Without Breasts There Is No Paradise, the American adaptation of the hit Colombian telenovela 'Sin Tetas No Hay Paraiso' (Without Tits There Is No Paradise) based on the best selling critically-acclaimed novel of the same title, debuted last night on NBC-Telemundo as 'Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso' in the United States, with an upcoming English language version planned for NBC, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.Most Telemundo telenovelas, except for Pasion de Amor, are crap, and on the first episode, they overload you with too much drama, they just jump right into it, and it's so stressful to watch! But this novela was perfect. It's taking the time to build up the story, and I love shows like that. I can't stand watching shows, like many Pinoy programs, that bombard you with drama on the first episode. They should take time to build the story, and build the characters first, and spend a few days in their normal lives, before shoving the drama down the audience's throat, and that's what this program is doing, and I love it. I just love it. And it's authentic in that they set the story and filmed it in Colombia. I won't say much about the story, because I want you to watch it and see it for yourself. But it's about a 14-year-old girl who gets breast implants and becomes a prostitute because she thinks it will help her and her family escape from poverty. It's just an amazing show. Watch it, every night on Telemundo at 10 pm. It's in Spanish. And I'm pretty sure that when the English language version debuts on NBC in 2009, the Philippines will be buzzing all over this when it's exported there. But you heard it here on Filipino Cultured first because that's way we roll, hehe. However, based on how the MTRCB reacts to sensitive issues, I have a feeling it might be banned.Betty La Fea starring Bea Alonzo is debuting soon, and the only thing the world should be doing right now is thanking Colombia for these great TV shows. And I love Colombians, they're among the nicest Spanish speaking people I ever met in my life. A few of my best friends are Colombian.
Gabriela Spanic is 34 years old, 8 months pregnant, posed without clothes for the May 2008 issue of Nueva, & looked like the gorgeous beautiful goddess with the heart of gold that she is. Gaby tiene 34 años y ocho meses de embarazo, y la gran actriz con corazon de oro posó desnuda y embarazada con toda gloria del mundo para la revista Nueva.
'La Usurpadora' was a big hit in the Philippines and led to her visit to Manila which made her a household name, and the worldwide hit is currently airing weekdays at 5pm in the USA on Telefutura. Gaby survived a cancer diagnosis, and the near fatal death of her twin sister last year due to a brain hemmorhage, and there's talk that Gaby will be signing a contract with Televisa after she gives birth, to signal her return to telenovelas after she chose to leave NBC-Telemundo after being under contract with the American company for 7 years.
Perhaps she'll run into Marian Rivera if she ever takes up Televisa's offer for her free scholarship to their prestigious drama school (which they use to cast future actors for their TV shows).
Bonus Picture from February 2008: (More pictures from this pictorial to be posted soon)
Bea Alonzo chose Jake Cuenca for her leading man in the Philippine remake of Betty La Fea, during a recent press interview.
In other words, she's completely insane and has no ability to see talent and to see what's not talent (we still love her though), because Jake Cuenca is not a good actor at all, he's a model. I'm not saying that models can't have acting talent and become full-fledged actors, but watching him in Palos, he still does not have enough talent to qualify as an actor. He's still a model reading lines.
When will people see that? When will true acting talent determine star power in the Philippines, rather than having a hot body and a nice face? I love Bea and I'm very happy that she got the part, because I think she has a great amount of acting talent. But the role of 'Armando' is such an important role, it's pivotal to whether this will be a successful remake, and it requires a large amount of acting talent, as in Academy Award level talent for such an important role, which should immediately rule out Jake Cuenca.
And this is completely off topic, but Jake has something else in common with a lot of actors in showbiz, and it has to do with a closet.
I'm reluctant to say John Lloyd Cruz because of repetitive love teams, but I'd rather have him play this role than Jake since it fits him perfectly. The role calls for a masungit (grumpy) but lovable workaholic, something John has played before in other movies very well, so he would be perfect for the role of Armando.
