Charlie Barredo

 A budding journalist is living her dreams

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

Charlotte "Charlie" Barredo came naturally into the world of theater at a very young age. Being the adopted daughter of Repertory Philippines' stalwarts Baby Barredo and Zenaida Amador, acting on stage was a natural progression for her - as she was literally following the footprints of her adoptive parents.

Charlie, as she prefers to be called, appeared in a non-singing role on the musical "Kismet" when she was still five years old! Imagine that! She has appeared in more than twenty Repertory Philippines productions, playing various characters. Some of her memorable roles included playing Dodger in "Oliver" and in playing a male character - that of Tiny Tim - in "Scrooge." Her memories of childhood were of Rep rehearsals after school hours.

"In a musical, you need to be careful with your voice. In a straight play, you must memorize your lines. My parents have 'tempers' (and they were sort of known for that) but they had to be like that to build Repertory Philippines from the ground up," shared Charlie.

After college, her foray into the stage became sporadic as her interests swayed towards the pursuit of journalism, as a career. Her last theater appearance was as part of the ensemble in Rep's 2017 production of "Beauty and the Beast."

When not busy rehearsing for a musical or play, Charlie devotes her attention to her burgeoning realty project in Baguio. "I acquired six properties of different sizes. I thought it was going to be for my retirement but since I'm still young, then why not develop it into a build and sell venture. After all, the City of Pines is a fertile ground for home development projects."

Unlike her peers, Charlie doesn't like parties and shuns loud, blaring music. She prefers to be a homebody. Instead, she diverts her attention to several hobbies and interests. She dabbles in painting, using the medium of acrylic; still does ballet; plays the piano, and enjoys reading horror novels. She's also a fan of horror flicks as she finds the genre interesting.

"I started traveling early in life. Spain felt like second home to me as I was surrounded by family whenever I visit. After college, I even enrolled in a Spanish language course in Madrid for a year. Life abroad is fast-paced. Things don't come cheap there. You learn things on your own and become independent in the process. The weather there's a bit colder than Baguio. And I love Spain's architecture. I like old things in general."

Charlie will be celebrating her 38th natal anniversary in September. After watching a female news anchor as a young girl, she nursed the idea of becoming a journalist someday. So, she took up a Media Production degree from Assumption College San Lorenzo.

"When ABS-CBN's Star Studio publications shut down, I decided to open my own online publication. It's called Buzz Beat Media. I push for the Christian faith because I want to strengthen mine. We publish eclectic stories of interest including eschatology and things related to end times prophecy. Even in her deathbed, Tata Bubot (Zenaida Amador) taught me how to be a news anchor. Maybe one day my online channel will become big, even bigger than my dreams," she enthused at the end of our colloquy.

The demise of her adoptive parents left Charlie orphaned. Zenaida "Bibot" Amador passed on in 2015, after a bout with lung cancer. Baby Barredo followed in 2021 due to complications from sepsis.