All About Zaijian Jaranilla
Zaijian Jaranilla (born August 23, 2001), commonly known as "Santino" due to his role in the top-rating teleserye, May Bukas Pa, Zaijian is a Filipino child actor and television personality. He was discovered by a talent manager at the age of 5, and started out as a commercial model for such products as McDonald's, Lactum and Tide. He auditioned for Philippine entertainment network ABS-CBN, and was cast in the network's outfit, Komiks Presents: Tiny Tony, as the young Tony. Zaijian was also a part of the network's children's gag show, Goin' Bulilit. He is currently under contract with ABS-CBN.
Personal life
Within the Jaranilla family, Zaijian is the eldest of three. His first few years were spent in poverty, and his parents separated when he was just 5 years of age. Currently, he lives with his father, Zenon, his grandmother, and his two younger siblings, Zildjan and Zymec.
Zaijian's name is taken from the pinyin Romanization of Chinese Mandarin and means "Goodbye." The word, when pronounced properly, is supposed to sound like "Dzai Jyen," and it literally comes from the two words: (Again), and (To see). In Mandarin, literally means "See you again."
But in his interview with PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) associate editor Rommel R. Llanes, Zaijian revealed where he really got his name. He told the editor that his name came from the cymbal brand Zildjian.
Career
As aforementioned, he played the role of Santino in May Bukas Pa. The story centered on a little boy who affected the lives of the residents of the fictional town of Bagong Pag-asa. Known as the "miracle boy," Santino was often visited by Jesus Christ, whom he affectionately referred to as "Bro." His faith in "Bro," and in the overall goodness of humanity, is what endeared him to those he encountered.
As an actor, Zaijian has an innate ability to pull out emotions from laughter to tears, and can do so with such spontaneity. He is a member of Star Magic, ABS-CBN's talent management division.
Jaranilla also guested in a few ABS-CBN shows such as ASAP'09, Matanglawin, Ruffa & Ai, Wowowee, Entertainment Live, Rated K, Sharon, The Buzz, and SNN: Showbiz News Ngayon.
In 2010, Jaranilla starred in Noah, a TV series on ABS-CBN where he portrayed the role of Jacob/Eli, son of Gabriel Piolo Pascual and Ruth Jodi Sta. Maria. The family was involved in a car accident where he drifted off to a mysterious island, Noah. Unknown to Gabriel and rest of the world that apes called Unta took care of him and renamed him Eli but as the story progressed he was given back to his real parents, Gabriel and Ruth. Judah Joem Bascon, ex-husband of Ruth, hated Jacob and Gabriel and with a passion, he got in the way of Jacob/Eli and his father's quest to save the Island of Noah. In the end, Gabriel and Jacob/Eli save the mysterious Island of Noah prevailed over Judah. His best friend Xyriel Manabat also starred in this television show as Nica.