Bea Alonzo will star in the Philippine version of the world famous Colombian telenovela Betty La Fea. Shooting on the series will reportedly start immediately, as ABS-CBN continues to falter in TV ratings due to the high rating GMA programs 'Dyesebel' 'Babangon' and 'Joaquin Bordado', respectively the top 3 rating programs in the Philippines.
Betty La Fea is a world famous Colombian telenovela that aired from 1999 to 2001. The first version was shown in GMA7 in the Philippines, and re-run on Studio 23. ABS-CBN bought the rights to remake the telenovela from Colombian TV company RCN Caracol.
Betty was remade around the world, including the Emmy-Award winning U.S. comedy Ugly Betty. Other countries to remake the telenovela were Spain, Israel, India, Germany, Turkey, Russia, Netherlands, Greece, Croatia, Czech Republic, Portugal, and more.
Lindsay Lohan was "terrific" in Ugly Betty, the hit US TV show.
The show's creator Silvio Horta revealed the 21-year-old actress - who has had a well-publicised battle with alcohol and drugs - was a "pleasure" to work with on the set of the show, which follows the life of Mode magazine assistant Betty Suarez. He said: "Lindsay was terrific - a real pleasure. She came in early and was very pleasant. She plays a queen bee girl who Betty went to high school with.
"Her character Kimberly appears in a flashback dodge ball game when she does the picking - it doesn't turn out well for Betty. They are going to run into each other in the present, when Kimberly's life has taken a turn for the worst."
Horta also confirmed Lindsay will return to the show for five episodes next season.
Lindsay isn't the only celebrity to have starred in the show alongside America Ferrera.
Spice Girls star Victoria Beckham appeared as magazine editor Wilhelmina Slater's bridesmaid in an episode last year while supermodel Naomi Campbell also filmed a cameo recently.
Lindsay's first appearance in the show will be broadcast in the US on May 22.
Bea Alonzo won the coveted role of Betty La Fea, in the upcoming Philippine remake of the famous Colombian telenovela, despite the fact that Kristine Hermosa was more suited to it. Director Wenn Deramas confirmed that ABS-CBS management chose Bea to star in the Philippine adaptation of the hit Colombian telenovela, Betty La Fea.
Deramas was in Calatagan, Batangas for the first official taping day of Dyosa with Anne Curtis.
He said he'll be meeting with ABS-CBN executives on May 6 to discuss the upcoming project. The network wants the taping of the show to start immediately, simultaneously as the taping for Dyosa.
Betty La Fea is a world famous Colombian telenovela that aired from 1999 to 2001. The first version was shown in GMA7 in the Philippines, and re-run on Studio 23. ABS-CBN bought the rights to remake the telenovela from Colombian TV company RCN Caracol.
Betty was remade around the world, including the Emmy-Award winning U.S. comedy Ugly Betty. Other countries to remake the telenovela were Spain, Israel, India, Germany, Turkey, Russia, Netherlands, Greece, Croatia, Czech Republic, Portugal, and more.
Kristine Hermosa, Angel Locsin, Anne Curtis, and Valerie Concepcion were also considered for the role.
It also caused controversy for Regine Velasquez, who was in talks to star in the role. Regine will now star in the remake of the Koreanovela My Name is Kim Sam Soon, which has already started taping.
Bea's last appearance on primetime TV was in Maging Sino Ka Man Book 2.
I'm excited to watch it, and Bea is a good actress, not the best, but she's a good actress. And now I expect ABS-CBN to follow stereotype, and will cast John Lloyd Cruz as Armando, uuh, how predictable, hehe.
Watch, I'm probably right, hehe. Well, I'd rather have John Lloyd than Sam Milby in the role, please not, he will ruin the show because he is not talented enough of an actor to portray something as important as this. Hope all goes well and this turns out to be a good show.
