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Dayanara Torres |
Wednesday 20th Jan |
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Dayanara Torres |
Wednesday 20th Jan |
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Dayanara Torres, Pantene press conference | ||||
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This press
conference was held in a very plush hotel. It was the sort of hotel where they seemed to
have made all the corridors 20 feet wide just for the sake of it. Inside the room
where the press conference was being held there were numerous boards advertising Pantène
dotted around. The first thing I noticed about these posters is that the official
photo they had chosen for the Pantène advertising campaign made it look like Dayanara has
a lazy eye (she hasn't - she looks far better in real life :) The food was very posh too -
the dessert was the kind that is about 2 inches square with an artistic squiggle of
chocolate on the plate, but it tasted great :) Once Dayanara arrived she made the room light up with her presence. Probably from her days as a model, Dayanara is very graceful, and she is the centre of attraction without having to try hard at it. She was very polite to all the members of press present and tried to answer every question that was asked of her without being evasive or trying to be smart. What amazed me about this press conference was the number of things that Dayanara actually had to plug! First, she had already been a part of the press conference specifically for the launch of the movie "Type Kita - Walang Kokontra!", but as it was only a couple of days previously she naturally got asked about it a lot. Second, the main purpose of the press conference was to relaunch the Pantène range with Dayanara as the face of the product. Then Dayanara had also just released a pop single, the video of which was playing in the background for much of the time. And finally - and most bizarrely - she was introducing the new Dayanara doll!
Actually, with the video playing constantly in the background it did get to be a little wearing, and I have to say that despite hearing it so many times I really can't remember how it goes (maybe I'm just to old for that kind of pop. Maybe... ;). The doll is meant to sing one of Dayanara's tunes too, though I never got to actually hear it. She only had the one doll boxed up for display, so I guess I'll just have to buy one...
The interview for the Plus Patrol eventually began, and was another that seemed to be quite a long one, although there was a lot of stuff to ask about. Much is made of the past relationship Dayanara had with Aga Mulach (he was her first boyfriend) and every time I saw either of them interviewed on TV or in the press it was mentioned (including that week's episode of Showbiz Lingo Plus, although it was an interview with Dolly Anne where she was asked about it).
Type Kita - Walang Kokontra! We were actually at the press conference for "Type Kita - Walang Kokontra!" but I never actually got any photos there. It had taken place in a large (and almost completely empty) cinema. They used the screen to play the movie trailer while the stars sat at a long trestle table in front to answer questions. I had assumed that we would be staying to do an interview, but it transpired that it was Dolly Anne interviewing the stars and Pilar and me had another appointment to get to. This movie was a constant presence during my stay. On the second day there I saw the trailer on the big screen, then attended Dayanara's press conference, then watched as the TV and billboard campaign built up over the following weeks, including shots of people leaving the theatre enthusing about the film. After all that I never did see the movie. Maybe when it's out on video I'll be able to see what all the fuss was about ;) Also here you can see the marvellous lighting system used by the Plus Patrol - a single, powerful, hand-held beam that's used to reflect ambient light from the walls and ceiling. It's simple but effective, but you can often see the person holding it wish that the interview would end soon - the light is heavy for its size and gets quite hot. Finally, this press conference gave me something that stayed with me for the rest of my time in the Philippines - a free sample of Pantène shampoo and conditioner ;)
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As you
can see I had my "this is one of me with..." photos taken with Dayanara.
Dayanara was unique among the busy stars I met at press conferences who actually took time
to ask a little about myself, and seemed interested that I was creating a web site. Of
course on only so little exposure it's difficult to know how much of it is simply for
show, but she seemed genuine enough, and I certainly felt nothing of the aloofness that
some people had given me the impression she had.
In the press pack for her album release
there was a nice black and white photo of Dayanara which Pilar kindly had Dayanara
autograph for me. There are all kinds of things in press packs that real fans would
die for, and this is one of them, especially autographed. Sadly for the fans this
picture is staying firmly stuck in my photo album... :)
