MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American Vanessa Hudgens admitted that she was raised the American-way.
At a Manila press conference for her travel documentary yesterday, the presscon’s host Boy Abunda asked about how the “High School Musical” star was raised and her Filipino heritage since she was in the country to shoot a travel documentary.
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“I feel like I was definitely raised very American, except for all the rice, and the Adobo and Pancit!” Vanessa confessed.
She, however, learned so much about her other side upon coming to the Philippines for the first time to shoot about her Filipino roots.
“My parents saw at an early age that I had this fit and they wanted to support me and how to flourish and grow and obviously, it really happens, it’s taken me, but it’s really interesting coming here, very beautiful and eye-opening.”
Apart from tribal and primal sounds, she realized after her brief trip how “very Filipino” the things she has loved were.
“All the passion for the mystical I’ve noticed now is very Filipino. All of these things have been innately stuck within me, I’m realizing coming from my heritage.”
Most of all, she discovered that her innate closeness and love for her family comes from being a Filipino.
“I feel like just the family aspect of the Philippines is something that is so common. I’ve always been so close to my mom and to my sister and we kind of roll as a pack all the time and that’s something from my heritage.”
When asked what took her so long to come here, she said: “I don’t know, I guess maybe time? It’s always on my list, I guess. But it just that it never happens, I don’t know. I think everything happens when it’s meant to. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
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