Kristine Hermosais Betty La Fea. ABS-CBN just recently bought the rights to remake the worldwide hit Colombian telenovela Betty La Fea. And they're currently casting the show, and I have to say that everybody is completely insane at that TV network that Kristine's name did not even come up to play Betty La Fea. Watch the clip from The Buzz, they name all of these people who are not even actresses to play Betty La Fea, and here's Kristine, the most amazing actress that ABS-CBN has ever had that has brought them tremendous hits throughout the years in both TV and movies, and she's not even named! What??? Are Filipinos so obsessed with youth that only 15 year old girls can star in TV shows these days? Kristine is only 24, Ana Maria Orozco was 26 years old when she played the original Betty La Fea in 1999 and was 28 when it ended in 2001!
Kristine Hermosa is so young and only 24 years old but in such a short period of time since she started her career, she has become the most recognizable Filipina actress around the world, and has Filipino and non-Filipino fans who watch her shows all around the world, which means that not only will having Kristine in the lead role mean a guaranteed TV ratings hit in the Philippines, if this Philippine version of Betty La Fea is exported like they export other Philippine TV shows to Asia, Europe, and Africa (not just on TFC, but in the local populations and dubbed in local languages), Kristine Hermosa is a genuine bank-in for successful TV ratings around the world, and also to bring acclaim to the Philippines by having a hit international show. Second of all, the role of Betty changes into a beautiful swan in the end, which means that the actress has to be STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL for it to have any effect. The original actress was actually a supermodel, which made it amazing. In the Mexican remake, everyone was disappointed that Angelica Vale wasn't attractive enough to pull off an "amazing transition", so if they choose a Filipina actress to play this role, she should be amazingly and stunningly beautiful to begin with, so that when Betty transforms into a swan, it has the most impact for the TV viewers. I don't think anyone would deny that Kristine Hermosa is stunningly beautiful, and the most beautiful actress on the ABS-CBN network. Kristine Hermosa is ABS-CBN's "Marian Rivera", she is the prize jewel that if ever the network were without her, they would fail completely. Third of all, all Filipinos around the world and even non-Filipino fans of hers in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Cameroon, New Zealand, and tons of other countries around the world where her TV shows are ratings hits (see the left side note of the worldwide success of Filipino telenovelas), everybody in the world knows that as far as acting is concerned, no one can compare to Kristine Hermosa's acting abilities, she's just amazing and powerful in her performances. Just watch Ngayon Nandito Ka, Bcuz of U, or any of her fantastic movies or TV shows. She is a fantastic actress, and there is a reason why she is the big star that she is today, because unlike the majority of the pretty faces on the Filipino TV screen these days who are only popular for being good looking, but lack any genuine acting abilities, this girl can act, and she does it amazingly. Not to mention that because she's been in the industry since she was a little girl, Filipinos are deeply emotionally attached to her, which is important for a show as important as this, which also means that if she were the star of a show as important as this, Filipinos will watch. So that's why Kristine Hermosa is Betty La Fea, and if ABS-CBN does not cast her as Betty La Fea, it will be to their detriment (TV ratings wise), so I do care, and I hope they do, because I don't want our country to have the only international remake of Betty La Fea that wasn't a TV ratings hit.
Richard Guttierezsaid that a movie teamup withKC Concepcionwill really do the industry good and might even end the network war.
