Body Talk with Bianca Gonzalez

"No," Bianca Gonzalez assures Funfare, "I’m not afraid of snakes."

Not the crawling kind, anyway.

You see, Bianca posed for Jun de Leon in Hidden Valley, Quezon Province, holding a python for a Pink Soda poster (Borgy Manotoc is her male equivalent, for Blue Soda), reminiscent of the famous Nastassja Kinski poster in the ’80s taken by Richard Avedon.

"The snake was friendly during the pictorial," adds Bianca who posed some more for de Leon in another Pink Soda pictorial in Pagudpod, Ilocos Norte. " I must have charmed him into submission."

If Bianca can do it with snakes, she can very easily charm humans, too. One look at that huge Pink Soda billboard along EDSA and any weary motorist won’t mind being stuck in a traffic jam for hours. Bianca is a sight to behold.

Bianca can also be seen early mornings Monday through Friday on ABS-CBN’s Magandang Umaga, Pilipinas (MUP) where she handles the entertainment segment with Benjie Felipe. Sunday nights, she co-hosts Y Speak on Studio 23 with Ryan Agoncillo and Wais Speaker mainstay Fr. Tito Caluag. But her very first TV hosting was for Review Nights on Cinema One, also with Ryan, a show which she loved so much because she’s a movie addict.

An Ateneo Com Arts graduate (only last March), Bianca is the youngest of three children.

"I am a mixture of the country and the city," says Bianca (who stands 5’5" tall, weighs 108 lbs. and wears small-size shirts and size 8 shoes). "My dad is a city boy and my mom is a probinsyana. I never dreamed of getting into television. Things just happened. I did commercials when I was 17 (first for Pantene, followed by Kotex, Nestlé Yogurt, Gentext, etc.) and, before I knew it, I was venturing into television."

Describe a day in your life.

"I wake up at 3 a.m. I leave our house in Parañaque City (where I stay with my parents) not later than 4 o’clock so I am at the studio in time for the start of MUP at 5:30 or sometimes earlier. Yes, I drive my own car. While being made up, I read the entertainment sections of the dailies, both broadsheets and tabloids. The show ends at 8:30, or sometimes at 8:45, and if I don’t have work or appointment the rest of the day, I go straight home and sleep. By 9 o’clock, low-batt na ako. By 10, I’m fast asleep na."

How much sleep do you get per night?

"Three to five hours."

How do you make up for lack of sleep?

"I take power naps and sleep for hours on weekends. I take cups of coffee to keep me awake during the day."

Doesn’t such an irregular schedule affect your social life?

"It does, but no regrets. During the first two weeks of MUP, I would go out at night with friends but on the third week, I realized na hindi ko na kaya. It’s so tiring."

What sort of diet do you follow?

"No fixed diet. I eat anything. I used to skip breakfast but now I take a full meal usually at the studio during or after the airing of MUP with the staff."

Do you take snacks?

"Yes – a lot!"

What’s your favorite food?

"Japanese food."

What kind of workout do you do?

"I don’t. That’s one thing I’ve been planning but never have time to do. But soon, I would."

How much liquid do you take per day?

"Besides several cups of coffee? Only around five glasses of water. I should start taking eight glasses."

What vitamins (and or minerals) do you take?

"None. I think I should."

How do you cope with stress?

"On weekends, when I’m not asleep, I watch movies at the mall."

What kind of movies do you like?

"All kinds, whether local or foreign."

What was the last movie that you watched?

"Fantastic Four."

How do you pamper yourself?

"Aside from watching movies, I go window-shopping. Not shopping, huh, just window-shopping."

Any hobbies?

"Non these days. But whenever I have free time, I go out-of-town for scuba-diving or swimming."

You love sports?

"Not really. That’s one of my frustrations – dabble in sports."

What’s your favorite hideaway?

"I’m contented with strolling in the mall, usually at Alabang Town Center. Out of Manila, I prefer Tagaytay or Boracay. I usually go out with my barkada composed of my old college friends."

What’s your favorite city?

"Locally, Cebu. Abroad, New York."

What part of your body is your favorite?

"My waist. That’s the part of my body that doesn’t grow big, talagang hindi tumataba."

What part of a man’s body do you look at first?

"The face – the eyes."

What part of your body do you think needs a little improvement?

"My legs. They’re not long enough. My knees are somewhat dark."

How’s your nightlife?

"These days...almost zero. But on weekends, sometimes I seek out my friends and we just chat either in their house or in my house."

Your love life?

"It’s okay."

Do you have a boyfriend?

"Let me see...I don’t know if I can call him a boyfriend. Siguro, constant date. He’s Lino Cayetano (a director, brother of Sen. Pia Cayetano and Rep. Peter Cayetano). We’ve been dating, but not necessarily going steady, for a few months now."

Are you vain like most good-looking women?

"No, I’m not."

How long does it take you to fix yourself?

"Fast. Five to 10 minutes."

Do you apply anything on your face?

"Only moisturizer before I go to bed."

Your tan is natural, isn’t it?

"Yes, it is. In high school, they used to call me baluga and negrita, and it made me so insecure. It’s funny that when I was in college, tan na ang tawag nila sa complexion ko and it kind of restored my self-confidence. Now, I realize that brown is beautiful."

What’s the first thing that you do before going to bed?

"By then, I’m so tired that I don’t remember doing anything else."

What’s the first thing that you do when you wake up?

"I jump out of bed at the sound of the alarm clock, especially when I’m late for work."

What kind of guys turn you on?

"‘Yung witty, charming at smart."

And what kind turns you off?

"‘Yung mayabang (braggart). Also, those with huge muscles. Very scary, di ba? Di na mukhang tao."

Name three men with beautiful bodies.

"Brad Pitt. Jericho Rosales. Brandon Boyd (of Incubus)."

And three women...

"Angelina Jolie. Beyoncé Knowles (even if she’s heavy on the hips). And Aubrey Miles who, I think, is the sexiest actress hereabouts."

Using body language, how would you make a guy know that you like/admire him?

"Through eye contact."

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