Juliana Gomez turns 18 today

Pika Pika
Pika Pika
Sep 8, 2018 · 8 min read

EDITOR’S NOTE: Please stand by for our special photo and video coverage of her party, happening tonight at a private event’s place in Taguig City.

Pikapika will also have a follow-up story on Juliana. One that picks her brain and lets us in into the bits and pieces of her interesting life and personality.

Today, September 8, 2018, Juliana Marie Beatriz Torres Gomez — the unica hija of actor and Ormoc City mayor Richard Gomez and Leyte 4th District representative Lucy Torres-Gomez — turns 18.

She was fated to be born into the limelight but that did not make Juliana into an instantly outgoing person. On the contrary, she was shy and timid.

But as she blossomed into a fine and beautiful young lady, Juliana also slowly shedded off her shyness and replaced it with outspokenness, candidness, and friendly demeanor.

Gone is the Juliana that hides behind her parents in public spaces. She now seeks out familiar faces in the crowd to be the first to say hi and engage them in conversations.

And she isn’t the typical gorgeous kolehiya, too. She’s the classy kikay with the three Bs — brains, beauty, and brawn. On top of that, she’s kind. A fine human being. And we have her parents to thank for all that.

Three days before her before her disco-themed debut party, Pikapika got to sit down with Juliana to talk about her big day and some random teen-age stuff.

She admitted being really excited about the big day, which she revealed almost never happened.

She said deciding to have a party came late. It was only her mom who convinced her to have one as she will only turn 18 once.

“At first kasi gusto ko lang mag-travel,” Juliana told Pikapika. “I want to travel at first. Mama and I were talking, ‘You only turn 18 once tapos never kang nagpa-party…’ Kasi ’yong last big party ko noong…My first birthday was the biggest birthday I ever had. Ever since then, I only had small ones.

“Last year I celebrated it in Paris. So wala, eighteen na ako so I wanted all my friends to be there and my families to be there. And I want to be with other people I grew up with like you and Tita Jo-Ann [Maglipon, formerly the editor-in-chief of YES! magazine]. Mga gano’n.”

Besides, when she seriously thought about travelling for her 18th birthday, she realized she couldn’t think or choose a particular country she wanted to visit.

“Halos wala na akong maisip kasi if want to travel…considering na busy ’yong family ko and I’m already 18, that means p’wede na ako mag-travel with friends…Di rin p’wede kasi busy with school. So wala talaga akong maisip ngayon. So parang I have to cross out that idea na gusto ko mag-travel on my birthday.”

But why a disco-themed party, we asked:

“Kasi I really like music from the 70’s rather than 90’s,” explained Juliana. “’Yong sobrang old school talaga — retro. And I think that influence was through my dad. Kasi gusto n’ya ’yong mga BeeGees, Tears for Fears, Beatles… so I grow up listening to that genre of music. So, ayon. And I’ve always been old school naman, e.”

Also unlike most debutante ball or party, Juliana’s big event will do away with the traditional first and last dance and the program will be short.

[But she has three top-notch DJs alternating to whip up music all night long, a surprise guest band for the teen guests, and non-stop supply of food, drinks, and goodwill.]

“Ayoko kasi ng traditional mainly because I don’t like all the attention on me. Parang I just wanted it to be like a light and cozy party where every important people in my life will have a good time. ’Yong gano’n lang kasi it’s not me, e.”

Juliana, who took after her dad’s no-drama attitude, says her turning 18 isn’t much of a big deal as the public would like her to feel.

“Actually, I feel the same way. I thought I’d be more excited…noong mga thirteen palang ako sobrang nagmamadali ako. I can’t wait to be eighteen. I wanna be skinny, I’m gonna figure things out, gagaling na ako sobra mag-volleyballmga gano’n. But then now that it’s so near, I realized nothing much had changed.”

Her parents, too, haven’t laid out new rules for her to follow nor did they cross out old ones.

Wala. Wala naman kaming naging formal na gano’n na, ganito na, tapos ganyan. My parents naman kasi they’re not very strict.”

Does this include leniency in accepting suitors?

“Before siguro ’yong first… like no’ng first na may official na nanligaw sa akin, fourteen yata ako. May nagpadala sa akin ng malaking teddy bear. As in sobrang laki, ang taas!

