Charo Santos

These days, ordinary people don’t any more refer to her as Ma’am Charo, the formal and former president of broadcast giant ABS-CBN.  On the streets, they shout out to her, “Tindeng, Lola Tindeng!” Charo Santos, de-glamourized and everything, can’t be happier at this sudden career turnaround, her second, or third, coming as an actor of note. At a media con for the new season of Batang Quiapo on May 4 attended by at least 20 actors, Charo Santos compared working extemporaneous style with Coco Martin as co-actor and director as similar to being on pins and needles all the time. She said: 'Ibang experience for me. There are no rehearsals. During a take, biglang may itatanong siya sa akin, impromptu, ha, at huhugot ka talaga based on your knowledge of your character, kung ano’ng hinihingi ng eksena. 'You have to be on your toes at all times, kasi you can’t predict what he’s going to tell you. An actor working with Coco as co-actor and director has to be quick-witted and fast on the draw.' 'There are times I’m tempted to say so much more while doing a scene. Then, I hold back, hindi puwede, baka mapadali ang takbo ng kwento.' ‘Batang Quiapo’ entered a new, even more exciting season starting May 8, signaling Tanggol’s (Coco’s) character transformation. xxx After much hemming and humming, the projected movie partnership between Bea Alonzo and Alden Richards has been officially postponed. Postponed is actually a kind word. It’s more likely that after all this long period of waiting, the project has been shelved or cancelled. Conflicting schedules between the two leads is cited. The two actors were supposed to co-star in the Philippine adaptation of “A Moment To Remember,” that popular South Korean film that starred Son Ye-jin and Jung Woo-sung. An official announcement was issued jointly May 2 by GMA Pictures, Viva Films, and APT Entertainment. Bea and Alden earlier co-starred in TV series, Start Up, also based on a Korean soap. Moviegoer suggests that Bea should consider working on new, original material. At this point in her career, she needs to reinvent herself, not just as a star of romantic comedies, which had been her turf all these years and try more adult, more serious yet relevant, more artistic stuff. xxx Time to professionalize vlogging, blogging, etc. Mapua University is probably the first major higher school of learning to offer what it calls Digital Journalism course. The three-year program is offered by its School of Media Studies and aims to empower students to become true journalists, and not just any run-of-the-mill posters of so-called news. Students will be taught the basics of Journalism, including respect for truth, yet using current digital communication process and technology. Visit [www.mapua.edu.ph](http://www.mapua.edu.ph/)