Filipino American Internet star Christine Gambito has been chosen as ambassador for Philippine tourism by the Department of Tourism. ABS-CBN's TV Patrol reported on Thursday that Gambito flew in to Manila for the launch of the DOT campaign to attract more tourists from the United States to come to the Philippines. As Philippine tourism ambassador, Gambito will help generate interest among Filipinos in the US as well as Americans, to visit the Philippines.
Gambito first gained worldwide acclaim in 2006 when she began posting video comedy sketches on Youtube.com and her own site, www.happyslip.com
Her videos are hilarious insights into the lives of Filipinos struggling to retain their "Filipino-ness" in a foreign country, the US in particular.
Gambito, who goes by the handle "Happy Slip" on Youtube, became a byword among Youtube viewers because of her videos.
She chose "happy slip" because her mother used to mispronounce "half-slip" whenever she (the mother) would remind Gambito -- still a little girl at the time -- to wear one.
According to Gambito, her mother would pronounce "half-slip" as "hap e-slip". Gambito said that this led her to call the undergarment a "happy slip" and was later corrected by her classmates, who teasingly asked her if she wore a "sad slip" as well.
"It's huge. It really is. That's why I got emotional coming here...it's a dream come true for me, " Gambito told ABS-CBN's Mario Dumaual, adding that she felt obliged to accept the post.
"To help appreciate the land where my parents came from and my heritage, it's priceless. It's my duty to come [to the Philippines for the launch]."
Gambito won second place for Best Comedy in March 2007 at the Youtube Video awards. Her comedy sketches have been viewed 30 million times on the popular video sharing Web site. With a report by Mario Dumual.