yano is born to perform

Yano Gaspari is cursed. But in a good way.

The half-Italian young guy -- who is in the cusp of manhood -- is born to perform. His mother has traveled the world performing as a singer on the stage. It’s no surprise then that Yano, with cherubic looks and a perpetual tan, can’t shake off the urge to perform, even forming his own band in Cavite just so he can, well, sing in public.

Born and raised in Italy, Yano came home to the Philippines when he was 12 years old to pursue his studies. While his Filipina mother, who is still working in Italy, had taught him Filipino values at home, fed him Filipino food and taught him how to speak the local language, Yano still couldn’t help but be shocked when he first arrived in his mother’s home land. His father, by the way, is Italian.

“When I came home, I knew very little Filipino and English. So I communicated mostly by sign language,” Yano says. “Even if my mom had exposed me to the ways of the Filipinos, I still experienced a culture shock when I first arrived here. But I adapted fast and learned to speak Filipino in less than a year.”

Yano then narrated a funny anecdote involving his aunt during his early days in Cavite. “My tita asked me to bring garapon (jar). I thought garapon means trash. I brought the trashcan to her and she was pissed off. But at the same time she was laughing because I told her I thought garapon means basura (trash),” he says.

His mother then decided to hire a tutor for the young Yano so he could learn Filipino fast and stop pissing off the people at home.

Because of his handsome looks, lean body, and well-sculptured face, a talent manager, who spotted him while he was watching a female beauty contest at school, approached him and asked if he wanted to become a model. He said yes. But the manager soon learned that he was a talented performer, so he asked him to join Men of Manila instead. And the rest, as they say, is history in the making.

Just like some of his band mates, Yano is juggling studies and his showbiz commitments. He is currently a second year tourism management student at Cavite State University. He hopes to someday put up his own tourism business. That is why aside from being fluent in English and Italian, he also hopes to learn Mandarin, noting that the affluent Chinese love to travel, and French, to make it easier for him to deal with different nationalities in his future company.

The 18-year old Yano, who has been in the country for six years now, still misses Italy. He hasn’t gone back since coming home when he was only 12 years old. It’s his mother who comes home regularly.

What does he miss most about Italy?

Without batting an eyelash, he says: “Lasagna. The lasagna here tastes different from the dish that I got used to in Italy. Here it’s kind of sweet.”

Of course he misses his mom too. That’s why Yano, who is an only child, is determined to make it big in showbiz both as singer and an actor so he can ask his mother to retire and live with him permanently in the Philippines.

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More Yano, fairies, bitches, ladies, pa-ladies, witches, bitches, princesses, queens, pa-queens and wannabes. Have a lovely week.