Como estas, Fernando?

MANILA, Philippines -  Filipino fans will probably forever remember him as the dashing leading man in the hit Mexican telenovela Rosalinda. Before Koreanovelas became a national craze, Filipinos went gaga over Mexican telenovelas. And Fernando Carrillo fanned the telenovela fandom as Fernando Jose in Rosalinda, wherein he starred opposite Thalia, the Mexican superstar who started it all with Marimar. (Both telenovelas have since inspired Pinoy adaptations.) 

Twelve years ago, at the height of Rosalinda’s popularity, Fernando visited the country and wowed his fans from this side of the world. Now, he’s back — not as an actor though, but as an entrepreneur. 

“My real reason for visiting is not as an actor but as an entrepreneur — as a business partner for the company Sunset World,” said the still-dashing 42-year-old actor (who is really from Venezuela, educated in London and “adopted” in Mexico) during an intimate lunch-presscon set by Viva Entertainment, whose big boss Vic del Rosario, is a good friend of Fernando.

He is in town with his business partner Erika Garcia. Their other business partner is Orlando Arroyo (“my mentor and a father figure to me,” Fernando said), the founder himself of Sunset World, which owns more than 20 tourism-related companies including several Mexican-Caribbean properties. Erika heads the companies that do the marketing and direct-selling of both luxurious and affordable vacations at these destinations. Part of the corporation’s global expansion are the call centers in Makati, Ortigas and Davao that they set up in the Philippines under the company Cancun Unlimited Philippines.

“So we are an investor in the Philippines,” said Erika, a noted travel and leisure expert in Mexico. “We started six years ago. Currently, we have 400 employees and our goal is 1,000.” They decided to establish call centers here because “the level of English is great, you’re a leader in outsourcing, and the level of service, commitment and education is amazing, and Filipinos do their work at the call center with dignity,” she added. 

“Fernando came as a partner to us,” said Erika, who also came to know Fernando because they both love boxing. (“We’re big fans of Manny Pacquiao and Filipino boxers. In fights when there are no Mexican boxers, we always go for the Filipinos. One of our dreams is to host a Manny Pacquiao fight in one of our properties.”)

Erika continued, “Even though we admire Fernando as an actor in Mexico, he is very much loved there, he does wear an entrepreneurial hat, and he’s very good at that. He’s been working with us in our global expansion. I’ve been promising (our employees) to bring him here.”

That’s how Fernando kept himself busy these past years, during which he somewhat withdrew from the limelight. While he did a few indie films and TV productions, “I devoted myself to business and being a father to my son. He’s four years old, his name is Angel Gabriel.”

But you can take the actor out of the scene, but never the acting in him. “I just want to act really. I want to do my passion. I told my business partners Erika and Orlando that I want to pursue my passion and do my dreams — films, telenovelas, reality shows.”

So, he’s getting ready for a major comeback this 2013 via a telenovela, which, if translated to English, means The Magic of Love. “(It’s a) big comeback telenovela  with my ex-wife Catherine Fullop (they did three successful telenovelas including Abigail). It’s a story that’s very parallel with our lives. I’m the executive producer and I wrote a bit about the idea. This time, I want to be a character who doesn’t wear a tie. I do extreme sports here, which I do in real life like sky-diving. I’m also a record producer here and I’m a musician, but I don’t play for anyone except for my daughter because I’m very sad as 20 years ago, I lost the love of my life — in the show — and also in real life.” The telenovela is going to be shot in Hacienda Tres Rios, the luxury eco-hotel of Sun World in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. 

He shared that “we just presented it at Cannes Festival, then we’re going to present it in Miami... Everybody wants the show. I’m very, very happy. I think it’s going to been seen in over a hundred countries. The telenovela is also going to launch my album. I already did the music video which was shot in the Dominican Republic.” He also said that he will be inviting some Filipino artists for cameos (“Maybe Regine Velasquez,” with whom he did a duet when he first came to the country).

Fernando hasn’t done telenovelas since 12 years ago — when he did Rosalinda — and while he’s calling The Magic of Love a comeback, he never truly left. “I’ve never really been away, but I’ve been growing, learning, studying in Los Angeles very much. And still, the goal is Los Angeles, and it’s more open now than ever for Hispanics and Latinos. All my friends are crossing over, and they’re doing amazing things in Hollywood,” said Fernando, who’s based in Malibu. “It’s not a matter of speed, but a matter of perseverance. You just have to be there. It’s like when you like a girl, you call her, she says no, then you call her, you call her, and then she says yes! So, yes, I have other dreams inside the acting world, but I’m living a very stable (life) and very happy moments in my life. It’s not like it’s a decision 12 years later.”

He also finds it symbolic that he finds himself anew in the Philippines just when he’s about to “restart” his career. “The Philippines is very special to me because I feel that I left off my career here, at the height of my career. I was playing tennis at The Peninsula Hotel, where we are now staying, when I received a phone call that my mom had been diagnosed with cancer. She died six months later. That changed my life! That kind of like crumbled my team and my career because I was being managed by my brother and father. So my mom’s passing, her sickness and all that took away the attention from what I was dealing with at that time, which was really amazing height. That visit to the Philippines was really unforgettable; it was something else. So, 12 years later, I wanna take off again in the Philippines.”

Asked about his co-star Thalia, he said, “I left Thalia with Tony (Mottola, Sony big boss),” he joked, before adding: “She’s got two babies, but her mom just passed away, whom I loved very much. I love and respect Thalia very much. I was the only telenovela actor who got invited to her wedding. She respects me very much, I respect her very much. I’m planning my comeback, she’s planning her comeback. Maybe one day, we could get back and do something together.” 

 Fernando welcomes the idea of doing projects here with Boss Vic as his manager. “Although I have a busy and big year coming up, I would love to do something in the Philippines with Vic del Rosario in the future. I’d like to do something with the young artists, the most talented, most beautiful stars in the country. (He met some of them like Derek Ramsay in a TV5 event in the US). I’d like to do something like Glee, something fun, and maybe shoot it for a month or so.”

He describes the present state of things as “an exciting moment because God lives in my heart more present than ever. He always lives in my heart, but when you get older, (you say) ‘Now, I get it.’”

As for his personal life, the muy romantico Fernando said he’s single and searching. “Now, I don’t have girlfriend. I’m single. (But) I wanna have a family because I was raised in a very beautiful family. I don’t have my parents, they both passed away. I have a son but it’s not in a marriage. I would love to have a family. I would love to have a beautiful wife and two more kids.

“I’m open to love everywhere. I think I can fall in love here, at the airport, or in Boracay (laughs). I know Filipina women are amazing. The ones I know who are married to Filipinas like my friend who connected me to Vic, tell me that ‘If you’re going to marry a Filipina, you will be so fortunate.’

“But yes, I’m open to love. I’m open to having a wonderful relationship. Don’t we all?” he ended.