Is Kim ready for showbiz?

Curtain-raisers:

• Out of jail, out of Sunday Pinasaya. Comedian Atak (photo) is out on bail after he was jailed for an “act of lasciviousness” filed against him by a 20-year-old bellboy of Okada Hotel where Atak checked in immediately after arriving from Bacolod. GMA management is mum on the matter but an unimpeachable Funfare source said that Atak has been (or will be) suspended from the network’s Sunday Pinasaya show. Ironically, Atak is in the cast of The Barker, starring Empoy Marquez, where in some scenes Atak is shown groping male passengers.
• Heads will soon roll when a top-rating show will be reformatted. The producer thinks that the show is “over-populated” with hosts, all of whom will have to go. Only one “beautiful” host will remain, with another “beautiful” co-host to be hired as replacement for the “going, going, gone” hosts.
• Charity Diva Token Lizares (photo) has turned over P3.394 million from her Awit sa Marawi fund-raising concert to the AFP Morale & Welfare Division for distribution among KIA (Killed In Action) soldiers and Wounded-In-Action (WIA) soldiers. According to Token, some P1.105 million is to be personally handed to Marawi soldiers. Congrats, Token. Keep up the good work!

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It’s not unusual for athletes (especially award winners) to venture into showbiz, many of them from basketball including former Senators Freddie Webb and Bobby Jaworski; Francis Arnaiz (now a preacher in the US); Bong Alvarez; Jerry Codiñera; Alvin Patrimonio; Atoy Co and Philip Cezar (who held elective government positions); Chris Tiu (now hosting the GMA show iBILIB); and Joey Marquez, Jimmy Santos, Benjie Paras who excel in comedy. Even boxing greats (the late) Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, Manny Pacquiao, Anthony Villanueva and Onyok Velasco have tried acting.

So if and when Kim Mangrobang would be enticed into following in their footsteps, she would be in good company, along with several other Kims in the field (Kim Atienza, Kim Chiu, Kim Domingo, Kim Rodriguez, Kim Idol, et al).  

Rachel Alejandro on the red carpet at the opening ceremonies of the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) where her film Ang Larawan is competing in the Asian Future Film category. Right: With Girlie Rodis, co-producer of the movie, and also her manager.

Last August, at the SEA Games, Kim graced the blue pavement on the final stretch of the grueling triathlon trail, as a big fan described it, “taking the last few steps across the arch, her steps sure, her victory certain. Upon crossing the finish line, she draped the Philippine flag on her back to the cheers of the crowd as she claimed her new throne: Queen of Philippine triathlon.”

The 26-year-old SEA Games gold medalist is unassuming. The big fan waxes superlatives as she added, “She is a definite head-turner. Her skin is the quintessential kayumanggi. Her round eyes complement her slender nose and inviting smile, emphasized all the more by her pulled-back hair. Her shoulders, wide and strong with all the training, are softened by her gentle curves.”

Dead set on conquering her 2020 Olympic dream, Kim may not try (just yet) showbiz since she’s focused on training for the 2019 qualifiers with renowned Portuguese coach Sergio Santos in Rio Major, an Olympic training center in Portugal. On her second year at the School of Fashion & The Arts, Kim quit school, and sacrificed time with family, to devote heart and soul to the training.

“I am overwhelmed by the support I’ve been getting since winning gold in the SEA games,” said Kim. “I have been working hard to get this far, and it only inspires me to push harder for the next competition. Whenever I compete overseas, Filipinos there would always cheer for me. That warms my heart. It’s always a nice feeling to know who you are competing for. It always drives me to give it everything I’ve got.”

 She trains seven days a week and competes in six to eight major races every year, mostly abroad. On top of her hectic schedule, she even makes time to join fun-runs.

“I make it a point to compete overseas because that’s where I can gauge the skill level of athletes I have to contend with come the Olympics,” said Kim, currently ranked 153rd in the International Triathlon Union (ITU).

Larawan star Rachel Alejandro walks the red carpet at Tokyo Fest

Rachel Alejandro and Girlie Rodis waved the Philippine flag proudly at the opening ceremonies of the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), as delegates of their film Ang Larawan, a musical based on Nick Joaquin’s three-act play A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. Rachel plays the iconic role of Paula, Joanna Ampil as Candida and Paulo Avelino as Tony Javier. Rachel is co-executive producer of the film with Celeste Legaspi and Girlie.

Rachel and Girlie made it to the Red Carpet and the opening ceremonies, but Celeste and her family missed the call time. A finalist for the Asian Future Film category, Larawan will have its world premiere on Oct. 30 to 31.

“So there we were, Tita Girlie and I on a rainy day with puddles of water everywhere, dragging the train of my Francis Libiran red terno, trying unsuccessfully not to get it wet and muddy,” Rachel told Funfare. “In my five-inch heels, doing my best not to slip and fall, I thought the popular hashtag #thestruggleisreal was so fitting in our situation at that moment! Natawa na lang ako.”

Regardless of the minor inconveniences, Rachel and company were excited to make their very first international festival Red Carpet walk.

Added Rachel, “I guess for other Philippine movie industry players who have been to these things many times, this was just another day in the life. But not for us! We savored the moment and took everything in. We did not only feel national pride. We were in every fiber of our beings and inch of my modern Filipiniana attire. We waved to the crowd like beauty queens. Why not? Hahahaha!!! Another reason to rejoice is that we found out that tickets to our two screenings were sold out.”

Oliver Tolentino holds charity gala in Sanfo

Hollywood-based Filipino designer Oliver Tolentino (photo) has been tapped by the Philippine International Aid (PIA) charity organization to be the featured designer at its Giving Hope to the Children 2017 charity luncheon and fashion show in San Francisco, California. He will showcase a 60-piece gala collection in front of 900 guests at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Grand Ballroom on Nov. 19.

PIA is on its 31st year and has helped over 50,000 disadvantaged children in the Philippines and San Francisco area. PIA was founded by Mona Lisa Yuchengco, who serves as its chairwoman. This year’s major sponsors are Philippine Airlines and Cora & Pablo Tellez. PIA’s Giving Hope event is the largest and most anticipated in the Bay Area Filipino community each year.

Oliver is a past ABS-CBN Samsung MetroWear Icon and the only Filipino couture designer with boutiques in the US and Philippines, with one in Beverly Hills and Makati, respectively.

(If you plan to be in the Bay Area at that time, tickets are available at www.phil-aid.org for $150 per person.)

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)