THEY seem to have come out of nowhere. Suddenly print ads, TV commercials, highway billboards and magazine fashion spreads are abloom with these beautifully tanned models who kinda look Pinoy, only with more chiseled features. Some have even broken into the Philippine entertainment scene.

Who are these people?

They?re Brazilian models, in case you?ve been hiding under a rock. And they just happen to be the hottest bearer of glad tidings in the local advertising industry.

But are all those things we?ve heard about them true? That they?re, like, living five or six to a small room, barely surviving and thus offering floor prices for modeling services? Or that they?re actually ready to offer more than modeling services? That they?re really the Latin version of the dumb blonde, all looks and no brains, and ready to undersell the profession just to get by.

Not! When I sat down with Brazilian Daniel Matsunaga, Vanessa Matsunaga, Derik Lopes, Fabio Ide and Francine Pantaleao for a chat, I didn?t quite know what to expect. But contrary to popular perception, I found instead a welcoming group of young beautiful people who turned out to be very candid, very funny and very sweet. No stereotypes here.

Daniel, Vanessa, and Francine have been in the country for almost eight months now and have previously modeled around Asia. But why leave Brazil at all?

Explains Vanessa: ?We love to travel together. This is a way to travel and earn a living.? It?s that simple, it seems. Modeling gives them the chance to explore the world, visit new places, meet new people, and make money at the same time. Sums up Derik, who?s been to the Philippines three times for modeling assignments: ?It?s a good life.?

So what makes them so popular in the Philippines?

Perhaps it?s their mixed racial heritage that allows them to fit into a variety of markets. A number of Brazilians who have made it big in the Asian fashion circle have Japanese blood, like Akihiro Sato, Daniel and Vanessa Matsunaga and Fabio Ide. This can certainly be an advantage when booking jobs.

But why come to the Philippines, which isn?t exactly a fashion capital in Asia?

Fabio puts it bluntly: ?There are good jobs and good budgets in the Philippines. Print ads and commercials pay well.?

Plus, they like the fact that English is spoken widely in the country, unlike in China or Thailand. This makes it much easier for them to communicate when they travel around the country. ?There are also a lot of similarities with Brazil,? Fabio adds. ?We feel comfortable here.? Unlike in other markets, they also think that models in the Philippines are treated very well. Derik explains, ?There are countries where you are treated like robots. Because you?re paid by the hour, they rush you to do the most work in one hour.?

The route to the Philippines has been pretty straightforward as well. The models contact a scouter in Brazil whom they refer to as their Mother Agency. They sign up with this Mother Agency, which then acts as an intermediary and hooks them up with modeling agencies abroad.

If a foreign agency is interested in booking their services, it pays for their airfare and flies them to other countries: the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore or Thailand. They are expected to work off their travel and living expenses. The local agency takes a percentage of their earnings, while the Mother Agency takes 10 percent.

Even fairly established models who may be represented by a reputable local agency still have to pay their Mother Agency. ?You stay loyal to them,? Vanessa says. ?And if you need help, you call them and they?ll take care of you,? adds Derik.

Jonas Gaffud, owner of Mercator Model and Artist Management, the agency that oversees the careers of some of the top local and Brazilian models in the Philippines, says that the Brazilian Invasion started around 2004. Mercator has in its roster some of the top Brazilian models in the Philippines, including Akihiro Sato. Mercator is perceived to handle only Brazilian models, but they also manage top Filipino models, among them Rocky Salumbides and Lia Andrea Ramos.

Jonas says his agency has managed around 30 models since it started handling Brazilian models. The agency takes care of their travel and living expenses and even provides a monthly allowance, which the models pay off from their bookings. This allows the models to have a secure living arrangement while trying to break into the local scene. The agency also puts all its models, local and foreign, through training programs including acting and singing workshops. After all, a model?s success contributes as much to the agency?s success, Jonas points out.

The agency also takes care of getting them the appropriate work permits from the Bureau of Immigration. These permits have to be renewed every two months. ?We have an International Desk,? Jonas explains, ?that arranges the paperwork so that the models can stay and work legally.?

