Taki was born in Japan with a half-Pinay/half-Japanese mother. “My dad naman is half-Japanese/half-Brazilian,” she says. “I never saw my dad because he and my mom had a bad breakup. They were both just 20 when I was born. When I was five, my mom got a job in Paris and we stayed there for 8 years. When we returned here, 13 na ako and I don’t know how to speak Tagalog or English. French lang ang alam ko. My mom wanted me to go to an international school but I said I prefer a local school so pinasok niya ko sa Colegio San Agustin and that’s where I learned how to speak Tagalog and also English.”
Didn’t she try to communicate with her dad? “I did. Through social media, I met his parents and other members ng family nila. Okay naman ako sa kanila. But when I got in touch with my dad, who lives in Brazil, through Facebook, he was not excited at all. He acknowledged me, but parang cold siya sa’kin. Nagsisi nga ako kasi sinekreto ko pa yun sa mommy ko, na I’ll get in touch with him.”So did she feel sad growing up without a dad? “Actually, no. I’m 17 now and I can say that my mom really raised me well and I never felt there’s something lacking sa buhay ko. I never met my dad so parang wala naman akong na-miss. I regretted it nga na kinontak ko pa siya. Sana he didn’t answer my message na lang para sa utak ko, may mystery pa rin na maybe he’s a perfect dad. My mom has remarried and I have a stepdad na okay naman. I also have a stepbrother who’s 5 years old.”
So is she now playing beautiful music with her ka-love team, Kenneth Medrano? “Okay naman siya, but no, he’s more like a Kuya. Actually, he’s much older than me.”
Taki is 17 while Kenneth is now 26 years old and is rumored to have a wife and kid in Cebu.