The Macho Men of Mercator

Mer.ca.tor, adj (ca. 1758): of, relating to, or drawn on the Mercator projection…Mercator projection, n, [Gerardus Mercator] (ca. 1881): a conformal map projection of which the meridians are usually drawn parallel to each other and the parallels of latitude are straight lines whose distance from each other increases with their distance from the equator.

I guess that you, too, is finding it hard to decipher the word Mercator (and its derivative) even with that definition by Merriam Webster. But it’s easy to understand why talent manager Jonas Gaffud called his agency Mercator because he finished B.S. Geography from UP (Diliman).

In a sense, Jonas is an “anthropologist” who can spot star material from a mile away. And what a good harvest Mercator (Artist and Model Management) has made in the past seven years!

Miss Universe-Philippines Venus Raj, a Mercator talent, has already written about her female colleagues at the agency in her Major, Major column in The STAR. Here now is the honor roll of Mercator’s Macho Men:

• Mikael Daez — He’s the “executive” leisurely enjoying a burger at his desk in a fast food ad and is now seen as Lumad, an uripon, in Amaya, the GMA 7’s hit series starring Marian Rivera. Mikael is also in the cast of the remade Temptation Island.

• JC Tiuseco — The first Filipino Survivor has gone a long way (well, almost!) in his career, hosting a TV show (X-Life) and playing Ahmed in GMA’s Sisid (with Jackie Rice as female lead). 

• Victor Basa — He was in the cast of the just-concluded TV5 soap Nagbabagang Bulaklak and is now in Bangis, also on TV5. Victor continues his hosting stints at events and guest appearances in provincial sorties.

• Ervic Vijandre — A La Salle varsity player (and reported to be Marian Rivera’s former boyfriend), he started as a commercial model and was introduced to showbiz as a finalist in Survivor Celebrity Edition. He plays Kidlat in Captain Barbell.

• Ian Batherson — A StarStruck 5 discovery, he graduated to a “higher level” as a finalist in Survivor Celebrity Edition. He plays rich boy Dexter in Sisid.

• Fabio Ide — He’s the first Brazilian-Japanese (Brapanese) model to make it big in the Philippines, with a growing list of shows that includes Yaman ni Lola and Tweetbiz (both defunct and on GMA News TV-11).), Comedy Bar (with Eugene Domingo and Allan K) and Andres de Saya (with Cesar Montano and Iza Calzado).

• Daniel Matsunaga — No, his claim to fame is more than just being the boyfriend of Heart Evangelista. Also a Brapanese, Daniel has appeared in GMA shows like The Last Prince, Grazilda, Langit sa Piling Mo and Lovebug; and is currently playing the gorgeous athlete Raphae in Footbulilits.

• Hideo Muraoka — He has graced the billboard for an underwear and is an endorser of a major department store. One of Manila’s in-demand models, he’s gradually venturing into showbiz.

• Akihiro Sato — He sang off-key in Celebrity Duets but who cared? What mattered was that he was cute and cuddly, widely applauded when he emerged winner in Survivor Celebrity Edition. A sought-after endorser, Akihiro plays opposite Michelle Madrigal in Captain Barbell.

• Kerbi Zamora — He has appeared in a few TV shows and indie films including Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington which was screened at the just-concluded 2011 Cinemalaya and will be shown in commercial theaters starting Aug. 30. 

JC, Ervic, Daniel, Fabio and Ian were recently launched as “Regal’s Desirable Men.” 

Other talents under the Mercator wings are Lemuel Pelayo, Bjorn Aguilar and Alizon Andres are now taping for a new ABS-CBN teleserye (untitled just yet).

Waiting on the launching pad are Geron Lontoc, John Victor Susim, Benjamin Bolivar and Gerard Sison (from Australia, who decided to stay in the country to pursue a hosting career).  

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