TOMORROW BELONGS TO ME/ SANA BUKAS PA ANG KAHAPON showing on ONTV NIGERIA

The Nigerians must love this teleserye. It was shown on another Nigerian channel, Televista (the trailer below is theirs), but ONTV just got to show it too. The Bea Alonzo starrer must be pushing the right buttons in Nigeria.

Televista & ONTV are owned by the same group, Consolidated Media Associates.

THE IMPOSTOR/ IMPOSTORA showing on Star TV Tanzania

This GMA teleserye was released in the Philippines 10 years ago yet (2007) but it just opened at primetime (6 PM) on Star TV Tanzania. It stars Iza Calzado & Sunshine Dizon. So many things have happened. The former has already transferred to rival ABS-CBN & the latter just returned to teleserye-making after a brief hiatus (AKA stormy marriage).

The trailer below was published on the page of Star TV Tanzania (though it had markings of Citizen TV in Kenya because it was also shown there, with English sub, at one time).

I guess, hit teleseryes never stops from being in circulation.

DOBLE KARA shortly on MNCTV Indonesia

On Monday, MNCTV will be featuring 3 Pinoy teleseryes , one after another,  on primetime starting at 8 PM WIB with Doble Kara at 8,  Untuk Selamanya/Magpahanggang Wakas at 9 and On The Wings of Love at 10.

Let's see how Doble Kara will fare this time. There is a functioning TV rating system in Indonesia so we can track the response of the market. After Africa & Myanmar, this will be the third foray of the teleserye in foreign shores.

KÝ ỨC TÌNH YÊU/ HIRAM NA ALAALA showing @ Vietnam Today TV

The GMA streak is really continuing well into 2017. The 2015 teleserye stars Dennis Trillo and Kris Bernal.

DOBLE KARA opened on SKYNET International Drama Myanmar

I have to admit I was puzzled when Doble Kara was first sold in Africa. It turned out it would be sold all the way to Indonesia. Meanwhile, it just opened yesterday, January 19, in Myanmar. It just proves Julia Montes is a star that glows in many geographic skies.

VIRAL VIDEO: Xia Vigor as Taylor Swift in "YOUR FACE SOUNDS FAMILIAR KIDS"

Xia Vigor is only 7 years old but she already got the talent and the much-needed chutzpah to shine. Better to start them young and we have here a major star in the making. This clip has already been picked up by major Western entertainment  websites and it garnered millions of hits in Youtube in the short time it has been released. Awesome feat for a cute precocious kid.

LAGU-LAGU CINTA DARI "PANGAKO SA 'YO/JANJIKU"; Las canciones de amor de "La Promesa"

With the successful showing of Pangako Sa 'Yo / Janjiku in Indonesia, there was an unprecedented interest among the new Indonesian fans on the songs used in the soundtrack of the teleserye.  To make it easier for them, we decided to provide them all in a single page.

 In the start of 2017, our 3 biggest readers are, beside the Pinoys,  the Indonesians & Peruvians which dislodged the Kenyans from their seemingly  almost permanent third place (I just hope this is a sign La Promesa is finally picking up in Peru, just like how Janjiku picked up  in the homestretch in Indonesia).


Angeline Quinto- Nag-iisa Lang (Hanya Sato Saja/ Solo uno)

Vina Morales - Pangako Sa Yo (Janji Pada Mu/ Te lo prometo)


Daniel Padilla - Pangako Sa 'Yo
  

Juris Fernandez - Panaginip (Mimpi/ Sueño)

TV5's OBSESSION showing at TV3 Malaysia

This is cute. So, it turned out, not only the big stations- Abs-Cbn & GMA- could export their teleseryes,  even the diminutive TV5 could manage to join the act  as well. A medical drama at that. TV3 Malaysia is currently showing Obsession, a 2014 novela starring Bianca King, Neri Naig and Marvin Agustin.

Triple Pinoy Treat in the Indonesian Top 20 TV Charts

When Pangako Sa 'Yo skyrocketed to Number 5 of the Indonesian charts, it was not the sole Pinoy entry into the Indonesian Top 20. The first episode of Untuk Selamanya (Magpahanggang Wakas) starring Arci Muñoz had its debut at the 14th place (nice move in resscheduling its first episode after Pangako Sa Yo, both the programs which preceded it, Ayu Anak Depok City & the one after it were taken along by the momentum of the PSY wave). Then at Number 20, a special on the songs of Jose Mari Chan was featured at station IVM, the top rater of the said station. Jose Mari Chan is one of the big Pinoy musical exports to Indonesia which included Eddie Peregrina, Victor Wood, Freddie Aguilar & Christian Bautista.

