FOR BARBIE FORTEZA, playing the young Rhian Ramos in the soap “Stairway to Heaven”, which is now being replayed on GMA’s Afternoon Prime, brought her to a trip down memory lane.
“After ng ‘Stairway to Heaven’, kinontak na kami agad ng GMA Artist Center at nag-sign kami ng contract with them,” she recalls. “Doon na nag-start ang journey ko as a Kapuso. Doon pa lang masasabi ko na proud to be Kapuso ako kasi nag-take sila ng risk sa akin and since then hindi nila ako pinabayaan and they kept their word na aalagaan nila ako.
"Nagkasunod-sunod na ang shows ko until they launched mo solo sa ‘Nita Negrita’ at marami pa akong nagawang memorable shows with them like ‘The Half Sisters’, ‘That’s My Amboy’, ‘Inday Will Always Love You’, ‘Kara Mia’, ‘Meant To Be’ which is being replayed now on primetime, and ‘Anak ni Waray vs. Anak ni Biday’ na natigil nga ang taping dahil sa corona lockdown that we’re experiencing now.”
In ‘Anak ni Waray’, she and Migo Adecer never expected that their love team will be warmly accepted by the viewers even if it’s already common knowledge she now has Jak Roberto in her life while Migo has a non-showbiz girlfriend.
“Honestly, we were both surprised,” says Barbie. “Pareho kaming hindi inakalang magki-click yung tambalan namin sa mga tao. But GMA, the show’s producers and directors, obviously, may nakita sila sa amin and they were right.”
Barbie and co-stars in “Anak ni Waray” Kate Valdez and Benedict Cua have had their chance to do their own relatable vlogs online every Monday at 8 PM on the social media pages of GMA Network.
Last Monday night, it was the turn of Migo Adecer and the title of his episode is “How to Break a Woman’s Heart”. This pertains to his being the boyfriend of Kate Valdez in “Anak ni Waray” but when he met Barbie, he suddenly has a change of heart and focuses his attention on Barbie instead.
In real life, Migo maybe a heartthrob but he claims he’s not a heartbreaker. “I always respect women and their feelings and I will never consciously hurt them,” he says.
So what has he been doing since the lockdown started three months ago?
“I was in Hongkong then, buti nakauwi pa ako. Hindi ako makapunta sa gym kasi sarado, but I do my own workouts at home to keep myself fit. Marami namang apps that can guide you so you can exercise on your own kahit wala kang equipment.
"I live alone and I try to keep a healthy lifestyle. Now, I’m glad we can do our vlogs for ‘Anak ni Waray’ and you can watch me this Monday at 8 PM on GMA online and Facebook page.”
