MANILA, Philippines - Thousands of pilgrims and tourists recently flocked to Naga City in Camarines Sur for the Peñafrancia Festival. The Kapuso Network flew its stars to the city — also known as the Bicol region’s cultural, business and religious center — to add color to the celebration.
At the Kapuso Night in SM City Naga on Sept. 18, real-life sweethearts Daniel Matsunaga and Heart Evangelista thrilled the crowd with some displays of affection when they took the stage. The Brapanese model-actor charmed his way to the audience not just by singing Tagalog numbers, but also interacting with them in Filipino. Albeit the accent is still there, Daniel said in an interview that his grasp of the local language has improved a lot thanks to Heart, whom he introduced on stage: “The Pinay who conquered my heart.”
Also on hand to entertain Kapusong Bicolanos were Steven Silva and Andrea Torres. Aside from being a Party Pilipinas regular, Steven is also part of the dance-themed primetime series Time Of My Life. We asked the former StarStruck male winner from Davao about how things are going in his career, and he said, “Masaya but yes, minsan napapaisip ako na may mga projects na dapat mapunta sa akin na-pass up ko or napunta sa iba... But I have the highest hopes. I’ve been undergoing workshops, preparing myself for any project.”
Andrea, who last starred in Blusang Itim, will be joining the forthcoming teleserye that will reunite Dingdong Dantes and Rhian Ramos. “I’ve been trying to break into showbiz for five years. I started when I was 15 years old with another network. I’m very thankful (for finally getting the breaks) this year,” said Andrea, who’s juggling showbiz and college life as a ComArts student at the University of Sto. Tomas.
The loudest cheers at the mall show were apparently reserved for the tween pairings: Barbie Forteza and Joshua Dionisio of Tween Hearts, as well as Joyce Ching and Kristoffer Martin of Munting Heredera.
Twelve year-old Chriszen Villanueva, who was there with her classmates from Naga City Science High School, complete with placards expressing adulation, explained in the vernacular why they’re big fans: “We really like them because they act so natural!”
Barbie told The STAR, “Di kasi pilit yung team-up, nag-ki-click talaga kami ni Joshua.” The two said that they’ve been doing regional shows for two years now. “Yung pinaka-una namin na mall show, kasama namin sila Dingdong Dantes, so nadala kami,” Joshua recalled with a laugh. Joshua also said that they started to feel the patronage of fans after their first TV project together, First Time.
They cited Davao City (“we have an active fans club there”), La Union (“we got mobbed there”), and Bacolod (“we’ve been there three times pero malakas pa rin ang mga sigaw sa huling punta namin”) as among the places where they’ve seen the most enthusiastic reception.
Barbie, Joshua, Kristoffer and Joyce will also start taping in October the remake of Ikaw Lang Ang Mamahalin, an afternoon drama set to replace Sinner or Saint.
Meanwhile, the festival, held every third Saturday and Sunday of September in honor of the beloved patroness of Bicol — Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia — is the 14th major festival that GMA Regional TV has joined this year so far. “We’ve been doing events in the regions since 2005. We have intensified our on-ground presence by having regular regional events and activities in recent years. Bulk of our Kapuso events and activities are usually held during festivals, but with regular invitations coming in, we have been doing stand-alone sponsored events on non-festival seasons,” said Oli Amoroso, AVP for Regional TV.
He added, “When we started years back, the people were just curious. However, in recent regional events and activities, we are seeing bigger crowds. They are now warmer and more excited. Artists are now called by the characters they are portraying in our soaps. With national and locally-produced programs that suit the taste of Filipinos everywhere, our regional events and activities have become good venues for the Kapuso Network to make our programs closer to the viewers. As of today, according to AGB Nielsen, GMA now leads in household ratings and audience shares not only in Mega Manila and Total Luzon, but nationally as well.”
The network is expected to unfurl other marketing and promotional innovations, in an effort to reach out to more regional viewers.
Rikki Escudero, VP for Regional TV, said, “We closely study the public’s needs and wants and try to fill these in our programming and events. GMA Regional TV will continue to expand operations in the years to come.”
The Peñafrancia TV Special will air on Oct. 2, beginning 8 a.m. before Buhay Boksingero via GMA TV’s regional stations in Naga, Dagupan, Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and General Santos.