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| Sibling revelry: Daniel Matsunaga and Vanessa Matsunaga speak highly of each other. |
Despite the influx of Brazilian models taking over the Manila modeling scene the
past few years, two names still stand out. What would drive two siblings with
zero Pinoy blood to live halfway across the globe, and, are Brazilians and
Filipinos really so different? Here are 10 things you should know about Daniel
and Vanessa Matsunaga.
1They moved out of
their home in Brazil
when Daniel was 16 and Vanessa was 18 to pursue modeling around the world.
“Every two or three
months we would move country. As models we’re always looking for the
right season. When we were in Hong Kong, a lot of people were telling us, ‘Why
don’t you go to the Philippines? You guys will work very well there,’” Vanessa
says. “’It’s your market, and Filipinos are very nice,’” Daniel added. Before
2009 ended, Vanessa and Daniel moved to Manila
to pursue modeling but only for two months.
“I’ve lived in over 25 countries,” Daniel shares. “Yes,”
Vanessa adds. “We’ve both filled up four passports with stamps because of
modeling.” They lived the longest in the Philippines,
Hong Kong, Thailand,
Korea, and Singapore. “My
dad Paulo was born and raised in Brazil, but he is actually pure
Japanese. He looks Pinoy though! My mom Geralda is Brazilian,” Vanessa says.
On the decision to settle in the Philippines:
“We are both Christians, and our pastor in Brazil advised us that there was a
purpose here for us. I was in Hong Kong at
that time and work was good for me. Vanessa said that we have to go to the Philippines
because we have a purpose there. In the beginning, I didn’t believe it and I
told her that it’s hard to leave something that is concrete, versus something
that is not,” Daniel recalls. “We were working here in Manila already, and then when we were about
to leave, I met my husband. How was I gonna leave, I was already so in love
with him,” Vanessa gushes.
“Nine years of modeling, it can get boring. When I also
entered showbiz, I found it more exciting. Step by step, I’m trying to improve.
All the purpose that we were told we had here, it was true. It’s been almost
five years and we haven’t left,” Daniel says.
2 On their fondest
memory as kids: “We were so mad at each other that our dad made us hug till we
loved each other.”
“We used to fight a lot!” Daniel says. “Probably about
things that were really stupid. I remember one day, Daniel punched me in the
stomach, and I punched him back. Our dad got so mad that he made us kneel
down,” Vanessa recalls. “…and made us hug each other!” They said in unison,
laughing. “We were hugging for hours until we loved each other again,” Vanessa
says. “That’s worse than standing in the corner. It’s so hard when you’re angry
at each other then you have to hug each other,” Daniel adds. They were four and
six years old then.
“I remember our little brother Gui used to love cooking even
if he was so young and so small he could barely reach the stove. Daniel was
always like, ‘Gui, cook me something!’ and all the time, Gui would cook for
him. So bossy,” Vanessa says about Daniel as a kid.
“The funniest is when she starts talking to animals. She
would start speaking this other language that nobody understands, and it’s this
voice that’s really funny,” Daniel says about Vanessa when they were growing
up. “For her, the animals really understand her,” he adds. “And they do, I
believe they do! I should be an animal trainer,” Vanessa says with a laugh.
3 Their favorite
Tagalog expressions are “Talaga,” “Syempre,” “Oo nga,” “Diba,” and “Ano?!”
“When I bought Lumi (their pet bird), I wanted to name her
Trixie. Then our yaya Ate Alice said, ‘Ma’am! Baka lumipad,’ pointing to the
bird. And I said, ‘Ate, Trixie na lang, mas magandang pangalan’ ‘Hindi ma’am, lumipad
yan!’ ‘Sige, Lumipad na lang.’ I didn’t know what the word meant! So that’s how
her name became Lumi,” Vanessa shares giggling.
“When I first came here, at work I was always surrounded by
beckies (gays), and they always teach you the bad words. And they taught me to
say bakla, they would say ‘O, call him bakla, call him bakla,” Daniel recalls.
On people’s biggest misconceptions about them: “Everyone
says Daniel is so serious, but for me he is very silly! He makes me kulit all
the time, he’s like a kid,” Vanessa shares. “If not for events or birthdays,
Vanessa doesn’t like clubbing or partying. She doesn’t drink. Bahay lang ‘yan,
she can watch six movies in a row,” Daniel says.
4 The first time
Vanessa met her husband Jun Sunga, she didn’t like him right off the bat; and
at one point even teased him about being a stalker.
“One of the few events I went to, in Embassy, he was there
and we met. He was tipsy. I was like, ‘Uh, no,’” Vanessa recalls. “But we met
again at a shoot. I was the model and there were two photographers. And every
time I would step in front of him to have my photos taken, he would give the
camera to the other guy. I thought, ‘What was wrong with him? What was wrong
with me?’ But I already found him cute then,” she adds. “He was sending flowers
to the house all the time! What’s this? Again?” Daniel reveals.
