The episode was later on referred
to as Day 1, because that was the
day that the love story of AlDub
began.
AlDub, one of the most popular
fictional couples or ''love teams'' of
this generation has conquered the
hearts not only of Filipinos, but the
people from all over the world. The
phenomenal pair has been
breaking records on Twitter by
hitting millions of tweets every
single day using the Kalyeserye
daily hashtags. They are becoming
two of the greatest stars in
Philippine TV history. With their
massive success, people believe
that it is fate that brought them
together.
Kalyeserye is a live soap opera
parody segment of Eat Bulaga, a
Filipino noontime show on GMA
Kapuso Network. It is being aired
in the Philippines and even
worldwide on GMA Pinoy TV. The
segment focuses on the AlDub love
team, portrayed by Maine
Mendoza, the Dubsmash queen of
the Philippines, and Alden
Richards, one of the hottest young
actors in the country. AlDub is a
play on the names of their
characters Alden and Yaya Dub in
Kalyeserye. Yaya Dub's full name is
Divina Ursula Bokbokova Smash,
the daughter of Ursula, the
youngest daughter of matriarch
Isadora Zobeyala and former
gardener Teodoro "Dodong"
Smash. On the soap, they
showcase their romance through
Photo from gmanews.tv
split screen television;
communicating only through
handwritten messages, as well as
lip-syncing various popular songs
and audio clips from different
movies. Alden is normally based at
Eat Bulaga's Broadway studio,
while Maine usually travels to
different barangays (villages) with
the Lolas (grandmothers), Nidora
(Wally Bayola), Tinidora (Jose
Manalo) and Tidora (Paolo
Ballesteros). What makes their
story more special is that most of
their scenes are not scripted and
just ad-libbed. Their extremely
great chemistry on screen is the
winning formula, since people
can't get enough of watching them
show their affection and how they
feel for each other despite the
distance.
As the show goes on, AlDub has
taught their viewers many
different lessons about life and
love, including almost-forgotten
traditional Filipino values. Their
against-all-odds love story has
proven that what's bound to
happen will find its way. Lola
Nidora, the employer and true
grandmother (revealed later) of
Yaya Dub was initially against
AlDub's budding romance. Raised
in a different era, she constantly
tells them that true love waits, so
they don't have to rush things
because of their emotions. The old
woman's advice can also be applied
in real life – learn to wait, listen to
parents' advice, think of the
consequences and not rush
headlong into something, just to
escape the problems that currently
beset you. It is okay to fight for the
one you love, but make sure that
you are not sacrificing the people
who are taking care of you,
especially your family.
On Eat Bulaga's July 16, 2015
episode, Maine was performing
her Dubsmash, when she suddenly
broke out of her Yaya Dub
character and accidentally smiled
after seeing Alden Richards
watching her on live split screen.
Maine's spontaneous reaction was
noticed by the other hosts of the
program, and so they started
teasing the two, which led to the
creation of the AlDub love team.
Asean Life APR 2016 35