Most celebrity scions find it difficult to move out of the shadows of their famous parents.
Depending on how they look at it, such a birthright can be deemed a blessing or a curse.
Mara Yokohama doesn't seem to be fazed by such issues at all. Her mother, Maria Isabel Lopez, is a feisty and controversial Bb. Pilipinas-Universe (1982) and a prizewinning actress.
While she takes after her mother's morena appeal and smoking bod, Mara is her own person. Whereas her mother's realm is in pageants, modeling stints, and films, Mara is in her element in the outdoors— the beach, to be exact— where she could be conquering the waves with a surfboard beneath her feet.
She is in every sense agile, enduring, and athletic.
Which is why when the producers of Survivor Philippines Celebrity Doubles Showdown called her up, Mara could not for the life of her turn down the offer. The problem, however, was convincing her glamorous, diva of a mother to join her in the game that required its latest set of contestants to come in pairs.
"They wanted a mother-daughter tandem," says Mara, recalling how desperate she was to participate in the competition, which she had set her sights on years ago.
"We both got the offer. Pero ako po talaga, dati ko pang gusto sumali ng Survivor! Pero yung mom ko, hindi niya 'to comfort zone so ayaw niya!
"Kailangan ko siya pilitin kasi ayaw niya talaga sumali... until the last minute talagang iniyakan ko na siya, sabi ko, 'Mom, please do this for me!'
"Kasi ako, being in an island is my comfort zone. Lumaki ako sa isla kasi I'm a surfer ever since I was 6."
It was not easy to talk her mom Maribel into joining the reality show that required them to set aside their convenient and comfortable lives for 36 days. They were to live the nomadic way sans shelter, warm food, electricity, and clothing.
"Dream niya yan, e. It's her dream," says Maribel who finally gave up her projects to enter Survivor Celebrity Doubles Showdown.
The actress' career was on a roll at that time as she was shooting a teleserye with ABS-CBN, and working on a handful of films.
"Meron akong film festival sa Toronto, I have Tokyo film fest, Chicago film fest! Not one movie but dalawang pelikula na umiikot around the world! Yung Halaw and Kuchera. Sabi ko, ang laki ng mawawala sa akin."
