Looking ahead and leaving the pain behind

By Isah V. Red

SHE doesn’t hide her feelings. She can’t. Among stars her age, she’s the most transparent. Straightforward but not cunning, candid but not crass, Alessandra, all at 22, is one young woman who you either hate or love.

Alex, as she is fondly called by friends, doesn’t care really if some do hate her for being what she is because she knows many others love her as well.

Over lunch at A Taste of L.A., the low-key but popular restaurant on Roces Avenue a few steps from the corner of Tomas Morato, Alex who still looked she needed a couple more hours of sleep in a Giorgio Armani day dress was not too keen to talk about the past, and neither about her plans for the coming year.

“I’d surprise everyone,” she started. “Maybe, I’d be a singer.”

Yet, the statement needed to be properly digested because it would turn out that she merely had nothing to say simply because she hasn’t really charted the course of her career for 2007.

Self-deprecating, that’s what Alex is. She’s one of very few women of her beauty and stature who can actually laugh at her own follies, except when it comes to matters of the heart. She hasn’t denied that she is still consumed by the pain that her breakup with Jeremy Marquez has wrought upon her, and yet she said that she’d rather move on, leave the pain behind. When? She said, “It would take some time.”

“It’s not easy to forget,” she added, “especially if you really love the guy. Forgive, that’s easy to do. You want me to do it now?”

Hopeless romantic

A hopeless romantic, Alex insisted she didn’t love Jeremy less to make him an easy prey in a world where women more daring than she is are willing to offer everything to hitch a guy. On the contrary she loved him more than he loved her and even hoped that one day he’d come and propose marriage. “Isn’t that the point of going into a relationship? I can’t go on a relationship without even hoping that the guy I am in love with is not going to take me to the altar later.”

So, in 2007 she’d like to sing, which, in the course of the conversation, sounder more and more like a joke. Add to that her vow not to go into another serious relationship. “Not even casual flings,” she corrected, “Because I don’t want to get hurt again.”

In a sudden change of mood, an obvious case of adrenaline rush, Alex started talking about several young men launching a hot pursuit of her. From the looks of it, she is flustered by the attention she has been getting from the opposite sex since her breakup with the Marquez kid became public.

Nah, she hasn’t entertained anyone of them yet, repeatedly saying, “No, not again!”

She said that these men she met at some gatherings, asked for her number (which she willingly gave) and started texting or calling her. “I don’t answer of course,” she said giggling like a teenaged girl being swarmed by suitors from around the neighborhood. “I don’t even acknowledge the stuff they send, because they might misunderstand my actions. I just let them be, because if we’re meant to be; only time can tell. I don’t want to plunge into another romantic relationship and be angry again if things wouldn’t work out right for both of us.”

High visibility

The internationally acclaimed actress has become very visible on television (on both her mother station GMA and ABS-CBN) lately. While she is not bashing the lead star in another primetime soap opera, she is doing some flying kicks and walking on air stuff in a new commercial that started airing last Christmas.

Alex is the new face of Kotex, the sanitary napkin. Yes, she takes over actor Dennis Trillo who was last year’s endorser (a feat that can’t be topped by any other actor of his age), as the brand refocuses on a much younger and physically active market.

According to the guys over at Kimberly-Clark Philippines Inc., the entire Kotex brand management had its eyes on Alex since day one of the planning for a new television commercial.

“We wanted someone who would embody the Kotex brand: young and hip, with an active lifestyle, very smart, but also very caring of others and inspiring. Alex has all of these qualities in abundance. Apart from her professionalism and achievements as an actress, we chose her also because she has great personal integrity. When she says something, she believes it with all her heart. You don’t doubt for a second that what she is saying is true,” Beverly Tiangco, senior brand manager for Kotex, disclosed.

If you haven’t seen the new commercial yet, watch out for it. It will have more exposures on primetime and other top-rating shows in the morning and afternoon programming blocks starting Jan. 1.

The new Kotex commercial portrays an elegant and radiant Alex in a flowing, white gown, walking down the red carpet during an awards night. She feels a sudden gush (a usual occurrence during one’s menstrual period), which worries her a great deal. Surrounded by photographers and on-lookers, she quickly but discreetly covers her behind with her white shawl, in case there was a stain. Her voice-over talks about how she thought she was protected from stains by her old brand and that if she accidentally got a stain, it was her fault (a commonly held belief among women).

The commercial then shifts to show a relaxed, casually dresses Alex talking about how she found something better when she tried Kotex. A Kotex pad is then shown in a torture test versus the leading brand. The result: Kotex does not get deformed or lose its shape easily compared to the leading brand. And because Kotex does not deform easily, one is better protected against stains, no matter how you move.

The commercial then cuts to a movie fight scene with Alex in a harness, landing a mean triple kick against the villains. The commercial ends with Alex being raised up on a harness saying the Kotex slogan “Period? So what.”

The Kotex commercial was shot by Unitel director, Martin Arnaldo.

Music Mo Sikat VJ

While waiting for casting directors to call her up for a role in a drama series on primetime, Alex busies herself as a VJ on the music block of QTV-11’s daytime programming. She alternates with Raymond Gutierrez and JayR introducing the music videos on rotation. She also hones her interviewing skills on occasions when she has to do a stand-up interview of the artists.

As it is, Alex is happy. “But I can be happier, if only I can get over this Jeremy ‘chuva’ quickly.” But can she get over it? “Of course!” she exclaimed. As she had gotten over Biboy Enriquez, Polo Ravales, and Oyo Sotto, in time, she can talk about Jeremy Marquez just like any other men she had had liaison with in the past, without a trace of regret.