THE boy Frenchant wanted to be a pilot. It is a dream he shared with his mom.
Today, Frenchant Camino, 24, is the most famous Ilonggo “buko juice man”, thanks to social media sensationalization.
Of course, he has showbiz ambitions. He is a fan of reality TV shows like “Pinoy Big Brother.” But for now, he is focused on earning a livelihood by the way he knows best: peddling perishables like bottled buko juice, buko shakes, buko pies, up to frozen food.
The socmed explosion and overnight fame in mid-January is “God sent”, Camino said, because it greatly boosted his income especially during the Dinagyang festival weekend.
After all his interviews and features on national TV, Camino still plies the Parola Wharf as buko juice man; but now, with the social obligation to pose with fans and followers.
Taking a break from his daily grind on March 16, Frenchant joined me at the Cinematheque Centre Iloilo (on Solis Street) for the last screening of the quirky film, “Leonor Will Never Die”, which won for its director Martika Escobar the Special Jury Prize for Innovative Spirit at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
He gushed about the “imagination of writers and moviemakers”, and was surprised that a cinema dedicated to art films existed in Iloilo City.
Of course, I had to tell him that there is a healthy community of Ilonggo filmmakers in the region, and he can be a pilot, or something else, in our very own movies./PN