GOLDEN MEMORIES JOSE MARI CHAN was in the Indonesian Top 20 TV programs

In last Friday's national TV ratings,  January 13, 2017, 3 Pinoy features appeared in the 20 top-rated programs of our neighbor, Indonesia. At #5 was the successful teleserye, Pangako Sa' Yo/ Janjiku, at #14 was the first episode of Magpahanggang Wakas/ Untuk Selamanya, & third was the musical program featuring veteran Pinoy crooner Jose Mari Chan. Below is a video extracted from the latter showing Jose Mari Chan singing his beautiful song Beautiful Girl which became a Number 1 hit in Indonesia a few decades ago.

TELESERYE BOOM IN INDONESIA: ANTV Indonesia showing MUTYA THE MERMAID PRINCESS soon

With the successful run of Pangako Sa Yo/ Janjiku & On The Wings of Love in Indonesia, not a few Indonesian  entertainment sites have written about the resurgence of the Pinoy teleseryes over the popular Indian & Turkish dramas. Will the Pinoys really be the flavor of 2017 in our neighbor as now popularly predicted there? The original station, MNCTV, which featured the Pinoy teleseryes immediately obtained the rights to feature 4 more teleseryes, followed immediately by the news that two films of the Kathniel loveteam & another of their teleserye will quickly follow.

Not to be outdone, the managing director of the second biggest Indonesian station, ANTV, which usually feature the Indian novelas,  Otis Hahijary, has indicated in his Instagram that ANTV will feature shortly a 2011 teleserye, Mutya The Mermaid Maiden.

I am not sure if this was an old purchase which they decided to show now, but they should update the shows to reflect what is hot with the Indonesian fans of Pinoy teleseryes these days.

PANGAKO SA'YO/ JANJIKU was the Number 5 Top Program in Indonesia in its last episode

The intercontinental hit Pinoy teleserye Pangako Sa'Yo/ Janjiku ended its run in Indonesia last January 12, 2017 as the 5th most viewed program in Indonesia. That caps a highly successful trailblazing attempt to open up the Indonesian market to a series of 4 other teleseryes, one of which , Untuk Selamanya/ Magpahanggang Wakas, will be replacing it in its 8 PM primetime slot on MNCTV Indonesia.

In a more detailed analysis of the categories, it became the number 1 show in some important brackets.

With the tremendous success of the teleserye, it was immediately decided to rerun it. It started to be shown again from the beginning from January 12 at an earlier time, 14:40 WIB.

The caption means "To be broadcasted again from the beginning"

Meanwhile in MYANMAR: PANGAKO SA'YO, ON THE WINGS OF LOVE & THE STORY OF US showing at SKYNET International Drama, DOBLE KARA & DOLCE AMORE next shortly

This blogger prides in his being a polyglot- I actually speak many languages (& love learning them) so it was easy for me (mostly, even without Google Translate) to monitor the achievements of the resurgent Pinoy stars in many parts of the world, especially that I was fluent in the languages where they were at their hottest- Russian in Central Asia, Malay/Bahasa in the southern portion of Southeast Asia, Spanish in Latin America, etc. But a strange script could hamper our style at times. I am actually fascinated with Myanmar, I've read about it many times- in English. But the more complicated curlicues (compared with Thai & Cambodian) proved to be a barrier in making us aware of the strong prescence of Pinoy showbiz in the area. The strong Facebook membership of Myanmar  groups have always been a puzzle- now we know why. They have been watching Pinoy teleseryes- and they were getting the latest.

Thanks to Jay Marque  for the tip.

HOT KATHNIEL IN INDONESIA: BARCELONA, A Love Untold, Got 2 Believe & CRAZY BEAUTIFUL YOU soon on MNCTV Indonesia

Well, as if we needed stronger proof to believe that Kathryn Bernardo & Daniel Padilla have touched the heart of Indonesians. After the success of Pangako Sa'Yo, MNCTV Indonesia just announced they were releasing 2 films, Barcelona, Love Untold & Crazy Beautiful You, & a teleserye, Got 2 Believe, soon.

According to Indonesian fans, James Reid looks like the top Indonesian male teen idol?

Indonesian teen idol Aliando Syarief & Pinoy heartthrob James Reid

 Aliando Syarief is the top Indonesian male teen idol since he made a splash in the hit youth sinetron Ganteng-Ganteng Serigala in 2014. Pinoy teen idol James Reid just recently got famous in Indonesia with the showing of his teleserye On The Wings of Love and he immediately became a hit item among the young Indonesian fans. Call it a freak coincidence- but it turned out, according to Indonesian fans, he looks like Aliando Syarief?

CHARO SANTOS nominated for Best Actress in Asian Film Awards

Ms. Charo Santos , the  lead actress of the Pinoy movie which won the Best Film in last year's Venice Film Festival, Ang Babaeng Humayo, was nominated for the Best Actress category in the 11th Asian Film Awards. The 4-hour long film of noted auteur Lav Diaz hasn't stopped making its mark. Ms. Santos should pull this off. 

