TONI Episode 84 | The Reason Why Cris Villonco Left Her Successful Career At A Young Age
00:20.0
Hi! This is a major challenge, ha?
00:22.0
I'm not gonna lie.
00:24.0
Pero kasi si Chris,
00:26.0
bata pa lang ako, kilala na kita.
00:28.0
Eh, syempre, diba?
00:30.0
Bata pa lang kumakanta ka na sa TV.
00:34.0
Pero ang pinakavivid memory ko sa'yo, Chris,
00:36.0
yung sa commercial na kumanta ka.
00:40.0
Medyo yun yung mga, ano ko eh,
00:42.0
child singing sensation days.
00:44.0
Yes. Ilang taong ka nun,
00:46.0
yung child singing sensation?
00:48.0
Nagsimula na yun, siguro mga eleven na ako.
00:50.0
I started sa teatro, nine.
00:52.0
Pero kinukuha na ako for commercials.
00:54.0
Mga ten, eleven na ako.
00:56.0
Kasi yung lola niya ay si Miss Armida Sigonreina.
00:58.0
My mother is actually a TV producer.
01:00.0
So lumaki ka talaga?
01:04.0
lumaki ka na nakakasama mo, nakakasalamuha mo people in the industry.
01:06.0
Oo. Not as a performer though,
01:08.0
or an actor, pero alam ko na kung paano.
01:10.0
Pero yung unang-unang sabak mo
01:12.0
in front of the camera?
01:14.0
I was five or six.
01:16.0
Nag-guesting ako sa Ryan Ryan musikahan.
01:18.0
Oo, yan ang mga naalala natin.
01:20.0
Nagpa-piano, tapos gabi, diba?
01:22.0
So, doon ako, dinagay ng mommy ko.
01:24.0
So, kanta-kanta lang ako.
01:26.0
And then, parang that time, natuwa si Mr. C
01:28.0
nung nanood siya, nung recital.
01:32.0
Sige, lahat kayo ilalagay ko sa show.
01:36.0
nakaupo ako sa piano niya.
01:38.0
Five years old? Wow!
01:40.0
Kasi kumakanta ako ng Part of Your World.
01:42.0
So, parang nakatapis lang ako.
01:44.0
So, that's my first sabak.
01:46.0
My grandmother didn't even pay attention to me.
01:48.0
Yung mga pinapakingga mo na nun?
01:50.0
Broadway. Broadway lang. Broadway baby ako.
01:52.0
West End Broadway.
01:54.0
And then, kaya yun yung influence talaga.
01:56.0
So, the first time I went to New York,
01:58.0
siguro mga, naanun, nine years old ako nun.
02:02.0
When we got to New York, sabi niya, okay, may top three ka.
02:04.0
Itong mga pupuntahan natin.
02:06.0
La Miserab, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera.
02:08.0
Pinapanood sa'yo.
02:10.0
Kasi she knew na, okay, this is, at that time,
02:12.0
siyempre, malaki ni si Lea nun, and all of that.
02:14.0
So, idol ko siya.
02:16.0
So, I had to watch it, even if I didn't understand
02:18.0
what it was about, right?
02:20.0
So, nine years old,
02:22.0
una mong na-witness yung mga plays.
02:26.0
Tapos, in New York pa.
02:30.0
Anong naramdaman mo nung nanood ka?
02:34.0
Pero, as a spectator ba?
02:36.0
As a person, as a viewer.
02:38.0
Hindi naman as a performer.
02:40.0
Pero, na-fascinate ka na sa mundo ng theater
02:42.0
nung time na yun?
02:44.0
Na parang nasabi mo sa sarili mo na,
02:46.0
ay, ito ang nakikita kong gustong gawin.
02:48.0
Ah, hindi mo na isipin?
02:50.0
I am, I've always, always been
02:52.0
a reluctant performer.
02:56.0
celebrity, if whatever
02:58.0
status I had at that time.
03:02.0
Kasi, I'm sobrang shy ko
03:06.0
Sobrang introvert.
03:08.0
Ngayon ko lang na-notice yun.
03:10.0
Pero, nung umuwi kami,
03:12.0
my sister said, uy, may auditions para sa
03:14.0
Lemisaram, and bukas yung auditions
03:16.0
para sa mga bata.
03:18.0
And today is the last day of auditions.
03:22.0
Sa William J. Shaw Theater
03:24.0
sa Shangri-La Mall.
03:28.0
Ganyan nga, dyan nga ako.
03:30.0
Audition din ako dyan, Repertory Philippines.
