“Art Angel habambuhay.”
This was the message of Tonipet Gaba and Pia Arcangel, former hosts of GMA’s old arts and crafts show “Art Angel,” to Filipino fans who also sought closure after its run ended in 2011.
Tonipet, who was known as “Kuya Tonipet” in the show, posted this message on September 11 on his Facebook page and as a comment under a Facebook post.
It was a response to a Facebook user named Alex Joshua who requested for a “closure” from Tonipet and Pia as a Bbatang Art Angel.”
“Pia Arcangel at Kuya Tonipet Gaba, kailangan din namin ng closure. #BatangArtAngel,” Joshua said in his post.
As of writing, Joshua’s post garnered over 50,000 reactions and 32,000 shares on Facebook.
He was referencing the “closure” fans of “Blue’s Clues” received after former host Steve Burns or just Steve explained the reason for his abrupt exit in the children’s show more than a decade ago.
Steve addressed them again in a video during the long-running show’s 25th anniversary.
Similar to “Blue’s Clues,” “Art Angel” also became a memorable part of a generation of Filipinos during its run from 2004 to 2011.
The local children’s show aired 370 episodes of informative and entertaining content before it ended on May 14, 2011.
When Joshua’s request reached “Art Angel” host Tonipet, he reacted to it with a hopeful message: “Walang closure dahil tayong ang ‘Art Angel’ ay habambuhay. Sending our love to all our Batang Art Angels everywhere! Hugging everyone right now.”
Former co-host Pia also shared a photo of her and Tonipet together and placed waving gestures in the caption.
Filipino fans in the comment section later expressed how much they missed “Art Angel” and thanked the hosts for the childhood memories.
“Art Angel” made a comeback last May 18, 2020 with Tonipet and Pia retained as hosts.
Fans can catch episodes of the beloved kid’s program every Monday, Wednesday and Friday on GMA at 8:25 a.m.
‘I went to college’
In the “Blue’s Clues” video, Steve explained that he suddenly left the show because he went to college.
“I just kinda got up and went to college — and that was really challenging by the way but great because I got to use my mind and take a step at a time and now, I literally am doing many of the things that I wanted to do,” he said.
Steve also gave them a personal, inspiring message on how much he is proud of them. He said that he was also thankful for the bond they formed because of the series.
“And that’s super cool. I guess I just wanted to say that after all these years, I never forgot you. Ever. And I’m super glad we’re still friends,” he said.
It sent the internet, particularly users who have watched the show since 1996 until Steve’s departure in 2002, sobbing and grateful for the much-needed message under trying times.
The video itself has over 37 million views on Twitter alone.
So about that time Steve went off to college… #BluesClues25 pic.twitter.com/O8NOM2eRjy
— Nick Jr. (@nickjr) September 7, 2021
Some Filipinos also took to social media to express how much their “inner child” cried after Steve talked to the fans again.
