Letter from a Hero-worshipper

I can’t resist giving today’s space to reader Fe Ramirez, who said she once worked with Sen. Loren Legarda on her shows PEP Talk, The Inside Story and Loren. "I occasionally drafted the programs and press releases that were distributed to news organizations for publication," Ramirez wrote. "My present semi-retirement has given me ample time to spend watching TV and reading magazines in addition to catching up on mothering to two girls in their early 20s and – Holy Cow! – following the rise of Hero Angeles to stardom. I suspect that this preoccupation has somewhat unnerved my children who would occasionally raise an eyebrow at the extraordinary attention I have been giving Hero since he was declared Grand Questor of ABS-CBN’s Star Circle Quest in June last year. I have never met Hero in person but I wish I would one of these days."

Anyway, here’s Ramirez’s impressions of Hero, "with substantial help from his legions of fans who I encounter regularly on Pinoy Exchange.com." Ramirez titled the piece Hooked on Hero.

I left my job at the government broadcast network because I could not get answers to questions I posed to management. With time on my hands and very little money to fall back on, I resolved nevertheless to catch up on being a full-time Mama to two single young ladies in their early 20s.

Little did I know I was adopting a third child, a son already in his late teens! And he was not even aware I had decided to take him into my heart and into my home, and he’s been there for over a year.

Perhaps it was his dimples, or the thick eyebrows that arched when Boy Abunda asked him how he would react if he found himself in a sticky gender-related situation. Or maybe it was the vulnerability in his eyes, a vulnerability that proved providential in his victory as Star Circle Quest 1’s Grand Questor one year ago... or the champorado-for-Christmas story, or his persistence in pursuing his studies despite impending fame, or his simple ambition of becoming a graphics artist after college.

Yes, I monitored Hero Angeles’ rise to fame from the start. I call myself the Armchair Kapamilya, comfortably ensconced in my chair at home, but sharing with the rest of the country the anxiety, the pain and the ecstasy of a Hero’s conquest. Not once did I attempt to go out there and trail the Hero, scream each time his face popped up on the television screen, nor argue with anyone who dared ruin my fascination with the 19-year-old. I was the silent admirer, content with the progress in his showbiz career.

My magazine collection mounted, though, to the consternation of my penny-pinching younger daughter. Acquiring a number of these publications monthly can cost a fortune and with my dwindling finances, it did not seem like a good idea to spend money on paper when spending it on food seemed a definitely more sane option.

My elder girl, while tolerant of her Mama’s new-found interest, resents the fact that I usually beat her to the entertainment section of select broadsheets to clip Hero write-ups and photographs before she can even scan the pages!

When Hero’s KTXT was launched by ABS-CBN Interactive, I was probably one of its first subscribers. This is an added expense, but I struggle to maintain the P25 balance required to receive multimedia messages on my prepaid cell phone. It is not enough that I got Hero’s text messages regularly; there had to be photos! Each time there are glitches in the KTXT system, I would call Interactive to inquire. I feel deprived each time I discover I have not received any of Hero’s messages.

Sundays have become stay-at-home days because I cannot afford to miss any of Channel 2’s shows where Hero was either lead star or guest. Family bonding now occurs on Saturdays instead, or on any other day of the week when there is no scheduled Hero sighting. (When Hero and Sandara joined Krystala, I bade goodbye to after-7 p.m. gimmicks on weeknights.)

I had little desire to step out of the house after I quit working, and I am not particularly fond of local films. But when Bcuz of You was shown in theaters, I think I was among the first to view it, my younger daughter in tow, and my elder one languishing at home with a case of chicken pox. Of course, Can This Be Love? was on our family agenda long before its showing.

I would often discuss Hero with my children and sometimes I get the feeling my younger child is disgusted at how her Mama could be so hooked on a stranger, no matter how good-looking he is. I thought I had long ago ceased being a fan, and I was never a screaming fan in the first place. I continue to "lust" after Gary Oldman, though, because I believe he is a cerebral performer. John Lloyd Cruz is a second addition to my short list of entertainment idols, but nurturing a Hero is a different ballgame.

I have not had the pleasure of meeting Hero face to face, but to me, he is that boy next door, a gentle fellow who aspires only for the most basic of his family’s needs, someone who has been observed to really prefer staying in the background in spite of the irony of fame, a young man no different from you and me, but now striving to survive in the dizzying world of that Philippine circus called show business. I thought, as I still think, that he belongs in a class by himself.

I look at Hero Angeles as the son I never had, and the son I would have wanted to have: quiet, simple but funny, determined to finish college and absolutely pro-family, besides being extremely charming, good-looking and a worthy role model for the young! I suppose his legions of admirers see him in this light too and wish only, as Hero approaches the second year of an exciting career, that his star will shine even more brightly. A storm in his career recently raged, but hopefully, it has passed.

My children, in the meantime, have to bear with their Mama’s preoccupation with Hero. It may be a drain on our resources and we may squabble occasionally over television-viewing time, but isn’t this what adds spice to jaded lives? After all, I do not have to go on rehab for this addiction. I’d be too old for rehab anyway. I’m turning 58 in July.

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