This is not the case for the entire industry, however. There are some agents who don?t secure legal working papers for their models. In 2008, a fashion show was raided by Immigration officials because of a tip that some of the foreign models didn?t have the proper papers. And they did in fact catch two.

There are also some models who enter the country for work, only to find out that they have been duped by the agency that hired them. It?s a story Filipinos are familiar with, having heard of how our own overseas workers are sometimes victimized by unscrupulous recruiters. The Brazilian models are just as familiar with the story of a 15-year-old fellow Brazilian model that was flown here by an agency under less auspicious circumstances. She only had $100 pocket money and had no living allowance from the agency. The other Brazilian models had to pitch in to help her survive.

Unfortunately, not all Brazilian models that come over make it. The agency then writes off the loss as part of the cost of doing business.

Sometimes, the Brazilian models are misunderstood, adds Jonas. Just like in any other city, some folk like to be seen with beautiful people, so they invite the models to parties and treat them out. And the Brazilians are then labeled as freeloaders by those who do not know the back story.

The models themselves admit that it?s easy to make mistakes, especially when you don?t know any better. Vanessa recalls when she was just new in the industry, she was booked by an agency for a stock photo shoot for a client in the United Kingdom. The photos become part of a photo library that can be purchased for a variety of lay-outs and advertisements. These photo libraries are widely-used by advertising agencies for their ad campaigns and eliminate the need for photo shoots.

But the models aren?t paid when their photos are used. They are paid a minimal amount upfront during the shoot, but have no control about how the photos are used. Says Vanessa, ?My pictures end up with clients I don?t know about.? Fabio adds, ?It?s bad for the model. You are surprised when you suddenly see yourself on a billboard.? Newer models sign on for these jobs because they don?t know any better.

Still, the biggest hurdle that Brazilian models have faced in the country is the charge that they take jobs away from Filipino models. Asked about the Professional Models Association of the Philippines (PMAP)?s objection to Brazilian models in the country, Jonas replies, ?There are also Filipino models who have penetrated other markets, like Rocky Salumbides. We?re not a globalized economy if we don?t have foreign models. [But] we respect the PMAP.?

The Brazilian models see it differently. Explains Daniel, ?Wherever you go, there are foreign models. Even in Brazil.? Vanessa adds that in go-sees and casting calls, it?s an even playing field. Everyone, whether Filipino or Brazilian, has the same chances. ?We all attend the same castings. You just have to make sure you?re the best and you get the job.? Regardless of race. Says Derik with a laugh, ?If you want to see competition, go to Brazil.?

For all the glamor that modeling seems to afford them, the Brazilian models confess to feeling homesick. Working abroad means they don?t get to go home as often as they?d like, although they try to see their families at least once a year. But it isn?t always easy. The airfare is around $2,000, and the nature of their job doesn?t allow for much forward planning. Vacations have to be planned around their work. Derik was planning to go home last year but ended up missing his flight because he had an assignment. This is probably why they tend to bond with other Brazilian models and form new ?family units.? Vanessa and Daniel spent Christmas in Manila last year and invited their friends over for their own holiday celebration.

But modeling offers them perks no other jobs would, the models admit. Fabio cites the exclusive contract that he had with a Japanese magazine, Gainer, for which he did several covers. Being half-Japanese, it allowed him to live in the country that?s part of his heritage and establish himself there. Francine recalls how much fun she had doing the beach fashion shows in Cancun, Mexico. Daniel remembers the assignments he got when he was working in HongKong and in Manila. He also recently tried acting as part of GMA-7?s fantaserye ?The Last Prince.?

Derik meanwhile can?t name a single favorite assignment. Traveling to different places is what he likes best, he says. ?You can explore new places and meet new people.?

But modeling isn?t a lifetime plan, the models reveal. Most models, says Vanessa, work for several years then go back to Brazil to settle down. It?s a good way to save money for your future, maybe go back to University and get a ?real job.? In the meantime, modeling allows them to meet different kinds of people, who give them the kind of education they couldn?t have gotten in school.

?I really don?t know how long we?ll be doing this,? says Daniel.

A good guess: As long as the world needs beautiful faces to grace fashion shows, print ads and TV commercials, there will always be a place for the pretty boys and girls from Brazil. ?