Romeo Librada (born January 13, 1982), better known in his stage name Super Tekla or simply Tekla, is a

Filipino actor Lists of Philippine actors cover actors from the Philippines. The lists are organized by age and gender. * List of Filipino current child actors * List of Filipino former child actors * List of Filipino actresses * List of Filipino male actors ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

and

television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

. He is best known for appearing in

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

's variety show, ''

Wowowin ''Wowowin'' is a Philippine television variety show broadcast by All TV. Hosted by Willie Revillame, it premiered on May 10, 2015 on GMA Network. The show aired its final broadcast on GMA Network on February 11, 2022. The show premiered on All ...

'' as one of its hosts.

Early life

Librada was born in the small town of

Pigcawayan Pigcawayan, officially the Municipality of Pigcawayan ( Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Pigkawayan'', Jawi: ايڠايد نو ڤيڬكاوين; Iranun: ''Inged a Pigkawayan'', ايڠايد ا ڤيڬكاوين; hil, Banwa sang Pigkawayan; ceb, Lungso ...

, a town in

Cotabato Cotabato or North Cotabato ( hil, Aminhan Cotabato; ceb, Amihanang Cotabato; Maguindanaon: ''Pangutaran Kutawatu'', Jawi: ڤڠوترن كوتاواتو; fil, Hilagang Cotabato), officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked province in ...

wherein he was raised by the Manobo tribe and was trained to be a farmer. His mother died at an early age, according to him. Due to this, he supported his own education until he finished high school. He has seven siblings.

Career

Stand-up comedy

Out of curiosity, Librada went alone to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

wherein he found himself singing on stage at malls and comedy bars for fun. He was then discovered and got regular stints as a singer first, then a

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

, at a popular comedy bar. He is best known for his

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

voice impersonations.

Television

In 2016, Librada appeared as a contestant in

's game show, ''

'' main host

Willie Revillame Wilfredo Buendia Revillame (; born January 27, 1961), popularly known as Willie Revillame, is a Filipino television host, comedian, singer, songwriter, actor, and businessman. Career Revillame started out as the host of GMA Network's noontime ...

saw his potential in comedy and hired him as one of his co-hosts. He later formed a comedic duo with

Donita Nose Donita Nose (born Rodello Juntos Solano on June 29, 1979) is a Filipina comic, actress and TV host on the GMA Network. She is best known as a transgender comic in Punch Line and Klownz together with other celebrities in showbiz like Super Tekl ...

in the said show. A year after, he was allegedly fired by Revillame due to his alcoholic and gambling vices, in which Librada denied. On 2020, he was once welcomed again by Wowowin after guesting. In 2017, Librada was signed by

GMA Artist Center Sparkle (formerly GMA Artist Center, also known as Sparkle GMA Artist Center and GMA Talent Management and Development Department) is the talent agency owned by GMA Network Inc. based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines that was founded i ...

and appeared on several

shows like ''

Alyas Robin Hood ''Alyas Robin Hood'' (International title: ''Bow of Justice'' / ) is a Philippine television drama action crime series broadcast by GMA Network. The series was inspired by the English folk hero, Robin Hood. Directed by Dominic Zapata, it stars D ...

'', ''

Trops ''Trops'' () is a Philippine television drama romance comedy series, broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Linnet Zurbano, it stars Kenneth Medrano, Miggy Tolentino, Joel Palencia, Jon Timmons, Tommy Peñaflor, Kim Last and Taki Saito. It pr ...

'', and ''

Celebrity Bluff ''Celebrity Bluff'' is a Philippine television comedy game show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Eugene Domingo, it premiered on November 17, 2012. The show originally featured Jose Manalo and Wally Bayola as the original "Gangnammms" (also k ...

''. In 2018, Librada got his first major role in ''

Inday Will Always Love You ''Inday Will Always Love You'' (International title: ''Happy Together'') is a 2018 Philippine television drama romance comedy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Monti Puno Parungao and Rember Gelera, it stars Barbie Forteza in the ti ...

'' when he was cast as Kimberlou, the gay sidekick of lead actress

Barbie Forteza Barbara Ambas Forteza (born July 31, 1997), professionally known as Barbie Forteza (), is a Filipino actress, comedian, dancer, singer, host, and vlogger. She is the recipient of several accolades, including both international and local award ...

. His life story has been featured on the Kapuso drama anthology ''

Magpakailanman ''Magpakailanman'' ( en, Forevermore) is a Philippine television drama anthology show broadcast by GMA Network. Hosted by Mel Tiangco, it premiered on December 2, 2002. The show concluded on December 27, 2007. It was replaced by the '' E.S.P.'' ...

'', which gained high ratings for the show. Since then, he has been guested by the drama show twice, appearing in various true-to-life lead roles. He is currently hosting comedy talk show ''

The Boobay and Tekla Show ''The Boobay and Tekla Show'' (also known as ''TBATS'') is a Philippine television comedy talk show broadcast by YouTube and GMA Network. The show premiered as a streaming television show on YouTube in 2018. Directed by Rico Gutierrez and Frasc ...

'' along with comedian

Boobay Norman Balbuena (born November 7, 1986), better known in his stage name Boobay, is a Filipino actor, comedian and television host. He is best known for appearing in several GMA News and Public Affairs shows (including ''Unang Hirit'') as a co-ho ...

Personal life

Although visually presented as gay, Librada identifies himself as a straight man. He has a daughter from his ex-wife named Irene Gonzales.

Sexual misconduct allegation

In October 2020, Librada's live-in partner, Michelle Bana-ag, alleged in '' Raffy Tulfo in Action'' that the comedian had repeatedly sexually abused her and her child from an earlier marriage. This included demanding sexual intercourse in exchange for food while Michelle was ailing due to side-effects of contraceptive injection. Librada denied any wrongdoing, contending he would never rape Bana-ag as he has a daughter. Librada was later exonerated when Bana-ag was unable to provide sufficient evidence against the comedian, and testimonies from Librada's colleagues revealed past abuses from Bana-ag, namely her

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

addiction as well as her

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

relationship with a female partner. This ultimately led to

Raffy Tulfo Raffy is a given name and a nickname. It may refer to: *Rafael Palmeiro (born 1964), Cuban former Major League Baseball player *Ken Raffensberger (1917–2002), American Major League Baseball pitcher *Raffaella Rossi (born 1974), Italian ski mounta ...

withdrawing his previous pledge to support Bana-ag after the latter declined to take a drug test to prove her innocence.

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

*
Sparkle profile
{{Authority control 1982 births Living people Filipino male film actors Filipino male comedians Filipino LGBT people GMA Network personalities People from Cotabato 21st-century Filipino male actors Filipino drag queens Filipino television talk show hosts Manobo people Filipino male television actors Filipino television variety show hosts