“He proposed after five months of dating, and five months
after, we got married,” she shares. “I just wanted to get married under a tree!
That was my dream. And it was so hard to find a tree. And I remembered in
Bellaroca in Marinduque there was a beautiful tree, so it was perfect.” Jun and
Vanessa are now three years married. “We don’t have kids yet, so we have our
dogs and birds for now.”
On what she loves most about Jun: “He’s masipag, very
organized, down to earth. So many! He’s very sweet, very gentlemanly.”
5 Daniel has been in
five serious relationships (four were Brazilian and one was Pinay) and he
believes he will probably end up with a Filipina.
He is currently single. “I told myself that I want to really
focus on myself first, on work, I told myself I wanna stay single for at least
two years and it’s already been two years,” Daniel says. “I learned a lot in my
relationships, including the one with Heart (Evangelista), I learned how to
deal with myself.”
“He is waiting for the right one,” Vanessa says. “Daniel
looks all tough, but he believes in these kinds of things, that there’s one
right person.”
On the differences between Brazilian women and Filipina
women: “You guys are more conservative, more family-oriented, and more
malambing,” Daniel says. “Brazilians are more fiery and more independent,”
Vanessa says. “And more open,” Daniel adds.
“I’m not gonna say that I for sure will end up with a
Filipina, because you never know. But yes, I do expect to, because I love this
country, I love everything about the people here. And since she has not arrived
yet, I will have to wait,” Daniel reveals.
6 Vanessa has a pretty
low maintenance beauty regimen:
1. “I never sleep with makeup on, and I only put a bit of
makeup on when I need to. I like Esteé Lauder.”
2. “Always moisturize.”
3. “I love home massages, we call for that a lot, Jun and
I.”
4. “For my hair, I like everything organic. I love the
products of Healthy Options, they smell so good and I like them because they
are not animal-tested.”
5. “For my nails, I love Orly. I actually do my own nails! I enjoy
it.”
7 Daniel says his
physique doesn’t only come from good genes; in fact, he works out every single
day. “It really takes a lot of work.”
“I play football every day for two hours, so that’s a lot of
cardio, running. I do gym also, every day, for two hours. No trainer because
since I was 14, I’ve been working out, I learned everything about fitness and
food,” Daniel shares.
His tips? “Less carbohydrates and sugar; instead, have fiber
and protein. I usually eat a piece of chicken breast with broccoli and mashed
potato, a lot of beans, fish fillet, salad, fruits. It’s not actually the
genes, I was chubby before,” he reveals.
His favorite cheat day indulgence? “Ice cream. Anything
sweet,” he says. “He always has snacks or chocolate beside his bed,” Vanessa
reveals. “When we used to share a room I would wake up in the middle of the
night to this loud sound! It would be Daniel, opening the bag of Lay’s or
something.”
8 The perfect day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:
“People normally wake up early, at 7 or 8 a.m., then eat
breakfast with fruits and bread. Then you head to the beach, to Copacabana or
Ipanema. Then you play football or hang out at the restaurants and cafés all
over,” Daniel says. “Then have lunch at a churrasco, that’s eat all you can and
they have the best cuts of beef! Then afternoon, you wanna sleep, after you
eat. Basically people stay on the beach the whole day, and drinking in Brazil is the
whole day. Either beer, or caipirinha,” Vanessa shares. “Sunset is beautiful at
the beach. Then dinner, there are a lot of restaurants with live music, so
depends on what you like, there’s bossa nova, or pagode, or samba,” Daniel
adds. “People can party till 5 a.m.! Midnight or 1 a.m. is early.”
9 Daniel and Vanessa
Matsunaga in numbers:
5’8”: Vanessa’s height
6’1”: Daniel’s height
1,000+: number of DVDs in Vanessa’s collection
12: jersey number of Daniel for his first division football
team, Kaya FC
10: number of pets at home. There are two birds and eight
dogs, all Alaskan Malamutes
2: number of times a year they usually go home to Brazil
10 On what Brazilians
can learn from Filipinos, and what Filipinos can learn from Brazilians:
“I think from Brazilians, Pinoys can learn that criticism is
not always a bad thing,” Vanessa says. “In our culture it’s very normal for
people to tell you these things, but Filipinos are very non-confrontational.”
“What I think is most captivating that Brazilians can learn
is, you guys are such a happy people. Kahit may problema, you guys are very
happy with what you have. Even after Yolanda, people were still laughing and
smiling, it’s very touching,” Daniel says.
“One thing that both cultures have is that thought to never
give up. When a challenge comes, believe in yourself, and trust God,” he adds.
It took Vanessa, 27, and Daniel, 25,
a trip halfway around the world and four passports before they decided to build
their dreams and their future here in Manila,
which they now fondly call home. “You really don’t have Pinoy blood? Not even a
bit?” I had to ask. “Wala talaga,” they said with their thick Brazilian
accents. “Sa puso, Pinoy!” they say with a smile.
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