The life & dreams of a man called Wanlu

Not many may be familiar with the name Wanlu, nor his occupation with puppets, but we have still to meet one whose heart and soul is as dedicated to his art as him. Born Juancho Lunaria, he soon adapted the abbreviated name of Wanlu when he decided to enter the performing arts as party host and magician in 1988.

Through the years, he got involved in other related arts, got into ventriloquism through Ony Carcamo of the International Ventriloquism Community and eventually did less of the magician jobs and more of ventriloquism and puppetry. As a ventriloquist, Wanlu learned the act of throwing one’s voice until it would appear to be coming from a puppet or marionette. This stagecraft dates back to the Greeks and the Romans, and few practice it locally.

Over the years, Wanlu continued perfecting his craft, including the making of puppets as well as joining various organizations like the ASEAN Puppetry Association (APA) based in Indonesia, the International Ventriloquist Society (IVS) where he is Philippine correspondent, the Samahan Ng Mga Papetir ng Pilipinas (SPP) where he is board member and many others. The Philippine group promotes local culture and is composed not only of ventriloquists but puppeteers of various kinds like shadow puppetry, string puppetry as well as puppet making.

We became aware of the growing popularity of Wanlu when our column Live Feed started receiving inquiries about him when he became grand champion in Talentadong Pinoy, a reality competition over TV5. Today, Wanlu graciously acknowledges his debt of gratitude to host Ryan Agoncillo, director Rich Ilustre and especially TV5 which originated the concept. One good news from the office of Wilma Galvante is that Talentadong Pinoy will be making a comeback which will make fans very happy, us included.

“I cherish the Hall of Fame award from Talentadong Pinoy,” Wanlu told us. “Not a lot people know that when I got the award, I was only doing ventriloquism for a little over a year. When I do shows for children, I tell them I am living proof that a newbie can also excel in a particular field as long as he has the passion and dedication.” Wanlu also treasures the Silver Award he got at the International Marionette Festival in Hanoi, Vietnam, participated in by 17 countries.

ASEAN countries have a rich puppetry culture. Water puppetry for Vietnam; the wayang for Malaysia and Indonesia; the hand puppets and marionettes for China; the Bonraku for Japan; and human puppetry for Thailand. Wanlu’s silver is certainly not bad for a country that does not have its own puppetry art.

For 2014, Wanlu is introducing a new act combining ventriloquism and marionette manipulation. “I also have plans of doing motivational shows for children that tackle issues on traffic safety, nutrition, the environment and the discovery of hidden talents.”

He had also joined a Cathay Pacific project which brought a group of volunteer jugglers, magicians, balloonists, fire dancers, ventriloquists and puppeteers to Tacloban on Christmas Day to help assuage their wretched condition. After being so touched by the reactions of the residents there, Wanlu promised them he would be back.    

Wanlu has also been offered by UNTV CEO Daniel Razon a show every Tuesday at 5 a.m. The early hour doesn’t bother him. As always, he is confident that if there is a will, there is a way!

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