The Very Talented Tondo Girl & Suklay Diva Katrina Velarde Thanks TV5 For Giving Her A Break In 'Trenderas'

KATRINA VELARDE is a certified Tondo Girl. She was born on December 5, 1994 and raised in Solis St., Gagalangin. The fourth of six kids, her dad is a carpenter and her mom is a stay at home mom. She was 17 when a video of her using a comb as a microphone was uploaded on youtube. She was dubbed the Suklay Diva. She started joining amateur singing contests as a child.

“Talagang hanggang sa mga barangay sa probinsiya, umaabot ako ng tawid-dagat, akyat-bundok, lakad-putik, makasali lang,” she says.

She joined a group that competed in “Talentadong Pinoy” but they didn’t win. She then joined “X Factor Philippines” and was tutored by Gary Valenciano who she considers her mentor. “Grabeng bait niya,” she says. “Very encouraging sa mga pangarap namin ng mga kasama kong baguhan.”

She’s part of the group AKA JAM who performed with Gary in his recent concert, “Arise”, and Gary is taking them with him in his concert tour in the U.S. They left last Wednesday. She has advanced some episodes of “Trenderas” that will be shown while she’s in the U.S.

“I’m so happy to be part of ‘Trenderas’ dahil napakabait nila sa TV5 at ng lahat ng kasama ko sa show,” she says. “Alam nilang baguhan lang ako sa pag-arte kaya very considerate sila. Nakuha ako nang mag-guest ako sa ‘Mega and the Songwriter’ and I’m thankful for this big break that TV5 is giving me. Dahil din sa show na ito, nakasama ko ang Superstar, Nora Aunor, at nagpapasalamat ako dahil naging napakabait din niya sa amin ng mga kasama kong sina Isabelle de Leon at Lara Maigue.”

“Trenderas” started airing last Saturday and quickly gained a lot of followers and advertisers. The second episode airs tomorrow at 9 PM after “Tropa Mo Ko, Nice Di Ba?”