Charo Ronquillo
THE ELDEST AT 23 YEARS OLD, CHARO SEEMS TO BE THE MOST PLAYFUL OF THE THREE PINAY SUPERMODELS. Behind the camera, she exhibits quite a spirited personality, singing along to the music while twirling about and flinging her arms up in the air. In front of the camera, she hones in on that spritely nature to come up with a different, well-composed pose every time the shutter clicks.
“Dito mas ma-mingle. Masaya, actually. Parang naglalaro ka lang. Pero pag doon, work lang (Here we mingle a lot. It’s fun, actually. It’s like we’re just playing. But over there, it’s purely work),” she describes the difference between photo shoots here and abroad. And based on her lively behavior during the shoot, we can certainly tell on which side of the world map she feels most at home and comfortable working. “Doon, mabilis silang kumilos. Mabilis din silang uminit ang ulo, mabilis mag-reklamo. Tayo calm at patient (There, they work real fast. They’re also quick to get mad, quick to complain. We’re calm and patient),” she adds.
But it doesn’t mean that Charo can’t keep up with the international scene. Nicknamed the Asian Kate Moss, her looks and her professionalism have put her on the pages of various international magazines, namely Glamour, Vogue India and Spain, Teen Vogue, US and French Marie Claire. She has also been included in the print campaigns of Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and JC Penney and has also walked the runways of Kenneth Cole, Tory Burch and Diane Von Furstenberg (who once said, “Is it my dress or the model that’s pretty?” while fitting Charo in one of her designs).
Modeling is a childhood dream come true for the girl from Cabuyao, Laguna. Charo is the third of four kids to father, Venerado, and mother, Nora. Her father, though, passed away when she was eight, forcing her mother to work as an overseas contract worker in Bahrain to make ends meet. Her mother has since married a Bahrain national, adding two more stepbrothers to Charo’s family unit.
“I’ve wanted to be [a model] since I was 12,” Charo reveals, adding that she enjoyed watching
Fashion TV and would often practice poses in front of the mirror. In 2004 at 16 years old, she was discovered by Elmer Torralba, Faze Model Management owner, while she was shooting hoops at an arcade in Robinsons Mall in Cabuyao. She was a college freshman then, taking up Business Management at the University of Perpetual Help. After receiving her family’s blessing, Charo stopped school to attend countless casting calls, VTRs and modeling contests. She joined MTV Fashionista Best Model Search 2004 and won the Texter’s Choice award. She even joined GMA 7’s Starstruck to try show business, but met disappointing results.
The next year, in 2005, Charo joined the Philippine search for the Ford Models Supermodel of the World. She bested nine other finalists to become the Philippine representative and flew to New York the next year to compete against 50-plus models from all over the world for the coveted title. “I have always believed in myself. When they were about to announce the winner, I was actually repeating my name, ‘Charo Ronquillo, Charo Ronquillo, Charo Ronquillo,’ and proclaiming it,” she recalls when asked how she felt and what was going through her mind during the finals. And we all know the result: Charo bagged third place with a US$100,000 contract with Ford Models.
Leaving school and her family was all worth the sacrifice. Charo’s proud to declare that she lives independently, renting her own apartment and providing financial aid to her siblings back home. For the New York-based jet setting model, who often crosses the Atlantic to do shoots in Paris, as well as the Pacific to walk the runways of Philippine Fashion Week, she ensures that her values—family, God and country—always take precedence in what she does or where she is. In an article published in 2009 in The Philippine Star, entitled “New York City Groove,” she describes how she would proudly display her Filipino roots to former housemates: “I love it when my friend notices my Laguna-accented ‘e’ when I speak Tagalog to
“FINDING A GOOD MODEL IS LIKE FINDING SOMETHING UNIQUE. AND CHARO HAS BECOME THAT UNIQUE LOOK FROM THE PHILIPPINES” —BILL FORD, vice president of Ford Models Inc., New York
them. I still say ‘Ha?’ when I don’t hear or understand something. And I have a crucifix and rosary near my bed. All these habits remind me of my background and where I come from. [...] I will always be proud to tell the whole world that I’m from the Philippines!”
Five years after Ford put her name on the international modeling map and Charo hasn’t slowed down one bit. She has signed on with another agency, Angels and Demons Models Paris, and is set to move to Paris in the near future.