Monday, August 23, 2010

My Q&A with Miss Universe 2010 Jimena Navarette: "I love Venus!"


By Yong Chavez
www.FilipinOnline.com









Friday, August 20, 2010

Venus Raj: "No matter how poor you are, it's not a reason to give up"

By Yong Chavez
www.FilipinOnline.com


Miss Philippines-Universe Venus Raj, 22, is an interviewer's dream. She's open, smart, and gracious.

In the extended version of my one-on-one interview with her in Hollywood, Raj, talked about her plans after Miss Universe (politics, journalism, showbiz) and the childhood trauma that still affects her to this day. She also shared the challenges she faced being born out of wedlock as well as her desire now to inspire other Filipino children with similar background to believe that their dreams can come true. Venus also talked about the P-Noy policy she admires most, and her love life and celebrity crushes (JLC!).

And even though, she has experienced losses in life - one of them, an ill-advised run as a councilor in her town when she was a teenager, an experience that she says gave her valuable lessons - in the interview, she shows what many Filipinos already know: Venus Raj is a winner.




Below is the news report I did for Balitang America. My story about her also appeared on TV Patrol.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

ARNEL PINEDA: "I just want to give back"

Arnel Pineda's New Journey 
Includes Philanthropy

By: Yong Chavez
www.FilipinOnline.com





I recently interviewed Arnel Pineda, the lead singer of Journey. His amazing voice is already well-known, but what not a lot of people know about him is that Arnel is doing a lot of charity work to help Filipino kids in need.

"It takes one person to care, to make a difference in another person's life," he said. "People helped me to be where I am today, so I want to help others, too."

The Arnel Pineda Foundation is funded mostly through Arnel's solo fundraising concerts. Once his Journey commitments start, he plans to auction off his memorabilia to keep the program running, with the help of other big-hearted kababayans.

In my extended interview above, he talks about his foundation and his upcoming Journey projects. Candidly, he also shares the price of his fame and he also talks about what he misses from his old life back in the Philippines.

And here's the news report I did about him which aired on The Filipino Channel in July.