'MTV' veejay Donita ecstatic with life<\/p>\n
By Hera Diani<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It's the best job in the world. At least that's
\nwhat Donita Rose Ramos Cavett says about her gig as an MTV
\nveejay.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old Filipino obviously enjoys her work at the
\nmusic channel, which she says was a childhood dream.<\/p>\n
Born and raised in Utah, the United States, her mother is a
\nFilipino and her father, a retired military officer, is an
\nAmerican.<\/p>\n
Before joining MTV Asia in 1998, Donita had already become
\nknow in the Philippines as an actress. She has done 30 films,
\nincluding one with Baywatch's David Hasselhof.<\/p>\n
Despite her sweet appearance, Donita loves sports and admits
\nto being an adrenaline junky.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post's Hera Diani spoke with Donita last Sunday in
\nbetween takes of a TV commercial shoot at Mega Mall Pluit in
\nNorth Jakarta. The following is an excerpt of the interview:<\/p>\n
Question: So, how does it feel to be doing a commercial here?<\/p>\n
Donita: I'm very, very excited. In the future, I'm hoping to
\ndo more and more projects in Indonesia. I feel like Indonesia is
\na good place to concentrate on because the biggest market for MTV
\n(Asia) is the Philippines and Indonesia. I think I have the
\nbiggest fan-base here and in the Philippines. MTV has sent me
\nhere many times and I feel, like, very comfortable with
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
What is it like working at MTV?<\/p>\n
It's so much fun. I feel very fortunate. Not everybody has the
\nopportunity to do what they wish to do.<\/p>\n
You travel a lot, don't you?<\/p>\n
I always go back and forth from the Philippines to Singapore.
\nTwice a month I travel all over Asia, it depends. It is a little
\nbit exhausting but I'm very, very excited about the kind of work
\nthat I have now. For me, I feel like this is the pinnacle of my
\ncareer. And I want to be smart about it. I don't want to take it
\nfor granted. I want to focus.<\/p>\n
What is the down side of working at MTV?<\/p>\n
Well, you don't have a social life. No love life, no social
\nlife. You can have a love life but it's very hard to concentrate
\nbecause you always want to be with that person and it's not
\npossible.<\/p>\n
I've been single for one-and-a-half years now so I'm very
\nfocused on what I want. I don't have to say, \"Oh, I go here, I go
\nthere\" or listen to \"How come you canceled?\" You don't have that
\nkind of responsibility anymore. I can go home anytime I like, and
\nthat is exactly what I want right now.<\/p>\n
The down side is I'm a homebody. I always want to stay at
\nhome, watch TV, go to the gym ....<\/p>\n
What do you think of the criticism that MTV promotes a
\nhedonistic lifestyle among young people?<\/p>\n
Well, if you watch MTV around the world you'll see that MTV
\nAsia is one of the most, if not the most, conservative. I think
\nMTV is only portraying what is really happening in the world.
\nSometimes, you know, things can be a little out of hand, and
\nthat's why I'm very thankful that MTV censors a lot of things,
\nmaybe because it's based in Singapore.<\/p>\n
I believe in censorship to a certain extent because you are
\ninfluencing the minds of the youth and the masses. But if you see
\nmusic videos from Linkin' Park or Korn where they're
\nscreaming ... those are the voices of the youth. They're trying
\nto cry out and send the message out. And that's something that we
\nneed to be aware of, to listen to what the problems are in
\nsociety with drugs, teen pregnancy, AIDS ....<\/p>\n
I think MTV is a very good medium for the youth to speak out
\nand say what's on their mind. It's good, you know, to have a
\npassion for music and dancing, and you can look up to somebody.
\nIt can keep you away from drugs and everything.<\/p>\n
You have to make it positive. Not because I'm an MTV veejay. I
\nmyself am a conservative person and when I watch MTV, it's not
\nthat bad.<\/p>\n
What about the criticism that MTV Asia is too mainstream, with
\nboybands and teen pop?<\/p>\n
Well, the most popular, believe it or not, are boybands and
\nChristina (Aguilera) and Britney (Spears). Older people may be
\nsick of them but teenagers love them. Many teenagers don't have
\nmuch time to watch MTV, so when they watch it they want to see
\nboybands. That's why we have to play the videos over and over.
\nBut the best thing about MTV is that it gives opportunities to
\nlocal acts, someone like Project Pop or Anggun.<\/p>\n
Speaking about local shows, It's My Life is not realistic at
\nall.<\/p>\n
Well, the thing is here in Asia you have many different
\ncultures and religions that we have to respect. Like for example,
\nin Malaysia we cannot have a picture of pigs or someone wearing a
\nT-shirt with pigs on it. So there are many restrictions. There's
\nso many people who do drugs in reality but we can't show them on
\nIt's My Life. We have to project more positive things.<\/p>\n
What are the young people like in the different Asian
\ncountries?<\/p>\n
Thai people are very shy. Malaysians and Indonesians are very
\nenergetic. Every time I see fans, they are like (shouting) \"Hi,
\nDonita!\" Filipinos are a little bit shy, but excited.
\nSingaporeans are poised and reserved. They're big fans but when
\nsomebody's looking they're cool and smiling, but when nobody's
\nlooking ... they go (waving and shouting) \"Hi, Donita!\" (laughs).<\/p>\n
You must have a lot of fans. What's the weirdest thing a fan
\nhas done to you?<\/p>\n
There was a guy in the Philippines, and he was sort of a
\nstalker for a couple of years. Everywhere I went, he was there.
\nIn the beginning I was very nice to him. He said he was working
\nfor a shampoo company and gave me shampoo, soap, saying that I
\nwas the one for him, blah blah blah. After that I ignored him.
\nOne time, I came for a TV show and he was there and insisted the
\nguard open the gate. I waved at him but ignored him. Suddenly he
\njumped onto my car and kissed the windshield (screams). There's
\nalso this guy who said that God told him that we're supposed to
\nmarry. I just told him to stay away.<\/p>\n
What kind of music do you like?<\/p>\n
I'm pretty eclectic when it comes to music. But mainly my
\nbiggest passion is, like, R&B, hip-hop and reggae, because I love
\nto dance. My favorite artists now are Outkast, Destiny's Child
\nand Missy Elliot. I also like Anggun, Jamie. Jamie is a very good
\nsinger.<\/p>\n
Dangdut? I like the song that goes (swaying and singing)
\n\"Cikiciki bum bum, alala bum bum\" (laughs).<\/p>\n
You were also an actress?<\/p>\n
Yes, but I stopped when I joined MTV because when you do a
\nmovie you have to be on location for one month. But this month
\nI'm shooting two films in the Philippines. We will shoot every
\nweekend. The first is a war epic. My role is someone who's deaf,
\nmute and blind. The other movie I'm making is a love story.<\/p>\n
How long do you plan to stay at MTV?<\/p>\n
I don't know. I'm hoping to stay with them for a long time.<\/p>\n
Any plans to move to, say, MTV US?<\/p>\n
No, I'm concentrating on Asia right now. There's an offer but
\nit's not a 100 percent guarantee that you will succeed. I'm
\nsuccessful here already and I'm very happy with what I'm doing. I
\nwould rather stay here.<\/p>",
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