Who in the world has not been amused with Petra M’s series of videos? Who has not yet seem her parody of “No Other Woman”? If you are a cyber-citizen, you would have already seen a friend, family or lover shared a video. Apart from Charice Pempengco or Mikey Bustos from the Maple Leaf, no other Filipino can be as sensational as Petra Mahalimuyak. Beyond watching and laughing, República Negrénse decided to find out more about Petra.

Behind this tantalizing, beautiful and skyrocket-rising online comedienne is Ashley Rivera, a 19-year old Filipina currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the first onset of Petra M’s videos, I smelled fame up hand for this lovely Filipina and I immediately sought to connect. Last week, she gave a nod for an email interview which surprised me even with a long list of questions which she answered patiently at hand. Ashley describes herself as a random shy being, capable of crazy but wholesome acts of fun, a lot like the character Petra minus the high spirits and “the” accent.

For the fans who have been following Petra M since the early days of her videos would recognize this one. She made the world laugh, at least the Filipino world that is, with her Make Up Tutorial in an artistically exaggerated “Filipino accent”. The character Petra was inspired by an inside joke between her high school friends while Mahalimuyak is a Tagalog word for fragrant which “sounds kinda smelly,” she quipped. Most of the scenes were shot in the bathroom or a random location in her house. Ashley is happy that she gets a lot of moral support from her Mom and her Sister who actually helps much in shooting the videos. While appearing random, acts are well planned but nevertheless, it is the random touch of ad libs which gives color to the videos.

Her efforts and good home production skills do not go unnoticed too. Another Filipino YouTube sensation, Mikey Bustos, a fellow online comedian and singer from the Maple Leaf Country of Canada got interested with a video partnership with Ashley. Mikey Bustos is known for his Filipino Accent tutorial which fans consider Ashley as his girl counterpart. Asking Ashley about it, she is very much excited. Mikey and Petra fans have been clamoring for a video partnership. A kind consideration with Mikey would be a step closer to this dream by fans and Ashley alike.

It seems that it was not just Mikey who took notice of her talent. A number of producers and scouting agents from Los Angeles approached her for an offer. It is Ashley’s dream to be in the acting career and took creative strides to achieve the dream. If given a chance to pursue a career back home, she would gladly accept the offer and fly back to her native land. For now, she is focused on polishing her acting skills by making funnier videos and as she said a diet regimen “for a sexier body minus the bebe fats”. Fans would disagree since “hot” and “sexy” is equals to Petra M.

Pretty, well-figured, talented and funny, a lot of guys have fallen in love with our Petra M character. Unfortunately for our dreaming bachelors out there, someone is already making the heart of Petra M beat. She is currently in a happy relationship with Miguel Noriega, an Air Force Pilot. Miguel’s duties in the Air Force takes him places so they are currently in a long distance relationship. Nevertheless, he has been a supporting boyfriend and readily shares his own ideas to the Petra M videos. As for any plans on the future, it is too early to tell. As our oldies say, enjoy your youth while it lasts.

Even as fame shot onto her doorstep overnight, Ashley never forgets to hold firm on the ground. With all her career movements and entertainment sidelines, her relationship with God takes precedence over her life, work and career. She defines faith as the full trust, loyalty, sincerity and obedience towards God, the ultimate Source of strength, Sovereign and Savior. Ashley is currently active in the Children’s Sunday School Ministry of The Crossing, a local evangelical church in her neighborhood. She was involved in the harvestfield endeavours in Mexico and is felt led to do so again, this time in Ecuador. Beyond online sensational fame, what inspires more is her dedication to follow God’s will by helping others in need, glorifying God in spite of success in troves and despite challenges in multitudes.