After a grueling 13 years in Sweden, OPM artist Zelle is back in the country for new music, a new perspective with empowerment, her truth and the process of healing. Her single "Martir" talks about the trials and tribulations of love and the complexities of relationships.
This resurgence didn't come easy as it stemmed from her own life experiences which happened recently, a matter that compelled her to go back to the country.
She admits experiencing depression, but realized how she could use music as an expression. It was something that she knew was important, to use it to heal. Her gift is now being used with intention and fervor, which is why her music feels more genuine than ever. A way to show her truth, and strength which she hopes to also inspire other women.
Love certainly is still part of her songs creative process, but says she uses a more psychological aspect in writing about it. She shares how one shouldn't lose their identity while experiencing love. That's a pretty strong statement!
She now is doing gigs and tours with a dependable band. With John Abiathar De Leon on drums, Archie Salvador on guitar, Chester Ventura on violin, and Jing Gonzales on bass plus a few more people in charge of production, she's ready to perform in different stages, here or elsewhere. She's also preparing a release for another single "Liberate Me" which she's doing soon. In the meantime, listen download and stream "Martir" on all streaming platforms and take that awesome healing and feisty journey with Zelle.
Took a trip way east to Marikina City to visit the physical showroom of Maddox Jewelry. We got to talk to Madame Charo Cordial, the viral online seller, entrepreneur and businesswoman who made her small venture into a gold and diamond empire that it is today.
She had very humble beginnings. Brought up in a small town where farming was the premier industry, her parents had her take up Agricultural Engineering in college. During the pandemic, she just had the the opportunity to delve into jewelry (among her other passions), and that's where Maddox Jewelry started. When we met her, her demeanor was very warm and welcoming. With her fascination for all things gold, she got so busy these past few years garnering not only a huge clientele but celebrities, some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. The difference between her and the other online sellers is that she's got a physical showroom in Marikina (AZDM Building) where she conducts appointments for those who want to see the jewelry before they purchase it.
We asked her about making investments on jewelry and what is the best time to do it and she said "There's really no BEST time to do it but NOW. As you may know, gold value is increasing over the years and if you don't get it early, you won't see the value grow. I've seen several of my clients who purchased gold and diamond pieces in the past and in a few years, the value is now 5 times of what it was then."
She adds "Jewelry is not only for women, but men too. We have several pieces that are unisex especially the classic designed ones that can be worn by men or women. Aside from that, we have celebrities like Mark Herras who got earrings with diamonds in it. (Tried to find it on display but they said it's all sold out!) We have them in different colors. We have blue diamonds, green diamonds, something that would fit your personality. We'd gladly accommodate you here as we have people who could assist you to choose the right sparkle you need for your jewelry."
Here's a bit of our talk with her that evening:
As you may have heard, her clients are mostly other jewelry sellers that source most of their wares from her. She also wished for a few A list celebrities to collaborate with her since she also does content on TikTok and Facebook.
Her Facebook page is her only selling platform, and streams are regularly done live and deleted right after because most of the sales are done only during livestreams. If you're interested, go follow their page and watch out for schedules, it's mostly from 6pm to 12am and they're quite keen on helping entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. If you've been wanting to start your own collection, they have people to help you at their Marikina office.
Their showroom is pretty full most of the time, it might be wise to ask for appointments through their contact numbers there. I'm off to buy a few very soon. Remember as she says, the time to invest in jewelry is now!
Super nice and very humble, she's shining bright indeed. Thank you and congratulations Ms. Charo! Here's wishing you could help more people and continued success in the business!
When I got invited to this event, we weren't told about who's coming on stage but pretty much got clues with the shirts of the people filming it, they all had CCM printed which makes us believe it's a Coco Martin event. There were 3 chairs in front though so just seeing that made me realize it was something big, and true enough they came out with guns blazing.
One is an iconic director, of OTJ fame, Erik Matti, the other is a big producer from the Monteverde clan, Mr. Dondon Monteverde and of course, the biggest action star of this generation, producer and director Coco Martin. They plan to do 2 huge film projects for Coco particularly "MayPagasa The Battles of Andres Bonifacio" and "OTJ: Maghari" which will be under Reality Studios and CCM Productions.
Sir Dondon told us that this was sealed on the sidelines after some talks happened at the death anniversary of Mother Lily Monteverde a few months ago. He says "The death anniversary of my Mom started all of this. Losing my Mom was a huge blow to the industry. We always wanted to work with Coco and we've met in events with it behind our minds. It was just an opportune time to start talking, showing him other projects. He didn't like what we presented him at first, but when he knew about these two films (not included in the discussion, he just wanted it to happen!"
Direk Erik Matti had huge success with the OTJ franchise and Coco always wanted to be part of it. Direk Erik shares "Maghari is the story of Joel, the Tatang of OTJ. It's a 90's themed movie of him protecting his family. MayPagasa The Battles of Andres Bonifacio is a historical bio, and it is scary to do because it is based on that. Ours is different, we're bringing it to the future and shooting it in a modern way. It's all about what is happening now in the country."
Coco was smitten with the thought of doing an OTJ installment and told us "When I watched OTJ, I honestly was waiting, waiting to be cast in a film like it. I required my staff to watch it (before doing Batang Quiapo) and I hoped they notice me. I asked myself and said maybe I wasn't enough, because they weren't calling me. I was silent, and thinking they were not considering me because I didn't have potential, so I tried to do one myself (his shows) but got so busy with my series. One day, they informed me that they wanted to talk about it, I told them I was waiting for this to happen. I know how folks have been appreciating Filipino films that they made, they pitched a few projects with me but I told them I was a fan of OTJ and Buybust. After that, I talked about a historical film, then they talked to me about a project they wanted to do about Bonifacio. They thought I was a fit in these two projects they didn't talk about initially."
He added "Now that we're together, we just needed to make it bigger for a global audience. This will make a mark in the Filipino film industry. I'm also working with the best, and this IS an answered prayer! We can't wait to release this in 2027!"
Here's the whole press conference on video:
Giants Coco Martin, Direk Erik Matti and Dondon Monteverde actually has plans to do more, so this is just for starters. When I asked about challenges, Coco was severely optimistic that all these projects are possible, he's always had that positivity in all his projects since he's successfully done it. He attributes most of it because of this optimism, and since they plan to release this internationally, they need your support once it comes out locally. With an internationally acclaimed actor (tons of indie films on his belt), Director (familiar with Filipino film projects released worldwide) and the best production outfits this country, these projects are pretty much a done deal.
