where we're going to post actual things we're doing in the show. There are nerds, jocks, different kinds of personalities. Our Dad here is Gabbi Eigenmann and with the three sisters, three different personalities, I'm little Ms. Perfect but one day I'll get pregnant, so that's where the story is going to start. That's also the place where Juancho will come in. I haven't really worked with Juancho yet but I've been able to go with him in workshops. He's a very nice guy, good looking. If you're asking if I'd like somebody like Juancho, like more than friends, (pwede naman she says) yes of course because the guy is very kind and he's very well educated too." then I wished to see more of her in other shows in the same channel of course. She's very pretty and I think I like her! If Juancho and Ashley become something else soon, they would really look good. 

 
To be continued:



COW

For more information about their artists:
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The Perfect Coke

Wednesday, February 25, 2015



I was mind blown seeing tons of Coke bottles in a giant cooler in the middle of Glorietta's Activity Center. Coca Cola Philippines invited us for a day of fun and excitement as they ask us to reminisce how it was to have our first time. With the hashtag #SarapNgFirstTime already out being advertised on TV, we've always wondered what was it all about? Is this a new variant of Coke? You see, I even speculated about that already, that they'll be bringing something new and announcing it in a grand way.


You see the thing behind me? I didn't think about it that much, but that was actually a hint already of what they were about to announce that afternoon. When Gino Quillamor from RX93.1 arrived to host the show, he kept on coming back to check the status of the thermometer and telling us about how to have the #PerfectCoke. I mean, really though, is there such a thing?



I like my coke ice cold, but do you know what's the exact temperature to have a perfect one? We waited a while to see what Coca Cola Philippines had to say. It's like an official pronouncement of what certain point would it be to say that it is the actual #PerfectCoke, but before that, they got stars in the mix and launched it simultaneously here in Manila, Cebu and Davao in the south. It felt like a huge party where the main thing to celebrate with is this awesome beverage.



They had Manolo Pedrosa and Miles Ocampo to sing and dance for us. That was something worthy to be told later LOL.. Or you can check out this video about their individual performances!




I even saw some admins of the IGersManila group, they were there like me as they were invited by Coke!


Then these guys finally came up the stage and told us that the Coke bottles they've been keeping cold in the back is almost perfect, enough with the suspense already! 



The first time you had a Coke should always and is recommended to be at 3' Celsius! Yes, it's not a nee flavor, it's the perfect coke if it's on that particular temperature. Isn't that great news? Well it won't be if we didn't try it out ourselves that afternoon, so we did!



When they started to ask for a toast, I already drank half the bottle hahaha! So I did the smartest thing after that, I got another bottle! Genius!

Now it's easy to do it too in your own homes. Just make sure you have enough ice to fill the coolers and put in bottles of Coke there! Or if you're a little tired, and if it's too hot outside this summer, you can actually wait for them to come to you! Ob yes you heard that right! They have brand new spanking Coke Happy Cycles that will go around the country to give away a million bottle of #PerfectCoke! Just make sure you follow their official social media channels so you can request your barangay, township or city to be the next one! Free coke is just weeee! 

COW

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Sky Launches "Sky On Demand"

Tuesday, February 24, 2015




We were at the Sky Cable On Demand launch earlier and they were really keeping things from us prior to this day. The invitation was misleading and they were talking about other things on the venue before we heard it from the CEO himself. Finally, it's something like a Netflix/TIVO service by Sky Cable, though you have to have Sky Broadband with it. Aside from that, it also works with the proprietary box intended for it. 

Ross Legaspi of Sky Marketing says "This service is simple, it's like having IWantTV on Sky Cable On Demand. You have your own profile, you can have it customized. You have every show from the most popular network in the country, but now you'll have tons of channels that are exclusive to SkyCable Broadband. You can have a marathon at the comforts of your own home. You can even stop it, then go back and play where you paused the machine when you partially watched it".



It's easy to watch now, you can watch it in your own home as Sky On Demand becomes available in your homes soon. There's a one time fee of 499 and about capacity, it's going to be unlimited because it's going to be in the cloud. It will soon be available by March and the plan is to implement it in the whole country where Sky Broadband is available. They're continuing to populate the channels and even partnered with big outfits so you can be sure you'll have more titles that you can watch over and over again only on SKY On Demand.


Morisette Amon also provided entertainment earlier!


"Sky is headed where the customer will lead us. It now is allowing us to listen to customers and choose their own content if they don't want to pay for it. The whole season of shows are already on cable and it's the currency of the content that can set us apart" Legaspi adds. If you don't have Sky Broadband, and you are a Sky Cable subscriber like me, you won't have the additional movie channels exclusive on their line. If you want to try it out, they told me they can accommodate anyone a 15 day FREE trial so just ask and see if the experience wows you, that's SKY ON DEMAND! 



COW

For more information about their services:
MySKYCable
SKY CABLE
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