Charice Pempengco, Allan Pineda and the Filipino American dream
Charice, born Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco, is oozing with potential as she continues to gain stardom points in the United States. Hers is a story typical of Filipino home-grown resources in general -- whether they be our now-depleted fine mahogany trees or our best scientists and engineers. They all found mega-opportunities outside of the Philippines after being largely overlooked by a society renowned for its stunted faculties for setting apart the gems from the duds.Charice is no exception. A mere third placer in ABS-CBN's hit talent show Little Big Star, it took a Korean talent show to pull her out from under the noses of the inbred, tunnel-visioned Philippine showbiz industry and, along with the help of two hit YouTube video placements, get her noticed by the likes of Ellen de Generes, Oprah Winfrey, and Celine Dion.
On another note, with due respect to my key reference on the subject of Charice, I'd like to correct this passage from their article...
If your [Charice's] album does become a big seller in the U.S., you'll become the first Asian ever to become a major pop singer here. There hasn't even been one who was born here, let alone from another country.
Actually, top hip hop group Black Eyed Peas co-founder Allan Pineda Lindo a.k.a Apl.de.Ap is a born-and-bred Angeles City native who arrived to live permanently in the U.S. at the age of fourteen at first barely able to speak a word of English (but is fluent in Tagalog and Kapampangan, the native dialect spoken in Angeles City).
Weren't there other Pinays who made it big abroad before, like Jocelyn Enriquez and this other act FOJ/Vanna Vanna? That writer you quoted sure got the facts wrong.
ReplyDeleteYeah. That was kind of a whopper of a gaffe there.
ReplyDeleteNow if you can only get the Philippines to make the distinction between Charice's and APL's personal achievements and those (or the lack thereof) of the country in general.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Ben. I recall that insightful line from your blog:
ReplyDeleteBe proud of them, not because of them.
the sad & sorry tale here is that the ONLY reason why filipino talents becomes world renowned, is when foreign countries gives them refuge! but whatever, theirs is their own individual achievement- not the whole of pinoys!
ReplyDeletePinoys are more successful working away from the Philippines than working within it. Kinda begs the question of the whole point around being a "nation" to begin with.
ReplyDelete