03:34.0
And then, she brought me there.
03:36.0
It's the first time I saw lines of people.
03:38.0
Parang audition talaga.
03:40.0
So, nandun ako, and then
03:42.0
lines and lines of people,
03:44.0
lines and lines of children
03:46.0
memorizing Lemisaram.
03:48.0
Siguro mga, we were about a hundred kids.
03:54.0
kung nakikita natin mga auditions, diba?
03:56.0
Tipong, nasa studio kayo, kakanta ka,
03:58.0
may panel. Ito hindi.
04:00.0
Pupunta ka sa teatro.
04:02.0
Tapos, puno yung teatro.
04:04.0
Parang talaga may nanonood sa inyong audience.
04:06.0
And then, nandun si Zenaida.
04:08.0
Yun yung mga nag-audition, yung nakaupo.
04:10.0
Yung nakaupo, yung nag-audition nasa orchestra.
04:12.0
Yung lahat nasa balcony.
04:14.0
Yung mga nanay, lahat.
04:16.0
Lahat nandyan nanonood.
04:18.0
Yes, ganun yung auditions sa theater noon.
04:20.0
Yes, and then, parang kang ano,
04:22.0
what do you call this?
04:24.0
You're lined up, siguro sampu kayo on stage.
04:26.0
And then, step forward, step forward.
04:30.0
And then, so I was there, step forward.
04:32.0
Anong kananta mo?
04:34.0
Kasalo na cloud na. As in, wala nang paligoy-ligoy pa.
04:38.0
And then, they said,
04:40.0
Ana Cristina, I never put Cris or whatever.
04:42.0
It's Ana Cristina Siganrena Villanco.
04:44.0
How are you related?
04:46.0
And naka-mic yan na ah.
04:48.0
So parang, wala kang makausap.
04:50.0
Hindi mo alam ko sino kinakausap mo.
04:52.0
She's my lola. Ganun. Ah, okay.
04:54.0
At the back of my head now, I think,
04:56.0
well, maybe that was my foot in the door.
04:58.0
Kasi nga, apo ako.
05:00.0
Pero they didn't really know to what extent I would be talented.
05:02.0
And then, that was the beginning of my theater career.
05:04.0
And then, that was the beginning of my theater career.
05:10.0
Pero ang question ko, ano nauna?
05:12.0
Theater or yung mga commercial paglabas mo sa TV?
05:16.0
Ah, theater nauna.
05:18.0
Tapos, finally, pinansin na ako ng lola ko.
05:20.0
Sabi niya, ah, marunong ko parang kumanta.
05:22.0
O sige, mag-aawitan kita ka na.
05:24.0
Yes, aawitan kita.
05:26.0
O, yan ko na. Doon ko na natutunan ng camera 1 and camera 2.
05:28.0
And then, after that,
05:30.0
siguro mga 10 na ako noon, 11.
05:32.0
As in, recording ako ng recording sa
05:36.0
So, whatever is left
05:38.0
of the way I speak,
05:40.0
yung enunciation ko,
05:42.0
doon ko talaga natutunan sa lola ko.
05:44.0
Parang yun yung training.
05:46.0
Kasi, diba, like a lot of people, they say,
05:48.0
alam nila na Inglesera ako and whatever.
05:50.0
Pero, kapag magsalita ako
05:52.0
and I have to learn a script,
05:54.0
wala akong, wala akong accent.
05:58.0
Wala akong, ano, kasi talagang
06:00.0
pinapauwi ako ng lola ko kung hindi correct.
06:08.0
inano niya talaga, inisa-isa niya
06:10.0
yan sa recording studio.
06:12.0
Kaya, kahit ako ngayon, thank you,
06:16.0
yung tenga ko talaga, kapag may narinig akong
06:18.0
off sa the pronunciation,
06:20.0
naalala akong lola ko.
06:22.0
Kasi, grabe siya.
06:24.0
As in, nobody thought
06:26.0
na papauwiin niya ako
06:30.0
Nobody thought na papahiyain niya ako
06:32.0
to the people. Or she'll fire me.
06:34.0
She fired me in one show.
06:38.0
Sinabi niya sa face mo?
06:40.0
Sarap na maraming tao? Go home.
06:42.0
Ba't kanya pinauwi? Anong ginawa mo?
06:46.0
Eh, ito yung beginning ng hair kong ganito.
06:48.0
So, mas matanda na ako noon, ha.
06:50.0
As in, adult na ako noon, ha.
