Charo Santos shared this “story time” about MMK
Veteran showbiz personality Charo Santos revealed that a paper clip inspired the longest-running drama anthology, Maalaala Mo Kaya.
MMK has featured inspiring stories based on people’s real-life stories for many years. The show bade goodbye a few years ago, but it was recently announced that it is coming back.
Charo has been the host of the show since it started. In a recent social media post that she shared, she talked about the story behind the creation of the show.
The award-winning actress shared that a mere paperclip gave birth to the show. “It was in 1991. I was in a programming meeting. Our president asked me this question. ‘If we will replace this program with another concept, what will you pitch?'” Charo Santos shared.
She asked her boss to give him two weeks to create a concept. However, she was reminded that in the TV industry, everything is fast-paced. She knew that unlike movies, TV shows could not move playdates.
Caught off guard, Charo tried to look for inspiration, and she saw a paper clip on the table.
“Kinuha ko ‘yung paperclip sabi ko. ‘Ito, napasimpleng bagay ni hindi ito pinapansin, pero maaaring may mahalagang kwento sa likod ng simpleng bagay. Dahil maaring ito ang ginamit niya pambukas ng pinto nung tinanan niya ang kanyang girlfriend,” Charo explained.
From that, the concept was formed. Then, she was asked about the possible title of the show. Charo mentioned, “Among My Souvenirs.” However, she was told that she should think of a Tagalog title, something like a song, a “kundiman.”
Then, Charo said, “Maalaala Mo Kaya.” “Doon po isinilang ang programang Maalaala Mo Kaya which lasted on the air for 31 years and it became the longest-running drama anthology not only here in the Philippines but in the entire Asia,” Charo Santos said.