There’s something about a teenaged girl aching for her long-lost dad that moves one’s heart. When ABS-CBN’s Charo Santos-Concio saw Maja Salvador pleading on nationwide TV for a glimpse of her dad Ross Rival, something in the girl’s angelic face tugged at the network executive’s heartstrings. Concio asked her staff to look for Maja.
Thus did Maja Salvador sign up with the Lopez network and was introduced as John Prats’ partner in It Might Be You last February.
Before that though, Lady Luck was working overtime for the 17-year-old girl from Aparri. Maja met Farrah Ramos, movie columnist-talent manager Chit Ramos’s daughter in a modeling workshop and they became fast friends. Little did Maja know their friendship will lead her, not only to a reunion with her dad, but to a promising career in showbiz, a field her father’s side of the family has been identified with for decades.
Maja confided to Chit that she had long wanted to see her dad, whom she last saw when she was only seven. Maja did not know Chit wrote about showbiz and never suspected her wishful thinking will come true.
To Maja’s surprise, Chit replied, “You want to see your dad? Let’s call Phillip (Salvador, Maja’s uncle).” Before Maja can say a word, Chit dialed Philip’s number on the cell phone and uncle and niece were talking.
The long-delayed father-daughter reunion - chronicled and aired on The Buzz – took place in the house of Ramon Salvador, Phillip’s older brother. As fate would have it, Concio was watching at that time, and that touching scene stuck in her mind. The rest, as they say, is history.
“I feel no bitterness toward my father, even if he and my mom separated when I was a baby. My mom said I won’t be here if it weren’t for him,” says Maja.
Besides, she has moved on herself. Maja is grateful to her Japanese stepdad for taking good care of her. It was her stepdad who, upon learning she was entering showbiz, came home from Japan, where he markets Toyotas, to buy Maja a van to take her around.
Maja is having the time of her life, never mind if she has to wake up early to make it to her classes in a school close to their home in Cainta at 7 a.m. Never mind, too, if unlike before, when she can go to malls in casual shorts, “I must look presentable because fans see me.”
She need not worry about her get-ups though. Navy/White Tops got her as image model. The brand’s pastel colors complement Maja’s young, carefree image, and its casual look, she adds, jibes with her love for things simple yet comfortable.
Her style has even caught the eye of Aga Muhlach and Janice de Belen’s son Igi Boy, who sent Maja flowers during a presscon.
“Maybe it’s his way of telling me I should feel at ease at that time,”Maja brushes away romantic ideas.
The flowers have not swept her off her feet - yet. Maja is too busy with showbiz and school for that. In fact, this high school graduating student has her sights set on a marketing management course.
Maja has high career goals: “I want to make my own mark in showbiz. While I don’t mind being identified as a Salvador, I also want to be different.”
She should relax. Showbiz pedigree and ABS-CBN are on her side.
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