Pinay in American Idol is Lauryn Hill of Hawaii

It’s a time for us Pinoys to rejoice, not for anything political because the election fever is upon us, but because Pinoy talents are shining – and how! – on the international music scene.

Last year, Harlem Lee won the grand prize in the Fame talent search in Los Angeles, from an original field of more than 1,000 aspirants from all over the US winnowed down to, in the finals, only four. Only above five feet, Harlem is half-Filipino; his mother, Cora Sevilla, is from Nueva Ecija. The Lees have been based in the US for years now. Harlem is included in the cast of Fame which will soon be restaged on Broadway.

Of course, we are all happy for Camille Velasco and another Filipina who made it to the finals of American Idol, the biggest and most popular talent contest in America.

Now, did you know that Camille is known as the Lauryn Hill of Hawaii...that she has front-acted for Filipino entertainers during concerts in Honolulu, including Judy Ann Santos, Paolo Contis and Andrew E.?

This information was furnished Funfare by reader Cissi Turreche of Cagayan de Oro City, who is Camille’s godmother.

"Her mom, Rennie Roque, from Cagayan de Oro City, is my best friend," wrote Cissi. "It was my sister, Elsie Neri, who was with Camille during the audition, when thousands of aspirants showed up, until there were only 32 of them left."

Camille’s father, Bill Velasco, of Filipino-American-Irish descent, is with the US Navy; he’s from Itbud, Batanes. Rennie is the franchisee of International House of Pancake in Maui where the Velascos are based. Camille has two sisters, Alexis, 15, and Divina, 7; and a brother, JJ, 14.s

"Aside from being a good singer," added Cissi, "Camille is drop-dead gorgeous. Maybe I’m biased because she’s my inaanak."

The American Idol grand finals will be held on March 16.

Said Cissi, "I hope that Filipinos both here and in the US will pray for her and support her bid by casting their votes for her. Camille was the top vote-getter in the second group of eight out of 32 finalists. Her success will be the success of every Filipino."

More reviews of Crying Ladies

Here’s another nice review of Unitel Pictures’ Crying Ladies from Box-Office Homepage, written by Sheri Linden and sent to Funfare by reader "KG":

This glimpse of kitchen-sink realism, Manila-style, is a departure from the overheated melodramas that prevail in Philippine cinema. A hit on home turf that features some of the leading actors in the local film industry, Crying Ladies is a warm, character-driven piece. The story's catalyst is a traditional Chinese-Philippine wake where hired women cry their hearts out – the idea being that the gods, seeing a great demonstration of grief, will deem the deceased a kind and beloved individual and ease his way into heaven. In this case, a stint as professional mourners becomes an unlikely source of renewal and hope for three Filipinas.

Sharon Cuneta stars as wannabe singer Stella, whose desperate attempts to make ends meet through petty crime have cost her a year in jail. A few months after release she gets the bad news that her ex-husband, Guido (Ricky Davao), and his wife are moving to another city, taking Stella's eight-year-old son (Julio Pacheco) with them. A self-satisfied jerk, Guido grudgingly grants her a few weeks' time with the boy before they depart, and Stella aches to prove herself to young Bong. She jumps at the chance to earn good money when Wilson (Eric Quizon), whose wealthy father has died, seeks professional wailers for the five-day mourning period. Stella enlists two friends to join her: Choleng (Angel Aquino), a church worker who's conflicted about her relationship with a married man, and Aling Doray (Hilda Koronel), a pushy stage mother who clings to her glory days as a schlock-movie actress.

There are comic and poignant moments throughout as debuting writer-director Mark Meily depicts the day-to-day struggles and against-the-odds dreams of these working-class women. As they perform for strangers, each has her own reasons to cry. Cuneta leads a strong cast, with notable work from Quizon as the dutiful Wilson, who regards his philandering father with deep ambivalence and learns a lesson in forgiveness from his mother.-Sheri Linden

Incidentally, some readers clarified the report of Funfare "international correspondent" Ferdinand Lapuz that Crying Ladies was among the top 10 box-office earners in the US, one of them a certain "V. Ignacio" who sounded very, very angry in his e-mail to Funfare, correcting the report. (Cool it, kid! Don’t be such a "high blood." You don’t have to resort to insults to make yourself be heard.)

Here are the Top 10 money-makers (as of Feb. 23):

1. 50 First Dates

2. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

3. Miracle

4. Welcome to Mooseport

5. Eurotrip

6. Barbershop 2

7. Mystic River

8. Against the Ropes

9. The Butterfly Effect

10. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

There. Everybody happy?

Best Model Search Resumed

The Best Model of the World competition was cancelled in December last year. The good news for beauty-watchers is that it is being resumed, with the ongoing search slated to hold the grand finals on Saturday, March 6, at the Maslak Hotel in Istanbul. The Philippines is represented by Raphael Bahala Kiefer and Melissa Andales Frye who were chosen last year. It’s the third time for the Philippines to join the competition.

Here’s a report from Funfare’s "beauty experts" Gery Yumping, Francis Calubaquib, Joey Cezare and Felix Manuel:

We have a good track record in the Best Model search. In 2001, Tutay Maristela won the Best in Catwalk honors. Gilmarie Pacamarra was named Best Asian Model while Bim Cecilio was awarded the Prince Model of nthe World title.

Our bets this year are of mixed race. Raphael (Raffy) is half-Filipino and half-Swiss. His father, Rene Kiefer, is a chemical technician-environmentalist from Basel, Switzerland; his mother, Teresa Bahala, is from Cagayan. Raffy is the eldest of four brothers. He’s 19, stands 6’2". He used to be a psychology student at Ateneo de Cagayan.

Melissa is half-Filipina and half-American, the daughter of Kevin Frye (who’s with the Americcan military service) and Narcisa Andales of Samar. Twenty-year-old Melissa stands 5’11" and is formerly a computer engineering student.

Raffy and Melissa left last Feb. 28 for Istanbul on a Singapore Airlines flight.

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