Hollywood star Vanessa Hudgens expressed how proud she is of her Filipino roots during her press conference in Manila on Friday, March 31. 

The High School Musical lead actress, who is half-American and half-Filipino, is currently in the Philippines to film a travel documentary under TEN17P. 

READ: Fil-Am actress Vanessa Hudgens arrives in PH ahead of travel documentary shoot

With The Awakening as the working title, Vanessa briefly shared about the said project, "It's a really intimate look at my experience being in the Philippines for the very first time... Really discovering this beautiful land and the wonderful people, and just really getting in touch with the piece of myself that has always been there but I've never known intimately."     

In relation to this, Vanessa is the first Hollywood star to be bestowed the honor of being the country's Global Tourism Ambassador at the Malacanang on Thursday, March 30. She said that she is very excited about this. 

Describing the Philippines in her own words, she said, "It's a little bit of everything. It's a lot of bit of everything. It's got paradise, it's got [a] metropolitan city, it's got kindness. Everybody is so warm, so friendly. The people here are very unique, you know. Everyone is just so warm. I feel like I haven't met anyone who seems like they're having a bad day. The hospitality is unmatched. It's got wonder, and it's just a really magical place." 

Vanessa, along with her Filipino mother Gina and sister Stella, just got to Manila from a trip to El Nido, Palawan earlier this week. During their trip to Palawan, she got to try the traditional folk dance Tinikling. 

"And there's Tinikling, which is my favorite thing ever. I'm really gonna buy bamboo sticks so I can make my friends do it, and I can practice it at home. So next time I come, it's gonna be a Tinikling challenge," she lightheartedly said. 

A Pescatarian (a person who doesn't eat meat but eats fish), Vanessa recalled her experience trying authentic Chicken Adobo. "I'm Pescatarian but in Palawan, I was sitting there, and there was a plate of Chicken Adobo just staring at me. And I was like, 'Yeah, this is my first trip to the Philippines, this is as authentic as it's gonna get. I'm eating Chicken Adobo,' and I did. And it was so worth it.

"I'm not gonna be eating chicken again anytime soon but that moment was... I mean I think there's a time and place for everything," she added. 

Meanwhile, Vanessa also acknowledged the Filipino value of having strong family ties – something she could relate with. 

“It’s been really interesting coming here, and really beautiful and eye-opening. I feel like just the family aspect of the Philippines is something that is so prominent and so strong, and I’ve always been so close to my mom and my sister, we kind of like roll as a pack all the time. That’s definitely something that comes from my heritage,” she said.

“I’m in my 30s now, I’m thinking about like raising a family. I wanna be able to like know my heritage so that I can bring that… so that my kids can know they’re background, know more about their blood,” the 34-year-old singer-actress shared. 

Vanessa Hudgens is in a relationship with American baseball player Cole Tucker. 

Apart from High School Musical that skyrocketed her to international fame, Vanessa has starred in a number of projects including Netflix’s The Princess Switch 1, 2, and 3, and Tik, Tik… Boom.