On Thursday, Filipino-American actress Vanessa Hudgens was awarded the title Global Tourism Ambassador for the Philippines. A platform that aims to acknowledge individual efforts in promoting the Philippines as a premier tourist destination worldwide, it was backed by the Department of Tourism and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications, Paul Soriano.
The Hollywood actress arrived in the Philippines for the first time with her sister and their Filipino mother last March 25 and has been seen enjoying her stay in the country all over social media.
Taking to her Instagram account, the Disney Channel alum posted a video of her taking an early morning hike in the mountains of Palawan. Vanessa captioned the video: “5 am hike to the top of the world. #foreverphilippines #palawan 😍🌴🥰”
More recently, the “High School Musical” actress shared snaps from the beaches of Pangulasian Island, which is home to the luxury hideaway El Nido Pangulasian Islands Resort. She captioned the post “Paradise #foreverphilippines” sharing photos of both her mother Gina and sister Stella enjoying the sunny weather and clear waters.
A few weeks ago, it was announced that Vanessa would be making her way to Philippine shores for an upcoming documentary that would focus on Vanessa’s journey to fame, her bond with her mother Gina – who migrated to the US from the Philippines at 25 years old, and her sister Stella.
Upon the announcement, it received mixed responses from many on the internet. Some of Vanessa’s supporters were excited about her reconnecting with her Filipino heritage, whereas others expressed disappointment in the actress for not having shown pride in her Pinay roots earlier and accused her of chasing the ‘Pinoy clout’.
One user posted “Vanessa ‘I’m German, French, 1/6 Chinese’ Hudgens who never talks about being Filipino unless a Filipino asked when her mum is like full Filipino is now collecting coins to shoot a documentary about being Filipino,”
To which the actress’s fans took to her defense saying that the actress had always mentioned wanting to make a tribute film for her immigrant Filipina mom, Gina Hudgens. “My mom is from the Philippines, and growing up there weren’t really that many women who looked like me and my mom and my family on screen,” she said in one of her interviews back in 2021.
Others also unearthed multiple instances in which she discussed her ancestry and showed support toward Filipinos. From partnering with UNICEF to raise money for the Philippines after the typhoon in 2013
When she partnered with UNICEF to raise money for the Philippines after the typhoon in 2013 pic.twitter.com/Hw0G0GOwBI
— Vanessa Hudgens Supremacy ✰ (@makevoumine) May 8, 2021
To sharing some of her Filipino traditions back in 2017
Some of her filipino holiday traditions ’19 pic.twitter.com/824Xb4IpyX
— Vanessa Hudgens Supremacy ✰ (@makevoumine) May 8, 2021
What do you think? Is this really just some ploy to bait Filipinos and gain instant traction or is she genuinely interested in learning about the culture and sharing it with the world?