Jessica Sanchez as “Frida Romero” on GLEE
Filipino-Mexican singer, Jessica Sanchez, claims she’s been a long-time Glee fan. Much to her excitement, the former American Idol contestant takes part in Glee as Frida Romero- a diva powerhouse from a rival school. The Glee cast is just as excited to have such a strong singer on board and has welcomed her with open arms.
Noticing her small stature, Darren Criss (a Glee regular) commented “We’re all in the audience being like ‘Is that voice coming out of that body?’ That’s amazing.”
Though Sanchez isn’t very similar to her “mean girl” character, she definitely seems to be having fun alongside such talented actors. Check out the video below to see GLEE welcome Jessica Sanchez into their family:
The art of film and television was introduced to the Philippines in the late 1890′s and although this is the youngest of the Philippine arts , it has developed into the most popular. Because of its appeal, the Philippine Entertainment Industry appears to be growing larger every year. And when we say large, we mean it. With new faces popping up everyday, it would take a very long time to name all of the young and rising Filipina Actresses currently gracing the screen.
We decided to take a different approach. Yes, there are many Filipina actresses, but who are the ones we consider timeless? Who are the leading ladies we can watch years from now and still find ourselves mesmerized by? Who’s performances bring us to tears? In honor of Women’s History Month, we present to you the Ten Timeless Filipina Actresses:
Regardless of your sexual orientation or even if you don’t believe in marriage – a beautiful wedding is still a beautiful wedding.
John and Paolo get married in Northern Luzon. To this day, same-sex marriage is still not legally recognized in the Philippines.
The Saturday afternoon parade was a grand moving showcase of Filipino customs and culture along with community (All photos by Karen Datangel).
Last weekend in San Francisco was a busy one with Outside Lands, baseball, and preseason football going on, but there was one other big event that brought more hustle and bustle to the city: The 19th Annual Pistahan Parade and Festival at Yerba Buena Gardens was also the only event where you could hear good music and watch a live sport at the same time, plus find the rare entertainment in watching people eat ice cream and duck eggs. Pistahan—which ran for two days on August 11th and 12th—is the largest street celebration of Filipino culture in San Francisco, and this year’s event broke some new ground as well as kept up with beloved traditions.
A packed Hollywood Bowl celebrated Filipino culture on July 8 at a concert curated by Black Eyed Peas member Apl.de.ap. The show featured traditional and modern dance, Original Philippine Music, and hits by contemporary Filipino artists. Fellow Black Eyed Peas members will.i.am and Taboo joined Apl.de.ap to perform some of their group’s chart-topping songs and celebrate this historic night.
Taboo, will.i.am and Apl.de.ap performs at the Apl.de.ap Takes You to the Philippines – A Celebration of Global Filipino Music which took place at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, July 8, 2012. Photo Credit: Craig T. Mathew-Mathew Imaging
In previous years, Asian models and designers have been been taking large strides. For example, more than ever – we are beginning to see more Asian faces gracing the pages of the world’s top fashion magazines, walking the runways of renowned fashion designers (40% of the models walking were women of Asian descent during New York Fashion Week in February 2012), and featured in international ad campaigns for popular brands. Fashion designers of Asian descent have also been making a name for themselves, such as designer collaborations with national retail chains such as Target, H&M, and Macy’s. Follow our monthly series as we name the best of the best featuring Asians in Fashion.
Li Bing Bing for Gucci
Image courtesy of Gucci.
At its essence, The Romance of Magno Rubio is an ill-fated story we have all seen before: the hapless country yokel who is in love with the beautiful babe way out of his league. It differs slightly in that the play is set in 1930s California and revolves around the unrequited love problems of a Filipino migrant worker. However, what breaks this familiar tale from the traditional boy-meets-girl mold is the incorporation of non-traditional storytelling methods.
Darren Criss’ fantastic introduction to Glee as the confident male prep school student who will eventually be Kurt’s love interest performing Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” had us squealing like teenage girls. Those silky vocal cords! That smirky stare!
We just found out Criss is Filipino! (His mother, from Cebu, is of Filipino and Spanish descent)
Criss recently landed the cover of Da Man’s February/March issue and had this to say about his Asian heritage: “Any person in the position I’m in I hope would know that having a distinct heritage like being Filipino is a tremendous blessing in a global market.”