Betty La Fea Not all, but many Latin telenovelas (and Filipino teleseryes) are ma-arte [over dramatic] and border on stupid and ridiculous, except for a lucky few. And one telenovela that changed everything was definitely Betty La Fea, which was a smash hit in the Philippines for many reasons: because it was smart, it had a dark humour that many Filipinos could relate to, and it was the most realistic true-to-life down to earth telenovela in history, which has made it the most successful telenovela in history, so much so that it has even been adapted for Hollywood by Salma Hayek into Ugly Betty, which is an okay show, but pales in comparison to the original and is made shallow to fit the shallow tastes of Hollywood and the image-obsessed world of entertainment in the US. It influenced Spanish telenovelas such as La Mujer en el Espejo. And let's not forget the influences Betty La Fea has had on Philippine TV and the extremely high ratings it got reaching #1 on GMA in 2002, and high ratings when it was shown for the second time on GMA the following year, and the high ratings it got with it's sequel Ecomoda on ABS-CBN the following year, and high ratings again when it was re-aired on Studio 23 just a few months ago in 2007, and high ratings again when it was also re-aired on QTV in 2007, and also how it influenced shows such as Bakekang and Kampanerang Kuba, which although is a remake of the Vilma Santos movie from the 1970s, the idea of remaking and making those shows into TV in recent years would not have been thought of or implented if the ugly duckling-turned-swan novela of Betty La Fea on Philippine TV had not taken place beforehand or had been so successful in TV ratings in 2002. And from the great writer of Betty La Fea, Fernando Gaitan, there's a new hit telenovela from Colombia that I am currently enjoying now that I thought other Filipinos might also enjoy, and it's called Hasta Que La Plata Nos Separe, which is a play on words, "Hasta que la muerte nos separe" means "Til death do us part", a common wedding vow, but the word muerte has been replaced with "plata", which most Filipinos know formally is the word for silver, but is also a slang term in Spanish for money (and also a slang among Filipinos for money as well). It's about a poor, provincial taxi driver who gets into a car accident with an uptight business woman who sells cars. He needs to pay her back the money for the accident, but since he's poor, he has no other choice but to work at her company as a car salesman until he can pay her back, and in the process, turns her life upside down, and it's hilarious.
And this novela is fantastic, the entire cast is fantastic, they're all fantastic actors, and it's absolutely hilarious, you will laugh out loud watching this show, because the comedy is so clever and smart, and it's receiving #1 ratings all over Latin America, and it's as good or better than Betty La Fea in many ways, and I recommend you check it out if you live in the US, it's showing on Telefutura at 5pm on weekdays. It's entirely in Spanish, but some words and sentences are in English, there are no English subtitles, but there is closed captioning in Spanish, making it convenient for most Pinoys since many times, many Pinoys' abilities to read Spanish are superior to understanding spoken Spanish, but you'll understand it anyway when you watch it because of the thousands of Spanish loanwords in Filipino languages. And I love the theme song, listen to it, I've translated it for you in English:
Opening Entrance to Hasta Que La Plata Nos Separe [I Will Marry You] Til' Money Do Us Part My rough translation of the title
Theme song translation of chorus in English at (0:35 seconds) It's a man singing to a woman: I need you to slap me (Necesito que me pegues) To insult me and to never let a minute pass without treating me bad Just so that you'll return to my life I need your love that won't let my scars heal That you shout at me in a bar That you offend me without thinking That you make me fall to my knees and pray But I hope you return soon My heart is broken Because the only exit out is (Pues no tengo mas salida) towards your love (que tu amor) Betty La Fea Opening Credits
The Philippines' pride Vincent Bueno was named the first winner of Musical! The Show, a musical competition in Austria. The finale held early this morning (Philippine time) pitted him against two women finalists.
TV Ratings (Jan. 8-10): "Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara" getting stronger Erwin Santiago Friday, January 11, 2008 06:16 PM
Kris Aquino is once again proving that she really is the Queen of Horror. After her back-to-back box-office success in Star Cinema's Feng Shui and Sukob, both directed by Chito Roño, Kris's latest horror project, Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara, is also sweeping the ratings game.
Shown nightly on ABS-CBN, Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara has been making its way on top since its premiere last Monday, January 7.
Based on the latest overnight ratings of Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), the ABS-CBN horror-serye is now the third most-watched primetime show on television. Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara posted a rating of 32.8 percent last Wednesday (Jan. 9) and 31.8 percent last night (Jan. 10).
Meanwhile, Marimar, continues its reign as the No. 1 overall program while Kamandag is at No. 2.
Eat Bulaga! ruled the daytime slot on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Daisy Siete grabbed the lead Thursday.
PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) received overnight ratings from AGB Nielsen for Tuesday (Jan. 8) and from TNS for Wednesday and Thursday.
Here are the overnight ratings from January 8 to 10 conducted by AGB Nielsen (Jan. 8) and TNS (Jan. 9-10) among Mega Manila households:
January 8 (Tuesday)
Daytime:
Eat Bulaga! (GMA-7) - 20.7%
Daisy Siete (GMA-7) - 20.1%
Whammy! Push Your Luck (GMA-7) - 16.7%
Pasan Ko Ang Daigdig (GMA-7) - 16.4%
Wowowee (ABS-CBN) - 15.8%
Kapamilya, Deal Or No Deal (ABS-CBN) - 15.1%
Pilipinas, Game KNB? (ABS-CBN) - 15%
My Only Love (GMA-7) - 14.1%
Come Back Soon-Ae (GMA-7) - 13.8%
Takeshi's Castle (GMA-7) - 13.1%
Primetime:
Marimar (GMA-7) - 39.6%
Kamandag (GMA-7) - 36.5%
Zaido (GMA-7) - 33.2%
24 Oras (GMA-7) - 31.7%
La Vendetta (GMA-7) - 27.4%
Patayin Sa Sindak Si Barbara (ABS-CBN) - 26.7%
Coffee Prince (GMA-7) - 24.9%
TV Patrol World (ABS-CBN) / Lastikman (ABS-CBN) - 24.5%
Maging Sino Ka Man (ABS-CBN) - 21.2%
Ysabella (ABS-CBN) - 17.9%
Source: AGB Nielsen
January 9 (Wednesday)
Daytime:
Eat Bulaga! (GMA-7) - 19.8%
Whammy! Push Your Luck (GMA-7) - 19.4%
Daisy Siete (GMA-7) - 17.5%
Kapamilya, Deal Or No Deal (ABS-CBN) - 15.2%
Pasan Ko Ang Daigdig (GMA-7) - 15%
Wowowee (ABS-CBN) - 14.9%
Pilipinas, Game KNB? (ABS-CBN) - 14.6%
Takeshi's Castle (GMA-7) / My Only Love (GMA-7) - 12.5%
Pinoy Movie Hits (ABS-CBN) - 11.7%
Come Back Soon-Ae (GMA-7) / Prinsesa Ng Banyera (ABS-CBN) - 10.2%
Primetime:
Marimar (GMA-7) - 37%
Kamandag (GMA-7) - 35.6%
Patayin Sa Sindak Si Barbara (ABS-CBN) - 32.8%
24 Oras (GMA-7) - 31.8%
Zaido (GMA-7) - 31%
Lastikman (ABS-CBN) - 30.1%
La Vendetta (GMA-7) - 27.3%
TV Patrol World (ABS-CBN) - 25.2%
Coffee Prince (GMA-7) - 21.6%
Maging Sino Ka Man (ABS-CBN) - 21.1%
Source: TNS
January 10 (Thursday)
Daytime:
Daisy Siete (GMA-7) - 19.6%
Eat Bulaga! (GMA-7) - 19%
Pasan Ko Ang Daigdig (GMA-7) - 17.9%
Wowowee (ABS-CBN) - 16.7%
Whammy! Push Your Luck (GMA-7) - 16.3%
Kapamilya, Deal Or No Deal (ABS-CBN) - 16%
Pilipinas, Game KNB? (ABS-CBN) - 14.6%
My Only Love (GMA-7) - 14.1%
Takeshi's Castle (GMA-7) - 13.9%
Pinoy Movie Hits (ABS-CBN) - 11.5%
Primetime:
Marimar (GMA-7) - 37.6%
Kamandag (GMA-7) - 32.6%
Patayin Sa Sindak Si Barbara (ABS-CBN) - 31.8%
Lastikman (ABS-CBN) - 30.9%
24 Oras (GMA-7) - 30.1%
Zaido (GMA-7) - 30%
La Vendetta (GMA-7) - 29.9%
TV Patrol World (ABS-CBN) - 25.6%
Coffee Prince (GMA-7) - 22.1%
Maging Sino Ka Man (ABS-CBN) - 21.9%
Source: TNS, PEPThe star of Betty La Fea, Ana Maria Orozco.
A Filipino friend of ours with the cast of ABC's hit TV show Ugly Betty. Happy Halloween! Watch full episodes FREE of Ugly Betty online now! Filipino actor Eric Mapa is also a member of the cast of Ugly Betty, you can catch him in the season 2 premiere and in following episodes. Go Pinoy!
Telenovelas are popular again in the Philippines, what with the current remake of Marimar and the upcoming Rosalinda remake, and Zorro, Betty La Fea, Letty La Mas Fea, Ugly Betty, Inocente de Ti, and Mirada de Mujer showing on Filipino television. I'm watching this show here in L.A. called Codigo Postal about a group of young teenagers in Acapulco, Mexico and I really like it because it's young, hip, and it's funny, everybody's just living their lives and dealing with friends, relationships, and parents and hanging out at the beach, the restaurant that they work for, at clubs, it's like re-living your teenage years all over again. And I just think this girl Altair Jarabo is so beautiful. It also features Africa Zavala who Filipinos will remember as the lead actress from Doble Cara (or Peregrina).
Most Filipinos think that telenovelas are baduy, but they're not, because if they were, then why would American TV networks like ABC and NBC be remaking the most popular telenovelas into hit TV shows like Ugly Betty and the soon to come Without Breasts There is No Paradise about a young woman who wants to get breast enhancement surgery to rise up in society, but ends up in the drug cartel mafia? The only thing that is baduy is the TV networks and their taste, which is, they always choose the crappiest most overdramatic telenovelas to be shown in the Philippines, so telenovelas get a bad reputation. In the Philippines, they only show like 2-4 telenovelas at once, but my gosh, here in the U.S., the selection is 30 or more at a time, and let me tell you, there's some fantastic ones in the bunch, that are well-written, have comedy and humor, that are realistic, and it's not always the poor girl, rich guy story, there's telenovelas about hip hop, and gangs and drugs, and some telenovelas have like the feel of The Sopranos, some are about the mafia in Latin America, there's some that are love stories about the gypsies and witches and magic and it's just amazing the range that telenovelas have in that there's some amazing and original storylines that they come up with, and they're executed really well, the acting is amazing, there's murder mystery telenovelas that are like you have to figure out who killed who, it's like reading a really good novela or book, it's not what Filipinos think of they just think of Marimar and that type of novela, there's all kinds and they're amazingly entertaining and original and can be cool and young and geared towards teens as well as adults, but...
I don't know why the networks choose the telenovelas they do, they always seem to choose the junk melodramatic "rich boy-poor girl" ones like the Thalia novelas, which is ridiculous because aren't Filipinos already tired of that story line seeing it a million times done over and over on Filipino teleseryes and movies, but those are the ones that the TV networks in the Philippines choose (maybe because they're more familiar with them), except for a few in which they hit jackpot like Betty La Fea, Pasion de Amor and Rubi and of course the Thalia ones, but those junk ones they choose are why they never get higher ratings. And I know it has nothing to do with money, because ABS-CBN is filthy rich, and they've bought some of the most expensive telenovelas in history to be shown in the Philippines before, like Zorro, Rubi, and Pasion de Amor. If GMA were to be smart, they would pick this telenovela to show, or QTV, or the network that showed Letty La Mas Fea, because Filipinos want to watch naked good looking Latin Americans basically, and if they showed this show, Codigo Postal, which has an almost naked actress/actor practically everyday since it's a telenovela that takes place on the beach and on beach houses and beach restaurants and beach clubs, I'm sure GMA's ratings would sky rocket because sex appeal + a good story = success for any television show in the world. Of course, they're not fully naked, since this show is geared for a general audience and teenagers, but they as sure as hell get as close to being naked as possible, hehe but that's probably why the ratings aren't so high for telenovelas, because they're really focusing on the ugly lately, I'm talking about Betty and Letty, who we love, and I loved those shows too. And it's a better story than those corny cutesy-cutesy koreanovelas, uy, I've