The awarding ceremonies will be held in Hongkong on March 21 this year.

UNTUK SELAMANYA/ MAGPAHANGGANG WAKAS opens on January 15 at 8 PM primetime (20:00 WIB) on MNCTV Indonesia

Janjiku ( Pangako Sa'Yo) will end soon on MNCTV Indonesia & it will be replaced by another Pinoy teleserye, Magpahanggang Wakas, translated into Bahasa as Untuk Selamanya. It wil be the first of the 4 teleseryes recently acquired by MNCTV from ABSCBN. On the pipeline are Forevermore, Bridges of Love & Doble Kara.

Miss Universe 2016 Pia Wurtzbach's Final Photoshoot

4 ABSCBN Teleseryes next on MNCTV INDONESIA: Forevermore, Bridges of Love, Magpahanggang Wakas, Doble Kara

While GMA teleseryes have been very recently prominent in previously ABSCBN-dominated terrains in various parts of the world,  ABSCBN is fast developing new markets in a rather big way. 4 Abscbn teleseryes are in the pipeline for Indonesia. MNCTV, the TV station which has been airing Pangako sa yo & On The Wings of Love, has just announced it has lined-up 4 teleseryes for 2017: Bridges of Love, Magpahanggang Wakas, Doble Kara & Forevermore

The latter, Forevermore, makes the whole thing exciting. Kathniel (Daniel Padilla & Kathryn Bernardo) & Jadine (James Reid & Nadine Lustre) have already started to make their mark in Indonesia with the showing of PSY & OTWOL: let's make way for Lizquen, definitely the prettiest loveteam in Asia  right now. And they were in their prettiest in that teleserye.

Carla Abellana received her trophy in Vietnam

So Carla Abellana went to Vietnam to personally receive her Best Foreign Actress award  in the recently concluded Ngõi Sao Xanh 2016 (the Vietnamese Oscars) awarding ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City.

DOLCE AMORE is now being dubbed into Spanish?

So the hit teleserye of the hit loveteam Lizquen (Enrique Gil & Liza Soberano) is already being dubbed into Spanish in Mexico, as indicated in a directory website of dubbed telenovelas in Spanish. Nice to know Enrique & Lisa will soon grace Spanish-speaking screens. I just hope the soonest.

The Vindication of Julia Barreto

After a few fits and starts, has the moment of Julia Barreto finally  arrived?

Reports say her MMFF 2016 entry Vince and Kath and James topped the overall provincial sales (Die Beautiful topped the Manila area).

To be honest, I wasn't able to watch any of the films in the last Metro Filmfest. I tried two times  but the lines were too long I backed out each time. I'm allergic to long queues. Frankly, I'll just wait for the DVD's.

As for Julia, she definitely has managed to creep back into the game. Good maneuver, I must say. With the upsurge again of ordinary faces among the new wannabe stars, we need all the real beautiful faces to hold our interests.

FACE OF THE YEAR 2017: CARLA ABELLANA wins Best Foreign Actress in Vietnam

The streak of GMA seems to be holding up well into 2017. Marian Rivera & Dingdong Dantes won this award two years ago, Kathryn Bernardo & Daniel Padilla won it last year, and this year, it is the turn of Carla with her performance in My Destiny/ Mi Destino.

JODIAN in ICELAND: Pangako Sa'Yo/ The Promise/айна/La Promesa/ Janjiku

Pangako Sa'Yo/ The Promise/айна/La Promesa/ Janjiku has been shown in many parts of the world. Generally, to a great acclaim. But it hit a snag in its run in Peru where the notorious fake Korean "fans" surprisingly protested the showing of better-rating Pinoy teleseryes over the perennial low-rating Korean dramas (to think, they were not even pitted against each other, and worse, they were shown in the same station!). This led to the muted promotions of the teleserye which gingerly tiptoed in a wide arc around the "protests" of the supposedly  "fanatic" trolls of the rating chart bottom-dwellers.

The protagonists Ian Veneracion & Jodi Sta. Maria are spending their holidays in Iceland. Fate had it that they met & made selfies with each other and published them in their Instagram accounts.

Happy New Year everybody!

CAUTIVA/HANGGANG MAKITA KANG MULI to open in Peru's Panamericana TV

GMA was really flying high in 2016. It closes the year with the first foray abroad of its 2016 teleserye HANGGANG MAKITA KANG MULI in South America (retitled as Cautiva, Captive in Spanish). Starring Derrick Monasterio & Bea Binene, it was the story about a feral child hauled from the jungle to adapt to modern civilization by a psychology student.

It is one of the more original scripts from a recent teleserye and I was glad it was noticed immediately abroad after its recent local showing. It will replace another Pinoy teleserye, La Promesa, which will end shortly.

Merry Christmas, everyone!