06:52.0
Nainis siya. Nainis siya kasi
06:54.0
maiklina yung buho ko. Tapos,
06:56.0
eh, di ba pag-aawitan kita, kailangan dalagang
06:58.0
Pilipina. Eh, di na mukhang dalagang Pilipina to.
07:00.0
Pero sinumatnong ko siya nang,
07:02.0
eh, bakit ikaw, nang
07:04.0
aawitan kita, bakit ganito din yung buho ko noon, ha.
07:10.0
No one to talk to yung
07:12.0
mga nanon ako. So, I said, okay.
07:14.0
As in, nag-aawit talaga kami ng bongga.
07:16.0
And then, syempre in the end, I'm going to
07:18.0
say sorry, cry, whatever.
07:20.0
So, ayun. I mean, that was
07:22.0
a relationship. I think
07:24.0
my other cousins enjoyed a more
07:28.0
relationship. But because early on,
07:30.0
I was already yung parang
07:32.0
tinututu ka niya na, ah, okay,
07:34.0
baka ito naman ang kakanta at
07:36.0
magsasobis and going to
07:38.0
continue a career in the performing arts.
07:40.0
Kailangan, kailangan ayusin ko to.
07:42.0
Saka, di ba ang tawag na rin sa'yo, you were
07:44.0
like the young Lea Salonga?
07:46.0
Yeah, that was major pressure on my part
07:48.0
because I did not sound like her.
07:50.0
And my voice did not evolve
07:52.0
that way. Ibang iba.
07:54.0
Paano mo siya na meet, si Miss Lea?
07:56.0
Si Lea, alam na niya, well,
07:58.0
my grandmother was also a fan.
08:00.0
And my grandmother, actually, yung
08:02.0
Lola ko had aawitan kita videos
08:04.0
of her before Miss Saigon
08:06.0
pa, okay? And then,
08:08.0
nung nagbukas ang Miss Saigon,
08:10.0
talagang lumipad yung Lola ko
08:12.0
to London para panuorin siya.
08:14.0
So, there was a relationship there.
08:18.0
I was a fan, but I don't think she knew
08:20.0
that I was somebody that people
08:22.0
were grooming to follow in her
08:24.0
steps. E din nakakapresure. Oo,
08:26.0
kasi hindi ko naman plane yun. I think that was
08:28.0
also a way na parang sabihin lang ng mga tao
08:30.0
na ano kaya siya. Di ba, kailangan may title
08:32.0
lagi. So, I think that was it.
08:34.0
Oo nga dito sa bansa natin. Kailangan,
08:36.0
ano kayang title pwede siya? Kailangan natin ng title.
08:38.0
So, child singing sensation lang.
08:40.0
As if I'll come up with the title
08:44.0
Hindi, kasi yun ang expectation ng public
08:46.0
sa'yo because nga of the success
08:48.0
you received at a very young
08:50.0
age. Yes. So, parang they're
08:52.0
expecting na talagang, ah, ito yung
08:54.0
batang tututukan namin kasi ito yung
08:56.0
parang career path na susundan nyo.
08:58.0
And ganoon din ang mga network noon at that
09:00.0
point. But, ayoko
09:02.0
e. Anong ayaw mo? At that point,
09:04.0
lumalabas na sina Brittany
09:06.0
at that point. Christina Aguilera. Oo.
09:08.0
At that point. Oo, early 2000.
09:10.0
Yes. And then at that point
09:12.0
also, may mga lumalabas na rin
09:14.0
na other talented
09:16.0
kids of celebrities
09:18.0
and also a whole. New breed.
09:20.0
Onslaught of new breed. Diba?
09:22.0
It was the, it was the days of
09:24.0
TGIS, tabing ilog.
09:26.0
It was there. Okay?
09:28.0
And I wasn't fitting in anything.
09:30.0
Kinausap na ako ng mami ko, sabi niya,
09:32.0
this is your chance. Kung gusto mong
09:34.0
mag-US at mag-college,
09:36.0
pumunta ka na. Kasi laos ka na e.
09:38.0
It's so many words.
09:40.0
Kaka-straightforward. My mom's gonna
09:42.0
blame me. She's gonna say, why do you always make me look
09:44.0
like the bad guy sa mga interview mo?
09:46.0
Hindi siya bad guy, okay? It's just
09:48.0
in so many words, sinabi na niya e.
09:50.0
Straightforward lang. Sabi niya, look, everybody is
09:52.0
promising you the world, pero wala
09:54.0
namang dumarating. May talisery
09:56.0
ka ba? Wala. May show ka ba?
09:58.0
Wala. Ginagano na talaga.
10:00.0
Ilang taong ka niyan? 16,
10:04.0
is your chance. If you wanna go, go.
10:06.0
And have something that
10:08.0
you can fall back on. Maghanap ka na ng
10:10.0
fallback. Kasi hindi natin alam kung tatagal
10:14.0
grateful ah. I'm super grateful that she did
10:16.0
that. I mean, it's harsh. But
10:18.0
ayoko din yung, ah, okay, sige.
10:20.0
Sige, tingnan ko kung mayro'n naman pala kung
10:22.0
ibang maibubuga, diba, rather than singing.
10:24.0
So I decided to go abroad.
10:26.0
And then, I did 4 years there.
10:30.0
to perform. I refused to take
10:32.0
anything to do with performing arts.
10:34.0
Instead, kasi parang
10:36.0
I wanted to forget na rin. Parang I wanted to
10:38.0
change my life talaga.
10:40.0
I thought it was going to be a change.
10:42.0
Kakalimutan mo yung pagkanta. Oo.
10:44.0
Boses mo, itatago mo. Sobrang
10:46.0
ganun mo. No, but what I did was
10:48.0
nag-music ako. As in, kasi
10:50.0
sa school namin, walang mga degree.
10:52.0
May mga concentrations.
10:54.0
Maggagraduate ka,
10:56.0
liberal arts degree. Yun lang yun.
10:58.0
Pero may concentrations ka. So ang concentration
11:00.0
ko, I started to do music. Music
11:02.0
theory, music production,
11:04.0
um, voice. Talagang
11:06.0
I went into classical
11:08.0
for a while. I went into jazz.
11:10.0
Dun ko na-discover lahat yun.
11:12.0
I mean, I'm not saying I'm perfect. I'm not saying
11:14.0
I can do it now. But I'm just saying, at least
11:16.0
naging mas well-rounded yung pagkakaalam ko
11:18.0
sa music, rather than yung
11:22.0
Kamusta yung life mo in New York for four years? Quiet.
11:24.0
Away from the limelight. Quiet.
11:26.0
Away from everything. And I had no money. Like, I was
11:28.0
relying for the first time. Well,
11:30.0
I was relying on allowance.
11:32.0
That's it. I was relying
11:34.0
on allowance and whatever my dad gave me. So normal life
11:36.0
talaga lahat? Normal.
11:38.0
Normal. So enjoy mo?
11:40.0
I did. I did kasi for the
11:42.0
first time, naramdaman ko yung
11:46.0
gusto ka lang for you.
11:48.0
Wala silang alam sa buhay mo. Wala silang
11:50.0
wala. This is premium.
11:52.0
Di nila alam yung Chris Milion ko sa Pilipinas? Oo.
11:54.0
Like, they only found out siguro
11:56.0
three to six months later. Tawag nila
11:58.0
sa'yo Anna? Anna.
12:00.0
Ayaw mo ng Chris? Ayaw ko ng Chris. Actually, up to now.
12:02.0
Hindi nga. Hindi ka talaga gusto.
12:04.0
Kasi I associate it with
12:06.0
kailangan on ako.
12:08.0
Kailangan, Chris Milion ko ako.
12:10.0
Kaya ayaw na ayaw ko pag may tunatakot sa akin,
12:12.0
Chris Milion ko ako. Kasi
12:14.0
parang, ah okay, so I need to put it on.
12:16.0
Feeling ko, ano ka yun? It's your
12:18.0
persona. Parang Sasha Fierce.
12:20.0
Ganon. It's the persona.
12:22.0
So paano kang bumalik sa theater?
12:24.0
Tinawagan ko yung tao sa
12:26.0
Repertory Philippines noon. I said,
12:28.0
I don't care. Magsisimula akong ensemble.
12:30.0
Basta gusto ko lang
12:32.0
sumabak. And talagang kung okay ako
12:34.0
doon, then maybe I'll work
12:36.0
my way into theater.
12:38.0
So that's what I did. I auditioned
12:40.0
in front of Baby Baredo
12:42.0
again. Drabe siya pa rin. Full circle.
12:44.0
I'm in front of her and
12:48.0
and then she goes. And I was
12:50.0
auditioning for Children's Theater pa nga noon.
12:52.0
So Children's Theater is like araw-araw
12:54.0
five in the morning, papasok ka sa
12:56.0
theater, magsishow ka ng seven,
12:58.0
eleven, three, five.
13:02.0
you're my Cinderella. Yan yung
13:04.0
ano, the show. And then
13:06.0
there. And then that year, I got
13:08.0
like three or four
13:10.0
of the lead roles
13:14.0
Parang doon ka talaga, no? Oo.
13:16.0
You're meant to be on stage. Yeah.
13:18.0
And that's where I kind of, that's where I was.
13:20.0
And then nakapag-Disney pa ako
13:22.0
sa Hong Kong. Nagtabaho pa ako doon.
13:24.0
Anong minahal mo sa theater,
13:26.0
sa performing on stage?
13:28.0
Again, it's the discipline and
13:30.0
that I never had to perform as
13:34.0
I always had to perform as
13:36.0
another character.
13:38.0
And that made me very comfortable in my
13:40.0
skin. That I could be somebody
13:44.0
For just two hours. How did
13:46.0
motherhood change you?
13:50.0
I think I'm more patient.
13:54.0
I've become a little bit still more manic.
13:56.0
And I had to learn over
13:58.0
that year na parang
14:00.0
talks ka lang. Nandyan lang siya.
14:02.0
Kaya niya yan. How does it feel holding your
14:04.0
child for the first time? By the time
14:06.0
we got home and by the time I was looking
14:08.0
at him, actually I
14:10.0
feel it more now. Now
14:12.0
that parang buong-buo na
14:14.0
sa ano niya, sa isip niya na
14:16.0
nanay ka, nanay mo.
14:18.0
Is he two or three? One.
14:20.0
He's one? He's one. Oo yun ang cute
14:24.0
Nagsasalita, malambe. And he's still
14:26.0
blonde. It's a little weird.
14:28.0
Mas ngayon nagsisink in
14:30.0
yung pagiging nanay. Oo.
14:32.0
Chochong-chocho pa rin siya sa akin.
14:34.0
So, you know, that's it.
14:36.0
Anong nagustuhan mo sa pagiging nanay?
14:40.0
sobrang nagustuhan ko is knowing
14:44.0
and what I don't want for the
14:46.0
child. I think we were
14:48.0
very, very particular
14:50.0
about the way he was
14:52.0
going to be raised. We did
14:54.0
not like the fact na
14:56.0
there were all these names already
15:00.0
with him. Ayokong
15:02.0
any semblance na special
15:04.0
siya. Dahil? Dahil
15:06.0
Special in a way ng special treatment.
15:08.0
Special treatment. And also kasi
15:10.0
nakita ko yun with me.
15:12.0
Gusto mo siyang lumaki as a normal
15:14.0
kid? Yes. Because I didn't have that.
15:20.0
I was already dealing with
15:22.0
are they gonna like me? Are they gonna capture me?
15:24.0
Are they going to love me?
15:26.0
I already had an audience. Kasi bata ka palang
15:28.0
nasa limelight ka na,
15:30.0
exposed ka na sa public opinion.
15:32.0
Public figure ka na at a very young
15:34.0
age. Yes. Eh that's the time
15:36.0
na dapat hinahanap mo palang yung sarili mo.
15:38.0
Exactly. Inaalam mo palang
15:40.0
kung sino ka, minamanuever mo palang
15:42.0
yung mundo na, saan ba ako pupunta?
15:44.0
Tapos nakalatag na lahat sa'yo. Correct.
15:46.0
Or even in your personal relationships,
15:48.0
di ba, do you like me for me?
15:50.0
Or do you like me for everything that comes
15:52.0
with me? May ganon?
15:54.0
May ganon, oo. Di ba?
15:56.0
What did you learn in life, looking back?
15:58.0
I think when I look
16:00.0
back at all of that,
16:04.0
anyone. I cannot blame
16:06.0
any circumstances for whatever
16:10.0
But all I know is that
16:12.0
as long as I keep
16:14.0
working on myself,
16:16.0
and the way I want to
16:18.0
treat other people, and the way
16:20.0
I want to show my son,
16:22.0
and possibly whoever comes
16:26.0
we deal with a world
16:28.0
like this, I cannot hide
16:30.0
anything anymore. My life
16:32.0
has always, always been an open book.
16:34.0
Also because my family has
16:36.0
chosen to be very open
16:38.0
about their situations
16:42.0
no matter how private,
16:44.0
people wanna know.
16:46.0
And people will judge, and
16:48.0
people will do all of that.
16:50.0
But for me, I go along, I go
16:52.0
with my rules, my values,
16:54.0
based on what I learned from the
16:56.0
past. And it took a while for me
16:58.0
to decide on my own
17:00.0
that this is what I'm happy with.