seen only one good one, but what great lessons those shows from Korea teach in where the man is always superior to the woman and has the last word and is free to slap her whenever she gets out of line, those are great lessons to teach young Filipinos, I'm sure. At least Spanish telenovelas have become so modern these days that it's not your always typical crying Thalia-Marimar like character, the novelas these days, the woman is in charge of things, just watch any of Gabriela Spanic's recent novelas in which she did martial arts, jumped out of moving vehicles and airplanes, and kicked the guys' butts. And at least with Spanish telenovelas, it shares the same exact values as the Filipino culture although many Filipinos wouldn't even realize it that Spanish speakers share the same values as us: pakikisama, amor propio, hiya, mukha, utang na loob, delicadeza, they're not just Filipino values, they're values that are shared by all former Spanish colonies, just travel to any Latin country, and you'll feel right at home like many Filipinos have, that's what made Spanish telenovelas popular in the first place, because Filipinos were just watching shows that were a reflection of their own culture, but didn't even realize it and reinforced the same values that Filipinos grew up with. Of course, Filipino produced shows of quality should always be made high priority for the networks, but based on the usual ningas cogon of how most Filipino teleseryes start out great and fancy with a lot of pizzazz and special effects in the first few episodes, and end up lagging towards the end with the writers and directors putting less effort into it as time goes by, our best bets for quality television can be found anywhere.
Monique Lhuillier: The Filipino influence was very present at the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California through Filipina star designer Monique Lhuillier.
America Ferrera, who won for Best Actress in a comedy for Ugly Betty, sported a deep blue Monique Lhullier with Lorraine Schwartz chandelier diamond earrings, which she wore beautifully during her poignant acceptance speech. The Filipina designer obviously has amazing taste, for America Ferrera was also named by People Magazine as one of the Best Dressed celebs for that night.
Kate Walsh, of "Grey's Anatomy" married movie exec Alex Young on Saturday, reports PEOPLE. Walsh, 39, wore a custom-made Monique Lhullier wedding gown as she and Young, 36, exchanged their vows at the Ojai Presbyterian Church in Ojai, located just north of Los Angeles. This is not the first time that Kate Walsh has worn a gown by the Filipina designer. She previously wore one of Lhuillier's gowns during a Mercedes Benz Fashion Show earlier this year.
Filipina fashion designer Monique Lhuillier with husband Tom Bugbee in South Beach, Miami.
Without Breasts There Is No Paradise, the American adaptation of the hit Colombian telenovela 'Sin Tetas No Hay Paraiso' (Without Tits There Is No Paradise) based on the best selling critically-acclaimed novel of the same title, debuted last night on NBC-Telemundo as 'Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso' in the United States, with an upcoming English language version planned for NBC, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.
Most Telemundo telenovelas, except for Pasion de Amor, are crap, and on the first episode, they overload you with too much drama, they just jump right into it, and it's so stressful to watch! But this novela was perfect. It's taking the time to build up the story, and I love shows like that. I can't stand watching shows, like many Pinoy programs, that bombard you with drama on the first episode. They should take time to build the story, and build the characters first, and spend a few days in their normal lives, before shoving the drama down the audience's throat, and that's what this program is doing, and I love it. I just love it. And it's authentic in that they set the story and filmed it in Colombia.
And I'm pretty sure that when the English language version debuts on NBC in 2009, the Philippines will be buzzing all over this when it's exported there. But you heard it here on Filipino Cultured first because that's way we roll, hehe. However, based on how the MTRCB reacts to sensitive issues, I have a feeling it might be banned.
Betty La Fea starring Bea Alonzo is debuting soon, and the only thing the world should be doing right now is thanking Colombia for these great TV shows. And I love Colombians, they're among the nicest Spanish speaking people I ever met in my life. A few of my best friends are Colombian.
