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BEFORE The seven-member Arboleda family used to live in this two-bedroom, one-bathroom house with a cracked foundation, a leaking basement, and molds and dust mites that gave the kids allergies and asthma. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO |
When the Arboleda family of Neenah, Wisconsin, was awarded a spanking new house on the popular ABC program “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” it was as if the entire Filipino-American community in North America had received an early Christmas gift.
It was a special thrill because the “home makeover” was both reward and acknowledgment for the hard work of Rhex Arboleda Sr., a music teacher who has mounted a campaign to fight child obesity.
In its October 17 episode, the reality show described Arboleda, who teaches at Twin City Catholic Educational System and who has received local, state-wide and national awards as a teacher, as a “hometown hero.”
The family’s leaking, 70-year-old Cape Cod-style home was transformed into a three-level Victorian house complete with a music and dance studio in the basement.
As a bonus, the family was flown to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, while the show’s crew (which included guest celebrities Derek Hough, Mark Ballas, Tony Dovolani and Chelsea Hightower of another top-rating ABC program, “Dancing With the Stars”) worked on the construction project.
In an e-mail interview with the Inquirer, Arboleda said that for its eighth season, the show “wanted to focus on deserving families who are considered local heroes by their community.”
“Our story was about my campaign to fight childhood obesity—a growing problem in the US,” he said, referring to the program that he had conceptualized, “Move to the Groove,” which is “designed to motivate kids to stay active and fit.”
A Quezon City resident before moving to the United States nine years ago, Arboleda won the 2004 Kohl’s Teacher Fellowship award and the 2006 CBS-5 “Terrific Teacher” award. “Move to the Groove” received the “Innovations in Curriculum” award given by the National Catholic Education Association in 2005.
But “Extreme Makeover” has proven to be the most high-profile, if not unique, honor so far.
Arboleda said he, wife Claire and kids CJ, Clarenx, Calix, Cullen and Rhex Jr. were “huge fans” of the show.
“We’ve always watched it as a family every Sunday night and, after each episode, we would find ourselves crying all together—hoping that we could also receive the same gift,” he said.
Health hazard
Despite his being a fitness advocate, Arboleda and family lived in an old house that was deemed a health hazard.
He described it thus: “The structure isn’t stable; the foundation is cracked. My kids have allergy and asthma and the house triggers it because of the molds and dust mites. The basement is leaking and we have flooding problems.”
The seven-member family shared two bedrooms and a bathroom.
So when local channel WBAY-Action 2 News announced that “Extreme Makeover” was headed to northeast Wisconsin, Arboleda swiftly sent an application.
“My students’ parents also submitted nomination letters,” he recalled.
But because he is well-loved on and off campus, Arboleda was easily picked as the recipient of the home makeover.
The staff of Lexington Homes, volunteers from the community, along with “Dancing With the Stars” performers, “Extreme Makeover” host Ty Pennington, and the design team composed of Michael Moloney, Paige Hemmis and Xzibit, worked “frantically” on the project.
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AFTER Here’s the life-changing gift—a three-level fully furnished house with four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and for the kids, a Karate Room and a Superhero Room to keep them fit. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO |
While the house was being demolished and rebuilt, the show’s producers treated the Arboledas to a holiday in Disney World, where they were welcomed by a flash mob, plus Mickey Mouse and other mascots dancing to “Move to the Groove” music and choreography.
“It was our first dive into taping a reality show,” Arboleda said. “The kids enjoyed our vacation, but it was also tiring for them. Plus, my wife was initially camera-shy. She had to overcome her fear of cameras for our kids’ future.”
4 bedrooms plus plus
When it came time for the big reveal, the family was ecstatic.
“It felt surreal,” Arboleda recalled. “We’ve always followed the show and now, it was my family standing behind the bus and yelling [the show’s famous one-liner]: ‘Bus driver, move that bus!’”
And their new home?
“We love everything about it, and the dance studio is really cool,” Arboleda said.
Their home boasts new furnishings and appliances in its four bedrooms, three full bathrooms and two half bathrooms.
There are also a Karate Room and a Superhero Room (filled with costumes and special gadgets) for the kids, to keep them fit and active.
More importantly, the Arboledas are now debt-free, their mortgage having been fully paid for.
Pennington and the “Extreme Makeover” team also transformed an old ice-cream truck into the “Move to the Groove” mobile to allow Arboleda to take the dance-fitness program on the road to various campuses in the United States.
Pinoy gift
“Extreme Makeover” described the Arboledas as an “optimistic” bunch “who instantly break into song and dance,” indicating that the Filipino gift of musicality helped clinch this spot on a reality TV show.
“America already knows about the Filipinos’ gifts because of artists like Charice Pempengco and Arnel Pineda,” Arboleda said. “My 11-year-old daughter CJ loves Charice and wants to invite her to a sleepover. Arnel is awesome and Journey is my favorite band. I’m proud of their achievements.”
In his youth in Manila, Arboleda was an all-around performer—a drummer, dancer and vocalist.
“I competed on [the local noontime show] ‘Eat Bulaga’ and was a finalist in Gary Valenciano’s ‘Shout for Joy’ sing-a-like contest,” he said. “I’m a big fan of Gary V, the Manoeuvres and Streetboys. I’ve incorporated some of their moves in my number with Derek Hough and the kids in the new dance studio.”
But in the end, he chose the less glamorous field of education over the glitz of show biz.
‘The rest is history’
Arboleda had planned a two-year stay in the United States, but it was extended to seven so he could finish his master’s degree in music education at the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point.
“I got a teaching job and my employers sponsored my stay,” he said. “I was at a local auto shop for an oil change when I saw an ad for an elementary general music teacher. I decided to apply, and the rest is history.”
His gift is “to share my love for music [with] my students and help them develop the talents that God has given them,” he said, adding:
“I’ve been teaching for 12 years now, and I am passionate about serving the Lord as church drummer and worship leader, too. I’m also working on a worship album. My music is on myspace/rex4christ.”
Arboleda is a lot like the idealistic choir coach Mr. Schuester in the TV musical “Glee.”
“I’ve been directing musicals for our high-school drama department: ‘The Sound of Music,’ ‘High School Musical,’ ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” he said proudly.
Blessings
“Extreme Makeover” has “changed our lives,” Arboleda said.
Apart from their new home, “we’ve also been blessed by the thousands of volunteers who worked on our house, and we have made new friends after the show.”
Arboleda himself has been getting lots of invitations to showcase his “Move to the Groove” program all over the United States: “I get hundreds of e-mails from teachers and schools from as far away as New York and Texas.”
“Move to the Groove” is now available on iTunes. An instructional DVD to aid other teachers in implementing the program in their own schools is in the works.
“I don’t know how far this would lead me, but my family and I are happy and thankful. We want to give back all the glory to God ... and my family and I are proud to be Filipino,” Arboleda said.
The kids are growing up in the United States, but Arboleda and his wife are making sure that they will grow up Filipino:
“My kids watch shows on GMA 7’s Pinoy TV and ABS-CBN’s TFC. We want them to learn about our culture and who we are as Filipinos. We continue to talk to them in Tagalog, too. And we tell them wonderful stories of our growing-up years in the Philippines. We also watch concerts of Filipino artists here. When she was six, I took my daughter CJ to a Sarah Geronimo concert in Chicago.
“When my sister Lucy comes to visit, she always brings Filipino children’s books, souvenirs, barong Tagalog and saya. My kids would show these pasalubong to their classmates. My boys would wear barong to school and would have other kids try them on, too.”
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