Body Talk with Little Brother Rico

Up to now, followers of the ABS-CBN reality-TV show Pinoy Big Brother can’t figure out why Rico Barrera, who became an overnight Pantasya ng Bayan because of his easy smile and cuddlesome looks, was the first to be booted out of Big Brother’s house where he and 11 others were tested for endurance and survival instinct without seeing the outside world for 100 days.

He has become so familiar in so short a time that now, when you say Rico, you don’t mean Puno or Blanco. People know who you mean – Little Brother Rico. In fact, when he showed up for this pictorial at the poolside of the Imperial Palace Suites (Timog-Morato Rotunda, Quezon City), everyone he passed by, from the hotel staff to the guests to the onlookers/passers-by, was calling his name as if he was their long-lost friend/relative.

So why did Big Brother tap him to be the first PBB "graduate"?

Without a hint of bitterness in his voice, Rico surmised, "Maybe I laid my life wide open too early – too much, too soon. PBB followers now know everything about me and maybe they were saying, ‘Why make him stay longer?’ (Televiewers can vote through text messaging who they want to boot out. – RFL)

But Rico, 20, (a Capricornian, born on Dec. 29, 1984) didn’t leave the PBB house empty-handed. Among his consolation prizes were a motorbike, a Promac TV set, a rice cooker, a karaoke and a six-month contract with the ABS-CBN’s Star Magic. (His life story will soon be dramatized on Maalaala Mo Kaya.) No regrets having been kicked back into the outside world, according to Rico.

Inside, he said he learned how to care for others. Asked if he and his companions didn’t feel conscious 24 hours a day with all those (mostly) hidden cameras around, Rico smiled. "We just had to be careful all the time," he said. "In the bathroom, I had to face the wall while taking a bath baka mahuli ako ng camera. Mahirap na."

Before joining PBB, Rico (whose grandparents are part-Indian and part-Chinese) was a regular guy from Olongapo where he was born and grew up. After high school, he quit college (taking up a seaman’s degree at the Philippine Nautical Training Institute) and worked for six months as a hosto (waiter/entertainer) in Japan. "I also danced... with a group," he clarified, "but I was not a macho dancer." He also did modeling jobs (mostly for Renee Salud).

The only child of a separated couple, Rico has a brother from his father’s second marriage and four siblings from his mother’s.

"I also engaged in a money business. Nagpapautang ako ng patubuan. On the side, I helped in my mom’s jewelry business."

Little Brother Rico stands 5’10", weighs 145 lbs., wears size 30 briefs and size 9 shoes.

What part of your body is your favorite?

"My shoulders. Sabi nila, maganda daw ang bagsak ng shoulders ko."

What part of your body do you think needs some improvement?

"My upper chest. Walang laman."

What part of your body is most vulnerable?

"My head. Maybe from lack of sleep."

How much sleep do you get per night?

"After Big Brother, only two to three hours because I’ve been guesting on Magandang Umaga Pilipinas (MUP), Kontrobersyal, The Buzz and ASAP Mania. They say that I might be included in ASAP Fanatic and Gulong ng Palad (the new ABS-CBN soap)."

What workout do you do?

"Before Big Brother, I worked out three hours every day thrice a week in Olongapo. I stay in Olongapo. I come to Manila only when I have commitments. Now, I hardly have time to work out."

What kind of diet do you follow?

"I eat anything but I try not to eat too much rice. Just one little serving is enough."

Favorite fruit?

"Banana."

Favorite food?

"Sinigang, nilaga... anything na may sabaw."

Do you smoke?

"No, I don’t."

Do you take drugs?

"No, I don’t. But I must admit that I have tried marijuana a long time ago. Try lang. Tikim lang. I didn’t like it. Drugs can destroy people."

Do you drink (hard drinks)?

"When I’m with my barkada in Olongapo, I do. But in Manila, social drinking lang. Tequila, ganoon."

Are you aware that you are now the Pantasya ng Bayan?

"Yes, but I don’t let it go to my head. Hindi sa pagyayabang, when I’m in Megamall buying an accessory, a lot of people greet me, calling my name. Para bang nakuha ko ang loob nila. Nginingitian nila ako; I smile back. When I was with Big Brother, I didn’t hide anything about my life, including my dark side."

Have you received any, well, indecent proposal?

"None – so far."

Do you have a girlfriend?

"None."

What’s your type of girl?

"Sweet, mahinhin, malambing and humble. Somebody I will truly love and who will truly love me."

What turns you off?

"Dirty armpits. You can see the armpits especially when they’re wearing spaghetti shirts, di ba? Even inside the Big Brother house, I tried to observe the girls’ armpits."

Who had dirty armpits?

"No comment."

How’s your nightlife?

"Before, inaabot ng madaling araw sa gimik. Now, I have no more time for a nightlife."

Have you ever been a chick boy?

"Yes, I was – when I was younger. At 17, I had several girlfriends, sabay-sabay sila. Now, I don’t even have one."

Lovelife?

"Zero. No girlfriend, eh!"

Sex life?

"These days? Also zero."

How do you cope with stress?

"I take stresstabs. Massage? Hindi ako mahilig. After taking stresstabs, all I want to do is go to sleep."

Are you vain?

(Blushing) "Yes, I am. Inside the Big Brother house, my companions noticed that I was always looking at myself in the mirror, making faces."

Favorite hideaway?

"The beach. Olongapo boy, eh! I grew up playing on the beach."

Favorite sport?

"Martial arts, since high school. Taekwondo and karate. I also play basketball."

Last thing you do before you go to sleep.

"I pray. Inside the Big Brother house, I learned how to communicate with God on a personal level. Kinakausap ko Siya. I didn’t have news about my family so I kept on praying for them."

First thing you do upon waking up.

"Brush my teeth."

Any favorite perfume?

"Hugo Boss."

Name three women you think have beautiful bodies.

"Mariel Rodriguez (Toni Gonzaga’s co-host in Pinoy Big Brother). Jessica Alba. Heart Evangelista."

And three men...

"Colin Farrell, my idol. Johnny Depp, also my favorite. And Cesar Montano."

Using body language, how would you make a girl know that you admire/like her?

"I just keep on looking at her – yung may laman na tingin na medyo nangsi-seduce."

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