Super Hit

The cast of "Super Inggo," led by the multi-talented child actor Makisig Morales, swung by Gaisano Mactan yesterday afternoon.

The cheers that erupted when we arrived by way of a tinted van (for once, we felt like certified celebrities after the audience mistook us for the cast); the trivia questions about the show perfected by the audience; and the sight of children, children and more children, gave us a concrete idea of how much of a hit the show has become here in Cebu.

For those clueless of the primetime TV series on ABS-CBN, "Super Inggo" is a drama-love story-fantasy teleserye whose central character is a 10-year-old superhero, portrayed by Makisig.

Anyhow, the Cebu press in attendance unanimously agreed that Makisig Morales is a child wonder-even without superpowers. He can sing, dance, and tease the crowd effortlessly. He's such a natural that we all hoped for the best for this boy, discovered via "Little Big Star"-and pray, he won't be part of the statistics of child actors who, somewhere along the transition to adulthood, got damaged by the pressure of showbiz and sometimes by aggressive parents themselves.

Makisig was joined by kiddie co-stars Andrew Muhlach ("Amazing Teg"), Jarius Aquino ("Pareng Jomar"), Joshua Dionisio ("Mighty Ken"), Jacob Dionisio ("Bad boy"), Kathryn Bernardo ("Maya"), plus the "adults" Mark Anthony Fernandez and Kaye Abad.

The kids really carried out their repeated performances with the seriousness of grown-ups. But then, for one fleeting yet delightful moment, they were sidetracked onstage as they jointly looked up into the sky, with nothing but pure wonder on their faces, at a red balloon that had gone loose and had flown up, up and away.

Ah, kids would always be kids.