Debuts usually have several rituals that include the 18 Roses, 18 Candles, and 18 Treasures.
The Philippines had its “debut” many decades ago, but it does have a belated contribution to the usual debut rituals: the 18 Marines.
Since the Philippines is too old to have its own debut now, Filipinos have to choose who the debutante should be this time. Hmm. How about Matet? Matet de Leon, that is. But she’s already 42 years old.
If you haven’t been living under a rock, your first thought when I mentioned “Matet” probably wasn’t Matet de Leon but Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, whom critics have nicknamed “Matet.” Notice the resemblance? I didn’t. In fact, I had no idea why they call him that, until people pointed to their foreheads. Oh. A hairstylist might have suggested bangs.
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Imagine Dora the Explorer. That kind of bangs. Matet de Leon seems happy without them, and she’s beautiful as she is. Cayetano also seems confident about his looks. So, no need for bangs.
People in the limelight eventually become conscious of their appearance, and there’s one particular female politician who seems to have reached that point. She went from frumpy to polished, though her body type hasn’t changed.
Better hair, better makeup, better OOTDs, unless it was just for that particular party. Kudos to her fashion stylist, and here’s hoping she keeps the polished look.
A good speechwriter could complete the whole package with well-written and well-rehearsed speeches. Otherwise she’ll end up rambling about her complaints again.
Once upon a time, a team helped a politician wannabe polish her image. One handled her OOTDs, the other her speeches. When both left her camp, the OOTD girl asked the speech girl, “Have you seen her OOTD today?” Let’s just say it made her look like a “Lola.”
Current times appreciate the “Lola look,” with social media influencers no longer hiding their real lives since more people relate to reality anyway.
Neselynn Udarbe Delgado, the content creator behind those Langlang videos, has 509,000 followers, and that number keeps climbing, thanks to her this-is-as-real-as-it-gets attitude. She films everything happening in her life. And once she starts eating, you may start craving the dishes on her table too: bangus, tamban, bulad, veggies, her favorite alugbati.
Creating content must be tiring, especially for an introvert who’d rather stay off social media. I, for one, have been trying to decide whether to deactivate or even delete my Facebook account. It’s such a waste of time that I could have used to read books.
Haven’t you noticed? Once you’re there, you can’t stop scrolling your News Feed. It’s addictive.
My nephew and niece-in-law do use social media, but mostly for their café. One brother uses Messenger only. The other doesn’t even have a Facebook account.
But Facebook is also where I follow both Matets. So deciding whether to delete that account needs discernment.
