Hello, Grasya? I’m not Billy!

So who’s "Grasya" and how come her name has been dragged into the showbiz grapevine gossip as the "kept woman" of a certain senator who, previous to last May’s elections, topped the roster of the country’s richest congressmen?

In that popular PLDT commercial where she co-stars with Carlo Muñoz as Billy and TV bit player – Aurora Uding as Billy’s over-protective mom, Grasya finally comes home from the States with Billy, much to the relief of Billy’s mom who finds her exactly the dream daughter-in-law she wants for her son.

There was a first Grasya, featured in the commercial’s first two episodes, but that Grasya has left for Singapore for the proverbial greener pastures as an artist.

This Grasya is none other than 23-year-old Gina Celso who isn’t a stranger to TV-acting, having appeared for two years in a soap opera in Norway, playing a computer hacker who takes on the bad guys.

Gina was born in Norway to a Filipino father, Eddie Celso, and a Norwegian mother, Ingvild. She’s the eldest of three children (her younger brothers are Rudy and Ruben).

"I feel Norwegian but half of my heart is Filipino," Gina told Kap Maceda Aguila in an interview for the cover story of the latest issue of People Asia (grab a copy before it goes out of stock). "I can feel that part of me when I’m here in the Philippines."

Gina’s father was working on an oil platform in the North Sea when he met Gina’s mother in Oslo.

Although born and raised in Norway, Gina has grown to love such Filipino food as pansit, adobo and rice (very, very few Norwegians eat rice; instead, they feast on boiled potato and bread). "My father always makes those stuff (Filipino goodies) in Norway," added Gina who has yet to learn how to eat balut.

A beach-lover, Gina enjoys rock-climbing and scuba-diving.

Kap asked Gina what sort of traits she wants in a guy and Gina said, "Kind eyes. I also go for the shy type. I don’t go for the aggressive type, although I would like someone who’s a little impulsive like myself. We only live once. I’m not particular about looks; I want a guy to be open-minded and down-to-earth."

Asked further if she had found her "ideal guy," Gina laughed and answered in jest, "Yes, Billy!"

If you get the rare chance of bumping into Gina (she should be back in Norway by this time), you can speak to her in Tagalog because she can understand but not speak the langauge. Beware, though, because she might reply either in Norwegian, English or German (take your pick!).

Very obviously, with her impressive background and good breeding – and with such a pedigree, coming from a buena familia – Gina is definitely not the type who would succumb to a very much married politician, not even if he’s the topnotcher in the list of richest "lucky guys" in Congress.

The truth about SIS

Two issues ago, Funfare mentioned that Eric Quizon was peeved when GMA "pirated" his concept (reportedly reserved for him and brother Jeffrey as hosts) for a show and adopted it for SIS, the new show hosted by the De Belen sisters Janice and Gelli (airing Monday through Friday, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.).

That item elicited a reply from Wilma Galvante, one of the GMA top honchos. Here it is:

Hi, Ricky,

Allow me to respond to your column, Funfare, the other day (30 August 2001) about Eric Quizon feeling "robbed" of a concept he submitted to GMA Network, Inc. Eric did submit a concept paper several months back with him, Jeffrey and a female comedienne as hosts. It was basically a lifestyle magazine-cum-sitcom format anchored on the brothers’ love for cooking and good food. Their culinary prowess then lends itself to various situations as they interact with their guests and talk about lifestyle, people, issues and things.

SIS may have sisters Janice and Gelli de Belen as hosts but it is anchored more on issues than on cooking and food. In gist, it is Sisters in Style, Sisters in Showbiz, Sisters in Sync in so many aspects of life – siblings growing up to be two different yet very colorful personalities. To say that the Network dropped two brothers and replaced "exactly Eric’s format" with Janice and Gelli because we simply wanted female hosts is not fair and utterly incorret.

Eric and I were actually discussing this on the phone the other day. In fairness to him, he understood the differences between the two concepts. He did say, however, that the writers who drew up the concept paper for him were the ones affected by what happened. Ricky, any respectable writer would know that talk formats, no matter how you twist and turn the treatment, would naturally touch on any of the topics mentioned above. No one can claim sole ownership to that.

I hope this clarifies the issue and hope this response merits some space in your widely-read column which I never fail to read (whether you’re in the country or not!!!)

God Bless.

– Wilma Galvante

Encore for Kuh in USA

After successfully staging Part Two of Kuh Sings Streisand at the Music Museum – and winning the usual spectacular reviews for her performance – Kuh Ledesma is set to conquer the US once more.

Kuh is slated to do shows today at the City Center Pavilion in Reno, Nevada, and on Sept. 22 at the Warner Theater in Washington. In between her US shows, Kuh flies back to the country to fulfill a commitment for a limited engagement at the Caltex Banaba Clubhouse in Batangas on Sept. 11.

On Oct. 9, Kuh – who has always been known for her commitment to causes – will be doing a benefit concert for the Mayon evacuees.

In the meantime, Kuh is also planning another repeat of her Streisand show due to requests from the public who just can’t seem to get enough of the Streisand fever. The clamor is for Kuh to do another Streisand-inspired show before the year ends in a bigger venue like ULTRA or the Araneta Coliseum with singers of her caliber, like maybe her fellow divas.