Ala Paredes

Biography

Angela Nadine Mabanta Paredes (born April 17, 1983), professionally known as Ala Paredes, is an American-born, Australia-based Filipino environmental activist, artist and writer, who at various times in her career was also a TV host, VJ, commercial model, and vocalist for Filipino alternative band Hiraya. Since moving to Australia, she has become one of the correspondents covering Australia for the Philippines' ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs.

== Early life and education == Paredes was born in California and raised in Manila. She is the daughter of singer Jim Paredes of the APO Hiking Society. As a toddler, she displayed her talents in drawing. Paredes graduated from high school in 2000 at the School of the Holy Spirit (SHSQC), a private, all-girls Roman Catholic school in Quezon City. Before going to college, she took a pre-college course at the University of Oxford. She then moved on to the Ateneo de Manila University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication in 2004.

== Career ==

=== Career in the Philippines ===

==== Modeling and activism ==== She first ventured into modeling in her junior year in college at the age of 19, doing a TV commercial for a popular facial wash (Johnson and Johnson), and was soon endorsing a clothing line (Penshoppe). In her first forays as a television personality, doing television ads, she quickly became a recognizable figure, distinguished by her morena (malay brown) complexion and curly hair, a sharp contrast to the traditional look of models at the time. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism took note of her unusual success and said:

Model Ala Paredes has curly hair in a country where long, straight hair is considered the epitome of female beauty.... In an industry that prizes fair skin and straight hair, her morena skin color and loose, voluptuous curls are considered unconventional. At around the same time, Paredes began blogging regularly, with her blog soon becoming popular and earning her a reputation as a celebrity blogger – a role she would later use to promote environmental issues just as her father, well known for his advocacies, did before her. She had also been vocal about how martial law affected her family.

==== Media work in the Philippines ==== Paredes' modeling career soon burgeoned into a television career. She continued modelling occasionally but became a regular VJ for ABS-CBN's music channel Myx, and then later the host of IslaMusik, a television show on ABC 5 featuring a musicians from all over the Philippines. She also often served as a presenter at numerous events.

==== Hiraya vocalist ==== In 2005, Paredes became the frontwoman of a Pinoy rock band called Hiraya when the original vocalist left. Guitarist Mark Verzo, bassist Marco Cuneta on bass, and drummer Paulo Tomas recruited her to become the replacement vocalist. The band had already released an EP, with their previous vocalist, when Ala took over. She stayed with the band until a short time before she moved to Australia with her family in 2006. She didn't do music again after that experience until several years later she learned how to play the ukulele to cope with postpartum depression.