THE ART OF EVOLUTION
G TÖNGI-WALTERS WAS MANILA’S PERENNIAL IT-GIRL BEFORE LEAVING FOR NEW YORK TO BECOME A SERIOUS ACTRESS. NOW SHE’S BACK BRINGING WITH HER A HUSBAND, TWO KIDS, AND A BRAND NEW POINT OF VIEW
FOR MANY WHO GREW UP IN THE 90’S, MTV WAS QUITE A BIG DEAL.
Lethargically sprawling out in front of the TV every afternoon after school, discovering whether the artist of the month was Brandy or Puff Daddy, all the while ogling a lovely half-Asian VJ with a disarming smile, was something of a ritual for an entire generation. With her magnetism and free-spirited charisma, Giselle “G” Töngi was one of the reasons we all sat around the television watching insipid pop music videos. Aside from being one of MTV Asia’s most popular faces, G was also an established film star, racking up close to 40 movies and TV shows before the age of 21. She was a young woman living a seemingly charmed life, a national superstar, and Manila’s certified It-Girl. And then she left.
Today we meet somewhere in Rizal province, which though not a great distance outside of Metro Manila, certainly feels like it. The vast, now deforested plains possess a sort of desolate remoteness reminiscent of an air raid scene from Apocalypse Now. The modest altitude of this elevated area does not save us from Manila’s notorious heat wave unfortunately. The sun is out in force today. Yet the moderately rough conditions do not disrupt G’s mood, which remains upbeat. “We’re in the bukid,” she quips, feigning discomfort. “I haven’t been up this early in a while. I don’t have a normal schedule. Every day is different so I guess that keeps it exciting.”
Born to a Swiss father and Filipina mother, G spent the first few years of her life in Zurich then divided time between Manila and the States. At 16, she was discovered by a talent agent while at the mall. The chance encounter led to her joining ABS-CBN’s talent program, Star Circle, the movies and TV roles followed shortly after. She signed up as an MTV VJ at 19, affirming her status as one of Manila’s foremost It-Girls. I express my familiarity with her during my days as an impressionable MTV viewer. “I get that a lot. The ‘Oh G, I remember you when I was a kid.’ And I’m always like what is that supposed to mean?” she replies in jest.
In 2000, at the height of her success as a celebrity, she moved to New York. “I left to study. I wanted to learn how to act and New York seemed like a place where serious actors go to study. When I first started out in the Philippines, I was hired for my looks I have to admit,” she says. “I had never gotten any formal training prior. Being single in my early 20s in New York was pretty fun. I was very sheltered being in Manila, barely even allowed out of the village gates. It was my first time to live on my own. I had my own apartment. I felt so grown up.” She eventually ended up in Los Angeles, reenrolling in college, despite having a two-year old son, a husband, and being five months pregnant.
Living away from home, independent of Manila’s comforts, was an experience that she considers invaluable. “Leaving the country has definitely changed my perspective on a lot of things. People think you can just leave the country and it’s just fine and dandy. It’s not easy, it’s tough,” says G, who also worked as a part-time bartender in New York to help pay the bills. “The daily challenges, they ultimately define you. Being a struggling actor changed me. It made me realize that there is a lot of responsibility with what we’re doing. It should go past fame, looks and money.”
Despite the laidback energy of California, G decided to move once again. But this time, to return home. “My children were getting to an age where if they didn’t learn Filipino they might not grasp it. It was really important for my husband and them to learn to speak Tagalog. It’s a good tool to be bilingual,” she clarifies, rationalizing her homecoming, one which involved 70 balikbayan boxes. “Second my mom is getting older. I want my kids to get to know her. I also have a lot more opportunities here, producing-wise. And most importantly, it was my husband who made the decision that it was time we go home to the Philippines.”
G’s intonation is slow and erudite and it becomes increasingly clear as we speak that she is a woman of substance, far removed from the vapid realm of local showbiz. Her most recent film, a proRH bill commentary aptly titled Bayang
Magiliw, is proof of this notion. She maintains that creating socially-conscious films is the next step in her evolution as an artist. “Film is a very powerful tool to educate,” she says. “Some of the media here is certainly mindless entertainment and at the same time, it is a reflection of our society, which is sad. I’m not putting it down, I’m not saying it’s dumbing down people, but if it’s that what we want to project to the rest of the world we should reconsider the entertainment we want to provide.” Her tone gradually progresses in idealism. “It will take a revolution. And in order for a revolution to happen you need people to demand for more. People need to be enabled. People need someone to lead them. I can see it happening, in small pockets of entertainment. Yet it’s not an industry standard because at the end of the day it’s still about profit. China has a very supportive film system. Their government subsidizes films. The arts and people in the arts are what shape culture. We are defined by media and what media puts out.”
This avant-garde energy extends to all facets of G’s life, including her views on aging, a taboo topic for many women. “In five years, I’ll be 40. I’m one of those women who completely embrace my age,” she says, defying stereotypes with each word. “I feel like I’m growing in a very relaxed and content way. Aging is a great thing. I think I look better now than I did 20 years ago. I’m not trying to slow the aging process down.”
G’s hair is blonde, at least for now. The change in style was part of her transformation into iconic movie star Marlene Dietrich for the theaterproduction Piaf. “I have become quite fascinated with her (Marlene Dietrich) life. She was a pioneer. Fashion wise, she was the woman who wore a pantsuit. She was also openly bisexual during the 1940s, which could have been very detrimental,” she explains. “She did films that were unconventional. And for a woman to be ballsy enough to retain her identity and risk her career is admirable. It’s easy to play along with system. Instead she went against the grain.” In many ways, G has followed a similarly unconventional path as the Hollywood ingénue she portrayed. ”I left and chose to study. The term ‘starving artist’ isn’t literal but it comes pretty close. You live off sporadic paychecks, get to know people outside of your comfort zone, and are placed in situations you’ve never been in before. That’s what life is all about. It’s not all about photo shoots and movies. Those things are great but they don’t define what life is about.”
When not pursuing her thespian aspirations, G prioritizes her role as a mother, imparting the same liberal values to her two young children in the process. “I wish when I was younger I was in an environment where you were encouraged to be yourself,” she says. “They attend a school which focuses on your talents, not just academically but in the arts as well. When we were in LA they were going to a progressive school. I saw the research that showed learning in an environment where they are given the liberty to ask questions is highly effective. When learning through art, the retention rates are higher. I went to traditional school and I never excelled.”
It is just past noon and still sweltering. Fortunately it is also the last layout of the shoot. Despite the furnace-like conditions, G poses determinedly amongst makeshift cardboard balikbayan boxes. She is wearing a Filipiniana bolero made of denim—the latter a staple fabric among overseas Filipinos. A former president once remarked that the Philippines’ real wealth is not in the cities but in the provinces. This is certainly true from an OFW perspective, as a significant demographic of our foreign workers do primarily originate from rural areas. In many ways, G Töngi-Walters, embodies the modern Filipina. Admirably, she left a life of privilege to slug it out abroad, growing not just as an artist but as a person. Now she is back, equipped with a degree, a family, and renewed perspective. “Experience is the best teacher. But you also need training and guidance,” she says, summing up her journey over the years. G warmly bids everyone goodbye and gets in an SUV, finally earning respite from the afternoon heat.
“Being a struggling actor changed me. It made me realize that there is a lot of responsibility with what we’re doing. It should go past fame, looks and money”