Luisito "Bodjie" Fernandez-Pascua[1] (born March 2, 1955) is a Filipino stage and film & TV actor and former children's television host. He is best known as "Kuya Bodjie" ("Big Brother Bodjie"), the iconic character he portrayed on the children's educational television program Batibot.[2]
Pascua's stage appearances include Cabaret, Fire, Water, Woman, Mass, 1896, Zarzuela, Battalia Royale, and Hamlet, as well as numerous musicals written by composer Ryan Cayabyab such as Noli Me Tángere.[2]
His film appearances include: Imahenasyon, Sa Aking Pagkakagising Mula Sa Kamulatan, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (local title "Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros"), and the satiric mockumentary Coup B'Etat.[3]
Pascua is best known as "Kuya Bodjie" ("Big Brother Bodjie"), the iconic character he portrayed on the children's educational television program Batibot.[2]
On Batibot, Kuya Bodjie interacted with the other Batibot characters as part of the show's regular portion. Pascua's unique claim to fame, however, was a segment called "Mga Kwento ni Kuya Bodjie" ("Kuya Bodjie's stories") which featured Pascua telling a new short Children's story in every episode. Pascua called on his theater skills to make the narration lively and to give each character in the stories their own unique voice.[4]
The iconic status of the Kuya Bodjie character has linked him and his distinctive voice to the childhood memories of the generation of Filipino children who grew up during the late 1980s. Jokes and anecdotes about that period often involve a reference to the character, with the speaker imitating Pascua's signature vocalization, or that of other Batibot characters, such as Kiko Matsing or Pong Pagong, speaking to their "Kuya Bodjie".
^Bodjie Pascua. Batibot : Mga kuwento ni kuya bodjie (audiocasette). Miriam College Library, Quezon City: Ivory Records Corporation, The philippine children's television foundation. Archived from the original on June 3, 2011.
