GAVIOLA. Innate grace and dignity.
This year’s “Pinoy Big Brother” got off to an “orig” start some weeks ago with its first leg being shot in Vietnam, and focusing on “celebrity” players. Only a few of them survived the leg, and the main section now more “traditionally” unreeling in Manila is focusing on new, teen hopefuls. How are they shaping up?
This early, the standouts include more girls than boys. The big “surprise” inclusion is 13-year-old Rita Gaviola (“Badjao Girl”), who shot to social media fame when she was shown begging for alms at a festival.
What made her stand out was the fact that, she may be poor, but she looks “ethnically” striking and even svelte, and has an innate grace and dignity about her.
Yes, she isn’t tisay like most other discoveries, but her back story makes her unique and special. She could end up “empathetically” getting the most votes.
Another nontisay standout is May May Entrata, who’s tall and even lanky, a probinsyana through and through—but, not simperingly shy—and even funny!
That’s her claim to fame, and she’s such a natural cut-up that she could end up fighting for the tilt’s top female plum with Rita.
Which is not to say that the tilt’s outcome is a done deal, because the other girls also have their own plus factors and reasons to remain in contention. Many of them are fresh and tisay-pretty, which is what many local viewers prefer. And they go by cute and novel names like Heaven, Kisses and Vivoree!
A sidelight: Vivoree Exclito is “different” in her own right because she’s balbon and sports light fuzz above her upper lip. She used to get razzed and bullied for this at school—but, on “PBB,” it’s turned out to be a plus factor, because it gives her a unique cachet.
Also relevant in this instance is the fact that some Filipino males think that balbon girls are “sensuously” attractive.
The positive point to all this is that Vivoree’s “situation” (not predicament) has led to the issue of bullying being discussed on the show, so young viewers are being enlightened and dissuaded from harassing other kids, just because they’re “different.”
This also comes to bear on Rita and May May, who are unique in their own ways—and that’s all to the good!
In fact, the “extra” attention that Rita, Vivoree and May May are getting could end up making the “expectedly and traditionally” tisay-lovely girls in the tilt feel insecure—because, this time around, the focus is not on them. So, they have to try harder to “prove” that they have more than exceptional tisay beauty going for them, to remain in serious contention.
Well, it’s still early days for the ongoing “PBB” edition, so they can still make their winsome and winning mark.
As for the current female standouts, they could inadvertently stumble along the way and lose favor with some viewers—so they definitely can’t take their unique appeal for granted.