the dancing and singing engineer

He could have been a character in the world-acclaimed musical Ms. Saigon -- an engineer who sings and dances. A role famously played by Filipino actor Leo Valdez.

Paolo Sta. Maria is the dancer in the group and wants to follow the footsteps of Gab Valenciano, son of famous Filipino singer Gary, and who is known more for his dancing skills than anything else. But Paolo knows how to sing. After a year of taking up voice lessons with the rest of the Men of Manila, his singing has improved.

This will be Paolo’s edge in the group. He can be the Ricky Martin of the Philippines (the former member of the dismantled boy band from Puerto Rico called Menudo and has embarked on a solo career), who can sing well and dance even better.

“I am a fast learner,” says Paolo. “My edge is dancing. Now, I am developing my singing talent. In the near future, I can do both very, very well.”

But Paolo isn’t just another performer. He is a graduate of ECE, batch 2013, at the University of Sto. Tomas and in fact, he is considering practicing his degree in case he doesn’t make it (which is unlikely given his good looks, talents and the strong determination to succeed) in the entertainment industry.

Just like the rest of the Men of Manila hopefuls, Paolo wants to support his family financially being the eldest in a brood of three, although his dad earns well as a service advisor for an automobile company.

Unlike some showbiz hopefuls who auditioned for the job, or were spotted by a talent manager, Paolo got his break through the help of his aunt. His aunt, who also helped him land his first gig on television when he was about eight years old, has a friend who manages talents. She recommended Paolo to him.

To make the long story short, the manager immediately saw a potential in Paolo and singed him up. Then the opportunity to join Men of Manila came and he grabbed it right away.

Entering showbiz has been a cherished dream for Paolo, who is also blessed with gorgeous looks (a director once exlaimed he looks like an oriental heartthrob)  after he first tasted the joys of performing in front of the camera. When he was eight, he was a guest at the educational television show Epol Apol on ABS-CBN.

“I fell in love with showbiz after that. I enjoyed performing and being with other people who were equally talented. It was also fun seeing myself on television,” he says, recalling that childhood experience.

But he did not immediately pursue his showbiz dreams. He opted to finish first his studies noting that showbiz is not stable.

“It’s always nice to have a fallback in case I don’t make it in showbiz,” says the 21-year old engineer, showing his practical side.

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