Someone who can sing like that and is proud of his Asian heritage? Love it!
Also loving him in this and this:
Too cute. Darren Criss, you make us smile with glee. 
… And end gush session.
Americans can dilute the origins of any creation by umphing up the volume to the next level. Just look at the U.S. version of BBC’s television series The Office (partly created by Ricky Gervais who just hosted The Golden Globes).
Then, there’s freedom fries, melted milkshake-looking cappuccino, and drug-induced Skins.
Meet the new Skins cast member, baby-faced Camille Crescencia-Mills
MTV premiered the U.S. version of Skins last Monday. The television series follows the nine lives of a disorderly and mismatched group of teenagers, including part-Filipina Camille Crescencia-Mills(above) as boobsy Daisy Valero, who live the typical party wreck of a juvenile lifestyle that takes Degrassi to the next exponential degree. There’s problems, problems and only more problems due to drugs, partying, school, relationships and growing up in general.
The UK teen-hit is where actors such as Nicholas Hoult (About A Boy) continued his career and where British Indian Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) jumpstarted his career, and who knows what future (and mayhem) the U.S. ultra fresh cast has in store.
We’re totally appreciating the extra color Camille and Indian-Canadian cast-mate Ron Mustafaa will be adding to the mix and hoping that they will be more than 2-dimensional side characters. Crescencia-Mills’ character intro looks promising:
Tune in to MTV on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET to catch the insanity.
It may be a bit early for awards season, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is hard at work narrowing down its film nominations. Among them is the docu-drama under the Philippines’ Star Cinema Productions called Noy. Co-directed, produced and starring Filipino actor Coco Martin, Noy held a screening for press at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles recently. The film is being considered in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the the 83rd Academy Awards, to be held in February 2011.
Fans, press and other celebrities gathered around the red carpet as the lone star, Coco Martin, stepped out of the limo and made his way to his film’s screening.
At last, the star of the night has arrived in a shining white blazer.
Before his arrival, stars like Michael Copon, Ron Jeremy and the dance group Poreotics made red carpet appearances.
ABS-CBN's Balitang America interviews Coco Martin.
Joining in with America's Best Dance Crews' Poreotics.
Martin plays Noy, a fabricated journalist amidst the real presidential campaign of now-President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. No, this story isn’t another Shattered Glass movie about a journalist who is a pathological liar. The film unravels as Noy’s true identity is revealed as he is blind-sighted by the drive to support his widowed mother, crippled older brother and bright young sister.
The indie film has all-around compelling performances from the actors who bring out the true core of the family-oriented Filipino who faces hardships with resilience and hard work. As heard on Disney’s Lilo and Stitch, ” ‘Ohana’ means ‘family.’ ‘Family’ means no one gets left behind.” That is the very case for this tale, but with a twist of fate and hint of Hurricane Ondoy’s aftermath. The cinematography is also charming, with an assortment of shots which make life like a box of chocolates because you never know if you’re going to get the bird’s eye view or the close-up. The musical score has a great way of embedding historic revivals into the film. However, its plot left me a little confused. Even Ron Jeremy said that he thought the acting was great, but the plot could have been clearer.
Coco Martin waits for his film, Noy to start.
After the film, Martin had a Q&A session and described his drive to carefully select roles because he is an advocate of the poor and also because he is one of the few Filipino celebrities who came from humble beginnings.
Martin has left his mark in the indie film industry in gay-oriented films Masahista (The Masseuse), Daybreak and Jay, but he truly got his break after starring in ABS-CBN dramas.
Filipino American actor Michael Copon prepares his notes before taking part in the Q&A portion.
Martin answered questions from the audience during the Q&A session.
The event ended with a reception, and it was on to more drinks, appetizers, gift bags and fun!
Gift bags containing a DVD of the film and other goodies were passed out to audience members.
Ron Jeremy (right) and a friend pose in their contrast-perfect clothes.
Keep checking back with AudreyMagazine.com to find out the fate of Noy for the awards season. In the meantime, check out the trailer here:
