Xymon

Aka Onyok: The Boy Who Charmed the Primetime TV Universe
 

- Anna Pingol

If he could have his way, he would like his fans to call him by his real name—and that’s Xymon, not Onyok, the name of his character in the long-running Coco Martin action-drama series FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano.

“Kasi po, baka masanay po sila ng Onyok, e,” says child wonder Xymon Ezekiel Pineda.

But he’s so good at playing his TV role that both the name and the character have stuck. We, too, can’t help but call him Onyok, and he can’t help but respond to it, too.

“Dati po, ang tawag sa akin ng mga tao, mini-Bamboo,” the six-year-old says, referring to his idol, local rocker Bamboo. “Ngayon po, Onyok na. Pero Xymon po ang totoong pangalan ko.”

The story of how Xymon came to be called by many names began one ordinary day in early 2014. He was at home in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, watching the daily noontime show It’s Showtime with his mom, Mary Ann, when they chanced upon the show’s kiddie talent portion called “MiniMe.” It’s a contest where child contestants mimic—in looks, garb, and talent—popular local and international stars.

His mom recalls that when Xymon saw other kids, mostly older and taller than him, showing off on TV, he declared: “‘Ma, kaya ko din ’yon, o!’”

Mind you, he was only three years old at that time. Evidently, he was no ordinary three-year-old. Xymon, according to his 27-year-old mom Mary Ann, was not only already loquacious, but also self-assured.

Mary Ann recounts those early years of her child prodigy:

“Wala pang one year old, nagma‘Mama’ na siya, nag-e-ABC na siya, nagka-count na siya ng numbers… Mabilis siyang pumik-up.