Julia Barretto: Your new down-to-earth BFF in showbiz

MANILA, Philippines - For somebody who has just one product endorsement, one magazine cover and an upcoming show that no one is allowed to talk about yet, there seems to be a disproportionate amount of fuss surrounding 16-year-old actress Julia Barretto. Maybe it’s because we’re tired of the same faces we keep plastering on everything and as her new product endorsement connotes, she’s pure and fresh, and companies, publications and matinee idols can’t wait to stake their claim on her. This must be the case because it took us nearly a month to book her for YStyle. Between all the tapings, shoots, press conferences and whatever it is artistas do, in the end, her team could only lend her to us for three hours — including hair and makeup. We take what we can get. We know a hot commodity when we see it. And to Julia’s credit, she made those three hours worth our while.

With this being her second crack at showbiz (she first broke in at 11, but took a break for school at her mother’s urging), Julia works the room like a pro, but not arrogantly so, as I’ve seen with other actresses. If anything, she’s extremely gracious, as if aware that apart from being “another Barretto,” she hasn’t really done anything yet to merit all this attention. As she enters the suite her team had booked for the shoot, she immediately brings out the big guns — those dimples. The day after our shoot, I would witness her pulling this same stunt in front of a crowd going wild in Abreeza Mall in Davao.

She personally greets everyone with a kiss on the cheek, bringing us as close as we can get to that famed Barretto complexion, which, unsurprisingly, saves us on prep time because makeup artist Pong Niu hardly has to cake any foundation on. Her past life as a tween actress also makes photographer Tammy David’s job much easier, since she already knew her angles. The girl could not take a bad photo. We actually had a lot more trouble directing the “J” balloon she held than we did with her. Then again, she looked good from any angle — even while stuffing her face with pizza — so once again, we could probably chalk it up to a genetic thing.

However, she did seem to be afflicted with the same feeling of unsureness that most teenage girls have. There were times when she admitted to feeling a bit awkward and silly during the shoot. Apparently she isn’t immune to feeling embarrassed in front of a room full of people while pretending to act surprised for a shot. She answers questions like my teenage niece would: brief, airy, hesitant, yet without pretense. It takes a little prodding from myself, her handler, even her stylists for her to expound on certain topics.

She doesn’t need any prompting, however, when I ask about the kinds of roles she wants to play (“I think I just really want to be able to explore and take on different roles.”) and how she’s dealing with the embarrassing display of mud-slinging amongst her family members. She takes a deep breath and says, “I try my best not to pay attention to it because it just brings negativity and I’ve been so happy and blessed with so many projects and endorsements, so I don’t wanna really think about that now. I just prefer to stay positive and focus on the good things that are happening.” It’s an answer that she’s rehearsed before, I’m sure, in her mind and in front of prying journalists like myself. It’s a thoughtful response and it doesn’t feel like she’s acting (although that runs in the family too, obvi).

Perhaps the reason why everybody is curious about her, why everybody wants a piece of her, is we’re curious about how she’s going to turn out. With the track records of her aunts, the Barretto name has come to mean both beauty and, sadly, scandal. In terms of looks, she looks like a softer Gretchen back when she was a bright, young thing herself. When it comes to her career, however, Julia and everyone in her team have made it clear that she basing her choices on her tita Claudine’s early breaks, though the latter has yet to give any advice on how to be crowned a “teleserye princess.” On one hand, we’d like to believe that Julia has learned from the mistakes of her family and will proactively create her own template. On the other, there is that sinking suspicion that along with being a blessing, the Barretto name is already cursed.

But that’s really nega, to be honest, and a long, long way off. For now, she’s a sweet 16-year-old who pouts when she accidentally lets go of the “J” balloon while we shoot in the street. Though we already got our shot, for a second, there is genuine sadness in her eyes as she watches the golden “J” that we promised she could take home float beyond her reach. Briefly, its ascent is obstructed by a nearby tree, but eventually, it slips past the tangle of branches and floats higher and away.

A few of Julia’s favorite things:

Vacation spot: Boracay

Drink: Orange juice

Food: Pizza! The Classic Cheese from Shakey’s. And spaghetti and pancakes from Pancake House.

Place to hang out: The Fort. Anywhere in The Fort because it’s clean there and the weather’s nice.

Subject in school: English

Favorite book: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Favorite movie: The Vow

Websites: Twitter and TheGolden-Diamonds.com. She’s a blogger. Her style is very classy.

Childhood toy: My Barney toys

Gadget: iPhone

Designer: Um... Edwin Tan!

Brands: Topshop and Zara. The last thing I bought was clothes from there.

Wardrobe piece: My white Topshop dress.

Colors: Purple, black and white.

Style icons: I like Vanessa Hudgens’ and Miley Cyrus’s style. They’re very edgy, but I also like girly things.

Person: My mom. In every way — I always want to be good and be a better person because of her.

Photos by TAMMY DAVID

Makeup by PONG NIU for MAC cosmetics

Hair by JAY AQUINO

Shot at THE PICASSO BOUTIQUE SERVICED  RESIDENCES (828-4774)

Assited by NICOLE CEBALLOS and PATTY ANDAMO