Angelle De Leon
Even a school teacher has hopped on the TikTok bandwagon.
Inrico “Richo” Bautista, a public high school teacher in General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite, is the creator of the “Kapitbahay Serye” that recently went viral on social media.
The “Kapitbahay Serye” is a TikTok comedy series that tackles daily happenings in a Pinoy neighborhood.
It features three original characters – Mars; her daughter, Felissa, and their two-faced neighbor, Aling Nena, who always covers her tracks with her famous line, “Walang ganun mars!”
With a change in wardrobe and hairstyle with wigs, Richo plays all the characters himself and transforms into different personas onscreen.
In these uncertain times, the 39-year-old TikTok performer is bringing good vibes and laughter to many netizens because of his upbeat personality and original funny skits as seen on his videos.
In an interview with DailyPedia, Richo said he started posting videos on TikTok last December.
However, he noted that the clips did not gain popularity at that time.
“Nag-start ako mag-TikTok last December 19. Hind pa masyado napapansin ‘yung mga ginagawa ko kasi panggagaya lang ang contents,” Richo said.
“At siyempre hindi naman tayo ka-gwapuhan o kagandahan kaya kahit anong pagpapa-cute ko walang hakot sa likes at followers,” he added.
Then one day, Richo said his nephew “Kevin” thought of doing the “Kapitbahay Serye.”
“Isang araw ‘yung pamangkin ko bigla naisip na gawin namin iyong ‘Kapitbahay Serye’,” he noted.
“Iba-iba ang characters pero iisa ang face. Nung na-post namin ‘yon sa TikTok, nagulat na lang ako isang umaga na milyon na ang views at dumami rin ang mga followers ko,” he added.
According to Richo, the first part of the comedy series trended only last March.
“Nag-trending lang naman ‘yung videos namin nitong huling linggo lang ng March,” he shared.
“Nag-trending una ‘yung part 1 sa ‘Kapitbahay Serye’ kung saan nanghiram ng palanggana si Nena sa kanyang kumare tapos nilagyan lang namin ng twist para may riot pero ang ending friends pa rin. Comedy ‘yung dating at doon nga nabuo si Aling Nena, Mars at si Felissa na bugnutin ‘pag inuutusan. Sa part 1 din sumikat ang linya ni Aling Nena na ‘Walang ganun mars’,” he added.
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After the successful response to his first “Kapitbahay Serye” post, Richo said he was encouraged to create more videos.
He said he never expected that millions of people would watch and share his videos.
Richo revealed that everything is impromptu and his lines are not part of any written script.
“Wala kaming script. On the spot ginagawa namin kaya kung ano na lang lumabas sa aking kissable lips,” he said with a laugh.
The teacher also shared the challenges of making an episode such as changing his outfit for each character.
“Mahirap ang mga characters kasi dapat maipakita ang pagkakaiba ng mga characters kasi iisang face lang,” Richo said.
“Bukod diyan ay iyong pagpapalit-palit ng damit at settings. At siyempre iyong linya,” he added.
Richo said his family is very supportive and even helps him improve the content of his videos.
“Kahit sila nagsa-suggest ng content ng video na gagawin namin para relatable raw sa lahat ng makakapanood,” he noted.
Through TikTok, Richo hoped that someone will notice his acting skills so he can score a job in the entertainment industry.
However, he stressed that he will not leave his teaching career whatever happens.
“Sana may makapansin sa akin at mabigyan ng chance (sa acting career),” Richo said.
“Pero siyempre hindi mawawala ang teaching career ko. Stable na kasi ako dito,” he added.
The TikTok star further noted that he will continue doing funny videos “as long as social media exists” to bring joy to Pinoys.
“Hangga’t may social media patuloy pa rin ako gagawa ng mga videos na makakatulong sa mga taong malulungkot at makapag-bigay saya sa lahat ng tao,” he concluded.
