Instead of requesting a gift for his birthday on March 31, Vice Ganda, one of the country’s leading comedians today, opted to surprise his mother and grandmother with a grand gift instead—a brand new house.
After years of being a stand-up comedian, and his recent stint as a mainstay host and judge in Showtime, Vice Ganda’s hard work finally paid off as he was recently reunited with his mom, Mrs. Rosario Viceral, and grandmother, after 19 years of being apart, last March 9.
In an exclusive interview with Korina Sanchez in Rated K, Vice revealed that building a house for his mother was foremost in his mind, so that his mother could finally go back home and retire from work. He also said that it was the first time his mother got to see the house, because he refused to give the exact details of what the house will look like every time she asked him.
“My family knew I was building a house for them but they didn’t have any idea what it looks like. Even my siblings wanted to visit and have a look at the house when it was being constructed, but I refused to show it to them (until it’s finished). I refused to show how the house looked, even in photos,” Vice revealed in Tagalog.
Apart from being very opinionated, Vice (Jose Mari Borja-Viceral in real life) is admired by fans for being vocal about his love and gratitude for his mother. 20 years ago, after Vice’s dad passed away, his mother went to the US to work as a caregiver to be able to provide for her five kids.
During his birthday celebration in Showtime last year, Vice even paid tribute to his mom who, at that time was still in the US. As a way of showing how grateful he is, Vice delivered a speech and dedicated a song to Rosario.
“I’ve decided to use this opportunity to pay tribute to a woman. A woman whom God used as an instrument to give birth and give life to me. And that woman is no other than my mother.”
Vice’s love for his mother certainly did not go unappreciated. When asked why she cried upon seeing the house, Mrs. Viceral said that the size of the house was more than she had ever imagined.
“It does not matter if it’s small, what’s important is that we will all be finally living together,” she said in Tagalog.
Even when Vice was young, Rosario knew her son was destined for greatness as the latter was an “accelerated kid” joining declamation contests, quiz bees, among others.
Growing up in Tondo, Manila, Vice admitted that he felt nothing special about himself living without parents at such a young age. He revealed in an interview with Ricky Lo that his father passed away when he was about to turn 12. “On my 13th birthday, nakaburol ang tatay ko (we were mourning over our father’s death)” he recalled.
Being the youngest among his siblings, Vice shared that he did not have anybody to share his struggles with because he did not know who to turn to especially when it comes to dealing with his then suppressed sexual preference.
It was in college that Vice decided to be honest about who he truly was and decided to come out and admit that he is gay. A graduate of Political Science in Far Eastern University (FEU), Vice said that stand-up comedy was the last thing on his mind. He disclosed that he wanted to be a lawyer before he discovered his niche in making people laugh.
After being discovered by the owner of the comedy bar, The Library in 1999, Vice Ganda rose to fame not only for his catchphrase, “May nagtext!” which he frequently used in Showtime, but also for his witty remarks and timely punch lines hich never failed to put smiles on his audience’s faces.
Being the first Filipino celebrity to have over 2 million fans on Facebook, Vice Ganda makes sure that he will not let it go to his head. He also said in an interview with Entertainment Live that he will continue giving it his all in every performance not only for his fans, but also for his family as well.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(OCIE Mar 18-24, 2011 RedCarpet pg.2)
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