This video, courtesy of Pinoy Rickey, shows a Starstruck episode aired two weeks ago where Paulo Avelino was asked about his seeming lack of pride in his Igorot roots — in Lorna Tolentino’s words, “hindi niya ipinagmamalaki na siya ay half-Igorot.” Whether this is true or not is something we do not know but he must have given that impression otherwise the issue would not have been raised in the TV program itself. Paulo’s answer wasn’t very straightforward. But in fairness to him, Lorna’s question was also confusing. The Lorna-Paulo exchange is in the middle of the video. This was also an episode where Paulo was nearly eliminated, as you will see towards the end of the video.

This video is an apt example of our (as well as a commenter’s) earlier point that Igorots just do not get easily starstruck with celebrities. Baguio/Makati boy Paulo Lingbanan Avelino (his mom is from Sagada, Bauko, and Bontoc and his dad is from Samar) — a contestant in GMA-7’s Starstruck — recently campaigned for text votes in Baguio and, compared to his fellow contestants, his supporters are not too many and they are kind of reserved too. Paulo’s segment is right in the middle of the video.

Continue reading Will Igorots Be Starstruck With Paulo Avelino? →