Bianca as a fan

Bianca Gonzalez is one of the most-followed Pinoy celebrities on Twitter, with over two million followers. What people don’t know is that while she is idolized by a lot of people, she is also a fan of other celebrities and has the habit of randomly messaging her idols — which include Giuliana Rancic, Ryan Seacrest and Anderson Cooper — on Twitter.

One person she also follows on Twitter is Janet Hsieh, host of Discovery’s Travel and Living Channel and, in particular, host of a show called Fun Taiwan. Fun Taiwan is a travel show that takes viewers around the country to discover various “fun” spots. It recently branched out into Fun Asia, featuring different countries in the region. Bianca, who loves traveling, followed Janet on Twitter, and doesn’t know how it happened — “Maybe she clicked back and followed me or maybe na-curious siya, and was probably thinking, ‘Sino ba itong Bianca Gonzalez na ito na may more than two million followers?” is her guess — but the real surprise came when Bianca found out that Janet and her team were planning to come to the Philippines to do an episode of their show, to be called Fun Philippines.

To make a long story short, Janet wanted Bianca’s help in going around the country. “They had an itinerary, but they were the usual places featured whenever a travel show does a story on the Philippines,” says Bianca. “When she told me that ‘It’s time to prove it’s more fun in the Philippines,’ I thought, ‘Why not show a side of the Philippines that’s more fun, more young, more hip?’”

Bianca suggested that maybe she could match Janet and her team with people who could show them this more “fun, young and hip” side of the country. So she tapped people like Carlos Celdran, who took charge of the Intramuros part; celebrity foodie Erwann Heussaff, who introduced the team to Filipino food and a few of the more popular restaurants in Manila; and finally, Bianca herself — who was in charge of hangouts and fashion — spent a whole day taking Janet and her team around Bonifacio High Street, on a visit to the atelier of designer Rajo Laurel, and to the SM Mall of Asia to show them the mall culture of the country.

Political issues and tensions between the Philippines and Taiwan melted away as Janet and her team went around Manila. Janet had so much fun that after three days in the country, she had to fly back to Taiwan for work, and was met there by gloomy weather. Four days later, she flew back to the Philippines to do the Cebu and Bohol segments of the show. While she was in Taiwan, Janet messaged Bianca on Twitter and said, “I miss Manila!”

The Cebu and Bohol segments were also a lot of fun for Janet and her team. As she did in Manila, Bianca matched them up with a local who could really show them the culture these places were known for — in Cebu, Bianca had just the right person: Her former Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition batch mate, Buboy Miraviles, who is a musician based in that part of the country. But before they flew south to shoot the Cebu and Bohol segments (in Bohol, they got to see the Chocolate Hills and a tarsier for the first time), Bianca, Carlos, Erwann and Janet and her staff and crew met up for a gimik night.

The experiment was a success. The episode will be aired on the Travel and Living Channel, and Bianca is confident that true to the show’s name, it will really showcase a Fun Philippines. “We really tweaked their itinerary,” says Bianca, who felt like a production coordinator during the whole experience. “We wanted them to see that there’s so much more to this country.”

It was fun also for Bianca, who has always been a passionate traveler, recording her experiences in her blog and sharing them with her followers — and certainly, this is one amazing experience that she’ll want to remember for a long time.

Meanwhile, the spectacular Club Mwah show, which enjoyed a few months run at the Newport Performing Arts Theater (NPAT) at Resort World Manila is back at Club Mwah’s home base in Boni, Mandaluyong City. “This is in answer to the clamor of those who were not able to see the show’s grand finale,” said Pocholo Malillin, Club Mwah vice president and producer.

“Sold out kasi ang tickets, so marami ang ‘di nakapanood. It is for them that we decided to present the show in our home base.”

The fabulous Follies de Mwah was created by Cris Nicolas, president of Club Mwah, who is a performer himself. Cris conceptualized, choreographed and directed the show. In addition, he also acted as set and costume designer, lights and sound director, as well.

The Club Mwah Show has a Broadway theme in the finale — a medley of numbers from three hit stage musicals: One (from Chorus Line), Jazz Hot and I Am What I Am (from La Cage Au Follies). 

The reputation of Club Mwah as an A-1 entertainment hub has reached far and wide and audiences have included artists here and abroad. It has among its guests famous celebrities, local and foreign.

Club Mwah has received three international awards for its shows.

For inquiries, call 535-7943 and 532-2826 or mobile 0999-1784108 and look for Pocholo Malillin (executive producer).

Club Mwah Show is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. for dinner, drinks and dance (bring your dance partner). Show starts at 9:30 p.m. and ends at 11:45 p.m. After the show is party time from 12 midnight to 1 a.m.