New Yorker Victor Aliwalas tagged "Kapuso Male Hottie"

"Nagulat ako, akala ko hindi ako mananalo. It's a great award. Masaya ako. Ibig sabihin lang, may mga sumusuporta rin pala sa akin. Hindi masasayang ang work ko rito," says Victor Aliwalas about winning Kapuso Male Hottie.

Author: Archie de Calma

Laking New York ang itinanghal na Male Kapuso Hottie of the Year--sa polls conducted through texting para sa "SOP Tag Award"--na si Victor Aliwalas, na na-discovered ng Filipino community roon siyempre. Sa kung anu-anong aktibidades ng mga Pinoy gaya ng Santacruzan at kung anu-anong palabas, may mga pagkakataong nagpapakitang gilas si Victor.

"It was 2005 when my parents invited fashion designers from the Philippines to have a fashion show in the States," panimulang kuwento ni Victor sa PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal). "Umikot-ikot ang mga show sa East Coast, sa West Coast. And when they had the show sa area namin, my mom found out that they needed extra models for the Barong Tagalog.

"Nakiusap sila sa mom ko. When I met the designers, they were all like saying, 'Ang guwapo mo! If you come to the Philippines, you're going to be a star!' I just thought they were just being nice. Sabi nila, kung bakasyon ako, I can come to the Philippines and they can have me for photo shoots, even [on the] runway. Flattered siyempre ako sa offers.

"My mom and her friends usually order dresses and gowns from those designers. We just kept in touch. In the last trip I had here, I had a photo shoot, to showcase one of the designers' barongs.

"I have a niece who works for an advertising firm here in the Philippines, and they sent my photos to an advertising agency. One thing led to another, and they were already giving me a lot of projects. Nagulat ako, so I decided to extend my vacation in the Philippines," tuloy-tuloy na sabi ng model turned actor.

ENTERING SHOWBIZ. Nag-leave sa kanyang trabaho sa States si Victor at naisipan niyang muling magsimula sa Pilipinas. Nagkasunud-sunod nga ang kanyang assignments sa modeling hanggang naipakilala siya ng isang agent sa ilang executives ng GMA-7.

"GMA Artist Center signed me," sabi niya. "Akala ko, I would just stay here for two weeks or a month. Hanggang mag-resign na ako sa trabaho through the phone, and asked my boss there, kung walang mangyari rito, if there's going to be a position for me in the company. Okay lang daw, so I made a big decision."

Akala niya, tapos na ang adventure niya sa Pilipinas, so he went back to the U.S. for Christmas. Then, he received a call from GMA-7 asking him to be part of Marimar, which starred Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera.

"Nakasama rin ako sa Kim Samsoon [with Regine Velasquez and Mark Anthony Fernandez], then I guested in Joaquin Bordado [starring Robin Padilla]. My first big exposure was for Gaano Kadalas ang Minsan?. I learned quite a lot from Gaano, mas sanay na ako after that exposure.

"Mahirap talaga when I started. I didn't know the process," banggit ni Victor.

Kung siya ang tatanungin, mas gusto ni Victor ang TV hosting. Parang yun daw ang turf niya. Pero happy na rin siya at pinagtitiwalaan siya ng GMA Artist Center para sa dramatic roles na ibinabagay sa kakayahan niya.

KAPUSO HOTTIE. May following pala si Victor dahil nagwagi siya sa popularity contest as Male Kapuso Hottie of the Year sa "SOP Tag Awards."

"Nagulat ako, akala ko hindi ako mananalo," sabi niya. "It's a great award. Masaya ako. Ibig sabihin lang, may mga sumusuporta rin pala sa akin. Hindi masasayang ang work ko rito. Kasama ko sa category sina Aljur Abrenica, Chris Cayzer, and Paulo Avelino. 'Tapos, I got the biggest number of votes."

Maganda rin ang exposure ni Victor sa music video ni Lovi Poe, for the song "Dito sa Puso."

Source: Philippine Entertainment Portal