Jeppy Paraiso shares Filipino antics one viral video at a time
MY husband and I have quite different tastes when it comes to entertaining ourselves. We have many things in common but aside from Fixer Upper and Impractical Jokers – we can never quite agree on shows and YouTube videos to watch that is until we both stumbled upon “Tita Che” on Facebook. My husband, who spent a good amount of time living in Manila, could easily relate to rants and many anecdotes as if he was a Filipino native himself. Instantly we were hooked with the filtered who constantly asked about Michael and shared her love for Louis Vuittons.
For those of you living under a rock – Tita brought back the sass to the word “che” and through her many viral videos sent a ripple of laughter into different corners of the world. Curious, I went on a search to look for the person behind funny character not only to know more about him but to also thank him for getting me through homesickness that was a byproduct of living miles away from home.
With over a million views and counting, without out a doubt, “Tita Jeppy” has become the Filipino Internet breakout star of 2018 and the man behind the colorful character is Jeppy Paraiso.
Many would be surprised to know that Jeppy, who was raised by a close knit family in the United States was a Pastry Chef for five years, “I actually worked as a Pastry Chef at an Artisan Doughnut shop in Washington DC before closing that chapter of my life in June.” Aside from being a talented chef, Jeppy is also passionate about music and singing and even competed in The World Championship of Performing Arts representing Team USA in 2017, “This is the same competition that Jed Madela won in 2005.”
Describing himself as a simple 28- year- old, Jeppy adds, “I like to work, hang out with friends, and travel. I love my family and just enjoy life as it comes.”
When asked what inspired the internet’s most famous he shares, “The idea of ‘ came to me around Thanksgiving because it was during that time where social media was filled with ‘ Thanksgiving Clap Back’ videos where family members kind of exchanged friendly insults or clap backs. This inspired me to have a Filipino version called, “Filipino Tita at Thanksgiving”and 12 hours later, I had one million views on Facebook – it was crazy! I only used a Snapchat filter, didn’t have a script, and just said the first things that came to mind!”
He continues, “I grew up in a very Filipino household and I was raised very culturally aware of Filipino traditions and values. I am a very observant person so growing up, I would sit in a corner and observe the room and how people interact with each other, how they would speak, what they would do, how they move, and so on. These all just came naturally because I have long observed them happening.”
When asked why he thinks everyone thinks his videos are relatable, he responds,” I think everyone relates to Tita because they’ve all heard the jokes before and they’ve all been in the same situation. I just find new ways to play with classic jokes and it’s really funny when I read the comments and people are tagging other titas or moms or lolas saying, “this is you!”. I think a wide range of Filipinos no matter where they are can easily relate because they have that one tita or more.”
At the end of the day, Jeppy was eas- ily welcomed into our smartphones because his videos became a source of laughter and for Jeppy, this has been the most important part of what he does, “I can’t explain how it feels. It’s just awesome to know that people are sitting on their desks at work or at home with their families or stuck in traffic and they’re having a good old laugh. I am so grateful that I can bring joy to people through these one to two minute videos and this is what inspires me to keep doing them.”
He goes on to say, ” I had so many people message me about how they are dealing with grief, loss, anxiety, depression, or just not having a good season in life and they tell me that the tita videos has helped them smile, cope, and get through something. They really bring me to tears. Getting these messages make me realize what I was doing was pretty powerful. I also get a lot of messages from parents telling me that my videos are inspiring Filipino – American children to learn more about their roots and that’s pretty powerful too.
Jeppy is an example of someone who has used social media for good and I see him racking up the views and more for many more years.
Thank you Jeppy for all you do!
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