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Apat na ang naging show ng binatang ito sa Kapuso Network, pero saan nga ba siya nanggaling at paano siya naging artista? Read and find out!
Apat na ang naging show ni Victor Aliwalas, one of which was a series he could call his own. Pero saan nga ba nanggaling si Victor at paano siya naging artista? Text and photos by Jason John S. Lim. Victor Aliwalas came to the Philippines in August of 2007 para lang magbakasyon. Prior to that, Victor's only exposure to entertaining people is the one time na nag-model siya ng barong for his Filipino community in the States. So from just vacationing sa Pilipinas, paano napunta si Victor sa mundo ng show business? "My parents, they're part of a Fil-Am association back in the States, and we organize a lot of events there," kuwento niya. "One of the [events] was a fashion show, and my mom [told me they] need models for barongs." For Victor, wala naman daw kaso sa kanyang mag-model. "[But] the designer said, 'If you were in the Philippines, you can be a model or an artista.' But I thought they're just making bola." That designer kept in touch with his family, Victor shares, being a family friend, "[and] we always order dresses from them." The designer friend told him that if ever he goes to the Philippines for a visit, to get in touch with him for photo shoots or runway shows. And so in August of 2007, nang bumisita ang pamilya ni Victor sa Pilipinas, his sister reminded him of this. "My sister was like, 'We have a free day!' on the tail-end of our trip." And she was the one to push him to do a photo shoot, just for fun. "I did the photo shoot, [and] my niece here works in an advertising firm, so she knows one of the modeling agencies. She e-mailed my pictures sa isang agent. He seemed interested, started giving me offers for projects, so I extended my stay [in the country] and took another leave of absence." That agent was the one who introduced Victor to Ida Henares, head of GMA Artist Center. "Biro mo [from] August to December 2007, tapos I went home for Christmas. I had no intentions of going back here, and then I got an email from Artist Center and the project manager of MariMar. Sabi nila, 'We want to cast you for a role opposite Dingdong [Dantes] and Marian [Rivera].'" Victor reveals that he didn't know what to do at first. "It was only a few days before Christmas and nagulat ako. I was just at home relaxing and then I showed my dad the email and he was, 'Ikaw, ikaw ang bahala. I mean you're done with school, you have experience. We're here to support you, if you want to try it.'" "My family's very supportive so I'm thankful," Victor shares. He says na masaya sila about his celebrity status dito sa Pilipinas, and sila pa mismo ang nag-eencourage sa kanya to just give the showbiz life a try. "They said, 'You can always go back to the office. You're still young, just do whatever makes you feel happy.' So I gave it a shot." Inamin ni Victor na if the feedback sa MariMar hadn't been mostly positive, he would've given up on his showbiz career thenand there. "I got lucky, because the feedback from the fans were good. And I was happy that GMA really had faith in me." And that's especially because Victor really doesn't have any acting abilities before his appearance sa MariMar: "It's very new for me. Mahirap talaga kasi I didn't know the process, you know, the sequences and everything—lahat bago. You just get thrown into it, but I like learning that way. Mas maganda kung ganoon kasi learning from experience. "Siyempre I appreciate reading and learning from books, but to really experience acting, I guess you just really have to be thrown in it." Matapos ang Gaano Kadalas ang Minsan, Victor has laid low sa shows, with guestings from time to time. Pero, ayon sa binata, he was supposed to be part of the Gagambino cast, but he was out of the country for the holidays nung mga time na 'yun. "When the program manager called me na come back to the Philippines, lahat ng flights puno!" kuwento ni Victor. He kept calling the airline companies para makakuha ng flight back to the country, "[pero] lahat talaga puno, kasi everyone was coming back." The role went out to someone else, and nanghinayang si Victor. "But everything happens for a reason, so I guess it was not meant to be." Pero Victor doesn't have to wait anymore—and neither do you. This May, may bago nang show na lalabasan si Victor, and he's part of a cast na talaga namang bigatin when it comes to acting! Bukod pa diyan, he'll also be appearing as a boxing champion sa Totoy Bato. Abangan.