Studio 23 and parklane team up for Cebu lifestyle show 'Beyond borders'

CEBU, Philippines - To reinforce their rebranding as the only hotel that stands for Cebu, the Cebu Parklane International Hotel came up with a television program with Studio 23 to promote Cebuano artistry. The program, called Beyond Borders, will feature Cebu products, people, culture, events, and what the Ting-owned hotel can offer to the world.

The lifestyle show will finally have its initial airing tomorrow, Wednesday, October 26 at 7 am over Studio 23 Iba Kabarkada. Replays are scheduled on Fridays, 6:30 am and Mondays, 6:00 am. A kick-off party will be held tonight at the Parklane to celebrate the show’s television debut.

Hosted by Bruce Cortes Bollozos and Jaybee Flores Aquino, Beyond Borders is actually the third season of the previous Studio 23 show titled Top Pick with Bruce Cortes Bollozos.

“But since the entry of Parklane, we decided to come up with a different title. We titled it such because we want to explore Cebu beyond the borders of Parklane. Parklane changed their branding to a hotel that stands for Cebu, so that’s where we fit in,” said Bollozos, who runs GURU Ads and Marketing Consultancy, among other ventures.

All about Cebu

Last April, Parklane officially launched their change in image as an international hotel offering true Cebuano hospitality. Modifications include tweaking their services to showcase the unique Cebuano touch, ambiance and culture.

Aquino, Beyond Borders’ main female host who is also Parklane’s Marketing Communications manager, further explained, “Although we are not an international hotel chain, we’re actually known to come up with firsts and innovative ideas. This is the first time that a Cebu hotel has partnered with a marketing consultancy, in this case, Guru Ads and Marketing. We had been participating in Bruce’s previous show. We decided to come up with this show in order to push Parklane as really being a Cebuano hotel. Aside from showing what the hotel has to offer, we also want to present what Cebu has to offer.”

She makes it clear though that they have nothing against hotels that go for the international feel and promote international cuisine. But while other hotels often banner international food festivals, Aquino said they realized that there is a lot to explore in Cebu — the cuisine, the festivals, and the people from different towns and municipalities. These are what they will be featuring in their hotel and in the lifestyle show.

“If you notice, in our lobby we now have the diorama which features all the popular destinations in our province. In each of our rooms, we’re slowly putting up picture frames of Cebu images. Each floor will have a different theme like the handicrafts of Cebu, tourists destinations and festivals. Our lobby landings have murals which depict Cebu. Then instead of the usual welcome drinks of coffee or tea, we will be giving out salabat (ginger ale tea), so that it would really speak of Cebu,” she related.

Parklane also has a new icon called “Manggo & Mangga” based on the tropical seasonal fruit that represents Cebu.

Season rundown

Beyond Borders will only be aired in Central Visayas and a small part of Northern Mindanao. Joining Bollozos and Aquino are their two female co-hosts Barbie Patiño and Kim Bigornia.

The entire season will have a total of 13 episodes.

Titled “My Cebu, Dayon Kamo”, the first episode will talk about Cebu’s past, including the time of the Japanese and American period. It will also zero in on our medical tourism, what the hosts expect the show to be by the end of the season, and of course, feature the hotel that stands for Cebu, which is Parklane.

Second episode, “PolitiKo,” will look into the intricate and intimate details of those people in power in a serious teté-a-teté. Just some of the public officials they sat down with include Lilo-an Mayor Duke Frasco, Congressman for Cebu’s fourth district Benhur Salimbangon, Sangguniang Kabataan chair of Mandaue Joko Dinsay, and Mandaue’s first lady Sarah Cortes.

After the politicos, taking the spotlight on the third episode “Oy, Cebuano!” are young and rising artists who not only scream Cebuano but share it with the rest of the world through their selected medium of art. A few featured guests are Mandauehanon Luigi Seno who was a finalist in America’s Got Talent and musical prodigy Ryan Cordero.

Young taipans in-the-making will get down and dirty behind the scenes with Cebu’s noted rising industry leaders in the fourth episode, “Ako ba?”

Parklane will then celebrate their fifth anniversary in episode five’s “Awaken Your Five Senses.” In the sixth episode’s “Amigas/Amigos,” the hosts rub elbows with high-profile best friends who not only complement each other but also give back so much to society.

Episode seven’s “Pista! Pista!” will explore the various but little known festivals held in our towns and municipalities, while episode eight will have the much-awaited “Sangka sa Kaha” or Parklane’s own version of the Chef Wars, where selected traditional cooks in the province battle Parklane chefs to come up with the best authentic Cebuano cuisine.

The ninth episode “Design and Cebu” will direct its attention to the world-class talent of our local designers from the classical designs of Cary Santiago to the art-nouveau stylings of Very Mary.

In time for the Christmas holidays, episode ten will investigate how Cebuanos celebrate Christmas in "Pasko sa Probinsya sa Sugbo." Meanwhile, episode eleven, "Mao na ni!" presents Cebu's best in party-making and the array of choices we have for holding events.

The second to last episode, “Isla Sugbu”, will be a feast for the eyes as the crew head to undiscovered places in Cebu that will soon be making waves. Finally, the season ender “Sinulog,” will delve into how this festival of all festivals became the country’s greatest festival of all time.

Rich history

Bollozos and Aquino agreed in unison that they discovered a lot about Cebu in the course of taping their episodes. Similarly, they hope viewers will also benefit from these not widely known knowledge about their own province and gain new-found appreciation for our rich history.

Bollozos, a Broadcast Media graduate from the University of San Jose - Recoletos, shared, “We’ve learned plenty not just about people but the places we’ve explored. We’ve also learned a lot about Cebu’s history. We interviewed public historian Gavin Bagares in one episode and he taught us so many things that our textbooks failed to teach us during our elementary and high school years. So through that, we came to love our past and be inspired to preserve it.”

“We make sure that the topics would interest Cebuanos and reflect the essence of Parklane,” he added.

One other thing that the audience should watch out for is the show’s watch-and-win promo, which is Beyond Borders’ way of giving back to its viewers. All they have to do is tune in, answer an episode’s featured questions, and they will get the chance to win prizes from Parklane such as overnight stays, buffet gift certificates and others. (FREEMAN)