Van Roxas: Ready for the spotlight

The change of name could just be the start of the bright future prepared for this Cebuano scholar. When he first entered Pinoy Dream Academy, he was Van Pojas. Weeks later, he came out of the Academy with a brand-new screen name: Van Roxas.

His manager Mario Colmenares says that it was a decision made by the ABS-CBN management. ABS-CBN believed that people can easily remember Van if his family name is easier to pronounce.

“Ang Pojas man gud, murag mahunong imong dila. Ang Roxas kay diritso na gani,” Colmenares explains.

Pojas or Roxas, it doesn’t really matter much to Van. He’s fine with the name change, although at first he thought that it was only the first letter of his family name that would be altered, making it Rojas. Nevertheless, he says that as long as his family has no objection to it, he trusts the management with the decision.

He may haven’t come out as the Grand Star Dreamer of the second season of the reality singing search, but just by being part of the Top 6 scholars, Cebuano bet Van Roxas feels more than contented.

“Okay na kaayo ko na ma-part lang sa Top 6. Contented nako kay ma-part lang sa Top 6, daghan naman mi activities ana like mall tours, ASAP ug album. Happy ra ko,” Van beams.

For now, Colmenares confirmed that a lot of plans and projects have already been laid out for Van’s budding career, but everything is still under negotiation.

“Daghan plans ang ABS-CBN management para ni Van. But karon, unahon sa gyud namo ang pag-release sa iyang solo album,” he stresses.

Van is open to the idea of acting and modeling. But he admits he has to learn the craft first. As of now, singing is his main focus.

“Ug billboards pud. Kana, endorsements. Gusto ko ana. Dream jud ko na,” Van adds.

Even inside the academy, the mentors have always pointed out that Van has the makings of a star. PDA mentor, director Joey Reyes, kept on stating, especially during his performances, that his looks and appeal will inevitably bring him to stardom.

Van does feel good whenever he receives these comments but isn’t always that comfortable with them.

“Nisulod gud ko sa Academy tungod sa akong tingog, dili tungod sa akong nawng. Ganahan ko makasulti sila na nindot jud ko og tingog,” Van defends. 

After weeks of training, Van can attest how well he has improved with his singing.

He says that he did learn a lot from his mentors. Performance-wise, he has greatly improved. That is why, if there are things he could never forget in the Academy, it would be the lessons he gleaned from his mentors.

“Priceless ang ilang mga gitudlo. Mga Ms. Kitchie Molina ug Sir Ryan Cayabyab na gud na. Sa una pataka lang gyud ko og kanta, mao na magkunot akong agtang. Dili ko mag-amping sa akong tingog,” Van enumerates his bad habits corrected inside the Academy like stiff facial muscles and bad muscle memory.

He also learned more about “stage presence, focus, confidence and sensuality.”

Moreover, the friendship he had created with his co-scholars made his experience worthwhile.

Fresh and so young, this 18-year-old is just starting and yet, he’s already faced with a lot of challenges.

First up is his difficulty with his Tagalog diction. Evident inside the academy, Van says that during his first week, he had a hard time expressing himself. However, as weeks passed, he has had learned to cope up and get used to speaking in Tagalog.

“Pero siyempre, dili gyud nako kalimtan mag-Bisaya. Usahay gani maglibog na ko kay masagul nako,” Van admits with a laugh.  

Second on the list is his studies. Van was a second year Physical Therapy student in Cebu Doctors University before he entered Pinoy Dream Academy. Now that he is in showbiz, Van has to stop temporarily, but has no plans of changing course.

“Dili mada kung idungan. Ganahan baya ko moskwela. Pero samtang init pa mi karon, showbiz sa. But if mag-home study, basin kaya,” Van explains.

Well, Van is aware that he has a lot of sacrifices to make, like his love life (he and his girlfriend are still going strong) in order to pursue his dreams. After all, he didn’t actually think that he will reach this far.

When he joined PDA, he had always thought he was the first one to get expelled. Instead, he ended up being part of the Top 3 star scholars on his first week, which motivated him to really work hard for his passion, for his family and for his supporters. And now, Van Roxas is on his way to the top.

Change of name is just the first highlight of his promising show business career. There are more to come.

As Van simply puts it, “Expect more.”