The rise of Rayver Cruz

He was interrupted thrice when we were having lunch at the Mandarin restaurant of Gaisano Country Mall last week because he had to wave at the college girls who stood in front of the glass wall before us, waiting to be recognized. Prior to that, a handful of women blocked his way to have their pictures taken with him. If these are not manifestations of his going strong and bankable star power, I don't know what those were. All I am certain of is that Rayver Cruz, the most popular member of the all-boy sing and dance group Anime, has finally arrived to claim his place in the glamorous yet pretentious entertainment world.

Standing tall at 5'10 ½" and going on 16 this July 20, it's hard not to notice this boy who has mestizo features. He has yet to gain muscles and tone his body but when the right time comes, Rayver could surely be leading man material. Why not? He has the look of an innocent boy and yet whose set of eyes conveys maturity. And when asked about his future plans, without batting an eyelash he'd answer that he plans to establish a business built upon a capital that comes from his stint in showbiz.

His smile prods you to tell yourself that "he is the one I wanna bring home to mama." Believe me because I had the chance to join him in a lunch (he fancies Chinese lumpia!) with his gracious host, Mommy Rose Gaisano, during one sunny Friday. In fact, not only the girls from the nearby medical school were starstruck but the boys as well. That was how magnetic Rayver's appeal is.

He was in Cebu that day for the first raffle draw of Gaisano Main and Country Mall's "Shop for a Scholarship" promo. I did not make it to the show but I was told that the two venues were swamped with fans who could not help but scream at the graceful moves of Rayver in his dance performances. Not surprising because Rayver and the rest of the promising male young stars of Anime take on the dancefloor in ABS-CBN's "ASAP '05" every Sunday.

Apart from the star quality, he has the showbiz lineage to boot. Real name Raymond Oliver, Rayver is the first cousin of Sheryl Cruz, his mother being the sister of the late Ricky Belmonte. It was the latter who encouraged him to join showbiz and eventually had his debut in GMA-7's now-defunct sitcom "Kiss Muna" when he was only nine years old, sharing the spotlight with Joey de Leon, Elizabeth Oropresa, Jomari Yllana, Ara Mina, among others. After a year, he became a favorite guest star in ABS-CBN's fairytale-adventure show "Wansapanataym." Several appearances in other shows of the network after, he was finally welcomed into the Kapamilya's stable of stars. But it was only two years ago when Rayver's star began to shine via the creation of Anime.

It was through Anime that he got to star in the popular youth-oriented series "Spirits" that concluded recently but is expected to have a book two. In that show, he got entangled in a love triangle with Maja Salvador and fellow Anime John Wayne Sace, tickling the fancy of fans. Televiewers seemed to favor a Maja-Rayver love team, while Star Magic was reportedly bent on capitalizing on the love triangle. Then everything suddenly changed - the Maja-Rayver tandem fell through.

Word has it that Star Magic has decided to pair Rayver with Shaina Magdayao and if things would not change, he would soon join the sterling cast of the soap opera "Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin." With him out of the triangle, what remains in the picture is the Maja-John Wayne love team. But the trio share hosting duties in "Nginig" for the whole month of July. Unknown to him, the mere mention of his name would unmistakably excite and thrill Maja, whom I interviewed before.

So what is the real score between you and Maja Salvador? "Friends lang talaga kami. Close friends lang kami as in the whole gang in Spirits magkabarkada lang. Si Maja naman is a very sweet girl so, close kami," he reasoned out. It sounded so showbizy, but I believe him nonetheless.

Getting to where he is now was no walk in the park. He said that it was his childhood dream to join showbiz, fascinated as he is with the notion of acting on television. But the training he has been through, especially when he became part of Anime, has never been easy, going through never-ending rounds of extensive, thorough, and constant voice and dance lessons. The Kapamilya bigwigs are banking on them a lot after the short-lived exposures of several all-male groups that preceded them such as JCS (John Pratts, Carlo Aquino and Stephano Morri) and Koolits (Baron Geisler, Mark Solis and John Lloyd Cruz). Should their lucky streak continue, the boys of Anime could very well become the next "The Hunks."

Rayver claimed that he has no girlfriend (or maybe he was just playing it safe). But later on he explained that "18 talaga ang right age to have a girlfriend. So ngayon trabaho muna." If that is the case it would still be two years from now before we could probably see him cuddle up with his ideal girl who should be "mabait, down-to-earth and understanding." Could it be Maja after all? His short response was "Who knows?" He has, however, a big crush on Kristine Hermosa whom he described as irresistibly beautiful. But he was quick to stress that was before Kristine lost weight.

Rayver is now on his senior year in high school. His hectic schedule lately forced him to enroll in a home study program. "Gusto kong kumuha ng kursong management. Gusto ko rin maging piloto kasi ang sarap lumipad," he revealed when asked about his plans after high school.

Rayver could be playing it safe when it comes to matters of the heart, a common thing among showbiz denizens. But I greatly admire his focus, a trace of which surfaced when he kept on reiterating he would work doubly hard to be able to build his own business - his fallback when he is no longer the toast of the industry. At the tender age of 16, he is lucky and wise enough to have understood that stars come and go that it is better for him to be prepared than to be caught off guard. Tell me: how many young stars out there who have the same outlook as him? I know if he couples his looks, height and talent with the right attitude - be it in his personal life or profession - there is no other way but up for Rayver.

* * *

I have no plans of changing my stand on the Cebuano-dubbed GMA-7 shows. Again, I like what is happening because people from imperial Manila are beginning to realize that they can't do things alone so they have to solicit our support and influence if only to make their endeavors succeed. And one way of doing so is by dubbing shows in Cebuano. GMA 7 insiders have also told me that the shows are so far doing well in the rural communities.

In the name of fairness, however, I'm printing this text message from an obviously piqued Cebuana who wishes not to be identified. "Sus di na jud nako ma-take. Gisapot na jud ko. Imagine hasta ang sitcoms dubbed in Cebuano na lain raba kaayo ang pronunciation, intonation, et cetera. It's an insult to Cebuanos. Unsa mana sila, abi nila dili kasabot og tagalog ang mga bisaya? Paet!"

React@[email protected] or at 09286252596.