Vina to be packaged as Pinay, not a Latina

But, of course, you might. How else should Vina Morales be "packaged" and/or "marketed" when she is a Filipino/Pinay (a full-blooded Cebuana) and she has never pretended to be of any other nationality (unlike some aspiring Filipino artists in the States who, in an embarrassing effort to ride on the crest of the Latin rage/popularity, try to pass themselves off as, that’s it, a Latino or a Latina, in the process turning off their Pinoy kababayan here and abroad)?

You see, when word leaked out that an Indian record producer would be releasing a compilation of Vina’s hit songs in India, somebody spread the rumor that Vina would be "packaged/marketed" out there as a Latina singer and not as Pinay.

"It’s not true," said Maristel Fernandez San Pedro, Adprom manager of OctoArts-EMI Records which has just released Vina’s new album titled Total Control. "Why should Vina pretend to be a Latina or something else when she’s a star in her own right as a Filipina artist?"

Untitled just yet, Vina’s "made for India" album will carry a dozen of her popular songs – in Tagalog – and it’s scheduled to be released before the year is over. Currently busy promoting her Total Control album, who knows, Vina might even go to India for an album-promo tour.

"I’m sure Vina will click with Indian music-lovers," added Maristel (who’s heavy with her second child), "because parang mukha siyang Bombay, di ba? Besides, her songs have a universal appeal, so the Indians will find it easy to relate to them."

The title of Vina’s new album – Total Control, that is – speaks eloquently of her present state of being. Since she broke up with Bukidnon Rep. Miguel Zubiri almost two years ago, Vina has had a few boyfriends (including a foreigner and "Mr. R") but she has refrained from getting seriously involved. There’s a rumor that Rep. Miguel is making "feelers" to her, but Vina reacted with just (an enigmatic) smile. Once is enough?

"She’s in total control of herself," said Maristel of Vina. "She has matured a lot, using her head now more than her heart."

Darlene has found her mark

From the very moment she and 24 other contestants paraded in swimsuit at the NBC Tent Saturday last week at the 2001 Mutya Ng Pilipinas Pageant, 20-year-old Darlene Carbungco was a sure winner. She had stage presence, she’s beautiful in a sexy kind of way and, as shown during the Q&A portion, she has something between her pretty ears. No wonder then that when she was announced as the winner, people at The Tent (and those at home, I’m sure) reacted with an approving applause.

Early on at The Tent, there were rumors that Darlene was the girlfriend of Pampanga Gov. Lito Lapid (who, as we all know, has a fondness for beauty queens, former Miss International Melanie Marquez having been his girlfriend with whom he has a grown-up son, Manuelito). But as the evening wore on, it became clear that Darlene’s boyfriend is a Lapid, indeed, but he’s not Lito but his 22-year-old son Mark (who once appeared in a movie with Lito).

Three days later during a radio interview, Gov. Lito revealed that Mark and Darlene have been going steady for more than two years. They met at the Angeles University where they were both enrolled. Gov. Lito was obviously very proud of his future daughter-in-law (the romance is so serious that it can end up at the altar) who just might do a movie with Lito and Mark one of these days.

Mark was at The Tent the night Darlene won the Mutya title. Was that Mark who applauded the loudest and who screamed with excitement when Darlene’s name was called as winner?

Unlike dad, unlike son

At 6’1" (and weighing 173 lbs.), 20-year-old Kevin Vernal should be at home on the fashion ramp (well, he has tried it as model for clothes by Paul Cabral, known as The Maker of Erap’s Barongs, who is among those pushing Kevin’s career). But he’d rather follow in the footsteps of his father, Ruel Vernal (best known for his role as a man caught between a mother and a daughter, played by Mona Lisa and Hilda Koronel respectively, in a slum area in the Lino Brocka classic Insiang), and his older brother Mark (a member of the ABS-CBN Talent Center’s Star Circle, now "on leave" and staying with their mom in Maryland, USA).

Kevin started in showbiz at 10 as member of the Ang TV cast. He quit showbiz for a while to concentrate on his studies (San Sebastian College, high school) and came back as a member of GMA’s Artist Center, with Wyngard Tracy as his manager. Although he’s a regular member of the cast of Bubble Gang and the Bong Revilla sitcom Idol Ko si Kap, Kevin feels that he’s not getting enough exposure. His name doesn’t even ring a little bell, does it?

Besides Ruel, Kevin must have also inherited some showbiz genes from his grandmother, Lourdes Yumul (now 90), who used to be a supporting actress.

Brutally frank, Kevin doesn’t hide the fact that he and Mark are products of a broken family, their parents (their mom is Maria Bartley, half-Spaniard, now working in Maryland as a medical secretary, buying-and-selling cars on the side) having separated when they were small.

A Pisces (born on Feb. 20, 1981), Kevin said that he isn’t like his father, although he’s grateful for pieces of advice his father constantly gives him – you know, be nice to everybody, be professional, don’t let showbiz go to your head. He’s now living alone in a townhouse in Project 6, Quezon City, given to him by his father, with only his childhood yaya as companion.

So far, he said, he has had three girlfriends, one of them Kristine Hermosa ("But nothing happened between us," said Kevin, "because I respect her." His current crush is Champagne Morales whom he finds pretty, sincere and malambing.

Kevin could be an action-drama actor like his father (whose first solo starrer, Juan Tapak, met a hitch when the Cinerama Theater burned two days after it opened, with Ruel’s dream probably going up in smoke).

"I’d rather be a comedian," said Kevin, a member of the RP Hockey Team. "Bata pa ako, talagang komedyante na ako."