“Parang nakita ng dad ko… I thought he’d be really, really upset about it kasi lagi siyang ganyan sa interviews, parang… ‘Kakalbuhin kita,’ parang gano’ng level siya. Pero when it’s there, parang nag-soften up s’ya.

“’Yon ang na-realize ko ’cause every time na papadalhan ako ng flowers every Valentine’s or may darating out of nowhere, okey naman siya with it. Kasi siguro deep down expected na niya ’yon, e.

“Pero wala namang traditional na parang, ‘Sir, can I date your daughter?’ Walang gano’n, e. Puro padala na lang.”

At 18, Juliana admitted she has yet to figure out what she really wanted to become.

“’Yon nga e, that’s what keeps me up at night… parang ano ba talaga ’yong gusto ko?”

But she’s pursuing Mass Communication for college since she’s more geared towards the world of her dad.

“Either Communication Research or film,” Juliana told Pikapika. “I don’t see myself as a writer. Mas gusto ko talaga cinematographer or director.”

What about as a talent on-screen like her parents?

“On-screen? S’yempre na-consider ko na ’yon but then I realize if I do enter showbiz I have big shoes to fill…”

And she doesn’t want that?

“Hindi naman sa ayaw pero am I ready for that kind of world? But I guess l’Il never know until I try…But not right now, that’s for sure. S’yempre may mga iba pa akong priorities, e. Madami pa akong gustong ma-achieve before I… tapusin ko muna ’yong college, sana mag-Varsity ako — volleyball varsity.

“But if there’s something about showbiz, my Mom was telling me, parang you can’t be too old when you enter. But never naming pinag-usapan na magso-showbiz ka na ba? Wala namang gano’n.”

Just in case, she might try TV hosting first.

S’yempre si Pia [Campos, her parent’s business manager] gusto yan for me. Sabi niya [Pia], ‘You have to learn eventually kasi you’ll never know when you need it.’

“She wants me to practice public speaking also just in case kasi useful ’yong mga ’yon, e, especially with what kind of family that im in… showbiz na, nasa politics pa. I’m gonna need that.”

What’s important these days is that Juliana is already able to come out of her shell.

“Sobrang ma-tsika na ako bigla di ba?” she laughed at her own realization. “Never naman akong ganito before.

“Honestly recently lang kasi I just realized, being shy will get me nowhere…so, kahit shy ako, magpapanggap na lang ako na kunwari na lang na hindi ako shy. Gano’n na lang. Kasi ano ’yong point di ba?

“It helped na I grew up around adults and not kids my age. Kasi noong eight [years old], ako, sino ba’ng mga ka-dinner ko? Kayo, di ba?

“I really see it as a blessing. I think that’s one of my biggest pros in my life. ’Yon ’yong biggest advantage ko…growing up with a family like mine…’yong nasa showbiz ’yong parents ko. They have very interesting line of work and they work with very interesting people. So I grew up around writers, directors, celebrities…”

Juliana, in both looks and attitude-wise, is an equal blend of her good-looking parents. And we love that balance about her.

“What’s Lucy about me is, I think, it’s the way I love the people around me…the way I…parang kasi my Mom she’s very… you know how attached she is to other people? That’s how she is. She’s very emotional. Sometimes I see that in myself. ’Yong sobrang… hindi sa senti pero ’yong grabe talaga the way I attach myself to the people around me — my friends, my family…

“Unlike my Dad, siya naman ’yong sobrang detached. Like let’s say ’yong mag-aaway kayo… kakalimutan niya yan. Wala siyang sama ng loob or anything.

“Pero with my Mom, it’s like kahit okey na kayo she’d always remember it. I feel I’m like that in that sense. I guess, I’m pretty emotional and I get that from my Mom.

“With my Dad naman I guest being adventurous and, of course, being sporty — given na ’yon. My whole life I’ve been saying that… that I’m sporty because of my Dad. But now, when I think about it, siguro it’s the way I… it’s how adventurous I am and how fearless I can be.”

And that’s Juliana, all grown up, for you.

CREDITS

TEXT: ANNA PINGOL

PHOTOS: RICHARD GOMEZ’S, LUCY TORRES-GOMEZ’S, AND JULIANA GOMEZ’S RESPECTIVE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade