In her elders’ footsteps

Inarguably, today’s hottest emerging superstar is Julia Barretto. The 17-year-old niece of Gretchen and Claudine and daughter of Marjorie Barretto and Dennis Padilla is coming into her own. She’s winning a lot of admirers — I mean the non-romantic kind — because of the way she handles herself despite being so young. It must not be easy for someone that age to be put in the situations she has found herself in, but Julia has always handled herself with grace and class that belie her years.

It must have been a foregone conclusion that Julia would end up in show business; after all, she comes from the Barretto clan; and on her father’s side — the Padillas — she also has acting genes. But even then, stardom didn’t happen right away for Julia until recently — a few days ago, her series Mira Bella finally premiered. When she faced the press to announce her new endorsement for Jollibee (she’s the spokesperson for the burger chain’s Choice Ko Yum campaign in which young people are encouraged to make the right choices), Julia confessed to feeling nervous and excited over the fact that her first show, in which she plays the title role, was finally going to air.

Asked whether she was able to sleep at all the night before, Julia assured us that she had. “Yes, I was able to sleep last night. I was so tired because I was working the whole day. When I got home, I crashed, and that’s when I felt it. I was so nervous and excited, and didn’t know what to expect. You just have to trust yourself and have trust in the whole process. To this hour, I’m still scared and hoping for the best.”

According to Julia, Mira Bella (which also stars Enrique Gil and Sam Concepcion) is about a girl who’s cursed, but who grew up with parents who make her feel like she’s just like everybody else. It’s a story of inner strength and beauty. In a way, Julia can relate to the character not because she’s not beautiful — because she is — but because she, too, has been fed on a steady diet of advice and positive reinforcement by her parents, particularly her mother, who has been very supportive of her showbiz dreams.

Asked to share the most valuable piece of advice her parents have given her, Julia answered: “They give me lots of advice. But my mom told me — and I always say this when people ask me — that it’s important to stay humble and nice, because that’s how people are going to remember you. You can be the best and the most talented actress but if your attitude is not nice, balewala rin. You can never go wrong with being nice to people.”

Julia also seems very self-possessed and mature despite her young age. This early, she has already learned how to deal with bashers and critics, both online and off. Her coping strategy is simple: She listens to her own voice.

It would be so easy for her to simply take her cue from her more famous aunts or even her mom, but to her credit, Julia has a strong desire to be her own person, and it’s already evident at her age.

It starts with finding her own voice. When she needs to decide on something important, she listens to advice given to her, but ultimately, she makes her own decision based on what she feels is good for her. “Coming from an industry with so many people telling you what to do, and what not to do, or how you should be, at the end of the day you realize it’s your own satisfaction that is important,” says Julia. “So what I do is, I think about it — is this going to be okay for me, or will it be good for me? Will it make me happy? If it will, maybe I’ll consider it, because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s about.”

And although she’s been in showbiz for such a short time, Julia has also learned that honesty is the best policy, especially because so many young people look up to her as a role model. That being the case, it’s best to be honest with them about who you are. “It helps to just be myself, be transparent, because that’s how people will love you and learn from you, if you show who you really are, and you’re sending a positive message. That’s the only way.”

Piolo holds L.A. show

Piolo Pascual performs on April 11 at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and on April 13 at the White Memorial Church in downtown Los Angeles.

The concert series, presented by V Entertainment, is called Loving Piolo Again. The April 11 and April 13 concerts will reconnect him to his fans in California. Piolo remains popular as ever, based on the excited calls and Facebook postings of fans addressed to V Entertainment head Vic Perez.

Piolo has released seven solo albums, three of which reached platinum (one, Timeless, hit triple platinum) and two of which reached gold. He has won several music awards. He regularly tours the US and Canada as an in-demand concert artist.

Piolo remains a leading actor in Philippine cinema for domestic and international markets. His latest movie, Starting Over Again, opened to record-breaking sales. The tremendous positive response to Piolo’s latest hit movie has spread across the Pacific, to include fans in the US. On Valentine’s weekend, Piolo and co-star Toni Gonzaga flew to San Francisco for the movie’s US premiere.

Piolo has won six Best Actor and eight Best Supporting Actor awards. He has produced an independent film that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. And last year, he starred in the critically-acclaimed crime drama OTJ that screened at Cannes and in the US and Canada markets.

For details, call Vic Perez at (818) 458-9258 or e-mail [email protected] or visit www.ventertainment.biz.