Lea Salonga and 20 other Global Pinoys - Metro Magazine

It's such a good thing Metro Magazine has Lea Salonga on the cover of its June 2009 special issue, which is dedicated to the Filipino spirit.

Metro's June 2009 issue is also sort of a tribute to people who have made every Filipino proud.

And it's a wise choice they have Lea Salonga to top them all because before Charice and Arnel Pineda made us all proud, it was Lea Salonga who first fulfilled the "Filipino dream" of having an international recording.

Charice is not actually the first Pinay to snatch a recording deal from an American record label, but it's Lea Salonga in 1993.

She had an international album in the US under Atlantic Records, which is a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Warner Music Group is the same parent company of Warner Bros. Records, which will release Charice's album in the US.

Lea Salonga also got the chance to lend her "singing voice" to Princess Jasmine in the Disney movie A Whole New World.

Aside Charice and Arnel, the other names in the "20 Global Pinoys" list of Metro Magazine are as follows:

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano
Bench's Ben Chan
boxing champ Manny Pacquiao
fashion designer Rose Anne de Pampelonne
skin-care CEO Laura Verallo de Bertotto
Zen Zest's Michelle Asence
Criticine's Alexis Tioseco
director Raya Martin
photographer Romeo 'Romy' Gacad
White House chef Cristeta Pasia Comerford
equestrienne Toni Leviste
Figaro's Pacita 'Chit' Juan
fashion designer Jeannie Goulbourn
fashion designer Lesley Mobo
theater actress Joanna Ampil
ABS-CBN Global's Rafael 'Raffy' Lopez