Entertainment used to be a very lucrative business for Filipinos in the United States.

The producers of recent “Divalicious” concert of Pops Fernandez at the Gateway Theater in Chicago, however, noted that some of their colleagues were now wary of coming up with Filipino shows due to economic crunch.

A smaller number of fans came to watch Fernandez’s concert, for instance, because of the current financial crisis in the US and the timing, Mila Mendez, producer of “Divalicious,” explained.  

“It boils down to the economy thing and probably the timing. Everybody’s going shopping soon and for the holidays, two holidays are coming up - Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Mendez said.

Former concert producer Louie Masiclat, on the other hand, said in spite of the crisis some were still brave enough to produce Filipino shows in the US. 

“For the producers, I salute them. A lot of people are asking me, ‘hey Louie, when are you going to produce a show again?’ And I said, ‘you know what, it’s very tough out there,’" Masiclat said.

Mendez agreed that some producers are still willing to take risks.

"Well, life goes on and you continue with the other projects… hopefully to make up for what you did not accomplish in the past projects,” Mendez said.
 
Despite the low audience turnout, Fernandez, known as the “concert queen,” still delivered a top-notch performance.

“Siyempre, every show, we try to make it the best, di ba?” Fernandez said.

The “Divalicious” concert tour is part of Fernandez’s 25th anniversary celebration in show business.

During the show, the night’s biggest surprise was singer Geneva Cruz’s “divalicious” performance. Cruz is now based in Seattle.

The economic slump may have kept Filipinos in the US from shelling out top dollar to watch Filipino shows.  Filipino performers and producers, however, were optimistic that things would eventually get better.